If I'm not Bleeding I'm Not Working

[ken hatch]

Damn chisels are sharp, or at least they should be. The good is unless the cut is really deep you usually don't know it has happened until there is blood everywhere. Some of it is old age, if I bump something the skin breaks and I bleed. Then you add in the anti-coagulants I take for AFib and you really can spread some DNA around the shop.

Needless to say I left a trail of evidence a couple of minutes ago. I was moving a piece of wood from the paring stop to position it for chopping the waste from a tail with one hand and holding the chisel in the other (BTW, fresh off the stones) and there was a light brush of my left thumb. Not bad, I didn't know I'd touched the chisel until the blood started showing up. Had to take a break to stem the flow.

Well back to chopping waste....Be careful out there, hear.

ken

[Steve Voigt]

One of the guys who writes for Chris Schwarz took his finger off with a chisel and had to have it reattached. I don't know how it turned out. 15 years ago, my most serious woodworking injury happened when I was using a chisel to take dried glue off a glue bottle (and I'd had a couple bottles of beer myself). I spent an entire night in the emergency room and surgery was a definite possibility--thankfully, I didn't have to. It's easy to think of hand tools as much safer than power tools, and mostly they are, but chisels in particular can be really dangerous. Be careful! :)

[Frederick Skelly]

Many times I get nicked just using my chisels. Even more frequently when sharpening either a chisel or plane iron. I keep a box of bandaids right above my bench.
Fred

[ken hatch]

One of the guys who writes for Chris Schwarz took his finger off with a chisel and had to have it reattached. I don't know how it turned out. 15 years ago, my most serious woodworking injury happened when I was using a chisel to take dried glue off a glue bottle (and I'd had a couple bottles of beer myself). I spent an entire night in the emergency room and surgery was a definite possibility--thankfully, I didn't have to. It's easy to think of hand tools as much safer than power tools, and mostly they are, but chisels in particular can be really dangerous. Be careful! :)

Steve,

I'm pretty careful when using 'em, I use a vise or stops to hold the work piece and keep my off hand behind the cutting edge. Where most of my cuts come from is just like today, brushing against the edge through inattention. The worst was one time taking a chisel out of the lower rack and brushing against one in the upper rack, it was just a light brush but it split my thumb nail down the middle....That one hurt, needless to say I changed the way I racked the chisels.

ken

[ken hatch]

Many times I get nicked just using my chisels. Even more frequently when sharpening either a chisel or plane iron. I keep a box of bandaids right above my bench.
Fred

Fred,

Yep, been there done that. Most the time if I'm really working in the shop, not just piddling like I have been this morning (I have to give a couple of Type Check Rides this afternoon) I will have the glue pot on. A couple of dabs of hot hide glue with some pressure from a paper towel will take care of most cuts.

ken

[Tony Shea]

I've never got it too bad from chisels but my sloyd knives I use for spoon carving are where my nasty's come from. It's amazing how quick just a tiny slip can get you really bad with these knives. I keep these knives sharper than any tools I own and it really shows. If they are dull at all they start leaving marks behind, especially on the finish cuts. So they are absolutely straight razor sharp and I have felt the wrath of this many times. The worst was in the web of my left hand between my index and thumb, it took 12 stitches to repair that one and it still bothers me to this day.

[Steve Meliza]

It doesn't help that fingers bleed worse than most other places on your body. I learned this lesson while stropping a #4 blade and being too lazy to secure the strop properly. For some reason I decided I could hold the strop with my left hand and the iron with my right. It was working ok till I brought the iron back for another pass and felt it brush my left thumb. It was like striking oil in the movies.

[bridger berdel]

When I was a kid woodworker I knew an old guy missing two fingers on his left hand. Middle and ring fingers. He buried a chisel in his palm, severed the tendons for those fingers. Today they would reattach the tendons, but back then it wasn't an option so they took the fingers off. Otherwise they would have been dangling around in the way. Sure made an impression on me....

