What's Your Safety Record While Woodworking?

[Matt Lentzner]

I myself haven't had any bad experiences, but I'm a newbie. I am very serious about safety. I use all my guards, splitters, safety glasses, ear protection, dust mask, push sticks, etc. I generally double check myself before turning the machine on.

The only time things get a little hairy is when I've been cutting sheet goods by myself. I plan to get a guided system in the near future (EZ or Ftool) to rectify this problem.

I did have my first ejection on my TS (not a kickback), but I was standing to the side so it was nowhere near me.

[Jim Becker]

I have hurt myself twice. The first time I clobbered myself with the end of a Bessey K-Body clamp that was longer that necessary, but at the time, the only one available. I have a nice scar on my forehead near the eyebrow from that little incident.

The second time was on New Years Day a few years ago...I proved that the 3/4" Ashley Iles chisel I was sharpening was...well...sharp...by requiring 5 stitches on my left thumb knuckle...on a holiday.

I tend to be very safety conscious in my shop. The riving knife is on my table saw 100% of the time and I use other safety systems as appropriate on other tools. I wear safety glasses 110% of the time I'm in the shop (which means I leave them on even when I walk into the house for a few minutes). I wear hearing protection when appropriate. And I use dust control religiously; both on the stationary equipment and on hand-held dust producers.

Most of all...I try not to rush anything. Rushing (and fatigue) are the main causes of accidents, IMHO.

[Randy Denby]

I've been doing woodworking (hobby) since high school in '73. No major accidents. All my minor accidents have been handtools. Couple of kickbacks, the first being on a shopsmith (terrible tablesaw!) , 2nd on my cabinet saw. Fortunately, the shopsmith didnt have enough power to hurt much, on the cabinet saw,I was fortunate that the plywood piece jammed between the blade and fence, tripping the breaker. I forgot to lockdown the fence, realized it immediately, held the plywood down with all of my might, then kicked the off switch, but by that time the breaker had tripped.
Worst scare was with a drill press and drilling 1/4" metal. It started spinning like a helicopter after loosing control of it. ALWAYS use a fence and if small, some kind of hold down !

BTW...I now use a biesemeyer splitter all the time too , on thru cuts.

[Joe Jensen]

I started woodworking when I was around 14 and about a year later I was trying to cut some parts that were way too small. I ended up with my left index finger in the tablesaw. Fortunately, I only had the blade up 1/4", and it was only 1/4" from the fence. The blade cut my finger to the bone starting on the top of the first joint, and it went all the way around the tip and to bottom of the finger and back to the first joint. The finger just looked like hamburger. Nothing to sew up, so they just wrapped it up with a lot of antibiotic ointment and checked the bandage twice a day. 30 years later it's 99% functional with just a little nerve damage, but it took more than 10 years to heal this well. But, I can still remember how the blade felt hitting the bone.

A family friend taught my dad and I the basics of saw safety, but the education was not very extensive, and the 1940s Craftsman saw had no safety equipment what so ever...joe

[Fred Voorhees]

I seem to remember once or twice where a kickback incident caused a nice welt on my belly. Other than that, I did run the tip of a finger across the spinning blades of my Delta jointer. That kind of s*cked.

[Tim Malyszko]

I have been very fortunate and have never suffered an injury, which I attribute to the years of "Safety First" banners, presentations and training I've gone through at various manufacturing facilities. (I'm probably the only guy in our city that always mows the lawn in Steel Toe Shoes, Safety Glasses, Ear Plugs and Pants).

For a few years, I worked for a company I would rather not name and there were plenty of past instances of people getting caught in augers and grinders. Because of stories like these, I think about what it would be like to lose a finger or a limb when I turn on my tools.

About the only thing that I've ever happened was getting hit between the legs with a strip of wood that came flying off the tablesaw. The piece got trapped between the fence and the blade and hit me square in the wedding tackle. You only do that once.

[Bill Huber]

We won't talk about lawn mowers but I have only had one minor thing happen and I did learn from it.

I cut the tip of my finger one the TS, not really bad no stitches but it did leave a scar.

I had my shop in the garage and the door was open, I was cutting away and one of the kids outside playing got hit by a ball and yelled. It took my attention away from the saw for a split second and that is all it took.

I never used the saw again with the door open, my little shop now is out back and there are no people around.

[Art Mulder]

You'll have to define "close call".

- kickback? sure, a couple times.
- drew blood? who doesn't. Even a sharp edge on a board can be enough to give a "paper-cut" type of cut.
- bashed thumb with hammer? a few times in my youth :rolleyes:

[Clayton Masterson]

So far I have gotten myself twice.

1. I was working on a cedar deck, cutting wet handrails...and gouged my left middle finger with the chop saw. It went down to the bone and literally stopped the blade. The guys I was working with knew it was bad when they heard the "PANG" and then an "oh ^@#% (^@#%)" ! No major damage, just a skin graft from my groin and many painful stitches through my finger.

2. Also laced up my finger with a 3 1/4 " portable planer while planing window jambs overhead. That on reall bled.


Safety devices are nice...but not great. The most important safety device is your BRAIN. Keep your head about you when you work and NEVER take your concentration off of what you are doing. The more comfortable you get, the more dangerous the work.

P.S. I have been working professionally for 6 years now.

[David Giles]

Blood dripped down my face just the other day when I raised up and put the end of an EZ rail right between my eyes. I can't remember what I was doing on the floor, but it must have been important.

I've also learned never to push a chisel or screwgun bit toward the other hand. Get a clamp!

