3 days away from hanging up the tool belt and...

[Brian Ashton]

I've been a joiner for 35 plus years and never had a cut serious enough to even need stitches - until now. I guess in someways I still can keep that record cause the doctor has said "there's no point in trying to stitch that up..." I somehow managed to trim the end of my thumb with a power planer. It's been a few days since it happened and to be honest I still don't know exactly why it happened. I know it wasn't because I was distracted about not being on the tools anymore or anything else... I think it may have been because it was not my planer I was using and it was quite clunky and awkward to use. Not matter what the reason I still managed to stick my thumb into the blades and take a fair chunk off.

I peeled the bandages off today and had a good look and it looks like I've taken more off than first thought. Pretty much the tip is gone. In the pic I took in the emergency dept. there's a section to the left that didn't look bad but it's since died.

I've seen many accidents and close calls over the decades of being a joiner/woodworker, so much so that when I meet them for the first time I always look at their hands to see how many fingers they have or parts of... Guess now I'll have a story to tell. Surprising thing is it hurt in the beginning because I was very stressed and held on too tight. Once I released my death grip the pain never went above a 1 or 2. Granted the doc anesthetized it, which hurt like H, E, double hockey sticks, so it could be cleaned but there's been very little pain since. Another thing I'm surprised about is in the past I always thought I would be devastated to lose tissue and or body parts but na - no big deal. The customer and my wife are somewhat upset but I don't actually care. Granted this is extremely minor so no slight to those that have tragically lost significantly more. Heck all I've lost is a little bark and will have an odd looking nail...

Being the inquisitive type I'm going to try a many thousands year old remedy and see if it helps. I'll apply honey a couple times a day and see how it progresses.

[Kevin Jenness]

I'm sorry to hear of your injury and glad it wasn't worse. Looks like it will recover. A reminder to us all to take care with the sharp stuff.

One of my mates had a very similar injury on a finger from the jointer while rushing to fix a mistake. His takeaway was - stay focused and think hard about wearing gloves around spinning cutterheads.

He bought a new mountain bike with the workers' comp settlement- christened it "Just the Tip".

The shop manager shared his philosophy;" Every time you step up to one of these machines, remember that it wants to eat you."

[Pat Barry]

Very sorry about your injury and hope you heal very quickly Brian. That looks pretty bad and I'm sure it hurts like you described. Unfortunately the caption for the picture seems a bit out of place.

[Patrick Walsh]

Sorry about the finger but congrats on being a carpenter and being able to retire. I am pretty sure i will have to work till the wheels fall off.

I give much pause to such a accident as i am both a carpenter by trade and hobbiest woodworker. I am often conflicted as work requires i take risks in my woodworking that i would otherwise not take as a hobby woodworker. For instance i just spent the last couple days scribing a pile of base to a polished cement floor in a finished basement. For productivity reasons i cut the scribe almost to the line on a table saw then used a small belt sander to take the rest right to the line. This is done with up to 16' lengths. Clearly i have someone helping feed and catch and it really is no big deal. On the other hand if i was doing this just for fun I would use a jigsaw and accept that it was going to take me much longer. The fact is if i went any slower my boss might flip and i may loose my job hence "gotta use the table saw".

So heading into retirment will you continue working with wood or will you throw the tool belt in the dumpster your last day on the job?

[Brian Ashton]

So heading into retirment will you continue working with wood or will you throw the tool belt in the dumpster your last day on the job?


Thx for the sympathies.

I'm not actually retiring yet but changing career paths. Recognized about 8 years ago I need to make a transition from the trades into something else before my body gives out... 2 degrees, business (acc) and science (envr) and a grad dip in teaching later I'm going to hopefully be a shop teacher.

[Patrick Walsh]

Best of luck to you and good for you!

As many of us tradesman recognise at some point our means to an end comes with many drawbacks. For some of us it leads to a longing/desire or wish for a another or better means to make end meet.

Good for you for stepping up to the plate and making a change. The wear and tear or the body is real. The exposure to various chemicals and all the dust is what most concerns me.


Thx for the sympathies.

I'm not actually retiring yet but changing career paths. Recognized about 8 years ago I need to make a transition from the trades into something else before my body gives out... 2 degrees, business (acc) and science (envr) and a grad dip in teaching later I'm going to hopefully be a shop teacher.

[Brian Ashton]

Very sorry about your injury and hope you heal very quickly Brian. That looks pretty bad and I'm sure it hurts like you described. Unfortunately the caption for the picture seems a bit out of place.


