Accident Free, No More

[Dick Parr]

Well 15 years of no accidents in the shop has come to an end. Was in a hurry, for no reason and didn't keep my hands and fingers out of the line of the BS blade. Was trimming some off of a lop sided blank and was telling myself to move my hands out of the way and it was to late. Blank slipped around the blade and got my little finger on the left hand.

Maybe should have gone in for some stitches but instead used a couple of butterfly bandages and finally got the bleeding to stop. Didn't make it to the bone but almost, caught it just between the nail and the first knuckle. I just knew I took the tip off because the glove I was wearing was cut most of the way through with blood coming out. I am also lucky that I have pain killers for my arthritis because I sure did need them within about 15 min., the throbbing is getting better after 9 hours.

I got lucky and will only be away from woodworking for a little while, cause it could have been a lot worse. And the funny thing was that just before and while it happened I was thinking of what Bill said in his video about keeping your hands out of the line of the blade. He is right.

That glove I use for turning will be attached to the BS for a reminder to slow down every time I pass it.

[Mark Singer]

Dick,

i am really sorry to hear that! It can happen to any of us. Handg in there and recover soon.

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Could have been worse, but then probably could not have been. I was probably sixty-five before I finally learned to always listen to that inner voice that says very plainly, CAUTION. You are healthy and it will heal fast. Keep listening for the warning voice.

[John Miliunas]

Yikes! Glad it wasn't any worse, Dick! Yes, even the BS can bite! Thanks for that reminder and next time, go at it a bit slower and PAY attention!:) Keep an eye out on the wound, too. She starts getting too red and you'd better have the Doc. check it out!:cool:

[Byron Trantham]

Sorry Dick. FWIW, I put my thumb in the path of TS last November so I can relate to how quick these things happen. :( Hope you heal fast. :)

[John Shuk]

Dick,
Sorry to hear about the finger. Thanks for talking about it. It's nice that you at least had some proper first aid supplies to deal with it. Butterflies work wonders. Heal quickly.
John

[Jerry Olexa]

Dick, heal quickly. Be careful if any inflamation, see a Dr . Take it slow, easy for a while..

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Dick, Sorry for your accident and your pain. I hear that inner voice when working on the BS. I get it when I don't use a push stick when I round turning blanks. When I do them just using my hands I get that bad feeling I'm going to get hurt.

Especially for the smaller blanks there doesn't seem to be enough control of the piece. I use the push stick that came with the BS. Heal fast and get back to making sawdust. Alan in Md.

[Ted Shrader]

Dick -

Sorry to hear of your mishap. Take care, keep it clean, and heal fast!

Ted

[John Weber]

Dick,

Ouch, my worse accident was with my band saw, about 8 stiches in the palm. I about passed out when you could see so much open flesh (the palm is a bit meaty). All is well now, but it took awhile to use the saw again. I hope you have a speedy recovery.

John

[Keith Christopher]

You know I always say the bandsaw is the one piece of machinery that I most often catch myself slacking on. I keep reminding myself it's still dangerous. Thanks for the info and heal quickly.



Keith

[Ken Leshner]

Dick,

Hope you get better real fast. I had a similar injury about 6 months ago. I was using a circular saw and the dust hose got hung up on a clamp. I tried to use my pinky to free the hose and ... well, you know. I needed 5 stitches, x-rays, tetanus shot and a visit to a hand surgeon. But, the finger healed pretty fast and now you can hardly see the scar.

[Jim Becker]

Dick, sorry to hear about your accident. I do hope you'll reconsider not going into the ER or to your Doc. It's not just a matter of stopping the bleeding, but also being sure the wound is clean to avoid infection. I really hated going to the ER on New Years Day after my little close encounter with a very sharp chisel, but today, I'm glad I did. It healed faster and cleaner as a result...and I had a much needed tetnus booster, too. The nurse/practitioner who sewed me up related that she had a similar cut when she was in college in a similar place and elected not to get it sutured. It took over a month to heal. Other than a little redness and dry skin, my thumb is back to "normal" as I write this.

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

I got nicked by the bandsaw once while working with a dull blade. Pushing the piece too hard, and when the cut was finished, along went my hand. I managed to stop before it was serious, but I did get cut. Had the blade been sharp, I wouldn't have been pushing so hard.

KC

[Frank Pellow]

Sorry about your accident Dick, and I am glad to hear that it was not worse.

One thing that we seem to get at Saw Mill Creek, is a monthly reminder about a real life experience that reminds us to work safely. This is the first such report that I recall that involves a bandsaw and, as such, it is very timely for me becuase my first ever bandsaw arrived yesterday.

[John Bailey]

Dick,

Glad the injury wasn't too bad. We all need to be reminded to be careful.

John

[Alan Turner]

I am sorry to hear of your injury, but wanted to post a note to thank you for sharing since these types of posts serve as valuable reminders to all of us. These tools we use daily can bite us quite quickly, and there can never be too many reminders of this.
May you heal quickly.
Alan

[Michael Stafford]

Dick,

So sorry to hear about your accident, buddy. Please take care and see the doctor just to make sure everything is all right. We want you back in the shop making all the wonderful things you make.

[Ronald DeWeese Sr.]

