Warning.....Graphic Pics

[Shelley Bolster]

After much consideration I have decided to go with the suggestion from a couple of friends and post pictures of the result of a run in I had last Monday with my router......Oh yeah - the router won. :mad:

Although I have played it over in my mind probably 100 times the last 5 days, I still don't know exactly how my fingers and the router bit became dancing partners. But simply, a combination of fatigue, haste and inattentiveness were all contributing factors. And..........I had a bad feeling about the bit and the procedure the moment I first started using it the day before.

OK...the bit is a Window Sash bit set from CMT. It contains a coping bit (for the ends of the rails and muntins/sash bars) and a stick profile/rabbit combinations bit. (now named killer) Killer is pictured below.......


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3121.jpg


Doing the profiles on the rail and stiles - 1 3/8" thick is not an issue, due to both the width and thickness however, doing the much smaller muntins left the rabbit part of the bit exposed. Yes....I almost always use push sticks but I was not able to keep the pieces from rocking when using a push stick. I tried to remove the rabbit part of the bit without any luck.....dawned on me later I could have had success if I had tried to remove it while in the router......I am going to try it tomorrow. Below is a pic of the window I was routing the muntins for. (they are only 10" long by 7/8" thick and 1" wide)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3122.jpg

OK......below is are some pics some of you may not wish to look at......they not pretty and perhaps disturbing. They could be so much worse.....I consider myself quite lucky actually - I could have easily lost them! Oh yeah..there is a lot of swelling - my hand/fingers are not fat although they are quite swollen in the pics!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3117.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3118.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3116.jpg

You know, I spend a great deal of time with power tools and this is my first accident........my family is completely dumbfounded that I, who is actually quite anal about safety, would put myself in a position to get hurt.......but I did. It was strictly human error, a stupid accident and it CAN happen to anyone!! I had the "feeling", the little voice that told me something was not right but I chose to not listen to it......I only had 4 little pieces to cut!!!

EDIT..........
I am half way through all the replies (thanks for the well wishes) and I thought I better stop and add something to the original post. I was not preforming a cope cut.....those were done with both a miter gage and a sacrificial block. I will take a couple of more pics later to try to illustrate what I did (wrong)!

[Andy Hoyt]

Ouch! You're lucky that it just grabbed flesh and not the bone.

Shelley - I hate to ask what might be dumb or insulting, but would it have been possible to use some featherboards? I acknowledge that sometimes the set up precludes their use, but...

[Roger Bell]

Thanks for posting this Shelley....I appreciate the reminder of the potential for accident. Hoping you can get back in your shop soon.

[Jerry Clark]

Sorry Shelly, :eek: I feel for you!:( You are lucky you still have all the digits-- they will heal!:cool: Thanks for reminding us we always have to be careful.

[Shiraz Balolia]

Shelley - sorry to hear about your accident. That sure looks painful!
Sometimes we take our equipment for granted and let our guards down. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

[Joe Mioux]

Shelly: Glad to see the accident was not more serious and thank you for posting the injury.

Joe

[lou sansone]

wow .... the shaper / router is one tool that I really don't let my student use, just because of what you have shown us here.. that looks painfull. thanks for the reminder. I pray that you make a full recovery

lou

[Bob Johnson2]

If the pics didn't look so darn nasty I'd hang one by my router. Thanks for the graphic reminder.

[Mark Singer]

It could have been a lot worse...end grain routing is best done with a sled...Sorry it happened

[Dev Emch]

Shelly, you are one very lucky girl indeed!

As I have said before, shaper cutters are often referred to by a saltier sea dog expression..... MEAT CUTTERS. And sadly, it appears that you have born the role of poster child for this. We all hope that you recover and are glad that it was not worse.

This is an example of why I dont really like router tables. This type of head has different hook, shear and relief angles than those found on the same profile shaper head. As such, this bit spins at about 10,000 or so revs and often takes tiny bird cuts and quite a few of them to get the job done. It also has the tendency to grab your work item and yank it and then propel it across the shop. The worst thing to consider is this. Because your spinning two knives with a complex profile at 10K, there is little opportunity to produce a nice clean cut. Instead, the body part gets turned into apple sauce making the resultant medical work even harder.