I'm quite curious to see how this honey will affect the wound. A friend of mine has a dog that sustained a horrific wound to the chest last year. It had a 2 1/2 inch gash that went all the way through the skin so you could see the muscle layer - it was bad. The wound was open for at least a week and the guy was too cheap to take the dog the the vet and have it stitched up and was struggling to keep the wound clean - it just wasn't healing. In passing I said why not try honey on it to help try to keep the infection at bay... Didn't see him or the dog again for just over a week. When I did, the dog greeted me on the porch and I thought I should see how she was doing. For the life of me I couldn't see any evidence that the dog had ever had a wound. So I figured the guy gave in and took the dog to the vet and had the gash cleaned up and closed... When I asked him he said no, he said he tried the trick I suggested, which at that time I had completely forgotten because I didn't think it would do all that much but I felt sorry for the dog and wanted him to at least try something. He put honey on it twice a day and it closed up on it's own. Honestly I wouldn't have believed it except I saw the before and after.

I'm not expecting all that much for my thumb but I'm very curious to see what it will do.

[Frank Pratt]

Well, you know the old jokes about shop teachers & missing fingers. May be its a requirement.

[Kevin Jenness]

Patrick,


"I give much pause to such a accident as i am both a carpenter by trade and hobbiest woodworker. I am often conflicted as work requires i take risks in my woodworking that i would otherwise not take as a hobby woodworker. For instance i just spent the last couple days scribing a pile of base to a polished cement floor in a finished basement. For productivity reasons i cut the scribe almost to the line on a table saw then used a small belt sander to take the rest right to the line. This is done with up to 16' lengths. Clearly i have someone helping feed and catch and it really is no big deal. On the other hand if i was doing this just for fun I would use a jigsaw and accept that it was going to take me much longer. The fact is if i went any slower my boss might flip and i may loose my job hence "gotta use the table saw". "

I guess you have to deal with the job conditions you have, but to my mind this is just wrong- serious potential for injury. If you are comfortable freehand ripping on the tablesaw so be it. That discussion has been hashed out here in the past, and there are more than a few experienced carpenters like you who see no problem with it. I know some of them myself. However, your description suggests that you are not wholly at ease with it. I wonder if your boss has considered the tradeoff between the marginal speed increase of freehand ripping versus the downside risk of having an injury- possible OSHA fine (there's a splitter and guard on the saw, right?), increased workers'comp premiums, downtime on the job, not to mention the personal cost of the injury to his employee? (I am assuming you are a W2 employee- if you are freelance the downside is all on you).

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'm not actually retiring yet but changing career paths. Recognized about 8 years ago I need to make a transition from the trades into something else before my body gives out... 2 degrees, business (acc) and science (envr) and a grad dip in teaching later I'm going to hopefully be a shop teacher.Outstanding!
I retired going on 5 years ago this coming August and have shifted my career path from computers and IT to real estate rehabs.
I enjoy it to no end!
Doing something you enjoy seldom gets old & when it does, there's nothing to prevent you from taking a break in the action.

[Jim Andrew]

Hope you save a pic of your thumb, frame it and hang it in your school shop. When I tried teaching shop class, the kids just could hardly keep from reaching into the table saw to retrieve the cut off piece. One kid took the tip of his thumb off. I had to stand by the table saw, and watch constantly.

[Mike Henderson]

It hurts to look at your picture. I hope you heal quickly and without any serious limitations.

Mike

[Mel Fulks]

I'm sure it's plenty painful,especially at night. But I think it will heal well and not be obvious. They used to refer to the way those things heal as "granulating",which seems to mean the whole mess finds a way to work the puzzle. Enjoy some rest.

[Keith Weber]

Brian, I'm not a doctor, but from what I've read, you might consider being selective with the type of honey that you use. Apparently the best kind is called Manuka honey (the bees pollinate with flowers from the Manuka bush in New Zealand). You can buy medical-grade honey of this type.

A copy from one website, but others I've read more or less say the same thing:

"When considering using honey for the treatment of wounds, it's extremely important to understand that there's a major difference between raw honey—and especially Manuka honey, which is in a class of its own—and the highly processed "Grade A" type honey you find in most grocery stores. The latter is more akin to high fructose corn syrup, which is more likely to increase infection, and should never be used to treat topical wounds! (It also will not offer you the same health benefits as raw honey when consumed.)

