Unexpected injury

[Susumu Mori]

Hi all,

I debated for a while but decided to share my experience.
I consider myself careful and more than 15 years of WW, I've never injured myself beyond small nicks until yesterday, which came in the most unexpected way, handsaw.

I was cutting a single dovetail at the and of a long (4.5 feet) rail. I cramped it vertically in a vice. I noticed that cutting a dovetail at my shoulder height put me in a bit awkward position. After established an initial kerf, I started to saw down with full strokes. After few strokes, the saw came out of the kerf and landed on my left index finger that was supporting the rail. Before I noticed, my right arm stroked maybe 1/4 of inch or so on the finger. Boy, how sharp the saw teeth are!

There is not much flesh to speak of in the back side of the index finger, but it could damage the skin and underneath. I can imagine that it will take a full week before I see the start of healing.

Lesson I learned; do not use unncessary force for any cutting tools even if I know it can cut quicker. As for the awkward position, which could be the main culprit, I'm not sure how I fix it. Maybe I should have stand on a stepping stool....

Anyway, hope this scenario is now in your "Safety Dictionary".

[Scott Brandstetter]

Thanks for the reminder, we all need them. I injured myself a few weeks back and the first thing I did when I got back to the shop was to evaluate each tool and determine what I could do better, to avoid injuries. I hadn't thought about hand tools but will give that some thought as well. I like your comment regarding not pushing it, trying to cut faster. I have been guilty of rushing.

[Cody Colston]

If you use cutting tools regularly, you will eventually cut yourself. We're all human and we all make mistakes, be it a mistake of the mind or of the hand. Unlike what I've heard preached by safety weenies for decades, I don't believe accidents are totally preventable simply because of that human factor. Nobody can stay completely focused 100% of the time and identifying a hazardous condition or hazardous act is often subjective. However, just being aware that even the simplest tasks can be hazardous is a good start to minimizing the frequency and severity of injury.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Phil Mueller]

For me, there's an element of fear in power tools...a good thing. Knowing I could lose a finger or worse in the blink of an eye causes me to triple check every set up before the tool gets turned on. Hand tools on the other hand, is where I get sloppy at times. Every injury I've had in wood working has come from a hand tool...like the time I was paring with a 1/4" chisel towards the other hand holding the piece. Went through the fat of my thumb to the bone.
Thank you for the reminder to put a little more fear in hand tools.
Glad you're reasonably all right.

[Jim Becker]

"ouch!!!!"

[Wakahisa Shinta]

Picture!!! Your badge of courage must be recorded! :D Seriously, glad that it was a hand saw and not the table saw blade that injured you.

Every time I turns on one of my stationery tools, my heart rates go up. In the back of my head, a small voice is telling me that this thing in front of me is dangerous and that I ought to turn it off and stay away. It is a fear that something is likely to go wrong and will go wrong. Regardless of my actual techniques in real time, that fear is always there as long as the machine is on. Then, I breath a sight of relieve that I survived another encounter. Funny though, I keep coming back and turning these darn machines on!

Stay safe! Thanks for sharing Susumu-san.

[Ben Rivel]

Man, I read that title and though: "OH NO"! Glad it wasnt worse and you are okay!

[Randy Rose]

Your hand tool experience proves:
No amount of guards or electronic safety devices can ever be more effective than caution & common sense.

As Cody ^ points out, we all make mistakes. Live & Learn.
Thanks for the heads up.

[Susumu Mori]

Hey, Shinta, anything more than this would be R-rated. Seriously, it is much worse than what you would imagine for what a mere handsaw can inflict in a blink of a second. It sliced off a kerf of tissue without resistance until it hit the bone.

I placed a piece of wood stick to keep my finger straight....

Phil, yes, I would imagine a chisel can do much worse. Hand tools may not slice off our digits but still, it was quite a wake-up call.
Cody, I agree. And our imagination (and knowledge) about how things can go wrong could reduce the frequency.

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[Pat Barry]

An old carpenter that I knew when I was still a kid cut the tip of his own thumb clean off with his handsaw while blasting through some kind of rip or cross-cut. Actually the thumbnail was missing as I recall so, yes, it can happen. Happy you survived without too much damage.

