# i shot a 16g nail into my hand



## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

So I have done it. Several times I have come close but this time the nail sunk about 2" into the fatty part of my hand between the thumb and index finger at an angle. It entered the inner side of my hand where the thumb joins the hand, right at the joint and proceeded about 2" from that point. Shocked, I just grabbed it and pulled it out immediately. Not sure if that was the best thing to do but certainly I did not like the looks of the nail sticking out of my hand.

What I was doing, I was attempting to put a nail in wood at an angle with a 15g pasload gun. I actually held the gun a more of an angle then I should have, instead of the nail going into the wood, it just scraped the wood and went into the air like a missle. I had my other hand far away in order to ensure I did not have it where the nail might get me at. So with my other hand at least 2' away from the nailer/operation, the nail traveled through the air and went right into my hand. I was happy anyway, because that nail had enough velocity behind it that it could have caused some serious damage if it were to hit someone else or somewhere else, such as an eye, or a neck, etc… My pain is minimal at best, feels like it might be bruised inside and has some minimal swelling. My friend says it is always best to learn a lesson when the price is small and the pain is minimal.

happy woodworking,

Jerry


----------



## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

OUCH!


----------



## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

Glad to hear you are not seriously hurt. You only need to stretch the truth slightly and you can claim you caught it!


----------



## jm82435 (Feb 26, 2008)

when I first read this I thought it said 16 penny nail. Still you should try to avoid this…


----------



## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

glad you are o.k. .
just can't be to careful .

my mom was showing us kids how to use a paper stapler ,
she grabbed it with both hands pointing away from herself ,
and squeezed it together with her thumbs ,

stapled both index fingers together !


----------



## GFYS (Nov 23, 2008)

I got a splinter once. Wow it really hurt! btw I am suspiciuos of your 2' away hand story. Just so you know.
(oops forgot the "i'm just kidding smiley face")


----------



## rhett (May 11, 2008)

That sucks. I had one shot through my thumb once. Hurts like hell.
On a more serious note, puncture wounds, while they look harmless, are the most dangerous injuries since the wound doesn't bleed out to clean itself of foreign material. Please keep an eye on your hand for any redness or itchyness as this will be a sign of infection. Also if you can't remember the last tetnus shot you had, you may want to go to the UTC to be on the safe side. One handed woodworkers aren't in high demand.


----------



## Abbott (May 10, 2009)

Thanks for posting. We can all use a wake up call now and then.


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well - It is the Easter season.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

sweet…

I mean - glad to know I'm not the only one that can do these things - not a nail though, I actually screwed a board to my finger (was holding the board with one hand while driving the screw through it with the other)


----------



## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

So … a couple of things:

a) YOUCH!!!

b) Glad you're relatively okay

c) If I'm not mistaken … that SHOULD have fixed any smoking habit you may have had ;-)

Heal fast!!


----------



## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

Yeah, it was quite the little experience. I cannot remember how far my hand was away exactly but it was not close because I stay conscious of this as I do not want this type of thing to happen.

One small correction though, as I am remembering my fun incident, I was shooting 2 1/2" nails and 1/2 of the nail was in my hand and the other half was sticking out. So just like most fish stories, maybe it was not as bad as I remember it but it sure woke me up.

And, well officially, yes I did catch a flying nail, almost as good as catching a speeding bullet. Wow, did not actually think of it that way.

I will say, my dad and mom has framed 3 houses as owner builders and I do remember getting a call since my dad shot a 16 penny nail through his hand. Course he survived fine. Not exactly sure how that happened.


----------



## Gregn (Mar 26, 2010)

Ouch! Done that myself with angling the gun to much. Been lucky, but it only takes once to get hurt. Cheap lesson for me not to do that anymore. Sure puts meaning behind blood sweat and tears on a project. It reminds me of my number 1 rule in the shop. ALWAYS BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS. Glad you weren't hurt to seriously.


----------



## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

Shopguryl, your story hurts me worse as I visualize it then my actual accident hurt. Thanks for more "cyber pain".

LOL


----------



## SnowyRiver (Nov 14, 2008)

Easy to do…glad you are OK.


----------



## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

If it makes you feel any better….about 6 months ago, I shot myself in the left hand, right in the crotch of my thumb…with a…..FRAMING NAILER! I needed to frame a small landing for a set of stairs I was building, so I asked one of the guys in the shop If I could borrow his nail gun.
Material was layed out, had one foot on one 2×6…left hand holding the other in place….put the nail gun in place…pulled the trigger…...BAM BAM!! Gun DOUBLE FIRES! 
I jumped and dropped the gun…not sure what just happened, but knew SOMETHING bad just happened. I look down at my hand, and there's a 3 1/2" spike stuck in my hand….But my eyes damn near popped out of my head(it took a few seconds to do the math) when I looked at the gun…looked at my hand….realized the head of the nail was only sticking out by about AN INCH!!!

HOLY MOTHER OF (EXPLETIVE) (EXPLETIVE)!! What the (EXPLETIVE) did I just (EXPLETIVE) DO!! (EXPLETIVE)! (EXPLETIVE)!! SONOVA (EXPLETIVE)!! Throw a few more (EXPLETIVE)'s in there….