[Ned Bulken]

The only time I've had a tool draw blood so far is my Scrollsaw. Pushing a cut through some hard maple, found a gap and the workpiece and my index finger jumped forward. I put a 1/8" slice right down the middle of my fingertip, nail and all. Nothing to be done with it, just kept it bandaged and some triple antibiotic ointment. awhile, it Healed up just fine.

Sharing that just to show that ANY tool can bite you. I've also had a couple of pieces grabbed out of my hands at the router. Thankfully just the piece went 'zoom' not my hand. (very early on, I learned quickly how to feed a piece through the router table).

[mark page]

I borrowed a friends cms when mine was in the shop, his did not have a blade guard and I forgot. That last little splinter of wood that was not cut all the way through did me in. I yanked on both pieces to separate them, now mind you the saw was fully stopped, but ran my thumb right up the blade, five stitches and still today a numb thumbtip.
Several large hammers to the thumbs before.
The closest I ever came to the potential of being seriously hurt, and the good lord was on my side, was in woodworking in high school. I got some clothes caught up in a wood lathe project. Started at my shirt and wound up with my pants. Left me standing in a pair of boots, plain belt, and tidy whities with a dazed look on my face. Thank god for cheap polyester back then. I would hate to think what would have happened with levi's on.

[Randy Denby]

I borrowed a friends cms when mine was in the shop, his did not have a blade guard and I forgot. That last little splinter of wood that was not cut all the way through did me in. I yanked on both pieces to separate them, now mind you the saw was fully stopped, but ran my thumb right up the blade, five stitches and still today a numb thumbtip.
Several large hammers to the thumbs before.
The closest I ever came to the potential of being seriously hurt, and the good lord was on my side, was in woodworking in high school. I got some clothes caught up in a wood lathe project. Started at my shirt and wound up with my pants. Left me standing in a pair of boots, plain belt, and tidy whities with a dazed look on my face. Thank god for cheap polyester back then. I would hate to think what would have happened with levi's on.

This has got to be the funniest shopbattle I've ever heard !!!! Was it a co-ed class :p

[Todd Jensen]

Stuck my thumb in the business-end of my portable power planer. Long story how and why, but 'ouch' was the result along with some stitches and a flat spot on my thumb that doesn't get dirty(must be a wierd scar tissue thing). A kickback on my first contractor saw that left a nice scar on my lower right chest. Any lower and it would have missed my ribcage and I'd have been a shishkabob. And finally, I did a really rough manicure on my little finger with an angle grinder with a 60 grit pad. Those are the memorable ones, along with the required near misses around the eyes, bashed thumb(why that one takes more than one time to learn I'll never know), and the frequent nick, scratch, and bumps.
Needless to say, I am now a safety nut; safety glasses, earplugs, dustmask and collection, and heavy gloves when playing with the squirrely tools(along with tool safety techniques to avoid kickbacks, etc.)
I completely agree with Jim about haste and fatigue - both seem to be great accident instigators. And I'd like to add one - the 'it won't happen to me' syndrome'. For those that haven't switched to the conservative path when it comes to safety, I beg you to take heed and take care of yourselves. Don't kid yourself, accidents can and will happen - the resulting outcome is based almost entirely on your own preperation and protection.
And thats my $2,000,000.:cool:

[glenn bradley]

When I was about 17 I was cross cutting on the TS without any means of guide (miter gauge, fence, etc.). Kickback pulled my hand near the blade and took about an 1/8" off the end of my thumb. It looked like an "El Explodo" cigar out of a cartoon. Doctor trimmed it round and you wouldn't know unless I pointed it out.

I was obviously not into woodworking back then and was just a dumb kid. Now at 51 years old I can still feel a stabbing sensation if I press the tip of that thumb.

[Doug Mason]

None for me yet other than normal cuts and close calls; my major fear is an eye injury from a shooting sliver of wood (from a knot, etc). I try to wear safety glasses always.

[mark page]

This has got to be the funniest shopbattle I've ever heard !!!! Was it a co-ed class :p

Yep it was co-ed, we had a few girl woodworkers out there. That didn't bother me as much as the trek to the parking lot to get in my car to drive home to properly attire myself again.
It was a very long time before I touched a wood lathe again, and still can't without remembering that fiasco. I was just lucky, REAL lucky. I have never seen anyone fight with a lathe before or after me, but have seen farmers get caught in tractor pto shafts. Not a pretty sight. They have no forgiveness.

[Pat Germain]

After watching films like "Three Finger Joe" at Vo-Tech and seeing absolutely horrendous mishaps in the Navy, I try to be very safety conscious. I always have my safety glasses on if I'm in the shop doing anything. (But I'm learning I probably need goggles for working with a router.) I always wear over-the-ear hearing protection when any power tool is running. I wear a dust mask when routing.

I admit I removed the guard and "splitter" from my table saw shortly after I bought it. That thing was so poorly designed I honestly think my saw is safer without it. Is there a good aftermarket guard and splitter available for a Craftsman contractor saw? If so, I'd consider buying one if it actually made the saw safer.

[Aaron Hamilton]

Back to high school shop again for me - we had a 20" big green bandsaw w/ a c-channel type adjustable blade guard. The saw didn't have a brake and I paid no attention to the fact the blade was still coasting. I grabbed the c channel guard w/ my hand and tried to adjust it only to realize about 2 second later that the blade was cutting the tips of my 3 fingers on the open side of the blade guard. No stitches, nothing horrible, but went to the bone.

[Jim Thiel]

Does being hit over the head by an at the time girlfriend with a hockey stick soon followed by an ugly breakup while working on the mailbox that I had hit earlier in the morning going way too fast down a narrow stretch of Broadway (odd coincidence there) count as a woodworking mishap?

