Your momentary loss of concentration can cost you!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Earlier this week I began constructing a wood storage rack that requires quite a few dados on 8' 2x4s.

Early this afternoon, I was cutting those dados with pattern bit....turned off my plunge router.....I didn't wait for the bit to spin down. I flipped it over to adjust the base to adjust it to cut another 1/4". My mind was elsewhere and my wrist made contact with the still spinning bit.

As the PA said as she sewed it up.....it's like sewing up a puzzle...luckily I put some together with my kids at Christmas.

14 stitches later, I'm home.

Don't let anything distract you!

[Todd Brewer]

I always try to be mindful of power tools, especially the table saw, but minds do wander.

Glad you weren't too seriously hurt.

[Ted Calver]

Sorry for your pain Ken. Hope you heal fast and find that little bit of concentration you lost:)

[Craig Michael]

Heal up soon. Considering what could happen, it sounds like you were lucky it was not much worse.

[Rich Riddle]

Here's to a speedy recovery and a bit of relaxation.

[johnny means]

Sorry to hear about your incident. My first and only cut so far was done in a similar manner. Stuck my thumb in a flushtrimbit looking for the off switch on an unfamiliar router. Get well soon.

[ian maybury]

Good to hear it's basically OK Ken. Something similar happened to me too last year - i got a finger well cut as a result of gripping the pillars and sticking it into a deeply retracted cutter while focusing on keeping the machine flat on the work. Routers need some care, it's easy to take them for granted...

ian

[Gary Hodgin]

Ouch, sorry to hear about your injury. Glad you have everything left.

[Victor Robinson]

Photos or it didn't happen! Just kidding...

Sorry to hear about the accident and I'm glad it wasn't worse. And thank you for taking the time to post about it so we can all be reminded.

[Charlie Jones]

I have spent the last fifteen years in the safety field. Most injurys are caused by inattention. I am glad you will be back in the shop soon.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Yikes Ken, the possibility of that very thing has always freaked me out. Hope you have a speedy recovery!

[Brad Cambell]

Sorry to hear you had an accident Ken. Get better soon.

[Mike Henderson]

Wow, I hope you're better soon. Unfortunately, I've done a similar thing, but I hit my little finger.

Mike

[Bobby O'Neal]

Sorry to hear it, Ken. Thanks for sharing.

[Ronald Blue]

Sorry about your incident with the router Ken. Hope you are a fast healer. Fortunately it wasn't what in my line of work we refer to as a life altering event.

[Gary Herrmann]

Absolutely, Ken. Hope you heal quickly.

When I did that, it cost me 50 stitches.

[Jim O'Dell]

So sorry to hear that Ken. Glad stitches was all that was needed! But now you said it was a plunge router? Did in not retract the bit?
Maybe the best safety item a tool like that could have is a neon strobe light that is triggered by the tool's motor when it is turning. Jim.

[Phil Thien]

Glad it wasn't much worse, Ken.

I've had my own lapses. These are always worthwhile reminders!

[Lori Kleinberg]

Sorry for your injury, Ken, glad it wasn't worse. Thanks for sharing we all need the reminders about staying alert.

[Mike OMelia]

Glad u OK Ken. U still got all ur parts, so I guess it was a bow shot! Thanks for the reminder to keep safety first.

[Sam Murdoch]

Don't let anything distract you!

Can I quote you on that? Oh man, there for the grace of God... Glad it was a "gentle" reminder, sorry for you nonetheless. Take care - heal well.

[Bill Huber]

WOW, I am sure glad it was not worse, that could have been a really bad..

[John Piwaron]

Earlier this week I began constructing a wood storage rack ....turned off my plunge router.....I didn't wait for the bit to spin down. . . . I flipped it over. . . .
my mind was elsewhere

First, glad you're basically alright. That'll smart for a while. :(

I could have wrote what you did - last spring I did exactly that. Exactly. Except I damaged the top I was making for my new router table. I carved a big ugly chunk out of it. I was so disappointed. I turned everything off and called it a day. A day or two later I returned to my shop, tossed that top and made another.

