Warning post

[cnc_works]

I debated a while before deciding to post this link here on the forum. I decided to do so in hopes that the visual impact would increase the caution level of each and every one of you. Do not view if graphic pictures of injuries make you uncomfortable.

If I get enough input that the site is too offensive to post I will be glad to remove it.

http://www.cncworks.biz/gallery/injury/index.html

[knight_toolworks]

that really sucks. Glad I have not eaten for awhile. How are they doing? my hands don't always go where I want so I worry about stupid things happening to me. went to grab my little router and one finger went through the guard and got bitten. dropping wood on my foot I always was able ot move my feet out of the way.

[michael_schwartz]

That is unfortunate, hope you recover as much use, and feeling as possible.

[myxpykalix]

Donn,
I think those pictures reinforce the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words".

[adrianm]

Ouch. I something very similiar to the same finger a few years ago. Fortunately I didn't cut the tendon but I did sever the nerves.

Put paid to me using a lathe as I can't feel the tool against the rest and occasionally I hit the part of the finger where the nerves end and boy does that hurt!

I hope you make a full recovery.

[michael_schwartz]

I have never been bit, but I have had a few close calls.

One was with a delta combo bench grinder, with a missing side shield on the grinding wheel. I was making an adjustment to the tool rest, and slipped hitting the wheel with my knuckle. Scared the living daylights out of me, and scraped up my knuckle, but thankfully didn't cause a serious injury. That grinder went in the dumpster a few months later.

Trying to cut short pieces on the miter saw is just a bad idea. You can get away with it, but sometimes.... Thankfully all I can say is that I have had some scary kickbacks, and ruined some wood doing stuff I shouldn't have done in the first place.

Finally I was cutting a short piece on my band saw with a 3/4" re saw blade. The throat plate suddenly disintegrated causing the work piece to pivot up as the blade pulled the other end down throwing my fingers towards the blade guard, which at least was lowered. I didn't hit the guard, but that experience was still way to close for comfort, and has changed the way I use a band saw since. All small pieces get held with a clamp when making freehand cuts.

[ed_lang]

Will keep you in my prayers for good recovery.

[joe]

Thanks for posting.

Those of us with Arm Saws, Band Saws, Table Saws, and Joiners are at great risk of injury. There are few vocations as dangerious as wookworking. Your post is very much appreciated.

My only accident has been with a bandsaw, armed with a skip tooth blade. It was only a surface wound but took twenty two stitches. Still, that was a wonderful lesson. Be Careful.

Joe Crumley

[cabnet636]

right thumb in table saw twice in early 07, purchased cnc shortly there after, thanks for the reminder it sends chills yet is necessary!
jim

[ken_rychlik]

Thanks for the reminder. Sorry to hear about it though.

What tool and how?

I put in a saw stop this past year, but there are plenty of other tools within arms reach of it that would do the same thing.

[MogulTx]

I got nailed by a table router nearly 30 years ago. It had a bit protector on it. I hit a knot in the material and the piece went screwy. I thought it was a lexan bit cover- and therefore unbreakable- turns out it was acrylic and VERY breakable. My thumb hit the bit, and things got ugly. It hamburgered the end of my right thumb. I still don't feel much on the left side of that thumb. We have to be cautious.

I also was instructing a young guy on what might be wrong with a hand held belt sander. I was showing him that the device was dead, even when I pulled the trigger. I surmised that it was brushes or the armature... turns out it was a brush problem and that when I pushed the belt through a little bit, it cleared enough carbon or dust and the machine came back to life--- in time to trap my ring finger against the stop at the butt of the machine. I abraded that finger, on a wedge, to the bone at the tip... and out to the knuckle. I can tell you that both of them hurt tremendously. And yours looks even more painful. I hope it heals well and quickly.

[gc3]

I know exactly what those accidents can be like. Be careful stay focused.

[feinddj]

As as college instructor for technical theatre, I told my share of "scare stories" to make my kids pay attention when they were using tools. The only thing that is worse than hurting yourself is hurting someone else. We should all step back and examine what we do and not take it for routine.

[cnc_works]

Yeah Gene, I remember seeing your injury, that is ugly. What has it been, a year or so? How is your recovery coming?

Thanks all for the commiserations and observations.

Tablesaw, late afternoon, distracted. Reached over the blade with my left hand to push a small piece of wood away from the blade (yeah, I know, I REALLY do), dropped my thumb into the blade and the impact rotated my hand through the blade. It was grizzlies fault because they hadn't incorporated Sawstop into this 30-year-old saw. I'm gonna talk to the Ryobi guy and get hints.

Seriously, I am absolutely against enforcement of this technology, but if I had had it on my old grizzly I might've been running for the Band-Aids instead of the emergency room. My best friend went in the very next day and traded his Powermatic in for a Sawstop.

As an aside, I did rediscover Dragon Naturally Speaking, voice recognition software which has saved my buns. I can highly recommend it to anyone who has use of only one hand (or none even).

