# Try not to pinch the spinning saw blade



## fineamerican (Nov 14, 2009)

I found those pics on a old flash drive and thought Id share some gore with you all. This accident happened on my birthday two years ago. In 15 years I had never even had the saw "jump" at me much less kick back. So this my formula for injury. Complacency+Fatigue+Stupidity= 23 years of serious guitar playing down the drain. One good thing about this as everyone knows the Lord works in mysterious ways. Ive become a handtool junkie and my work got much better. It took about one month of healing (5 months earlier than the doctors plans) before I got back on the horse. The fear lasted a few days but this is how I make a living and kind of needed to get over it and I did. These pics are of course post op. My index finger was barely attaching lengthwise if you will. The surgeon was amazing. The final pic is from about two days ago.
Stay safe & Enjoy woodworking!


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## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

Oouch. Thanks for sharing. So whats the story behind the accident?


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Can you share with us more details of how it happened? It's always good to read exactly what NOT to do.

As a guitar and piano player, this sort of thing is never far from my mind.


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

You should have given us a gore warning in the label.

I wish I had not seen this.


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## KayBee (Jul 6, 2009)

Ouch! Glad you had a good surgeon. Sorry about losing your music, that must be hard.


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## jasony (Dec 21, 2009)

Interested to know why the killed your guitar playing. Did you lose all function in the finger, or just enough to make playing impossible? I ask for a reason: I'm a professional composer and pianist who owns a terrifying cabinet saw.

Jason


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## fineamerican (Nov 14, 2009)

I guess the story behind the accident shouldve been added, sorry. I was in a terrible hurry to finish a cigar humidor. I was resawing a piece of purpleheart, (without a splitter!!!) with my left hand was past the blade. Of course the wood binded in the blade with my left hand past it came spinning back across the teeth of the blade. Now I have a $15,000 piece of hard maple as a splitter.

Jasony, concerning the guitar playing, my index finger was the most damaged, and doestn bend the same. Some chords like Am, C are close to impossble. I can get there but not with ease, and it hurts to bend to form the chords. I undewent therapy and that helped but I just to keep my practice up if Im ever to play like before.

Richgreer-Sorry if this offended you and you wished you hadnt seen it, I wish it wouldnt have happened.


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## hotstick (Sep 9, 2007)

Hi John,

I have a friend who caught his hand in a corn picker around 1955. Like yourself, he played the guitar. His hand was so mangled and the surgery was so limited then that he managed to restring his guitar to be picked left handed.

I am so sorry to hear of your terrible accident, but thank you for sharing. If more of us were to share our own stories of close calls and way too close calls, such as yourself, hopefully more of these could be prevented. Myself, I'm "ten feet tall and bullet proof."

Again, John, thanks for sharing and may God be with you and help you through this healing.

Charles Tubbs, amature everything at 66 years age


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## fineamerican (Nov 14, 2009)

Charles thanks for the kind words.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Man O man… sure glad it's healing good…


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