But I've also done what you did and now have two shorter fingers on my left hand. That was long ago. So, maybe I improved my personal safety, but maybe not.

Another lesson learned. Be safe.

[John Piwaron]

Maybe the best safety item a tool like that could have is a neon strobe light that is triggered by the tool's motor when it is turning. Jim.

I like that. But the human factors people would have more to say - it's effective at first, but less so as we become accustomed to it. And some people will cover the "annoying" strobe with black tape.

[Joseph Tarantino]

hope you heal quickly. those name brand full price power tools can be dangerous.

[ray hampton]

I hope that you get well soon

[Mike Cutler]

Ouch!!!!:(

Heal up quick pal! and believe me when I say that a lot of us have probably come very close to doing the same thing.

Thank's for the tuneup and reminder.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My biggest concerns when it happened was 1) had I cut a major blood vessel? 2) had I cut a tendon? 3) had I cut a nerve? Well........the answer to all 3 questions is "No".....thankfully!

I knew what I did was unsafe. :oKnew it. :(Ignored it!:mad:

Recently, a friend asked me to help him cut pieces for some crosses for rosaries he wanted to make for auction items at his church and or gifts for friends. I spent several weeks mulling over ideas and experimenting until I came up with different devices...a small item tablesaw sled and a thin stock ripping gauge that allowed me to cut small pieces without putting my fingers near the blade on my table saw.

And I flipped a router upside down to reset the cutting depth while the bit is still spinning........shame on me!!:mad::mad::mad:

I'm lucky I wasn't hurt more severely!

BTW....my reason for telling this here.....so others could learn from my experience.

Impatience, distractions and not listening to that little voice.......can cost you!

[ken masoumi]

Ken thank you for reminding us not to forget to use common sense ,I must admit I do get careless in my shop from time to time,my biggest problem is lack of patience.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Ken.

[Sam Murdoch]

not listening to that little voice.......can cost you!

Everything else you wrote too Ken, but I emphasize the little voice warning. It has called to me many many times saying that this is my last chance to avoid doing something stupid. Easy to dismiss it when you are in a hurry but even when the music is loud or the wife is calling you to dinner - no matter what else is going on - if your "little voice" is asking for a moment of your time ignore at your own peril.

[Keith Christopher]

Sorry to hear Ken, wishing you a speedy recovery. Good advice though.

[Shawn Pixley]

Hope you feel better and I am glad it wasn't worse.

[James Nugnes]

Does it look like it will heal completely? Man I am sometimes so worried about this kinda' stuff that I have to stop myself cause my own worry is causing me to not pay close enough attention to what I am doing. I have been known to stop and review everything just to ease my mind that I have not forgotten something or left something hanging that is going to bite me.

Seeing how fast a monster burr will travel through or over the wood if it bites bothers me. I won't let even my gloved off hand get anywhere near the thing for example. In fact I am trying to set up my bench to keep my off hand completely away from that stuff as I don't think I can move fast enough to keep ahead of the burr if something happens. Its a blink of an eye and I don't think I was that fast even when I was younger.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

James,

Luckily it looks like it will heal completely.

There is a difference between being scared of something and having a healthy respect. If I ever become afraid of a tool, I will get rid of it or give up the hobby. Yet...you have to have a healthy respect. That's where I failed this time.
I lost that respect.

[James Nugnes]

That is why I am trying to set up the bench to be as intuitive and as safe as possible. Trying to get it so that there are enough visible cues combined with processes that keep my flesh as far from the cutting edges as possible. Even then nothing is fool proof. But seeing how quickly a tool can move on you makes me want to keep the edges moving away from me and keep my off hand from getting in the way. In fact, I am trying to keep from having an off hand as much as possible as I can only see it leading to trouble.

[Jim Neeley]

I'm mighty sorry you got hurt, Ken.. and hope it heals well. Glad to hear you didn't hit a tenon, nerve or major blood vessel. :-/