But I am confused here. Are you saying that you attempted a coping cut with this rig using no mitre gage or coping sled? That you simply tried to hold the work item as you would a work item during say, a moulding cut? I wonder because I see no sign of a mitre gage or coping sled or sliding table in the photos.

There has been quite a bit of safety talk on this forum. But as router bit vendors continously release more complex profiles for router tables that were once the stomping grounds of the shaper, I fear that we are going to see more injuries of this type in the future. In the old days, these cuts were done on tenoners. Some of these were actually bench mounted tenoners weighing no more than a couple hundred pounds. Today, we are now using router tables to perform these cuts. This really worries me.

Shelly, hope your digits get better soon.

[Jim DeLaney]

I feel your pain! I have two fingers that looke just like that - from a very similar mishap. I did mine while attempring to rout a sliding dovetail, and having the workpiece 'blow out' suddenly.

It's been about ten years since mine, and I still have both hyper-sensitive spots and a couple completely 'nerve-dead' spots on those fingers.

Not fun! I went through a lot of Vicodan on that one. Amazing how much pain a finger injury can cause. I've gotten shot (twice)(USMC, 22 years), and this one hurt worse than both of those...

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Shelley, All I can say is I am so sorry this happened to you and I hope you heal quickly. I know that had to be very painful both mentally and physically and you are to be commended for sharing this with all of us. It shows that it isn't just the table saw that can cause a serious injury. But remember we are all human and do make mistakes no matter how careful we think we are. So don't beat yourself up over this. I have typed this before reading all of your post because I was so moved by your pictures. I hope you heal fast and the pain goes away faster. Alan

[Fred Voorhees]

Shelley, yes, it could have been worse and thankfully, it wasn't. Your post will certainly not be in vain. There is not a one of us in this forum that couldn't use an occasional "wake up" and be reminded of what could happen. Lots of us will be in our shops this weekend and lord knows that a reminder such as yours, with such an impact, will just maybe save someone from something such as what you have gone through. Thanks for posting and heal quickly.

[Jerry Olexa]

Thanks for the "wake up" call. Good reminder of safety importance. Hope you heal quickly. Be careful...

[Russ Massery]

Thanks for the wake up call. I think sometimes we take some of things we do for granted. Then we do them unsafety. I hope you heal quickly. I found this the easy and safest way to cope cut. http://www.deltamachinery.com/index.asp?e=139&p=1806

[Greg Heppeard]

OUCHIE!!! As others have said, I always build or buy some kind of jig or sled when doing small pieces. If I feel uneasy about doing any part of project, I try to think of a safer way to do it. Better to slow down and take a break to think things thru. Also, by using a sled with a back up piece with the prifile cut away, it prevents a lot of tear out.

[Rob Russell]

Shelley,

I think you've done a good thing by posting the pics of your injury. I'm still a bit unclear as to what it was that you were doing when you got bit. Perhaps you could edit your original post and include a bit more of a description about what you were doing as a help for folks in the future as a "what not to do" sort of thing.

Godspeed on your recovery!

Rob

[martyphee]

As other have pointed out I think you need to detail how you were making the cut. It looks like your right hand that got hurt. So I would guess that the piece got caught by the bit and pulled your hand in with it.

The opening in the fence looks quite large for one. Secondly as someone pointed out if you weren't using a miter gauge or sled you really might consider using one. Generally for a cope cut like that I use a large block of wood for a backer. You said that the piece rocks. I would cut the cope into the block of wood so it acts as a matting surface for the piece when pushing it through. It would give much more support so that the narrow muntin wouldn't rock.

[Bill Fields]

Sheley-

Hope you heal quickly. The ends and tops of most of my fingers have a lot of scars from inattentiveness, but nothing this bad!

Hope you don't mind if I print out a couple of your pictures to put on my shop wall for a poignant reminder of placing safety in second place.

Best

Bill Fields

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

My work computer blocks phototsites...and that usually irritates me. Not this time, tho. I've been into a router bit myself a few years back, which resulted in a teensy 'flat' on the end of one finger. Very lucky I was...it's only noticeable to me, and the hyper-sensitivity is almost gone. :(

[Vaughn McMillan]

Wow Shelly, I'm sure it hurts you way more than it hurts me, but rest assured I'm in serious pain just looking at the pics. Glad to see it's not any worse than it is, but man oh man, those images will be in my head next time I'm thinking of taking a shortcut or letting my guard down. Having seen pictures of your work, I know you have more experience than me, and knowing someone in that position can still get bit like you did makes me realize how easily this type of thing can sneak up on a person.