Manuka honey, on the other hand, is made with pollen gathered from the flowers of the Manuka bush (a medicinal plant), and clinical trials have found this type of honey can effectively eradicate more than 250 clinical strains of bacteria."

Just thought I'd throw that out there, for what it's worth. Hope you heal soon. I've seen a lot worse. The body is amazing when it comes to healing. It just takes a little longer as we get older.

[Martin Wasner]

At least it happened at the end of your career.

[Brian Ashton]

I'm sure it's plenty painful,especially at night. But I think it will heal well and not be obvious. They used to refer to the way those things heal as "granulating",which seems to mean the whole mess finds a way to work the puzzle. Enjoy some rest.

No actually! There's been no pain at all. Only when the doc injected anesthetic other than that it's been painless, paper cuts have hurt more.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Ouch Brian! Here's wishing you fast and complete healing!

[Brian Ashton]

Brian, I'm not a doctor, but from what I've read, you might consider being selective with the type of honey that you use. Apparently the best kind is called Manuka honey (the bees pollinate with flowers from the Manuka bush in New Zealand). You can buy medical-grade honey of this type.

A copy from one website, but others I've read more or less say the same thing:

"When considering using honey for the treatment of wounds, it's extremely important to understand that there's a major difference between raw honey—and especially Manuka honey, which is in a class of its own—and the highly processed "Grade A" type honey you find in most grocery stores. The latter is more akin to high fructose corn syrup, which is more likely to increase infection, and should never be used to treat topical wounds! (It also will not offer you the same health benefits as raw honey when consumed.)

Manuka honey, on the other hand, is made with pollen gathered from the flowers of the Manuka bush (a medicinal plant), and clinical trials have found this type of honey can effectively eradicate more than 250 clinical strains of bacteria."

Just thought I'd throw that out there, for what it's worth. Hope you heal soon. I've seen a lot worse. The body is amazing when it comes to healing. It just takes a little longer as we get older.


Ya, I've read a couple abstract from studies and they have also mentioned the Manuka honey. Should be able to find it at a health food store.

I won't post the pics but it's been 36 hours since I've been applying honey and there is a definite difference. It looks like a skin (not skin) has formed over most of the wound, which is the width of my thumb and about half inch long. I can no longer see, what I think is, red muscle tissue; which I could easily see when it first happened.

[Jim Becker]

ail...

Being the inquisitive type I'm going to try a many thousands year old remedy and see if it helps. I'll apply honey a couple times a day and see how it progresses.
Manuka Honey (http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/manuka-honey-medicinal-uses) is what you want for this...pricy, but about the best for this healing remedy.

I hope you heal well and was sad to see this post.

[Brian Ashton]

It just dawned on me that I have a hive of native bees in my side yard. I think I'll go tap that supply... It needs to be split anyways so I can kill two birds with one stone. i never wanted to raid their little stores but I don't think they will miss a few cc's

[Jason Roehl]

Unfortunately the caption for the picture seems a bit out of place.

Oh, man, that was so bad--I feel bad for laughing as hard as I did.

Brian, sorry about the injury--hope you mend quickly, but thanks for the reminder to us all that we need to be ever vigilant when using power tools. I had never heard of using honey on wounds, but it sounds good to me. We get our honey from SD whenever my parents go visit (their home state). Always raw--nothing like the fake processed junk sold in stores.

[Chris Hachet]

Sorry to hear that this happened Brian!

[Jim Becker]

It just dawned on me that I have a hive of native bees in my side yard. I think I'll go tap that supply... It needs to be split anyways so I can kill two birds with one stone. i never wanted to raid their little stores but I don't think they will miss a few cc's
LOL...be(e) careful. :D

Interestingly, Professor Dr. SWMBO took her first beekeeper's class yesterday. She's getting a hive and the bees are ordered for delivery in April. It's a really, really interesting activity and so good for the environment. Actual extraction of the honey isn't a simple task and the gear to do so is pretty expensive...we'll likely engage a local resource to help with that. I already buy local honey and have it nearly every morning...it's a small "goodness" toward allergy relieve, believe it or not.

[John K Jordan]

it's extremely important to understand that there's a major difference between raw honey...and the highly processed "Grade A" type honey you find in most grocery stores.

As a beekeeper, I can say that is spot on. The "grocery store" honey, if it is even 100% honey, has probably been heated and filtered - the heat destroys flavor and much of what is good in the honey. The filtering removes pollen so the origin of the honey can't be traced (much comes from China this way). The best thing about grocery store honey is the excitement in people who taste the difference in real honey for the first time.