Not that I would admit to that.

Jim

[Ralph Lindberg]

Actually all my scars are hand tools, mostly on my left hand...

OK, so there is one scar someplace else. You see I store my lathe chisels point down. I also had my carbon paper stored such that I had to bend over, behind the lathe, to reach it. Once, I backed up before standing...the DW loves to tell that story.

[Martin Shupe]

There is a hole in my drywall due to a kickback from the table saw, but no flesh wounds (yet). I use my safety gear, and I try to be careful.

[Chuck Lenz]

Meat cutter for 17 yrs, woodworker for close to 30 years. Still have all my digits, COMPLETE too !

[John Schreiber]

Trimming the Christmas tree before putting it in the stand. Used a bow saw with a frame which tapered from back to front. At one point, the saw got caught on a branch, jumped out of the kerf and bit the tip of my thumb.

It went in about halfway down the nail at an angle. I was alone at home at the time and went inside to get towels to stop the bleeding. I bled a little on the floor and had to clean that up before I went to the ER. I was more afraid of having my wife come back and see blood on the floor and me absent than of loosing tissue.

It looks normal now, but I don't have feeling in the very tip

[Larry Cooke]

I've never hurt myself in anyway that required medical attention other than a bandage in my woodworking. I always use the safety devices on my tools, if I ever have to do something that requires them to be removed I do a couple of mock tests (no power on the tool) and verify that all my appendages will be safe. I'll create jigs if needed, I kind of like thing the way my creator gave them to me.

I made the mistake of not using my safety glasses at work while using a bench grinder. Was buffing a metal part on the wire brush and ended up getting a bristle in my eye. Let me tell you that was one experience I never ever want to go through again. The doctor clamped my head in a head vise and then told me to look straight ahead and DO NOT MOVE MY EYE while he came at me with a syringe. Yep, he used the needle of the syringe to pick the sliver out of my eye while I got to watch him. I can still see out of the eye, but it taught a very valuable lesson. Use the safety tools too.

Be careful out there!

[Michael Schwartz]

I hit my thumb with a hammer today. TWICE! :mad:

:rolleyes:

On the bright side I didn't shoot my self with my framing nailer, cut myself with a skillsaw, or break my wrist with my hammer drill, or wreck my van on the way home.

[Dave Lindgren]

Dull blade on the bandsaw, had to force the work through. 3 stiches in the left index finger later I bought a new blade for the bandsaw. 700$ for the ER and 12.95 for the new blade. :p

[Brad Naylor]

Took the pad of the middle finger of my left hand off on a table saw - guiding stock through too close to the blade. It had healed enough after 5 years to play the guitar again.

Then I took a quarter inch off the same finger on the jointer. I don't play the guitar any more - but I blow a mean harp!

Cheers
Brad

[Rennie Heuer]

You need one more choice in your poll for those who have suffered minor nicks and bruises (see my signature) but have never been injured seriously enough to require anything more than a band aid and have been fortunate enough to not have had any close calls.

Something just less than "I have suffered minor injuries that required stitches or equivalent care".

My own circumstances have led to the point where the LOML always asks to see the blood spot on any finished project! :eek: :D

[Earl Kelly]

OK Guys, I may have the most unusual close call ever. I've been working with furniture since the early 70's and I used to do a lot of repairs and restoration. Well, I had this nice cedar chest that I did some work on, forget exactly what I had to do. But, one thing I did was replace the lock mechanism which sits in an open mortise on the inside of the chest. This was the last thing to do. I had the chest on my saw horses sitting upright with the lid open. While fitting the lock I realised it was slightly different from the original and had interference with the sides of the recess/mortise. It was necessary that it fit flush so the lid would close properly. I found the offending wood and proceeded to take it out using my router set to the proper depth. The router was horizontal to the floor and the bit was towards me. I just needed to trim a little off. Little did I realize that when you lean over with a loose sweatshirt it tends to hang away from your body. Yep, the router jumped up and grabbed my sweatshirt, right at the sternum, and before I could blink, the router was on the floor and the shirt had a hole in it the size of your fist. I just stood there for a while, I must have been ghost white, afraid to feel for bodily damage. Finally I mustered up enough courage to check and was relieved to be uninjured. I still have the sweatshirt as a reminder and have never worn it since.

[Wes Bischel]

I am embarrassed to say I got bit by the TS once 15 years ago. I was making picture frames - cutting the dado (i.e. guard and splitter off). I was 1/3 of the way into the cut and was reaching for the push stick when - BAM! The stock shattered my middle and ring fingers grazed the dado blade.
The ER doc had done his residency in rural Kansas - I got to hear all about the horrors of farm equipment.:(
Other than that I've been lucky - or vigilant. Safety glasses are a must always. My volume of WW has increased substantially since then, and now I have a little guy around, so safety by example is a must.

Wes

PS I worked with a guy that ran the model shop where I worked for 17 years - he never got so much as a scratch - ever. He has close to 40 years in the shop - what he can do is always amazing.

[Mark Singer]

I have had a lot of small injuries over the years ....noting big , Thank God!
Little cuts , splinters, things falling on my foot, clumsey I guess?