I hope you heal quickly, and like others here, I really appreciate the wakeup call.

- Vaughn

[Jason Tuinstra]

Shelley, glad to hear that you are doing alright. Stands as a good wake up call to all of us. Thanks.

[Dan Forman]

Sheley---That looks pretty bad, but as others have said, could have been much worse. Wishing you a speedy, full recovery.

Dan

[Alan Turner]

Ouch. I hope you heal quickly. Mcuh courage was shown when you decided to post your error, and the result, but the wake up call might help another to avoid your error. The reminder to listen to the inner voice is always a welcome reminder.

[Roger Everett]

Ouch!! I cringed looking at your pics.
From what I also see, is that for doing a cope cut you need a close to zero clearence fence, your fence opening is way to big. You could mount or double face tape a sub fence pc. on, with a close to zero opening. I also use a backer on cope pcs. to back up and it also eliminates chipout. Hope you're back in the shop soon.
Roger

[Chris Giles]

Shelley,

You're post really hit home with me because I was cutting maple muntins for a couple of glass doors two days ago, probably pretty close to the time you had your accident. I spent hours during the course of the previous day thinking about how to make that last pass safely on those skinny pieces. I did the copes on my shaper, so they were uneventful. But I found that routing both side edges of a much wider piece would allow me to then rip the last cut on the tablesaw with relative safety. In other words, two muntins are coped and routed while still in the larger stock, so it gives you plenty to hold onto for these dangerous passes.

You're pictures are a sobering reminder to trust the warning bells in our heads that tell us we are placing ourselves in danger. Best of luck on your recovery, and our thoughts will be with you today.

[scott spencer]

Just looking at the pics is a tough way to start my day....it must have been brutal to actually experience. Posts like this are always disturbing and sobering, but they're always thought provoking and very effective at raising awareness. It can and does happen. Thanks for posting so that we can all learn from your unfortunate accident without going through similar pain. Your fingers look sore and badly damaged...but I'm glad they're still there.

I hope you won't give up wwing, but I don't want to try to pursuade you one way or the other. On a slight tangent. MLCS offers a device to help hold small pieces...do you think something like that would have worked for you in this situation?

Take care!

[Rob Millard]

I'm glad that your run in with the router bit caused no more damage than it did.
I've been very lucky and have never had a serious injury, other than a fairly deep cut from a chisel, which I stitched up myself.

That little voice sometimes doesn't speak loud enough.

Rob Millard

[Earl Kelly]

Shelley,
I hope you heal fast and return to using your tools. You were very brave to publish these pics, I'm sure most will benefit from it. I'm sure you've already figured out what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again. If not, you will. I have a sweatshirt with a fist sized hole in the front, near the heart. I was very fortunate, I was not injured, except for my ego. Never come close to doing anything like that again.

Again, take care of those Digits, keep them healing up.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Shelley....Thanks for posting! We all need a wakeup call once in a while! Rotating blades and bits are dangerous and we sometimes forget that if that little voice is speaking....listen up folks! Heal fast, well and completely! Thanks again for posting!

[Peter Stahl]

Wow, that looks painful. Glad you can still count to 10. I like the sled Russ has in the link in his post. I made something a lot simpler than that but they work. Hope you heal quickly!

[Richard Wolf]

Ouch. You have that Shop Teacher look. Get well soon.

Richard

[Gail O'Rourke]

Shelley, wow, that looks terrible and must be extremely painful. I think you are brave for posting those pictures. I am sorry to hear of your accident. Please heal quickly. My thoughts are with you.

p.s.
Shelley, here is link to John Lucas using this bit..he made up a jig to cut these small pieces.
http://www.woodshopdemos.com/cmt-sa3.htm

[Timo Christ]

Shelley,
i hope your hand heals well and you can get back to ww with full strength soon. Hope it doesn't hurt too much.. i had a finger injury (cut into the fingertip with a bread cutting machine) which took a lot of time to heal and i still have a scar and not the proper feeling in that fingertip.
Greetings from snowy Germany
Timo

[Dennis Peacock]

Shelley,

Glad to see that you can still count to TEN!!!! I'm very sorry to see and hear of a ww related injury to you. May you heal quickly and I know it's going to be tough typing one handed for a while. I'll pray for you a very quick and safe healing.