[Brian Holcombe]

Worst one for me, so far, has been from a dozuki and that was a good one.

[Bill White]

Ahh, the joys of Warfarin.
Bill

[James Pallas]

Worst one for me came from a coping saw of all things. I've had so many from carving chisels, all those little nicks you don't see but bleed on the work. I started wearing a glove on the off hand. Then I saw this quote "Wearing a glove provides a place to keep the parts while your wife drives you to the ER." I laugh every time I put on the glove.
Jim

[Nicholas Lawrence]

The worst cut I have had was with a freshly sharpened rip saw. I was ripping a small piece and just did not have it held securely enough. Somehow I caught the top of my thumb, and it went right through the nail with no problem and kept going. Now small pieces like that go in the vice.

I have been pretty lucky with chisels I guess. I do always clamp whatever I need to work on, and then both hands stay well behind the edge.

[Frederick Skelly]

Fred,

Yep, been there done that. Most the time if I'm really working in the shop, not just piddling like I have been this morning (I have to give a couple of Type Check Rides this afternoon) I will have the glue pot on. A couple of dabs of hot hide glue with some pressure from a paper towel will take care of most cuts.

ken

Thanks Ken!

[Niels Cosman]

A day without blood, is like a day without shavings. :D

[Clay Parrish]

Worst one for me came from a coping saw of all things. I've had so many from carving chisels, all those little nicks you don't see but bleed on the work. I started wearing a glove on the off hand. Then I saw this quote "Wearing a glove provides a place to keep the parts while your wife drives you to the ER." I laugh every time I put on the glove.
Jim

My best woodworking scar also came from a dinky little coping saw. You can see four or five teeth marks scarred into in my off hand. My biggest bleeder came from a pin holding a hand drill together. I tapped it back in then stupidly ran my thumb over the back side to see if the pin was flush. Tapping it in raised a razor sharp burr and I sliced my thumb so deep I probably should have gotten stitches (I glued it shut myself instead.)

[ken hatch]

Ahh, the joys of Warfarin.
Bill

Bill,

Ain't it the truth....My arms look like an old man's and i can't possibly be that old :).

ken

[Mike Cherry]

My worst incident was when I took delivery of a bad axe tenon saw. I just had to see what sharp was. I pressed my finger into the teeth and was astonished at how sharp it was. I went to put the blade guard back on and should have went heel to toe. Sadly, the first thing my new saw cut was flesh, not wood.

[ken hatch]

My worst incident was when I took delivery of a bad axe tenon saw. I just had to see what sharp was. I pressed my finger into the teeth and was astonished at how sharp it was. I went to put the blade guard back on and should have went heel to toe. Sadly, the first thing my new saw cut was flesh, not wood.

Now that is funny. Sorry but my sense of humor must have stopped evolving somewhere around the sixth grade. Hope it wasn't too deep.

ken

[Barry Dima]

My mallet and tool chest have spots of blood on them to remind me to be more mindful of where my edges and hands are. That should work, right? Except—


Somehow I caught the top of my thumb, and it went right through the nail with no problem and kept going. Now small pieces like that go in the vice.

—I was ripping a small piece in my vise late one night without paying attention when, cuuuuut, I went right into my left thumb. The finger looked buck-toothed for about a week or so. More blood, more "reminders."

[Mike Cherry]

Now that is funny. Sorry but my sense of humor must have stopped evolving somewhere around the sixth grade. Hope it wasn't too deep.

ken
Oh it is funny in hindsight. I'll tell you what though, I have a vivid picture in my mind what a sharp saw should feel like....minus the actual tearing of skin haha!

[Jim Koepke]

I keep knocking on wood while reading this.

My last cut was about a year ago. I was sharpening a pocket knife. Did the arm shave test and then to clean off the blade, in a moment of absent mindedness, I came in from the wrong side. I knew even before there was any blood I had messed up. It wasn't deep as I caught my mistake just as it was happening. Did give the wife a start when I went in the house holding my finger and asking her to apply a band aid.

