Let's see some damage. - Woodworking Talk

Big Dave · 10-18-2006, 08:36 PM

I know this is shop safety but sometimes the best way to get across the point of safety is showing some damage and how it happened.

The picture below is my hand, of course, and a cut that I inflicted upon myself with a utility knife while trying to cut out a small corner in a notch that my saw could not get, you know what I'm talking about.:icon_wink:

Anyway I was pulling the knife towards my hand that was holding the piece and when the piece of wood split the knife raced through my hand. No major damage was done but the numerous stitches and healing time was damage enough.

Burlkraft · 10-18-2006, 10:29 PM

Ouch.....

**Leo G** · 10-19-2006, 12:52 AM

Still a member of the ten finger club. I lost 1/16" of my middle finger to a shaper 20 years ago. I slipped and jambed it into a set of profile cutter spinning a 10,000 RPM

. Grabbed my finger instantly and got rushed to the medical center. The doc forced me to unclench my finger and then said that it wasn't to bad. I looked, expecting to see about 1/2" missing but it wasn't even down to the bone, real close though. Another incident I had was I ripped some muscle in my left bicep trying to lift a cabinet. Hurt like a mother and I actually passed out after about 10 minutes (ya, I know, wimp). I was delivering a kitchen that day and I had rented a truck and had helpers on the clock. I couldn't lift a 10 lbs drawer with both hands it was so messed up. I could easily lift it with the good one of course. I was at 40% in two days and within a month I was at 90%. I didn't go to the doctors and I thought everything was going to be OK, and it was, for about 5 months. Now I get bad cramping when I stress the muscle. And I still haven't seen a doctor about it.

I've tagged myself with the table saw twice, enough to have stitches but nothing that shows now. Still a pretty good record for 21 years on the job 8+ hours a day.

**Daren** · 10-25-2006, 10:21 PM

Here is some fresh damage 10/25/06,"thumb meet table saw blade"

. I put as much back as I could, smeared some Neosporin on it and wrapped it up. What doesn't stay will grow back, man stuff can happen in a hurry and this could have been MUCH worse. It will be tender for awhile... good thing I had my safety glasses on

, a thumb in the eyes hurts.

steg32168 · 10-30-2006, 08:17 PM

Ouch!! I've never cut myself on a power tool(knock on wood) but I did drop a chiesel and try to catch it before it hit the concrete!! Only the corner went into the side of my hand and only 2 stiches!! Guess I've been lucky so far(knock on wood)!!! I almost got it with the tablesaw, but got my hand out of the way. The board kicked back and went into the drywall, but I didn't get anymore stiches!!

Dave
steg32168

David · 10-30-2006, 09:43 PM

I'm going to tattle on myself here... no damage pics though.

I have only been doing carpentry for a living for about three years. I am fortunate that I have not had major lacerations due to my own ignorance, and I am now very deliberate around spinning cutting tools.

I shot myself through the thumb one time when a 2" finish nail hit a metal bullnose drywall corner and turned back though the material I was holding. I put peroxide and a band-aid on it and kept working. I don't hold the material I am nailing anywhere near where that nail *might* go anymore. I have seen a 2" T-nail shot from a nailgun penetrate about 1/4" into yellow pine casing and do a complete U-turn without ever even hitting the sheetrock. That would have hurt.

I am working on a remodel project. There is a breaker box on one wall. The electricians removed the cover panel for access and left it off when they left. There were various pieces of salvage trim and flooring laying around in front of it. Not once, but twice, I found myself walking in that crowded area for some reason, not paying close attention, and put my hand out to steady myself on the wall, and instead I put my hand in that live electrical box. How stupid is that? And how lucky I am. Needless to say, after the second time, scaring the crap out of myself, I screwed the cover back on. I'll be much more cautious in the future.

I learned early on in the construction trades that you not only have to watch what you do, but you have to watch every single person that is working with you. They can screw up and get you killed. Happens all the time. I get the sense that most of the people around here mostly work by themselves, but I would bet that most all of you have stories about idiot helpers you may have had to deal with. You've got to watch 'em like a bitin' dog.

nywoodwizard · 10-31-2006, 09:49 PM

You are a very lucky man

nywoodwizard · 10-31-2006, 09:51 PM

looks like the utility knife had a table saw blade on it ?

Big Dave · 10-31-2006, 11:35 PM

It was kind of a bad deal. I had it stiched up and had to go back to work. Well while working I stressed it a little bit too much and tore it back open after it had healed for about 5 days. Skin tearing is not a good feeling. Hurt like a sun of a gun. That's why it looks so bad. It was tender for about 8 months after.

Rapture · 11-03-2006, 02:19 AM

Good thing I wasn't eating when I came into this topic...

clampman · 11-03-2006, 01:22 PM

One of the biggest safety hazzards I believe is not having an absolutely inflexible rule that:

Anyone who is installing or removing a cutting tool, who is clamping or tightening or otherwise rendering immobile any type of jig, fixture, vice, tool or anything intended to be used for cutting, clamping, or guiding anything else whatsoever that is used during any of the above operations: MUST be either fully tightened or fully dissambled before it leaves that person's hand. He CANNOT answer a phone, take a leak, or whack the shop rat running up his leg until that is finished - PERIOD.

Otherwise, things like the bar of brass, pictured below. will wind up flying through the air. Nor should there ever be any work station behind a table saw, behind or in front of a shaper (particularly one with a power feed), or a router table.

I once saw a shaper shoot a 12' stick of crown molding through a shop wall into the dooryard.