[Bob Noles]

Shelley,

YEEOOW! Every time I see these kind of pictures it makes me stop and think (no... not about setting fire to my shop) about how we can never be too careful around machines. I try to keep foremost in my mind where my body parts are in relation to running equipment before hitting the on switch and the whole time it is on. That is not to say that accidents still won't happen because the can and do. I cannot tell you the number of times I have started a cut and did not feel comfortable and simply shut down and stepped away from the project until another time. I remember once on the table saw that I felt the blade binding the piece againt the fence, I simply hit the ground flat on my front side and let the kickback happen without me. That was many many years ago, but still remember it to this day.

You will be kept in my prayers for a fast healing and recovery to normal.

[Jim Hager]

Wow, how about that now for a wake up call:( !!! So sorry about the accident. How do you recover from something like that the next time you face the router???:confused: I'll bet you will have butterflies all over your stomach next time you try to make that cut. But I would suggest you rethink your method just a little.;)

Heal quickly.

[Steve Clardy]

Wow. Thanks for the wake call again. Do get healed up, and get back in the saddle.

[Rich Konopka]

Shelly,

I hope the recovery is quick and that the pain is not long lasting. Your ego may never be the same when it comes to working in the shop. I appreciate the photo's because I just printed it out and I'm going to post them by my router in my shop to give me a subtle reminder.

Thanks for sharing and I wish you a speedy recovery

[John Shuk]

Sorry to hear about your incident. It certainly is a wake up call to me. NO SHORT CUTS!

[tod evans]

THANK YOU SHELLEY!! i`m one of the folks that asked shelley to post these pictures. there are a lot of seasoned woodbutchers as well as beginers on this forum who have probably not seen what power equipment can do to raw meat. i was a paramedic for several years and have worked in some pretty large wood shops that were production orriented so have seen my fair share of accidents...........thats what this is an accident, could happen to any one of us...........please everyone be careful and listen to that little voice in your head. if these pictures keep anyone from hurting themselves all of shelleys humility and embarassment are worth it. thank-you again shelley, tod

[Frank Pellow]

Shelley, I was afraid when I started reading this that you might have been REALLY BADLY INJURED. So it's a relief to see that the damage was not as bad as I feared and I wish you a speedy complete recovery.

Thanks for posting this. The periodic "incident reports" here on Saw Mill Creek always serve as reminders to me to work safely and to consider the poissible dangers inherent in each cut that I make.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Shelley, I hope you heal quickly....that looks like it hurt. Sorry about the accident and hope your post will help us all to be more careful in the shop.

[Fred Chan]

Shelley, that looks really painfull. I hope you didn't have to drive all the way to Ashcroft for medical attention. I made sure my wife and daughter looked at the pictures to remind them of what a moments inattention around woodworking machinery could do. I hope you have a speedy recovery.

[Dave Ray]

Shelly, thanks for posting. I know you must be in pain, but if just one person stops to think, thanks to your pictures then you have more than accomplished your mission. The pictures give me cold chills, yet I know it can happen to anyone of us at any time. Hope you heal completely and soon.

[jerry cousins]

thanks for the reminder - sorry it happened. heal up quick.

jerry

[Mike Cutler]

Oh man, I know "ouch" has been overused in this thread, but ouch.

Thank you for the courage to post these pictures.It takes a rare person to admit to the world that they made an error, in the hopes that others would learn and benefit from it.

Those pictures could have been those of just about anyone involved in woodworking. Most notably mine.
I tend to work really close on the router table, and take advantage of my size, but your post clearly demonstrates that this is an illfounded comfort.

It looks like I'll be making alot more ZCI's for the router fence, and some new sleds.

Thank You for the pictures and painful object lesson. Heal quickly, and get back to it when you're ready.

[Jim Ketron]

Hope you feel better soon Shelley! sorry about the delay I don't come on this side of the forum much!