My nicks and cuts all seem to come when I am not focused. My fingers are calloused enough that just touching a blade doesn't cause a cut. I have been testing blade sharpness by touching the blade with my finger tip since I was a youngster. I learned to do it so as not to open up the skin.

I do not advise others to use this testing technique.

jtk

[paul cottingham]

Worst for me so far was a hand saw when i was a kid. Ran the damn thing through my thumb (about half-way through.) Still have the scar, and never really got the feeling back in the end of my thumb. Took a lot of will to start using hand saws again.

now that im a pretty good sharpener, im always nicking myself with knives (carving) or chisels (woodworking.) it doesnt help that i have (virtually) no feeling in my hands, add that to "sharp enough to shave" and tons of little cuts are inevitable.

[glenn bradley]

I routinely pick up an unexpected scrape here or there and have become quite adept at applying a little Neosporin and a band-aid one handed ;-) This is pretty normal. However, the last few times in the shop I've seemed to be trying to set an elevated baseline for "normal wear and tear". A chisel cut, a rasp scrape and a really dumb move with an X-Acto knife all over a couple of days has certainly readjusted my "watch yourself-o-meter".

[Patrick Bernardo]

Haha. It's funny that this thread is here now. Last week I was thinking something similar; I was cutting a half-lap joint and still haven't finished up my real bench. So the board was held in a clamp. The clamp slipped, the saw slipped, and now I have a nice new scar developing on my left hand. Funny thing, though - where I literally sawed my flesh open on my finger, it stopped bleeding almost immediately with just a towel and some pressure. However, on the adjacent finger where just two teeth punctured at the end of the incident, I dripped blood all over the floor. Just wouldn't stop.

[Chuck Hart]

I have had all the typical nicks and scrapes. When I use my chisels and I see my hand ahead of the edge I always think "no cuts if I am behind the blade". My problem is the band saw. Silly because I know better but I have cut both hands on the little spinning blade. The last time I had moved away from the saw and must have thought I turned it off. I had headphones on and didn't realize it was still running until I stuck the back of my hand into the spinning blade.

[George Sanders]

I put a chisel in the side of my thumb. Went to the doctor to get the wood chip out and have 5 stitches put in. Ken I know about the amount of blood with blood thinners. If I get a small nick I bleed like a stuck hog. I have to put a band-aid on the smallest of cuts.

[Chuck Hart]

When I cut my hand because of the thinners my wife at first though I had cut off my hand. She rallied like the trooper she is and ran for the car keys

[Joe Beaulieu]

I don't have a bad WW one yet, but playing hoops about 15 years ago I snapped my achilles, and then threw a clot after the surgery. This is in New England in the middle of a very bad winter. I am leaving the hospital, 6' 10" 300 lbs on crutches, the ground is a sheet of ice, and the Dr says "If you fall there is a real chance you are going to bleed out". On crutches on a skating rink with one foot in a cast. My poor wife was absolutely terrified. I made it home though. Just a fun trip from the car to the house on my butt. No warfarin for me, I had Lovinox. Had to inject myself 3x a day in my belly. Big target...

Joe

[peter Joseph]

Years back, I had finished sharpening a set of marples blue chip bench chisels and was putting the plastic edge protectors on, one by one, large to small. When I got to the 1/4 inch, the edge protector must have had a split in it, as I started to slide the edge of the chisel in, and finished off the motion by palming the edge protector thus pushing directly into the center of my palm, it split in half and sent the freshly sharpened edge forcefully into my palm. came pretty close to coming out the other side I believe.