[Bruce Volden]

I have lotsa power tools. I have NEVER (knock on wood) been injured with them.
However, my favorite Japanese pull-saw has caused loss of pints of blood--go figger.

Bruce

[Mike Ontko]

Susumu,

Glad to hear that you'll still be able to type your posts without dropping any letters! Thanks for sharing your event here so that we can all be reminded how even the everyday ordinary activity can turn the wrong direction in the blink of an eye.

[Jim Dwight]

I've gone 2.5 years without stiches now and I would like to continue that trend but we'll see. I got stiches two days in a row the July 4th weekend in 2013, both with power tools. Both were at the end of the day when I was tired and not as careful as I should have been. I've been taking more breaks as a result. The most serious injury was partially caused by the initial injury and I was in bad position. I was using my smaller CMS and couldn't hold a long board with my left as I usually do because it had about 5 stiches in it and was sore. I should have propped up the end of the board. But instead I used my right hand to hold the board and my left to activate the saw. I couldn't see my right hand was in the path of the blade. My right index finger is usable (I use all fingers to type) but doesn't have normal feeling and the tip is smaller. I got just a tiny bit of bone.

But my cautions are working when tired and injured and forcing things. I made little supports for that saw that are stored with it so I don't have to struggle to use it now. If I had done that before the incident in question I would still have a normal finger.

A good question to have in your mind is "what could go wrong".

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for the reminder. I hope you heal up quickly!
Fred

[Matt Winterowd]

This precise injury was by far the worst I've had yet in woodworking (knock on, well, you know...). Mine required a trip to the ER, a lot of cleaning and debriding and stitches. The Dr. said I was extremely lucky to not have any nerve or tendon damage. It's been 6 or 7 years now and it still pops into my mind almost every time I start to cut a tenon with a hand saw.

[Brian Holcombe]

I did a nearly identical one to the OP not long ago. That was with a rip tenon saw which hopped out of the cut mid stroke (I was starting on a corner). I have a sight depression in my finger there, but otherwise OK.

Hurt like no-other though, saw cuts are nasty.

[Jerry Olexa]

Heal and get better!! Be careful

[Michael Yadfar]

I haven't been injured yet, but I've only had 6 years of wood working experience and it's only a part time hobby. I know my time is due eventually, but I try my best to prevent it. In high school woodworking class, my instructor always stressed these kind of things. The only power tool related injury in over 30 years was his finger saving a students on a table saw, and all the other injuries were from hand tools such as chisels.

[lowell holmes]

After almost cutting my finger off on my table saw, I will NOT operate any tool when I am fatigued!

[Susumu Mori]

Hi Matt,

Now I know that the very problem I had was precisely the word "unexpected" I used. Within this short list of communication, Bruce and you (and me) share similar experiences.
So, the bottom line is, it may hardly be an "unexpected" event. If I had this knowledge about how mere sawing can go this wrong, I would never have put so much force and rash during the sawing. Also the position too high up to my shoulder made me loose control.

[Wade Lippman]

If you use cutting tools regularly, you will eventually cut yourself.

I disagree. After almost cutting a finger off on a bandsaw 5 years ago I no longer put my hands where they could possibly wind up in a blade.
Sure, if 100 people are as careful as I am, 10 or 20 will probably cut themselves; but that is hardly "eventual".

[Susumu Mori]

And Brian too, oh my.

[Wes Ramsey]

I'm very focused when I do anything that puts my digits or body close to a blade, but it isn't just being close to the blade that can hurt you. I was doing a bunch of repeat cuts and stacking the cut pieces on the other side of my TS fence a couple of months ago. The stack got too tall, I bumped it and here come a host of 18" 2x4 projectiles. I only got hit in the chest before I got out of the way, but it was a scenario I'd never considered. Had I been making rip cuts it wouldn't have been an issue since I always use the blade guard when I can, but I was making crosscuts and the guard has to be off for my sled to work.