JKJ

[Brian Ashton]

Very sorry about your injury and hope you heal very quickly Brian. That looks pretty bad and I'm sure it hurts like you described. Unfortunately the caption for the picture seems a bit out of place.


LOL should have said detached thumbnail

[Jason Roehl]

As a beekeeper, I can say that is spot on. The "grocery store" honey, if it is even 100% honey, has probably been heated and filtered - the heat destroys flavor and much of what is good in the honey. The filtering removes pollen so the origin of the honey can't be traced (much comes from China this way). The best thing about grocery store honey is the excitement in people who taste the difference in real honey for the first time.

JKJ

I had the opposite experience--I was raised on raw honey from SD, and didn't taste store-bought honey until about 10 years old or so. That was such a disappointment... Now I've "corrupted" my wife and kids. They know what good honey is.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I cut the tip off my thumb and it looked very similar to yours, except more off the top. The doctor told me that if there was a sliver of skin over the bone, he could do a skin graft, and I had the tiniest sliver of skin left over the bone, so he would try but there was a chance it would not take. He took a piece of skin from my arm and made a new thumbtip. He told me that because the quick was cut that the nail would not regenerate and either be very short or totally fall off. Well, sir, let me tell you that today you cannot tell which thumb was cut. The nail even grew back, and to top it off, I have 99% of my feeling in my thumbtip. There is a tiny bit of a numb feeling, but I can feel the lightest touch, heat and cold, wet and dry, etc.

Photo shows skin graft a day or so after the injury. Eventually the thumb pad fills back in and the thumb becomes more thumb-shaped.
332795

[Jim German]

Could you explain a bit more what happened? Was it a portable power planer or a stationary one?

I don't know if I like these threads or not. On the one hand it reminds me to be careful, on the other hand it makes me think maybe I should take up a safer hobby.

[Jim Becker]

I had the opposite experience--I was raised on raw honey from SD, and didn't taste store-bought honey until about 10 years old or so. That was such a disappointment... Now I've "corrupted" my wife and kids. They know what good honey is.

I only buy local stuff for consumption...and it's really good. Extremely flavorful. In fact, the dude who produces what I buy is one of the folks running the beekeeping course that Professor Dr. SWMBO is taking.

[Brian Ashton]

I cut the tip off my thumb and it looked very similar to yours, except more off the top. The doctor told me that if there was a sliver of skin over the bone, he could do a skin graft, and I had the tiniest sliver of skin left over the bone, so he would try but there was a chance it would not take. He took a piece of skin from my arm and made a new thumbtip. He told me that because the quick was cut that the nail would not regenerate and either be very short or totally fall off. Well, sir, let me tell you that today you cannot tell which thumb was cut. The nail even grew back, and to top it off, I have 99% of my feeling in my thumbtip. There is a tiny bit of a numb feeling, but I can feel the lightest touch, heat and cold, wet and dry, etc.



I'd say that doesn't look any better than mine, look worse to be honest. I was told it would sort itself out as well.

One thing I wasn't anticipating was the entire tip dying though. I mean the entire tip to about 1/2" down, the skin is dead and it's totally numb! Even all the skin around the needle entry point has died and that's about an inch away from the tip. It's all slowly pealing off and new skin forming underneath. I suspect it wasn't the trauma of trimming it with the planer but the disinfectant they used at the hospital.

I've attached a pic of the progress. What was missing is where you see bright pink skin, the nail has also grown about 1/8", so it was a fairly large chunk that was planed off. To the left and at the tip the pale yellowish skin, that's dead and new skin is pushing up underneath. The clear glaze over it all is honey.

If it were to happen again, and I did something similar, I'm not sure I'd bother with the hospital. Being the first one though I panicked a bit.

So that's been 23 days. Not sure if that's good progress or not.


Could you explain a bit more what happened? Was it a portable power planer or a stationary one?

I don't know if I like these threads or not. On the one hand it reminds me to be careful, on the other hand it makes me think maybe I should take up a safer hobby.

Ya it was an old cheap Bosch green hand power planer - very clunky to use. I suspect I simply wasn't used to it and missed when I went to grab the fence after I finished a cut and missed. I have a nice makita that has a low center of balance and a nice large fence - complete opposite of the one that had a nibble at my thumb. I wasn't distracted, day dreaming or stumble - just miscalculated my grab.