[Jim O'Dell]

My injuries have all been hammer hits, and splinters. I've had a couple close calls with shattered PVC when I knew better than what I was attempting, but no flesh wounds. Did get hurt last fall cutting a limb down out of a tree. On a 6' ladder, limb went unexpectedly, swung down and took the ladder right out from under me. I went horizontal landed full force on the limb on my side, and either badluy bruised or separated ribs. God's angels were guarding me as the chainsaw ent 'over there' somewhere. After I hit I gradually sat up and looked to see if the chainsaw was close, because I knew it was still running and I could hear the chain still moving. Once I knew I was clear from it, I laid down. LOML walked ever so slowly from the other end of the yard, asked how to turn the chainsaw off, stood over me and said, " You're one lucky puppy...I'll go get a wet washcloth." That's when I knew I had some scrapes and scratches that were bleeding. That took a few months to get healed up from. Jim.

[David Tiell]

When I was about 16, I was trying to cut some tenons on the table saw FREEHAND. Yeah, the word STUPID comes to mind real quick, but I was young and new and didn't know better. The piece kicked back on me, and the index and middle finger on my left hand was thrown into the blade. Fortunately, it only grazed the ends. The doctor trimmed up the loose bits and bandaged it up. To this day I can hold a straight edge to the flat spots left.

Another time, while working with my father on a construction site, I needed to change a circular saw blade. The saw was a particularly poor design where the trigger was also the blade lock if the saw had no power. I was holding it horizontally, bout an inch from my stomach, and hit the trigger to lock the blade. Problem was, I hadn't unplugged the saw. Scared the heck out of me. Couldn't work for the rest of the day, I was so rattled.

Both incidences have made me much more safety conscious, fortunately at rather small costs to me.

[Nancy Laird]

Personally, I haven't had anything more than nicks and scrapes in the shop, but since I consider LOML David as a member here too, I voted "for him." He's had two incidents in the shop that have required ER visits - he took his left thumb print pad off on the jointer - still haven't figured out quite how he did it, but I came home to find no spouse and lots of blood all over the place! The other was when he tipped his left "social finger" on a chop saw--didn't get bone, but that finger is about 1/4" shorter than the other one.

But his most serious injury was when he was taking down a double garage door. It had a spring across the width of the door with a rod through it--the spring had a collar on one end with square-head bolts through it that tightened against the rod to keep tension on the spring (and we all know how big garage-door springs are, don't we?--and how lethal they can be??). He had the spring "fixed" with a pair of vise grips and had loosened one of the bolts when the grips came loose, the spring started to detension and spin, together with the collar. The collar made about one revolution before David moved his hand, but those square-head bolts made mincemeat of his left hand. Broke the bones above his pinky and ring fingers, broke the pinky knuckle, and severed the tension above the ring finger, aside from turning the flesh into mush. The doc in the ER thought he would lose two fingers, but thanks to the wonderful hand surgeon at Portsmouth (VA) Naval Hospital, he has retained about 98% use of the hand, aside from he can't make a tight fist with it, has no knuckle above his ring finger, and has an really ugly scar. But he can still count to ten on both hands.

It's not only those shop machines that can bite you!!

Nancy

[David Weaver]

Just one kickback for me so far - left a lump just above my groin - the lump still hasn't gone away completely about 4 months after the fact, but I'm a new woodworker and my history is short. Lucky to have jeans on for the kickback event, but it was still a good learning experience.

I have gotten various small cuts and dings from catching falling Forrest sawblades, or checking chisels for "sharpness" when I didn't think they were sharp yet.

[Paul Muhlstadt]

Tablesaw kickback. 4X4 between the eyes. Thank God I was wearing my safety glasses. Would be blind if not. Safety glasses trashed. Table saw out of alignment. I didn't go back into the shop for a month.
Please everyone. Wear safety glasses.

[dan moran]

i usually shoot myself with a nail gun every once a year or so, same with the hammer/thumb thing..

other than that, nothing major..
im really careful around the saws etc, but im usually going faster with the fastening devices, so every once in a while i get bit..

[Jay Keller]

Seems the drill press has on a couple of occasions been my nemisis. Im pretty careful nowadays to now clamp materials to bed vs hand hold.

[Brice Burrell]

I was cutting metal with a 4 1/2" angle grinder when about 1/3 of the blade ****e off, put a large nick in my safety glasses. I was really surprised at the force of the impact. Buy good saftety glasses and wear them, always!

[Matt Campbell]

have been fortunate enough to not have had any close calls.

After my recent accident of taking a chunk out a finger with my jointer, I'm calling every trip to the shop a close call from now on. Just being around a tool is a close call. I have my blood rag from wrapping up my finger nailed to my garage wall as a reminder.

[Ryan Myers]

The closest I ever came to the potential of being seriously hurt, and the good lord was on my side, was in woodworking in high school. I got some clothes caught up in a wood lathe project. Started at my shirt and wound up with my pants. Left me standing in a pair of boots, plain belt, and tidy whities with a dazed look on my face. Thank god for cheap polyester back then. I would hate to think what would have happened with levi's on.

Thats hilarious!!! It's good that you can laugh about it now. That could have been really bad.

I had a similiar situation in high school happen to me. But it was in art class, not shop class. I was using a "kick" style pottery wheel and had it turning at a high rate of speed. I was talking to a girl and apparently didn't notice my apron strings were loose. They wrapped around the shaft and pulled my face straight down into the pot and then ripped the apron in half. Bruised up my nose pretty good. All happend in front of the entire class, so I was never able to live it down.

I have never had any serious shop accidents in 20 years of playing with wood. I have had my fair share of injuries from tools while working my day job as an electrician.

[Andrew Williams]

This is not a woodworking accident, but it happened and has certainly contributed to me being extra careful now. I have not had a woodworking accident and pray to never have one.

I was sharpening a kitchen knife with one of those little handheld hone thingies and the blade slipped out. It must have done a great job sharpening since there was no pain whatsoever, but my right index finger was hanging off from the lowest knuckle. The blade had gone right into the knuckle and severed the extensor tenon.