[Stanley Covington]

I once cut my leg badly with a chisel when chopping a mortise in a large timber for a bridge. I was sitting on the timber when a wasp landed on my left leg. I have a strong emotional reaction to wasps ever since I knocked over a wasps nest when I was a child and got stung all over. Anyway, in an unthinking panic I swiped at the wasp to knock it off my leg, and the chisel in my hand neatly sliced my thigh.

It only hurt when I farted.

Nowadays, my injuries are limited to just knicks and little cuts, but when it does happen, I have a habit of smearing a little bit of the blood on any new blades. Once satiated this way, they seem less inclined to take a bite.

Anthropomorphic, I suppose, but tools have feelings too.

[Mike Cherry]

I once cut my leg badly with a chisel when chopping a mortise in a large timber for a bridge. I was sitting on the timber when a wasp landed on my left leg. I have a strong emotional reaction to wasps ever since I knocked over a wasps nest when I was a child and got stung all over. Anyway, in an unthinking panic I swiped at the wasp to knock it off my leg, and the chisel in my hand neatly sliced my thigh.

It only hurt when I farted.

Nowadays, my injuries are limited to just knicks and little cuts, but when it does happen, I have a habit of smearing a little bit of the blood on any new blades. Once satiated this way, they seem less inclined to take a bite.

Anthropomorphic, I suppose, but tools have feelings too.
Good tip! Feed the tools to keep them happy.

[ken hatch]

I guess I've been lucky with no major shop injuries, one of the closest to major was a bandsaw kickback (yes I know, bandsaw? Ain't no stinking bandsaw kickback). The piece I was sawing hit just under my left eye. I needed stitches but MsBubba is a nurse and had great fun putting the check skin back together. Sometimes I swear the woman is into S&M.

Minor ones are never ending I just counted 6 cuts on my hands in various stages of healing....What can I say other than I'm just a klutz.

ken

[Stanley Covington]

Good tip! Feed the tools to keep them happy.

You betcha. Happy tools are productive tools.

When putting together a cost estimate for a customer's project, I always include a line item for my tool's wages. I have found that, if I get paid for work done with them, they get grumpy and misbehave if denied their own wages. Wouldn't you?

The tool's wages cover the costs of their maintenance, sharpening, additions to their ranks, and the occasional refreshment. They do love a wee drop o'whiskey of an evening, don't you know. I don't begrudge them their simple pleasures since, unlike most workmen, they always show up to work in the morning on time, and don't start drinking early on payday.

And of course, the occasional dab of iron-rich blood deepens the bond between them and the boss.

"The Debate of the Carpenter's Tools" gives some insight into the personality of the various tools. Without exception, they all want to help, but all want to be appreciated too.

http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/shuffelton-codex-ashmole-61-debate-of-the-carpenters-tools

[Robert Engel]

Got one better than that --

Freshly sharpened 1/4" plow plane blade slips out of my hand when installing, falls through a dog hole, hits the side of my big toe and imbeds itself in my Croc sandals.

Lesson learned: If you're not going to pay attention, and Murphy is in the room, then don't wear sandals!!

[ken hatch]

You betcha. When putting together a cost estimate for a customer's project, I always include a line item for my tool's wages. I have found that, if I get paid for work done with them, they get grumpy and misbehave if denied their own wages. Wouldn't you?

The tool's wages cover the costs of maintenance, sharpening, replacement, upgrades, and the occasional refreshment. They do love a wee drop o'whiskey of an evening, don't you know. I don't begrudge them their simple pleasures since, unlike most workmen, they always show up to work in the morning on time, and don't start drinking early on payday.

And of course, the occasional dab of iron-rich blood deepens the bond between them and the boss.

"The Debate of the Carpenter's Tools" gives some insight into the personality of the various tools. Without exception, they all want to help, but all want to be appreciated too.

http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/shuffelton-codex-ashmole-61-debate-of-the-carpenters-tools

Stanley,

Thanks for the link, as most of the time with Middle English, slow going but worth the effort.

ken

[Stanley Covington]

Thanks for the link, as most of the time with Middle English, slow going but worth the effort.