[myxpykalix]

I think a sawstop is probably cheaper then a new finger.....I thought i saw that they had incopporated that into a bandsaw also? I think i will print out those pictures of your finger and tape them above each power tool just as a "visual aid".:D

[dubliner]

Donn, I too wish you a speedy recovery, that must have hurt like a son of a gun. My best wishes go to out to you. Neville

[knight_toolworks]

you can hurt yourself well on hand tools too. Chisels slice skin really well.
hell when I was still learning to sharpen I was using a diamond stone and I ground the tips off all my fingers. I did not feel a thing till I saw red water.

[cnc_works]

I suspect that before all this is over the same money spent on care would buy 10 or 20 Sawstops. I could have given them out to all my friends like party favors. And I could have started using one of those right away.

[gc3]

"Yeah Gene, I remember seeing your injury, that is ugly. What has it been, a year or so? How is your recovery coming?"

Good memory...Thanks for asking. Late june 2009, 4 hr surgery, 1 month in a cast, 6 months of therapy, today 70% use and that will be all, not bad considering what happened. And that is how those things happen....end of day, just one more cut then boom a life changer faster than you can imagine. One good thing that came out of this for me....it gave me lots of time to learn cnc!

Good luck with your healing. Be patient and all will be well.

[dlcw]

I'll tell you Donn - this makes me start thinking harder about selling my Delta Unisaw and getting a Sawstop saw instead.

I hope you get better soon and get most of the use of your fingers back. As a volunteer firefighter/EMT I've seen many injuries and I always pray that the patient recovers as much use as possible from the injury.

I'll pray that things go well in your recovery and therapy.

[wberminio]

Worse cut I ever got was from a chisel about 30 years ago.Almost lost the tip of my index finger.
Finally have most feeling back!
Thanks for the reminder!

[curtiss]

I understand that using a lawnmower (with a friend) to trim a hedge is also a bad idea...

There was a post a while back of a school woodshop somewhere that had a "donated finger" in a jar on a shelf as a reference item...

[harryball]

Oww... :eek: I'm sure it took a split second but felt like an hour? When I get injured my brain is generally screaming "YOU IDIOT" microseconds before the pain sets in.

Hope you make a full recovery along with a battle scar to tell the kids about (and maybe save someone elses hand).


/RB

[ken_rychlik]

Donn,

I'm not trying to be mean here, but... do you want to borrow my avatar picture?

[lrheimpel]

Donn, hope you get better soon.

Gene, hope time improves things for you.

I was lucky for some 20 years, but 4 years ago a piece I was ripping on the table saw was a bit too small and my hand a bit too close to the blade. Wood got pulled in and so did my left hand resulting in a split tip in my middle finger. When I dared to look I counted 6 fingers in my hand!!

Some how the angle of the cut and what was actually cut turned out to be not bad. The tip just "glued" back together and the nail came back after some time. I felt a "tingle" in the tip for several months. Back to normal 100%, very hard to note anything in the finger, no scars.

You know the saying in carpentry "measure twice, cut once"? Now I go with "measure twice, check 3 times, then cut once very carefully".

Another rule, no fingers or bodyparts within 6 inches of any cutting blade or bit!!

[benchmench]

As Donn illustrated, accidents can happen anytime but are more likely when we :

Are fatigued.
Are rushed.
Cut corners or lax on safety.

Wishing you a speedy recovery and thanks for posting. :o

[loriny]

Just the pictures give me the shivers. I still have the scars on my right thumb - preshopbot, save time angled cornercabinet shelf freehand. Atleast I didn't hit the bone.
This has got me thinking about SawStop as well. I went in to my local distributor and they look like a good saw. Trouble is when I have a perfectly good General 350 its hard to justify. I can see it now though. Have an accident and suddenly $3500 is not that much.
Best wishes on your recovery and thanks for posting.
Lorin

[dlcw]

I agree with what everyone has said about fatigue, feeling rushed, frustrated, etc. and working with these dangerous tools. If anything about an operation feels uncomfortable, in the slightest, I rethink the whole operation. After Donn's posting, I plan to be even more careful.

And Lorin's comment is right on about the price of a SawStop not seeming so steep when you compare that to the financial and emotional cost of such an accident. It's making me rethink this option.

Ten fingers in, ten fingers out - good day in the shop.

[mitch_prest]

we all get injuries at one time or another... and then for the most part we forget how it happened and just carry on till the next time...

this post is a great reminder.. I am sure I am not the only one feeling twinges in the parts I damaged or chopped up...

this little reminder may save a lot for injuries for a while to come.. or at least until we start to forget again..


thanks for the post.. I know it made me think again..


mitch

[widgetworks_unlimited]

I've got two small (1/2" long) scars on the tops of each of my thumbs. One from a hand router, one from a metal lathe. Both were accidents that I should have avoided.

It sounds weird when I talk about them with folks who don't use power tools regularly, but I will always be thankful to have these scars. I know how lucky I am and I know my injuries could have been a lot worse.

Thanks for sharing your story - I can't imagine how difficult this tragedy has been for you.

[john_hartman]

I have had minor damage to my left thumb, I will spare the details. What I will say is that the posted photos and stories have lead to three pretty disturbing dreams involving random people that I know seriously injuring themselves in my shop. I have never had such dreams before... One of the reasons I don't watch movies like Saw or Hostel...