I was certain that my career as a professional musician was over and nearly went into a complete shock but I managed to get someone to drive me to the hospital. They were not able to do anything but splint it, since the hand surgeon was not available. I made a bunch of calls and finally found a Dr friend who worked with another hand surgeon who would see me in a day or two. Those were some long days.

The operation was a success, and since I had insurance it "only" cost me about $1000 or so in additional costs. That was only the start though, since the repaired finger was completely non-functional (except as a pointer). Thus began a 5 month series of three-day-a-week visits to the physical therapist to try to get as much use out of this hand as I could.

After a whole lot of pain, several thousand dollars in out-of-pocket expense and lost wages, I had about 60% range of motion. It has now been 4 years and it has settled in at about 65-70%. Still a bit of pain and some things that I used to take for granted are just not possible, but I managed to keep playing my instruments and it has not affected the quality of my playing (although that year wasn't so good). Needless to say, I have a pretty constant reminder of why to be careful when working with, well, anything...

And I sure am thankful that I could keep my job.

[Scott Rollins]

Cheap chinese wrench rounded over a cheap chinese bolt on my Ridgid planer (probably chinese too) while changing blades. 3" gash along entire right middle finger straigh to the bone. The scar is shaped like a smiley face while straight..but perfectly straight when bent as if I was holding a wrench.:eek: I always use a protective 1/4" piece of MDF over the blade while changing blades now...I also unplug my table saw when changing blades.

This weekend my neighbor got mad at me for not allowing him in my shop while I was working. It only takes one second for an accident to happen.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I bashed a finger with a sledge hammer while shoring up a porch roof but I don't count that as a hobby related accident.

I got two fingers in a lawn mower when I was 8 years old mowing lawns for $$, so that wasn't hobby related.

I got my 2 foot long ponytail caught in the lead screw of an engine lathe in a machine shop while turning Acme Threads on a tool steel bar making - - you guessed it - - a thread cutting tool for my hobby. So maybe that counts as a close call in the hobby. Acme threads are BIG, the bar stock was 2" diameter, and tool steel is hard material so I was turning at a very slow speed. My hair wound up slowly enough that I was able to throw the lever to off as it slowly pulled me away from the controls and down to my knees where I remained trapped with the machine off until a friend came by to disengage the lead screw and let me go. The next week I had my hair cut short.

Actually I am surprised that more people don't get hair caught in drill presses, routers, hand drills, lathes, and other rotating machinery.

However the real hobby close call was a TS kick back. Some odd 30 years ago I had a huge chunk of Mahog on my old TS. I was ripping it to make guitar necks. The stock was so thick I had to rip one side and flip it to rip the other each pass needing the full depth of cut of the 10" TS blade.

On the first pass the thing compressed on the blade and BAM~!! the stock flew past my head into a concrete block wall behind me where it cracked one of the blocks. At the time, I hadn't yet learned to insert little wood wedges into the rip to prevent kick back.

Interestingly, it was John Walton who taught me to insert little wood wedges into my rip cuts to prevent kickback.
Yes that John Walton.

[Brad Tallis]

I have a permament reminder screwed to the inside of my jaw due to not following shop safety...

I was turning an alabaster (stone) bowl on my lathe. I wear an Airmate full-face shield. Anyways, my wife came into the shop to ask me a question. Usually, it's a simple yes/no type question, but this time it wasn't. I hadn't turned off my lathe and the fan in my Airmate mask was still blowing.

Well, I took off my mask so I could hear her better. A few seconds later, I heard a loud bang like a shotgun blast and my face suddenly really hurt.

The bowl had exploded on the lathe and a chunk of it had hit me in the side of my face right between my left eye and ear. It knocked me loopy as I don't remember how I got from my lathe to the other side of my shop. My wife asked if I was ok, and when I went to talk, I could feel my teeth scraping back and forth infront of each other. (ick)

I was rushed to the hospital and they were afraid I would have brain swellng, so I got the mandatory MRI where they found my jaw was broken straight through in my chin (the stone hit me below my ear, but the bone broke in my chin, that's how forcefull it was).

The hospital brought in a neurosergeon who analized me and then refered me to a jaw specialist, who was on vacation. So, they sent me home pumped full of pain killers. I had to sleep that night with a broken jaw and had surgery the next day to install a titanium plate to hold the two sides of my jaw together. Then, I got my jaw wired shut (that was fun... not!)

Anyways, long story short... It would have taken me 1 second to turn off the lathe... Instead, I earned thousands of dollars of medical bills, nerve damage to my face, and my wife had to witness the whole accident ( I think that was the worst part). Yep, one second to turn off the lathe and I could have avoided this. Also, an inch to the right and I probably would have lost an eye...

I still have a chunk of the stone imbedded in the wall as a reminder...

Be safe...

Brad

[Al Willits]

I went with the needed stitches option, never had any, but I've used several band aids, a paper towel and duct tape to finally stop the bleeding after I ran my hand over the jointer while cleaning it, that got two fingers.

I should probably be the Murphy poster boy as if it can happen, it will happen to me...

Only woodworking I ever had was in 9th grade and after a kid ran his hand over the TS blade early on in the year, our power tool usage was greatly curtailed, so didn't learn much about safety and power tools...

So I'm finding out about kick backs, router launches, feeding wood though most anything powered, and all the rest of the good stuff as I go.
Am lucky enough to have had enough experience in other fields to know to keep anything you don't want maimed, away from anything sharp.

With the help of you guys, I've managed to keep everything attached, a bit beat up, but still attached...:D

Al...nice hobby if it don't kill or maim ya...