Dick it is good to hear it was not worse. The healing will take some time at that location. As with others I speak from experience. Mine was cutting off my middle finger and to the bone on my index finger, same location. Docs re-sewed my middle and stiched my index. My index healed fine and so should yours. You will be back making saw dust in no time,with better knowlege of any blade. (Check my words at bottom)

Ron

[Stefan Antwarg]

Wow - sorry to hear about that. It's pretty scary. I am lucky to not have any major accidents yet. But the closest I ever came was with a BS. The blade was about to exit the wood and there was my hand right there to catch it. My wife, who is NEVER down there with me, happened to be watching. She said "you better move your hand". So I moved it and acted like I knew the whole time. She actually saved me from a big cut across all my fingers.

Stefan

[Dick Parr]

Thanks everyone. Ya I was lucky and will remember this one for a long time. Like I said, that bloody glove will get duck taped to the BS as a reminder to slow down. Mickey also said she isn't going to tell me again (she has been telling me for years to slow down), she is just going to smack me every time she see's me in a hurry doing anything.

Thinking about it, one other contributing factor is the blade is not very sharp causing me to push harder then usual. Just Sunday Bill was telling me to change it when we were cutting up the stoppers. Today I will be ordering some new blades.

Just changed the bandage and all looks OK. Cleaned it up again and got it to bleed some more and then put on some more antibiotic and a new butterfly bandage. I remembered what a doctor told me 35 years ago when I was working on a submarine and got cut pretty bad in the Navy that as long as it is a controlled bleed, it will help to clean the wound. So I let it bleed some before putting all the good stuff on it and closing it back up.

So the lessons learned in this accident were to, Not be in a hurry, No matter what keep everything out of the line of a blade and Not to use dull blades. These are all things that I knew but got complacent with because nothing ever happened

So thanks again for the well wishes. I think I will take a vacation from the shop for a few weeks.

[Jerry Clark]

Dick, Thanks for sharing your accident with us. The flag you waved may prevent someone else from having a similar accident. Hope you heal fast.

[David Wilson]

Dick
Sorry to hear about you mishap. Glad it wasn't worse. You should check with your Dr or clinic and find out when you last had a tetinus shot. They recomend you should have one at least every 10 years but an the case of an injury they often give them sooner. Better safe than sory.

Work safely.

[Mark J Bachler]

I was a millroom supervisor at a store fixture manufacturing plant for 9 years and one of the things that I really stressed was when the little voice inside your head tells you that your doing something wrong, STOP, shut the machine off, step away & think about it, or get help. Every person I ever knew (a bunch, including myself) that had been cut, all had a thought that what they were doing was wrong just before it happened.

Very sorry about the finger, best wishes on a fast recovery.

[Dave Right]

Dick

Sorry about the accident. That sent shivers down my back reading it!
That is an especially touchy place to get a bad cut.
Thanks for the reminder and all those that do send us reminders from time to
time. It let's us all know how easy it could happy to anyone at any time.
AND the worst part - I always looked forward to those beautiful bowls
so get well soon!

[dale rex]

This is what happened to me 4 years ago. Was in a hurry using my table saw. The rest is history...... sorry to hear about your mishap. You will be fine , just remember to take your time. I have to always remind myself that when I fire up my table saw now.

[David Durgy]

You overbought on that Grizzly 18" BS for such a small job Dick. :) I had the misfortune Sunday to find out that the G0555 is more than capable of cutting through 90% of my pinkie bone. :eek:
Fifteen hours in the ER which included almost three hours of surgery taught me the same lessons you learned.
The funny thing on the way to the hospital while trying not to black out was that I was going to miss the Patriot game. Tells you where my head was at.
I went to the surgeons office this afternoon and was relieved to see for the first time the results of someone other than a woodworker who was better with sharp objects than I am.
While there is nerve damage he is confident with therapy I can get most of my mobility back. This wrap will keep me out of the shop for another three weeks minimum though.
And to Mr. Russell, yes it was the log I did it on. Still want pics? :D

[dale rex]

Dave, your surgeon is correct. I went through four months of therapy to regain the motion in all four fingers.(all four were cut severely). They did a superb job at getting my strength and motion back. I have some nerve damage in the one finger, but it gets better as time goes on.(nerves regenerate to some degree, but it takes along time) I hope you heal up ok and all is well.Four years ago I thought I would never be able to look at my table saw again......two weeks ago I just bought a new Unisaw....go figure.:rolleyes: good luck with your recovery, and stay safe

[Terry Hatfield]

Dick,

I feel for you my firend. My TS adventure is still very clear in my mind. Heal well and get back on the horse.

t

[Peter Engelmann]

Add me to the list...I was in a hurry to get to the woodworking show in Edison Dec.17th, was angle-cutting a 2x4 for a doorway step plate on the MM16...Next thing I know I'm holding my right hand as tight as I can praying when I look at it there's still a finger there. Turns out it caught my ring finger and part of the nail. The ER doc said it was minor league compared to most bandsaw accidents he's see and was able to superglue it. Got the booster shot just like Jim. Fortunately, I was back in business in a few days but gave the MiniMax a wide berth for some time...

[Gary Herrmann]

And thanks for the cautionary post. My new bandsaw will be arriving soon, and I'll do my best to keep your lesson in mind.

[Lynn Sonier]

Somehow, I have always had the idea that a bandsaw blade wasn't as dangerous as other stuff around the shop. I guess I was wrong.
I got a bump on my nose a couple of days ago from a scrap of wood on the table saw. A small piece of drop off got between the blade and the insert and got whipped up. Thank God it was small.