[rbhicks]

Well it happened to me.

I have been a hobbiest/semi-pro wood worker for a long time and last week I made a fairly costly mistake. It was the end of the day and I must have been tired. I was ripping some stock on my table saw and BANG! That quick. There was no improper setup, not kickback, nothing... I just drug my left hand across the blade as I was shifting position to finish the cut.

I cut the tip off my middle finger through the bone and mangled the tip of my index finger. There was nothing to "recover", so they just did some stitching to tidy it up. I went to a hand surgeon at the suggestion of the ER doc., but no surgery is required (i guess there was some concern with a jagged bone edge).

I am one of those guys who catches a load of crap from "the boys" about taking shop safety too far although I have taken the kick back guard off my TS - it goes back on when I can get back to work, BTW.

It could have been so much worse! It will take 4-6 months to heal completely, and other than a "new look" they should be "99.5%" normal.

http://s34.photobucket.com/user/Screwball100102/media/IMG_2205_zpsce925e03.jpg.html

http://s34.photobucket.com/user/Screwball100102/media/IMG_2209_zps1854a99a.jpg.html

Very sorry that happened to you. It is a good reminder for all table saw users though. Thanks for sharing it with us.