A tale of two goof ups, three fingers, 19 stitches and how to prevent it.

sad situation , you must learn to LISTEN to the tools also ,
just like kids , when they whine ,scream ,grown or chater .STOP?LOOK?LISTEN !
tools we can replace , also wood , but not body parts !
.
these tools can cut through ebony , jello is not a problem .
as jim told us recently ,
,
” the best shop tool is between your ears ”
.
please be safe all .

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

Thank goodness that none of the vitals were hit in his fingers. I know we all think of band saws as pretty safe but I know a number of butchers that have short fingers. The culprit was the meat saw, a band saw in a different environment.
Thanks for your post, we can not be reminded too often to be safe.

-- Gary, South Central Wisconsin. So much to learn, so little time!

Charles…no offense here but, I think the lesson learned is BIL needs a different hobby.

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

Dang…I go out of town for a couple of days and BIL has another set of stiches!! Give him my best and thankfully – nothing worse happened. I guess it’s just a well that I seem to take a long time before I take the piece to the saw. Best to take nothing for granted and make sure that your head is in the right place before cranking up the saw.

-- Where did all this sawdust come from?

Yeah. Tired? Frustrated? Little tipsy? Not 100% on your game? Impatient? If you answered any of these with a yes, stay out of the shop! It really takes a certain disposition to be a woodworker or a machinist. I agree with Gary, BIL should take up fly-tying or something less dangerous :) Maybe get him to learn sketch-up and then you can have him design things for you to build. I saw a guy at Home Depot looking at a Ridgid table saw. He seriously had not a single intact digit on either hand. The clerk should have told him to step away from the power tools. Of course at that point, what was left for him to amputate?

-- Ooo, er.

Safety must be uppermost in the mind at all times. Sorry for the painful lessons. But, thanks for bring it to our attention.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Wow I’m glad his injuries were not more serious

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Your story sounds a lot like mine when I injured myself, but I used a chisel, not a power tool. I, unfortunately did manage to cut my artery and nerve in half. Why? Because I violated several safety rules like your BIL. It was late, I was tired and very frustrated with how slowly the work was going. And why? I shoudln’t have, I didn’t have a deadline to meet, I was just mad that I wasn’t able to complete the task by the time line I had given myself, dumb really. The little voice in my head was telling me to stop for the night, but I didn’t listen, really dumb.
It took a permanent injury to learn my lesson the hard way, I now know when to put down the tools and leave the shop. It could have been worse, I do consider myself lucky.

Remember, no project is more important than your health.

P.S. Tell your BIL, there’s always scrapbooking ;o)

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

solution = knitting! but make sure he doesn’t use them pointy needles either…. better round them off.

Thanks for sharing – always good to be reminded of safety in woodworking.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Thanks everyone. I’ll pass on the good wishes to my BIL. I’ll wait a bit on the recommendations for the new hobbies. As he was waiting for his wife to arrive to run him over to the hospital, he said, “I’m not going to let this keep me away from woodworking!” I admire his drive but if he’s going to continue to try his best to remove body parts, he may just find my shop closed.

He did tell me that I could do all the band saw work in the future. Maybe that’s a good compromise. I’ll just get him to emphasize other types of work.

Thanks again for the responses and your best wishes.

-- Behind the Bark is a lot of Heartwood----Charles, Centennial, CO

Message to you:
STAY AWAY FROM BIL WHEN HE IS IN SHOP!!!!!
Oh! “Quick trip to the ER”, is an oxymoron (erstwhile, impossible happening).
Bill

Wow Charles! Can’t really add anything else. Do send my well wishes to your BIL.

-- Larry , Colorado www.coloradorecordcrates.com

Has Bill ever tried knitting?

-- If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until it's free! PJ O'Rourke

Thanks so much for your story. It’s really important that members post bad experience as a reminder for others, but especially for newbies like me.
As a self-taught beginner, I made myself a promise to read every story relating such accidents so I think about them in the shop.

-- Only 7 months since I discovered woodworking... has done nothing else since!

If you don’t get the crap scared out of you once in a while, you will stop respecting the power of the tool! That keeps me going, plus don’t wear ties in the shop, that is the other. LOL
ken

-- Ken, Florida, www.theroutermaniac.com

Maybe the good news is he must be learning…he only got 9 stitches the second time.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

Thanks for the post . I am just starting to work on making these boxes and i can assure you i will take the advice. Prayers to bill and a quick recovery

-- Nick , North Carolina

Glad to hear he’s okay. The rule I always use if you don’t put your hands in front of the blade, you can’t get cut. I always use a pushstick if it has to be directly in front of the blade.

-- http://www.industrialshapeandform.com

In my 14 years of woodworking I have had two minor accidents, the first about 13 years ago, and the most recent about 8 years ago. They both required a visit to the hospital and both were cut fingers. Luckily neither accident caused serious or permanent damage. I was very lucky. The main point of this story is that both of these accidents happened on that ‘safe’ tool, the bandsaw. Maybe the bandsaw is way too ‘safe’.

-- Mike, American in Norway