[Bill White]

last year. Unpacked and set up my new lathe. Walking down the hill from my shop to the truck with the EMPTY BOX (ok at least 8 lbs. of cardboard).
Tripped, fell, and ended up with a fractured vertebra. Now THAT was fun.
Bill

[Tim Lynch]

Luckily nothing terrible in my shop. When I was in my junior year of college I went down to my father's basement workshop to make a part for some darn thing that was a small piece of sheet metal with a hole drilled in it. Cut the small piece, put it on the drill press, put my finger on it to hold it, and started drilling.

Brilliant, right? They should have revoked most of my college credits right there.

The piece grabbed, spun, and sliced a jagged wound in my index finger.

Even more memorable was this: I laid awake all night trying to elevate my hand and counting the pain/pulsebeats in my finger. The next day was the first day of my first "real" job -- an intern position at an engineering company. Here I am with a huge bandaged finger, trying to fill out forms and type on a keyboard. But the worst was I couldn't stay awake to save my life! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

I'll bet I made a great first impression. :) :eek:

Anyway, it taught me to think a couple moves ahead to what might happen next, and be a little pessimistic about it!

[Brian Penning]

So Brad are you the single vote for the 1st choice of the poll? re: permanent damage.

If not I wonder what it was...


I have a permament reminder screwed to the inside of my jaw due to not following shop safety...

I was turning an alabaster (stone) bowl on my lathe. I wear an Airmate full-face shield. Anyways, my wife came into the shop to ask me a question. Usually, it's a simple yes/no type question, but this time it wasn't. I hadn't turned off my lathe and the fan in my Airmate mask was still blowing.

Well, I took off my mask so I could hear her better. A few seconds later, I heard a loud bang like a shotgun blast and my face suddenly really hurt.

The bowl had exploded on the lathe and a chunk of it had hit me in the side of my face right between my left eye and ear. It knocked me loopy as I don't remember how I got from my lathe to the other side of my shop. My wife asked if I was ok, and when I went to talk, I could feel my teeth scraping back and forth infront of each other. (ick)

I was rushed to the hospital and they were afraid I would have brain swellng, so I got the mandatory MRI where they found my jaw was broken straight through in my chin (the stone hit me below my ear, but the bone broke in my chin, that's how forcefull it was).

The hospital brought in a neurosergeon who analized me and then refered me to a jaw specialist, who was on vacation. So, they sent me home pumped full of pain killers. I had to sleep that night with a broken jaw and had surgery the next day to install a titanium plate to hold the two sides of my jaw together. Then, I got my jaw wired shut (that was fun... not!)

Anyways, long story short... It would have taken me 1 second to turn off the lathe... Instead, I earned thousands of dollars of medical bills, nerve damage to my face, and my wife had to witness the whole accident ( I think that was the worst part). Yep, one second to turn off the lathe and I could have avoided this. Also, an inch to the right and I probably would have lost an eye...

I still have a chunk of the stone imbedded in the wall as a reminder...

Be safe...

Brad

[Brad Tallis]

So Brad are you the single vote for the 1st choice of the poll? re: permanent damage.

If not I wonder what it was...

Brian-

Nope, I voted the one below that, "Injured but with no long lasting effects".

I too was curious what injury was the #1 vote...

Brad

[Benjimin Young]

Radial saw projectile

The first time was about 25 years ago when I was ripping a 2x4 on a Craftsman radial saw from the wrong end and it flew out the other end and logged into a drywall partition. The second time was bout 15 years ago when I was ripping some 12 inch wide plywood (from the proper end this time) and the palls were not set right. The work piece flew straight back at me, hit me square in the chest with enough force to put me flat on the floor with the wind knocked out of me. I rarely rip on my radial saw these days.




When I was in grade 9 metalworking I was hammering a red-hot piece of metal into a cold chisel on an anvil and it left the gripping pliers, flew up end over end in slow motion and hit me square in the eye. Fortunately, I had a face shield on and there was no injury.

[Ernie Hobbs]

One of the more interesting minor woodworking injuries happened to my brother Calvin-
When we were in high school, me and my brothers would play basketball on the dirt court behind Dad's shop. Sometimes, when our Dad (Ben Hobbs) was taking a break from working, he'd come join us for a few minutes and show us how to do it. One day, Calvin was playing defense as Dad was driving to the hoop and and drew back a bloody arm. Dad sometimes puts his chisels in his back pocket when he's carving and had one in his back pocket. When Calvin went to swat at the ball, he caught his arm on that chisel. Since he wasn't really hurt that bad, it was pretty funny and we always had to make sure Dad took out his chisels before playing again. I think Calvin still has a crescent-shaped scar on his forearm.

[Jared Greenberg]

3x3 chunk of ash flew off the lathe and hit me above the right eye (had a shield on) cut me open for 7 stitches.

Went and got sewn up, put on the shirt and tie and went for our fifth anniversary dinner. Blackeye, stitches and all.

She saw the trail of blood from the shop to the house, and thought something happened to one of the dogs! Right then and there I knew where I stood.

[Brian Penning]

Anyone else surprised as I am at the vote ratio?
Over a third with minor injuries. I'm not as bad as I thought ;)

[Howard Hanger]

I haven't ever had a close call but I was speaking with a guy at a wholesale lumber yard who owns a cabinet shop. He was missing part of a finger from a TS accident. Interestingly enough, he thought that the pro's have way more accident than the weekend warriors. They get jaded working around the tools all day and they don't pay as much attention as us amatuers. He wished he had a SS now!

[BOB BUCHANAN]

2, 10, 11

Eyes, Fingers, Toes

No mishaps yet.