I have myself shot a 10' bar of 5/16ths stainless rod through a block wall when testing a prototype automatic bar feed for a turret lathe. And I was only using 40psi air pressure. I had hoped it would come shooting out, but had no idea it would be with that much speed and power.

Be safe. Note the acceleration on the bar below.

Regards,
Jimc

formula462 · 12-09-2006, 10:59 PM

Man,I haven't ever done any real damage but some of my guys have done some pretty stupid things

A. thumb in spinning table saw blade
B.finger in spinning router blade
C.thumb almost severed in 12" sliding saw
D.finger in table saw-same guy
E.shooting self with nail gun
and of course falling off ladder,down stairs and off balcony

oldgoat49 · 12-19-2006, 07:14 AM

Well I have done a few stupid things. When I started working in a machine shop I did like the others and used my fingernail to check the bottom of the cut to make sure it was smooth. Got too close to the cutter and it nicked the end of the finger, but didn't lose anything. Got smart and started using a regular old wood pencil after that.
Tried to freehand with the radial arm saw cutting excess off a piece of plywood and it grabbed it. Could have easily lost fingers but only lost some hearbeats. Getting in a hurry or trying to make do usually will end up with a scary moment at best.

jodiemeglio · 01-04-2007, 09:53 AM

I don't have any pictures but when I was in high school shop class I cut my finger pretty bad. I had never seen and since haven't seen an over head router. This one didn't have a guard and when I started to use it the wood sucked in and pulled my middle finger with it. From the top knuckle to the tip the skin was ripped off and the side of my nail was chewed up. Unfortunately there wasn't enough skin left to stitch up so I had to wrap it up everyday for quite a while. It is still very sensitive to the cold. Worst part was I got a B on the project because I didn't wan't to use the router again to finish the profile!

Lee · 01-04-2007, 10:10 AM

Hi guy's;
Since nothing has been subtracted, I have nothing to add!!!

Knock on wood.

Lee
admin@prowooodworkingtips.com

Plowboy · 01-04-2007, 11:21 AM

Here's a bruise straight in the middle of my chest where I took an oak board off my tablesaw. This was just before Christmas three years ago. You can see the outline of the board in the bruise. It totally knocked the wind out of me and I thought it had broken my chest bone. About 3 inches lower and it would have been in my belly. I've been VERY respectful of my powertools ever since. Sure could have been worse.

Big Dave · 01-04-2007, 01:29 PM

I've been lucky so far and never had a board come at me from my table saw but I've gotten the tip of my finger in it a couple of times.

Plowboy · 01-04-2007, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Dave

I've been lucky so far and never had a board come at me from my table saw but I've gotten the tip of my finger in it a couple of times.

That totally frightens me. My incident has "inspired" a couple of others to be a bit more respectful of their powertools.

Burlkraft · 01-04-2007, 03:34 PM

I had that same exact bruise on my chest.....once......and only once...

**TexasTimbers** · 01-04-2007, 05:28 PM

Lee that had me smilin pretty big.

My kind of humor.

Worst thing I have done to myself in my shop is let a stack of circle saw blades fall on me and rake considerable amounts of flesh off of my left leg. totally tearing of my blue jeans from that leg and missing by mere inches tearing off little big man.

I was moving a vertical stack of 5 - 7 blades ranging in diameter form I thin k 32" to I know 56". I have them bolted together through the arbors as one unit. It weighs at least 450 but probably closer to 600 pounds. I was rolling the stack on the biggest one (obviously) in the stack because it is trashed and I just use it as the "wheel" to roll the others good ones around. My other two good 56" saws are on the arbors of the two other circle mills so they weren't on the heavy stack.
So I am rolling this mass of steel around on my shop floor, clunk ... clunk ... clunk ... not giving enough serious thought about how much weight I am balancing because I am thinking about where I want to move it out of the way THIS time!
As you have probably already guessed, it became out of vertical just enough due to my lackadasial attitude to start to go, so without thinking (I was doing alot of that in this short span of time) I crabbed around in front of the mass to put my weight against it but it was too late.
It threw me back against the saw horses and raked me down my left leg, barely missing extremely delicate parts and my innards to as I say, and pinned me against the shop floor.
I did not scream at the top of my lungs. I did not lay there and struggle, uselessly, to free myself. I did not cry and grunt primordial sounds. I did not hyperventilate and temporarily lose rational thought.
After I was done not doing all that, I actually composed myself because my chemical generators were dumping endorphins into my bloodstream by the bucket fulls to combat the pain long enough to extricate myself from this nightmare.
There absolutey no way I was going to be able to lift this stack of metal off of me even if I could stand up and lift it off myself which, is of course impossible because you can't stand up when your are pinned to the shop floor. No leverage at all here though.
So, just like a movie, I b-a-r-e-l-y was ablt to reach a 2x4 with the tippy tip tips of my trmebling fingers and mustered just enough strnegth to lift this stack just enough to pull my leg out froom underneath.
I know I fractured my leg. I made a post about this on some forum I don't even remember which one maybe it was FVF and we have it in the archives here, but, my point is this has been many months ago and parts of my leg still hurt, are numb, and when I stand on it too long it swells around my sock (partially due to diabetes) so much it gets freaky. When I nick my shin against something just wrong i drop to my knees in agony.
I hope that is the worst shop accident I have. Now outside the shop . . .I have done some things to myslef that if I told I would lose any credibility i might have here.

Sorry aboput the length.

Edit. I just walked over to the corner of the shop and actually counted and measured the blades. there are only 5. They are as follows:
1 42"
1 52"
1 54"
2 56"

Maybe joasis knows exactly how much they might weigh; I know the 56" ones are well over 100 pounds so the others can't too far back.