[John Hart]

Shelley...I saw this this morning and just cringed. The router is the tool in my shop that I have the most respect for and you've shown exactly why. Please heal quickly!

[Keith Christopher]

Shelly,

As everyone here sorry to hear about your accident. I'm glad it was not worse (as I am sure you are) But I think this is not a what did I do wrong post as a "I -like most of you- am a seasoned WWer and just a reminder to keep doing things safely." My brother's brother in law works in a cabinet shop and his hand recently fought with a TS blade and 48 external and like 70 internal sutures later he's barely moving his thumb.

Ahh that little voice, the same one that says walk away from the craps table, I pray I always listen to mine.


I hope a speedy recovery !


Keith

[Shelley Bolster]

I really want to thank everyone for the well wishes, understanding and above all resisting the urge to say the obvious...STUPID STUPID STUPID!:o :o :o

Unlike the reason behind many shop accidents, this had nothing to do with inexperience or ignorance. If anything, the opposite could be a contributing factor.......perhaps a little too much familiarity......it is nothing for me to spend 50 hours a week in the shop. This was not a "beginners" mistake by one made by someone who knows better. :mad: I broke probably what could/should be considered the Cardinal Rule.......if it doesn't feel right, then don't do it. This did not feel right from the get go but instead of taking the time to "make it feel right", I went ahead with it anyways.....that is where STUPID comes in.

I really need to clarify that I was NOT making the cope/end cut. That was done to begin with using wider boards and ripping them down to the one inch widths after the cope was made. I also made an auxiliary fence for that cut and used both the miter gage and a sacrificial block.

The bit that did the damage (Killer) was the duel bit that milled both the stick profile and rabbit along the edges the rails and stiles (frame) of the window. With the outer parts there really isn't an issue because the pieces are 1 3/8" thick and usually at least 2" wide. The problem occurs when milling the decorative stick profile in the sash bars (the vertical divider pieces) and the muntins. (the smaller horizontal pieces) These pieces are all only 7/8" thick (unless you choose to make a true "pane window") and quite narrow in width.

Strange thing, the muntins I was working on when I got "grabbed" is perfectly fine.....no gouge and the milling was complete. I still can not say for sure what happened.......it truly happened in a split second :eek:

Anyways, I ventured into the shop today with this "plan" that I have been thinking about since the accident and because the whole reason behind my post was to give a heads up to others.....thought i would share with you what I came up with..........works like a charm. I finished the muntins today without a problem. Oh yeah, I am a little gun shy to say the least but I really needed to get back out there before I couldn't. And no.......I am not supposed to be working with them at all yet, but an hour here and there can't hurt and I am going nuts sitting here!

Below are the push sticks/jigs/sleds....whatever you choose to call them.......they are simple to make and they work! It enables you to keep pressure against the fence/bit, keep the pieces held down on the table and because of the little glue block at the end, works as a push block.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3123.jpg

This is what they look like once together....I made two - one with a stop for pushing and the other with a through rabbit to use in the right hand for longer pieces (to control the front)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3124.jpg

The picture below also the coping bit.......a much safer looking creature.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3125.jpg

[John Daugherty]

My one and hopefully only major blood letting happened on the router table. A trip to the ER and being told “we don’t sew up flaps” made me kind of anal about safety.

[David Duke]

Shelly, first off thanks for posting the pics of your mishap, it serves as a reminder to all of us what can happen when we don't think things through and as you said if it don't feel right its time to rethink the process. Secondly and most important is that I wish you a speedy recovery.

I haven't made many mutin cuts but the procedure I used worked very well for me and "felt" right also. What I did was when making all the cope cuts on the rails and mutins I ran a cope cut on the long side of a piece of scrap material the same thickness of my rails/stiles and as long as my longest mutin, then I cut the profile cut down one side of an extra wide piece of mutin stock, trim to final width, then "bury" the profile into the scrap piece that has the coped profile, this will hold the piece securly while you route the profile on the other side.

[Peter Pedisich]

Shelley,

Thanks for sharing the pics, they are part of my woodworking education.

I wish you a speedy and comfortable recovery.