[John Russell]

So Brad are you the single vote for the 1st choice of the poll? re: permanent damage.

If not I wonder what it was...

Ok, so I am histronic, but I am the vote. I lost about an inch of my left index finger. About everyday i am reminded of the loss of function --- trying to grip something tight using my fingers, trying to twist on anything does not work because the finger is numb. It is an ongoing and everyday reminder of the accident.

I was cutting rabbets with short pieces. Had cut 10 or so and then something happened so fast i still do not know what actually occurred, but by finger was a mess. A trip to the ER, about 8K in costs later and it took some time to get back to work so I could actually type on a keyboard. I still make mistakes because I cannot feel in the tip of what is left of my left index.

Maybe I should have voted for the category below, but it is a significant enough injury for what I do in life to be an everyday liability.

[Bill Huber]

Ok, so I am histronic, but I am the vote. I lost about an inch of my left index finger. About everyday i am reminded of the loss of function --- trying to grip something tight using my fingers, trying to twist on anything does not work because the finger is numb. It is an ongoing and everyday reminder of the accident.

I was cutting rabbets with short pieces. Had cut 10 or so and then something happened so fast i still do not know what actually occurred, but by finger was a mess. A trip to the ER, about 8K in costs later and it took some time to get back to work so I could actually type on a keyboard. I still make mistakes because I cannot feel in the tip of what is left of my left index.

Maybe I should have voted for the category below, but it is a significant enough injury for what I do in life to be an everyday liability.

John, have you ever thought about having that finger removed?
I know that my sounds bad but I had a lawn mower accident and messed up my right hand really bad but the Dr. did a great job on it and after trying to save the index finger which they couldn't they ask about removing it.
They took the rest of it off and the knuckle as well. I have full use of my hand and there are really no problems with it at all.
I know of 2 people that have had some type of accident that took part of a finger or left a finger with no feeling in it at all. In both cases after seeing my hand and talking to me had the finger removed.

I have worked with people for years that never even knew it was gone.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=570174#poststop

[scott spencer]

I've had a few kickback episodes that got my attention. Usually I was doing something stupid and preventable. The speed and force of the wood coming off the saw always amazes me.

I posted about one of those incidents here about two years ago. I was crosscutting some 2" wide 3/8" plywood strips to length that left about 3" of cutoff on the right side of the blade. I was being lazy and letting the cutoffs collect and stack up a bit. By the time I realized the top piece was dancing it's way toward the back of the blade, I was wearing it faster than I could blink. A 2"x 3" x 3/8" piece hit me square on the upper right arm at a high rate of speed and left a perfect rectangular scratch mark that matched the outline of the peice...that mark later turned to a rectangular bruise. I was lucky it hit me broad side and not with a corner. But wait, there's more...it ricocheted off my arm and flew about 45 degrees off axis and landed in the center of our front yard where my 6 year daughter was playing about 40 feet away (a location I'd consider safe for her) ...it hit her in nearly the same spot on her right arm and left a scratch from one of the corners. :eek: :o

Knock wood...no real injuries to speak of, but more close calls than I'd care for.

[Chip Olson]

Actually I am surprised that more people don't get hair caught in drill presses, routers, hand drills, lathes, and other rotating machinery.
That's why my hair is in a braid and tucked into the back of my shirt the second I set foot in the shop.

Worst woodworking injury was actually in high-school wood shop, when I was sanding some small pieces on the disc sander, and one of them went down the gap between disc and table, followed by two of my fingers. Didn't have to trim those two fingernails for a while.

[Dave Sinkus]

I received, corner first, a piece of 3/4 plywood about 3 inches to the left of the family jewels. It was my introduction to wood working in an Army base hobby shop. I had ripped the piece of plywood and instead of leaving it on the outfeed side and turning the saw off, I brought the piece back over the blade. The leverage wasn't as good for the furthest corner and it sagged into the blade enough to grab it and slam it into my upper leg.

My friend asked me if I was o.k. because I "looked a little pale". No stitches needed, but a nice little bump there for a couple of years.

[Rick Gibson]

Trimming the edge of a large piece when it kicked back. It was big enough it just bounced off me but it sure made for a sore side and nice bruises for a few days. Splitter and blade guard were all one piece so both had to be removed to do the cut. I have since separated them and no longer use the blade guard, but the splitter is used as much as possible, the hands don't go any where near the blade as I use push sticks or pads that keep them well above the blade reach at all times. Father in law lost a couple fingers up to the first knuckle in a jointer so I have a lot of respect for those sharp spinning things. .

[Mark Pruitt]

I learned a few days ago that there is an advantage to having a dull bandsaw blade. I'm normally careful and I still don't think I was doing anything "wrong," but I did have a slip which caused my thumb to contact the blade. All I got out of it was a scratch. No blood; not even any pain. Lesson learned nonetheless.

[Floyd Harper]

in first few months of real woodworking (not rough household stuff)
I nicked the tip of my pinky on a jointer with no guard(old Rockwell). I was was working with dull blades, no gaurd, and a 6" long piece of wood. The board flew about 10 feet into the wall. I had lost about a 5/8 inch, but it grew most of the way back. It cut the entire fingernail. Now the fingernail is about 3/8 inch long. If anybody gets an injury like this try to get a platelet patch. It made my finger grow back(minus about 3/16) and no nerve damage.

I'm glad it happened because I have a very healthy fear of blades. My new jointer has a guard.

I also have pictures of the injury to look at as a reminder.

