# Bandsaw gave me a little bite



## Chashint (Aug 14, 2016)

This morning I decided to use the band saw to cut some oak firewood splits into chunks to use in my Weber Smoky Mountsin cooker.
I thought I was working carefully and all was going very well.
I am not sure exactly what happened but in the blink of an eye I was cut.
End result could have been much worse than it was.
Pinky finger on left hand got cut across the top of the finger deep enough to need 7 stitches.
I have examined the scene of the event and cannot find anything alarming about the piece of wood I was cutting.
I am not sure if the blade caught my wedding ring (it has a missing chunk and some serious gouges) and pulled my hand into it or if the split I was cutting snagged, rotated, and pulled my hand into the blade.
I have always considered the bandsaw to be one of my safest tools, so having an accident while using it is surprising and disturbing to a degree. 
If this had been the table saw I don't know if a few stitches and a tetanus shot would be enough to patch up the damage. 
I know there are plenty of previous posts telling everyone to work carefully (and I thought I was), so this is nothing new to this group…..but be careful in the shop.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Thanks for posting. I posted my BS accident 5 days ago over on the coffee lounge forum. I think it's a good idea when someone has an accident, whether minor or major to report it here. It serves to make others more aware of the dangers associated with woodworking; hope it heals quickly.


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## Chashint (Aug 14, 2016)

I didn't know which forum was the best place for this, thanks for the tip about the coffee lounge.


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## corelz125 (Sep 23, 2015)

what's going on lately seems like everyone is cutting fingers within the past week.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

> what s going on lately seems like everyone is cutting fingers within the past week.
> 
> - corelz125


I think people are just being more honest about it.

For the OP, this is one of the reasons we do not allow any employees to wear rings around machinery. There are old videos and photos of accidents where the ring gets caught and the finger, along with the tendon up the arm gets pulled completely out.


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## TungOil (Jan 16, 2017)

Sorry to hear about the accident.

+1 on not wearing rings.

My dad took the end of his ring finger off with a router. By the time he got to the hospital his finger was so swollen they had to cut his ring off. It wa bad enough that he was injured but losing his wedding band made it even worse.

Also had a guy at work that was working on a scissor lift. He grabbed the safety rail and swung under it to drop to the floor in a hurry to get out. His wedding band got caught on a hook and skinned his finger clean off.

I have a nail near my shop door to hang my ring. Always goes there when I'm working. It's right above the hook where I hang my sweatshirts, no long sleeves for me either.


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## mudflap4869 (May 28, 2014)

Band-saws are sneaky devils. They lull you into complacency then bite you. I have been bitten by band-saws several times over the years, but I am too stooopid to learn. Of course if it is a tool, I have been guilty of dumbassitis with it. I even wear short sleeves most of the time when there is snow on the ground.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Only time the BS has bit me was when I was going to push an off-cut piece out of the way, and accidentally hit the tip of my thumb with the blade… not a real bad cut and not a lot of blood, but enough to go through the tip of the fingernail into a bit of meat. Sure did hurt like a SOB though.

Cheers,
Brad


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

Wait til you are not looking at the on/off switch, reach for it, and stick you finger into the blade guard track. (


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## oldsloane (Mar 19, 2017)

A few years ago I was cutting with a 3/4" blade with 4 or 5 tpi and fotgot to shut the bandsaw off, I was wearing ear muffs and had the cyclone running so I couldn't hear the saw. Cut me pretty good and went to emergency, got all stitched up and thought I was good. Idiot me the next day decided to help move a mattress, when it started to fall I grabbed for it bent my finger back and popped the tendon. The intern at the hospital missed the fact that I had cut halfway through it. Took over a year to finally get it all fixed up, works good but is a little bit crooked, could have been much worse. I now have a red led stoplight that comes on with the motor switch and it sits right in front of my face. I doubt I will make that mistake again but it only takes a split second of stupid for an accident to happen. I have been doing shop stuff for almost 60 years and so far this is the worst mishap I have ever had. Work safe, the few minutes you save could cost you a year of recovery!


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## robscastle (May 13, 2012)

What no pictures?

Dont be misled regarding wooworking tools being safe, they are all designed to work timber which is some cases is harder than soft and hard tissue.
The safety of their use them lies fairly on the shoulders of the operators.

I constantly have my fingers near cutting surfaces. guards off, and no safety PPE, however I would ensure my family were adequately protected before they started to use the gear, or if they were just watching too ! then when using the gear if compentent enough delete some however thats no excuse for ignoring obvious safety risks, especially when the gear is available at all times.

Only this week I went to PU a chisel and my finger went inside the safety guard nicking my finger so the end got taped up!










Post a couple of pictures when you feel better!


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## oldsloane (Mar 19, 2017)

I just started using this site a few days ago and I am not familiar with the picture posting procedure yet. I am working on a misbehaving iPad and I am in Northern Thailand until April 18th. When I get home to my beloved desktop I will attempt to post some pictures. I have a few projects I am working on (in my head and design book until I get back to my shop) and would like to post some pics of them as well.


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## Chashint (Aug 14, 2016)




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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Reporting these accidents is starting to sound like an AA meeting where everyone stands up and declares "I am a woodworker and I got injured". It doesn't sound like a bad idea to have a "woodworker's anonymous"forum. We can support others in keeping safe.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

> Reporting these accidents is starting to sound like an AA meeting where everyone stands up and declares "I am a woodworker and I got injured". It doesn t sound like a bad idea to have a "woodworker s anonymous"forum. We can support others in keeping safe.
> 
> - MrRon


I think it's good to have these posts also. It frankly baffles me all the people who will say on the SawStop threads that they've never had an accident in 40 years and never use a blade guard, a push stick, riving knife or any other safety devices, like it's a badge of honor. I think this cavalier attitude leads to a false sense of security and is a prime breeding ground for incidents. It also puts the newcomers to the hobby into a mindset of not needing to pay attention to safety.


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## Kirk650 (May 8, 2016)

I'm not superstitious, but…I probably shouldn't say that I am accident free (so far, and it's been many years). I think it's just because I fear the machines. Recently I replaced my bandsaw blade, replacing a dull one with a new Timberwolf blade. It cut so fast that it shocked me, and I was close to getting a digit into the blade.

What really scares me is my old 20 inch bar Stihl Farm Boss chainsaw.


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

> I think it s good to have these posts also. It frankly baffles me all the people who will say on the SawStop threads that they ve never had an accident in 40 years and never use a blade guard, a push stick, riving knife or any other safety devices, like it s a badge of honor. I think this cavalier attitude leads to a false sense of security and is a prime breeding ground for incidents. It also puts the newcomers to the hobby into a mindset of not needing to pay attention to safety.
> 
> - AZWoody


Not to mention that all of those posts are a lot of BS (or perhaps that was implied in your post). The number of wood workers who have never had a table saw kickback, or a handheld piece catch on the drill press, or a piece on the lathe catch and blow apart, or a super sharp chisel manage to find some flesh, or…. etc., etc., etc. could be counted on the end of the bloody stump left from a major accident. The "superhero" postings wear thin after a while.

Use good judgement in your workshop practices, respect the VERY powerful nature of your tools, use any and all safety devices that you can, and then, above all, have fun!


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## SawduztJunky (Mar 25, 2015)




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## Kirk650 (May 8, 2016)

Well, to defend myself from calls of BS to my having had no accidents, let me say that I've not had one that drew blood. I have had two kickbacks on the table saw that I can remember. If no blood is shed, I don't count it as significant.

Ahhhh, but that chainsaw wants my blood…


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