Check out Roy Underhill's The Woodwright's Work Book for a modern translation of this famous poem. The tools involved in the debate suspect their master spends too much time drinking ale, but they love him anyway.

[Stanley Covington]

Murphy was quite precise that day!

[george wilson]

You guys taking lessons from Roy Underhill? :):):)

[jamie shard]

My "clamp the work to relax the mind" quote in my signature was inspired by rushing, not clamping, and drawing blood. So much better to clamp the work, relax the mind, and work bloodlessly. :)

[Robert Norman]

I got myself good sawing a big limb on our ancient fig tree that broke during a storm. Was chit chatting with the Mrs until that saw bit right through the thumbnail and beyond.

[James Pallas]

Hi Jamie you got me laughing. Woodworking and bleeding are like bread and butter. Woodworking and bloodless are like turnip greens and ice cream. I try to keep at least 6" between skin and sharp if I get any closer my skin just surrenders and starts the bloodletting. Of course the meds contribute to the surrender.
Jim

[Mike Cherry]

Speaking of Roy Underhill, I was watching an episode one night where he cut himself unknowingly and just kept going. Bleeding all over the place lol. I'm not sure I even saw what cut him to be honest. You guys that wear sandals in the shop make me cringe. I'm one of those people that if I tempt Murphy, he kicks me straight in the jimmy.

[ken hatch]

Speaking of Roy Underhill, I was watching an episode one night where he cut himself unknowingly and just kept going. Bleeding all over the place lol. I'm not sure I even saw what cut him to be honest. You guys that wear sandals in the shop make me cringe. I'm one of those people that if I tempt Murphy, he kicks me straight in the jimmy.

Mike,

It is worse than sandals, though I wear them sometimes when I'm working with the machines, most of the time if I'm only working at the bench I'm barefoot. I know dumb but.....

ken

[Mike Cherry]

Mike,

It is worse than sandals, though I wear them sometimes when I'm working with the machines, most of the time if I'm only working at the bench I'm barefoot. I know dumb but.....

ken
Hahaha that's hardcore Ken!

[Bob Glenn]

If you asked my old wood shop teacher, what time it was, he would hold up all four fingers on one hand and say "Three thirty!"

[Barry Dima]

Mike,

It is worse than sandals, though I wear them sometimes when I'm working with the machines, most of the time if I'm only working at the bench I'm barefoot. I know dumb but.....

ken


Hahaha that's hardcore Ken!

Ditto, Ken. Except now you and Mike have made me all nervous about it--much more than my close calls have. Maybe I can compromise and just wrap my toes with steel.

[Jim Koepke]

Ditto, Ken. Except now you and Mike have made me all nervous about it--much more than my close calls have. Maybe I can compromise and just wrap my toes with steel.

Most of the time my footwear is steel toed boots. My previous employer paid for them as a job requirement. Some day they will all wear out and I will buy some normal shoes.

jtk

[Joe Beaulieu]

[QUOTE=Stanley Covington;2492112]It only hurt when I farted.QUOTE]

I love this line - nice imagery Stanley.

I try to not get nicked to much, but as this thread implies, it is unavoidable. I am waiting to put a chisel into my hand. I am uber careful with very sharp tools, but I anticipate it will be while sharpening that my big hits come.

Along this line I wanted to ask you guys.... Many of you are luthiers. I am a semi-pro guitarist, playing a fair bit on some studio stuff, and I teach as well. My constant fear is hurting my hand(s) to the point I can't play. I am wondering what you all who are musicians, or for that matter all of you who rely on your hands to make a living, what you do to protect your hands while WW? Are you taking any measures besides the obvious? I bought a Sawstop, yes I know the SSSC will be on me now - that is fine. I like the saw, and I had a Unisaw prior. I believe it is a better made saw. But enough on that. What other things are you doing, if any? I need ideas... Thanks folks!