Took a deep breath….thought…DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!! just count to three and pull it out! (EXPLETIVE)! (EXPLETIVE)! (EXPLETIVE)! Bleed….(EXPLETIVE) Bleed some more…(EXPLETIVE) Etc, Etc.

I got REALLY lucky! Doctor said it went in at the perfect spot, and at the perfect angle. No harm done to anything but MEAT! Holy crap was it sore for a couple of days though…

When I got back to the shop the same morning, I asked the guy that lent me the gun if it has ever double fired like that before….oh ya…actually, quite often he says!!Guns to light…likes to jump, blah blah blah.

Well…I won't tell you about the rest of the 'conversation' we had…(EXPLETIVE) (EXPLETIVE)...


----------



## widdle (Mar 10, 2010)

Ouch..Doesnt actually hurt that bad when you do it…but tomorrow may not feel soo good..
Shot myself toe nailing gable studs through my big toe flush ..into the top plate and was balancing on 3 1/2 until someone got a ladder..didn't sleep the night before..all nighter..bad move..cheers


----------



## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

I am thinking us OLD fashion guys using Estwing Hammers and hitting the wrong nail (fingernail) doesn't seem to hurt as much any more.
Hope you heal . Lucky it wasn't an eye or someone else !


----------



## ardbeg (Feb 10, 2010)

Tony_S, While that story is horribly painful to read, your sense of humor had me rolling. Glad to hear you came through a potentially very dangerous situation okay.

Jerry, I too, recommend vigilantly looking for signs of infection for a few days.


----------



## sparks (Dec 10, 2009)

Dont worry I shot a 15g nail through the tip of my bird finger. Nail, wood, finger, nail. It hurt like hell. Had to cut the end of then pull the wood with nail in it out of my finger. Thought my old man was going to pass out. Didnt hurt so bad till I got the nail out. Hurt like hell then. Still year later dont have feeling in the tip of that finger. Good thing that finger isnt good for much.


----------



## dmorgantx (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks for sharing- and sorry to hear about it. Glad to hear that it wasn't worse. I agree- it sure could have been. I never would have thought about this possibility (having the nail deflect of the wood). Be sure that I wouldn't fire a nail gun without thinking about it now thought. I'm already paranoid of them.


----------



## blockhead (May 5, 2009)

Ouch, sorry to hear that. Thanks for the eye opener though. I don't use nail guns too much so now I know to really watch it when I am using one.

When my wife and I first got together, I found an old toolbox of hers and found an old rusty heavy duty staple gun in the bottom. I was thinking, man this looks really old, I wonder if it will even fire. So, to test it, I planted it firmly in the meaty part of my left palm and pushed the handle down, not even thinking there might be staples in it. Guess what? It worked just fine and was loaded with those big fat 9/16" staples. Not only did it work, it worked very well with a lot of ooomph. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Luckily, I found a pair of needle nose in there too and yanked it out. Without a doubt, the dumbest thing I've ever done. Not as bad as yours, but it was sore for awhile.


----------



## hawke777 (Mar 1, 2010)

Youch! We were working on a roofing project the other week and my friend set down the framing nailer with his finger on the trigger, only to have it fire in my direction as I sat next to the gun. The nail skipped off the roof decking, luckily losing plenty of velocity before it skipped across the bottom of my thigh, missing my "boys" by about 2 inches… Left a nice black burn mark on my jeans but I was otherwise unhurt.

We all froze when it happened and (at first) I was certain I was injured and simply going through the expected shock which was blocking the pain… after a few moments and examination - and when a red blotch never showed up - we figured out what had happened.


----------



## carl1949 (Jan 30, 2010)

Lord how mercy! Ouch! At least you weren't like my buddy who got his hand caught in a log splitter. He is lucky to have his fingers. That's for sure! 3 months of rehab on the hand. gotta be careful.

-Carl Platform Bed Plans


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

You've been nailed ! That's not fun glad it was'nt real serious.


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

Not Good! Glad you are alright. It hurts just thinking about it.

God Bless
tom


----------



## Bradford (Dec 8, 2007)

Jerry, a word of caution concerning puncture wounds, they're worse than lacerations because the wound edges close back up and seal in possibility of infection. If red streaking, increasing swelling, or escalated pain set in, see a doctor immediately. If not, epson salt soaks will pull out any nasties. And make it feel better fast.

Now on to my story, not nailer but a table saw. Last cut of the day, forgot to pick up my push stick, pushed with my left index finger on top of the board across the blade. $6000 later i can finally pick my nose again.


----------



## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

Ouchy, ouchy ….............been there, done that a dozen times. the really nasty ones are the ones that go through the finger nail at the cuticle.


----------



## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

wow, I hope I don't ever have a run in with my saw. Sometimes you move quick and don't think I hope to remember to slow down when those times come. Thanks for all the comments.

It has healed up, cannot see it but still a little bit of pain on the thumb joint when moving. Just mild pain, something like a sprained thumb would feel.


----------



## alanealane (Oct 1, 2007)

YEEEEEEIPE! I've got a buddy who has shot nails into his hands multiple times (you think he'd learn…as a matter of fact, he's nailed two fingers TOGETHER before…) and almost severed a finger with a sawzall. But he's still got full use of his hands…so far!! Glad you're still safe.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Don't do than again!!


----------