Pete

[Anthony Anderson]

Shelley,

Thank you so much for posting the pictures. I, as most others, cringed when I saw your pictures, and felt your pain. I planned on purchasing these bits in the near future, and I can see your accident happening to me. I will make, and use your muttin guide blocks. Thank you for allowing me to learn from your accident. I will certainly listen to that voice in my head when it tells me "it doesn't feel right". I will also print off a couple of pictures and hang them in the shop, so I will have a constant reminder when I don't want to listen to that "little voice". I wish you a speedy recovery. Sincerely, Bill

[Andrew Ault]

Ouch!

Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope it will help me (and others) keep learning to work safely and to be conscious and careful.

Heal quickly and well!

[Howie French]

Shelley,

I really appreciate your posting, this serves as a reminder on just how dangerous woodworking tools can be. Their use should not be taken lightly.

I wish you the very best in your recovery.

Howie

[Barry O'Mahony]

Thanks much for the graphic reminder to be safe, AND the designs for the sleds/push sticks. 'next time I think I'll save a little time by not bothering putting together a jig or fixture, I'll think again ...

BTW, one thing to watch out for is as the healing progresses in a couple of weeks, the stitches can get real, real painful. This is just due to things growing out, and stretching the stitches (which actually stetches the skin they're attached to!). If it seems like this is happening, don't hesitate to visit the doctor; a few quick snips can instantly make the pain go away (speaking from experience).

[Rod Upfold]

I did two finger last summer with a cove bit...they stitched one finger and said the other one was beyond stitching and will have to heal on it's own. People asked me if it hurt when the router bit me - nope.

But now I know when I hit my finger tips on something...they are quite sensitive.

[Joe Unni]

Ouch!!

Point well taken and so noted!

Thanks for the reminder.

Shelley - Heal fast and feel better.

-joe

[Bryan Cowing]

I would have the hole in the fence just big enough for the cutter to fit through. I made the same item years ago on a shaper but had the use of a power feeder.Isn't there an after market jig with handles that will clamp onto the stock to make handling small items safe? Something like this from Lee Valley, http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=41780&cat=1,43000 . I did something similar but with my biscuit joiner, trying to hold 3/4 sq. stock about 12" long and had a dull blade which kicked out the stock, letting my left hand middle finger into the cutter. Loss of nerves in that finger makes using that finger difficult now.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Shelley.....again...thanks for your post! Glad to see you had the courage to get back into the shop! Great idea on the guide blocks!

[Jim Becker]

Oh, my, Shelley. Definitely a wake-up call to all. I hope you heal well and don't have too many issues with your fingers. Ouch!!

[John Cavanaugh]

Shelly,

Good luck with the recovery and Im glad it wasnt worse... I had a little run in with my router about 2 yrs ago, not as bad as yours, but it definitely taught me to be more careful in the shop.

--
John Cavanaugh

[Tyler Howell]

What's with the killer routers this week:confused:
Feel better soon Shelly

[Chris Padilla]

Shelly, sorry for your loss and pain. The word you are looking for is complacency. :)

[Bruce Page]

Shelley,
Ouch! It wasn’t easy for me to view the pictures – I’ve been passing by this thread all weekend long (I'm a big pansy). I hate it when people get hurt like this. Don’t ignore those premonitions!

Baby yourself and heal quickly!

[Matt Meiser]

I wish I had read your thread before Saturday. Might have gotten me thinking a little more! Glad you were able to make it back into the shop quicky.

[Rob Blaustein]

I'm sorry this happened to you, but I'm glad you posted. Many of us are self-taught and reading about these mishaps really does help us think about safer use of tools like routers. Get well soon!

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Shelly,

Thanks for the post! Your pictures aren't too gross, at least you took them after it had been cleaned up :)

Here's to hoping that you recover fully!!

[Rich Torino]

Shelly thanks for the "safety reminder". Unfortunately it look like a painfull one.

It brings up a question though.. What type of coping sleds are out there for router tables?? Who has made them, who as bought a over the counter? I've used a rail and stile set up on a number of raised panel doors without incident but I normally try to make the cope cuts on a 6"ish wide board then rip to width for the rails.. After reading/seeing Shelly's post I'm going to re-think that whole process out again and use a sled..