[Cody Colston]

I disagree. After almost cutting a finger off on a bandsaw 5 years ago I no longer put my hands where they could possibly wind up in a blade.
Sure, if 100 people are as careful as I am, 10 or 20 will probably cut themselves; but that is hardly "eventual".

"Cutting tools" is more than power-driven saw blades. Chisels, handsaws, carving knives, anything that one uses that cuts. Of course, your opinion is as valid as mine since it is, after all, only an opinion.

[Mike Cutler]

Susumu

Hopefully it heals up quick and you'll be back to work. Thanks for the post. That must be some saw you have!
It's odd that for many, it's the hand tools that are the culprits of injuries. Sometimes we take for granted just how sharp those tools can be, and focus more on power tools.

Cody
I agree with you. Eventually you will have a mishap using sharp tools if you use them often enough. It might take years, but it will happen.

[John TenEyck]

Susumu, you sure aren't alone when it comes to handtool injuries. I think every chisel I own has as it's main mission inflicting some kind of cut to my hands. I hope you either got a Tetanus shot or are up to date.

John

[William M Johnson]

I did exactly the same thing a couple of weeks ago. My thumbnail kept the saw from going too deep into the finger.329216

[Andrew Pitonyak]

My Bad Axe saw starts very easily. A dove tail saw freshly sharpened from Lie Nielsen, well, it really grabs that wood when you start it. So, if I my mind is thinking Bad Axe saw and I grab that Lie Nielsen, it can jump out and slice away at my fingers. Done it a few times, but no blood. It has left a mark on my nail at least once. For me, the problem was technique based on what I had been using. Thanks for the story!

[Eric Schubert]

I did something similar several years ago, when I was young and completely ignorant about proper and safe use of hand tools. I tried to get a cheap Stanley hand saw (the kind with the newer, razor-sharp teeth that can't be resharpened) started on a small piece of wood. Rather than use a clamp to hold the small piece to my bench, I just held it down with my off hand. Well, it didn't want to start the cut, so I pushed the saw harder. It hopped right out of the kerf and over the tip of my middle finger on my left hand. Fortunately, it was only a minor flesh wound, but it did slice through the fingernail and the offset teeth left two parallel cuts in my fingertip and fingernail. Man, did that bleed! And I still have a set of parallel scars on the tip of that finger from the incident.

Never again will I hold a piece like that and saw through it. Now, I always clamp down my work, start the kerf, then move my off hand away from the cut a few inches to keep it out of danger.

[paul cottingham]

Did the same thing when i was a kid. Saw slipped, went into the side of my thumb and down to the bone. Had no feeling in the tip of my thumb for years, and was terrified of handsaws until about five years ago, when i started down the Neander path.

i still cringe whe i watch St. Roy putting his hand down next to a saw he is using. I doubt he is in any danger, but my neuroses sure kick in....

[Tom M King]

You know you crosscut saw is sharp when it leaves two little lines anywhere it touches.

[Susumu Mori]

Thank you for all the comments.

I considered myself careful and well self-educated about safety. But yet, I don't understand how such a common thing went under my radar completely for more than a decade.....
Table saws, miter saws, and bandsaws all look menacing to begin with, so as chisels. I heard how accident occurs with drill presses.
Once learned, they start to make sense, but I couldn't imagine in what situation I could saw myself by a handsaw. Now, it makes a perfect sense:(

My injury seems recovering well without infection, swollen, redness, etc. so far. It's Day 6. In Day 3, I changed the bandage for the second time and was disgusted by the wound which didn't show any sign of improvement. It's just awful looking. It's not like a clean cut buy a sharp blade....

It stopped hurting for Day 4-6 and I stopped changing the bandage partly because my friend, who is a doctor, said, keep it undisturbed as much as possible and partly because I don't want to see it and disappointed again.... But maybe it is now time to discover it and face the fact:eek: I mean, I guess I have to change the bandage. It'll hurt for sure, both physically and mentally. You know what I mean. My daughter tells me that I'm stupid enough for not going to a hospital and my wife thinks it is not a big deal. I just need a support from my fellow creekers.