Rich

[Aaron Montgomery]

Thanks for the post Shelly, but you really didn't have to go to that much trouble to remind us about workshop safety. ;) That looks really bad though and I hope it heals up soon. I think the router is the tool that I fear most for exactly the reason you posted.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[Ian Barley]

Shelly

Thanks for posting. There is only one thing smarter than learning from your own mistakes and that is learning from the mistakes of others - you just gave us all a chance to do just that. I hope that you heel quickly and are back in the shop soon.

[Dick Parr]

Wow Shelley, I'm really sorry to hear/see that. That has got to hurt.:eek: I hope you heal up real soon.:)

[Robert Watsek]

Geez Shelley!

I was aware you had a accident with the router and hoped that it wasnt this bad. And yes it could have been worse but that was bad enough.

I had a accident some yrs back which amputated the end of my left index finger it wasnt a shop accident but it was work related and it hurt like #%*#* for some time. I'm sure glad you posted in the turners forum as I dont often come up here.

Take care of that hand and heal up quickly. Mike is going to have to keep closer watch over ya.;)

_______________

Bob

[George Matthews]

Shelley,
Ouch! It wasn’t easy for me to view the pictures – I’ve been passing by this thread all weekend long (I'm a big pansy).

Same here... But I'm glad I did read it today.

Those images of Shelly's mangled fingers will serve as very valuable reminder when I'm about to make my next shaper pass. I hope fellow readers can avoid the pain.


I usually run a check list before the cut...

"If this bit/blade bites into the stock "...
- and is thrown, will it hit me?
(You have to move to one side, lower the guard or use a stop block.)

- will my fingers (glove) be sucked into the bit/blade?
( BTW, there is NO way you can react fast enough. You must use zero clearance, or as close a practical inserts to avoid the bit/blade from self feeding into the stock.)
)

[skip jack]

I am weak.

[Tom O'Donnell]

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">Shelley
Thank you for sharing your misfortune with such grafic pics I was only answering aa reply on another forum regarding safety. I will not go into great detail But what was said that '"It was safer to use the router in the router table than using it by Hand" A bold statement all I can say that in "some" instances it can be safer as not all jobs can be done in the plunge mode.
Again thank you for the reminder we appreciate your frankness as most others would be prepared to hide their mistakes.
Tom
</TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on">
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Shell

[Jay Knoll]

Shelley (and Matt)

Thanks for posting about your injuries. I hope you both are well "on the mend" and recovering from the trauma.

Both of you got me thinking that, if I didn't have the proper safety equipment on hand I would be too impatient to complete a project and, therefore, do something stupid.

So MLCS came through, the package arrived today, thanks for the wake up call

Jay

[Shelley Bolster]

Since Jay re-opened the thread (great to see that you bought the jigs Jay! ;) ) I thought I would do a quick update. Before that, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the well wishes both here on the forum and through PMs and emails. Oh yeah Byran, I ordered a Small Parts Miter Jig for LV as soon as I saw your link - THANKS! It appears to be the same as the one in Jay's pic - now I am going to check out the other one he posted for end/cope cuts!

So, I guess a few of you are wondering how the healing process is going - I just looked back at the old pics and WOW- I really am healing! As a comparison ( and to save from having to jump from page to page, I will post one of the originals and then a couple I just took)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3116.jpg


Now........18 days later! :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3176.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/103_3180.jpg

There is a remarkable improvement when you compare the before and after........that is exactly why the nurses agreed that taking progress pictures is a good idea.

There is still quite a bit of swelling making it hard to bend them but I am working daily at exercising them and am getting more mobility. I have finished the doors that I was working on when this happened however because I experience a lot of discomfort (the feeling is coming back - bittersweet) and I just don't feel comfortable doing many of procedures left handed, I have chosen to close shop for another week or two. Perhaps not until after Christmas even - after all, I found out a couple of days ago, that the "before Christmas" move in date that my niece had given me for the kitchen cabinets (I interrupted making the cabs because she implored me to build these doors for her) has been postponed until Feb.! So....the rushing I was doing.......well, it wasn't necessary after all. Needless to say, I have learned an invaluable lesson about being in a rush! :mad:

Once again, thanks everyone for your sympathy and understanding. I hope my experience will save a least a few of you from repeating my mistakes. :o