[Todd Lord]

I had just gotten through smoking some wacky tobbaco (at work), when I turned on the TS with a dado blade(13/16).
I ran my fore finger and middle finger into it long ways.
Two surgerys and 4 pins gave me a permenant bird finger.
The second opinion wanted to take my finger off.

I am a recovering drug addict sober of 20 yrs.
Don't do drugs people people and don't forget many medications will impare your judgments, even cold meds.
Stay clear headed and leave home problems at the door.
Every time you turn on a tool your odds go down.



John 3:17

[FRITZ STOOP]

Back in the 70s, while I was GBC, I was ripping some 2x4 blocking with a Skil 77. It was late, I was in a hurry, etc, etc. I was holding the block in my left hand, one end on the concrete floor. The carbide blade caught a knot and dragged the board and my left hand under and into the blade.

It filleted my ring finger. The thickness of the kerf made it a mess. My wedding ring stopped the rotation with a "clunk", but it save me. The blade had already fried the first knuckle and split the fingernail on the top side, but it would have been much worse had it continued up into my palm.

A bunch of surgeries and a lot of years later, the first knuckle remains frozen and my hand aches like crazy in the cold. I have been very careful since and accident free!

[Chuck Tringo]

Just a few small injuries, but enough to scare me into thinking about safty alot more now. I was drilling into a small piece a wood...while holding it in my other hand...needless to say the bit slipped and cut into my the side of my finger. Other time, I was freehand sanding a long piece of trim to go around my fireplace and i sanded the tips off of my first two fingers on my left hand.

[Douglas Barnard]

Once while ripping some phillipine mahogany into thin slats on my old radial arm saw (I know, I know, not advised but all I had at the time) I had a kickback. Luckily I was NOT in the line of fire. The thin (1/4") by 3/4" by 4' piece kicked back, went into the nearby cinderblock wall and took a chunck out of the cinderblock. I finished the ripping by going to a hobby shop that had a table saw.

[George Bregar]

I voted never been injured, but close call...but only because I have never had stitches. I've cut myself a few times with chisels, and once or twice witha Japanese saw. Stuff like that. I think I once got a very shallow cut on the bandsaw. I would agree with Jim...fatigue and rushing are the two biggest factors.

[Denny Rice]

I have never been seriously hurt in the shop, but been "scared pretty bad". The worst thing I have ever seen happned in high school, a friend of mine was in the process of sqaring up his rough lumber on the jointer and really wasn't paying close attention to what he was doing and the planner knives caught his two middle fingers, blood went flying. He took off about 1/4inch of the longest finger and nicked the other. Scared the hell out of me, to this day I have 100 percent respest for all my shop tools.

[Paul Greathouse]

I voted seriously injured but no long term affects.

While building the trusses for my shop, I recruited LOML to temporarily toenail the two rafter boards at the peak while I was holding them togeather. One of the boards was slightly bowed and didn't match up without some manual incouragement.

Well, that didn't go so well, LOML had used my finish guns and staplers so I figured she would do alright with the framing nailer. The Senco double shot. After firing the first nail, it recoiled back and came down on the back side of my right hand for the second shot. The 12d galvanized ringshank disappeared completely into my hand at an angle, went through 3 bones and the tip of the nail was just poking out of the meaty part of where my thumb attaches to my hand.

Didn't feel a thing for the first few minutes, but by the time we were on the way to the hospital the shock wore off and the pain really set in. We live out in the country so the hospital wasn't just around the corner. Spent the rest of the morning in the emergency room, most of the afternoon in surgery and the rest of the day & night in the hospital bed on pain killer.

I got full use of my hand back after a couple months. Needless to say I had to hire a little help to get the trusses finished and set in place.

Gory enough for ya?

[Dean Baehman]

While I was sitting in surgical waiting room a doctor came in to talk to a family next to me. The doctor was saying he's going to have a lot of pain, but that's to be expected when you cut you finger off with a circular saw!
Asked the family about the accident-cut the finger off on a chop saw and they had to dig the finger part out of the dust collector! But they said he heals well, he cut one off a few months ago on the jointer!

[Kevin Groenke]

While an undergrad working in a university maintenance shop 18 years ago:

Rt thumb and middle finger amputated at 1st knuckle when kickback flipped board and hand holding it into spinning tablesaw blade.

6 hours of surgery resulted in 1/8" shorter digits with last joints frozen.

Several factors contributed:

Poorly maintained tablesaw with rip fence that didn't lock parallel to the blade.
Badly designed bladeguard removed by employer because it was ineffective.
Not adequately instructed/trained by employer (x-cutting 1'x3' plywood to 1'x1' using rip fence)I'm not the litigious type, but if I had known then what I know now, I would have come out of it with 2 short fingers and a 6-7 figure settlement (an institution was negligent) as it turns out I am now responsible for preventing the same sort if incident for 500+ students at the same institution less than 100 yards from where I was injured.

I've been at it for 12 years and haven't had anything approaching the severity of the injury I sustained.

KOW

-kg

[Charles Wiggins]

I myself haven't had any bad experiences, but I'm a newbie. I am very serious about safety. I use all my guards, splitters, safety glasses, ear protection, dust mask, push sticks, etc. I generally double check myself before turning the machine on.

The only time things get a little hairy is when I've been cutting sheet goods by myself. I plan to get a guided system in the near future (EZ or Ftool) to rectify this problem.

I did have my first ejection on my TS (not a kickback), but I was standing to the side so it was nowhere near me.

I caught a rocket from the TS in the gut once. Bad bruise. But my worst injury had nothing to do with a power tool. I grabbed a piece of oak that was falling and the downward force drove a 3" splinter through the heel of my hand and out by the base of my thumb. Four hours at the emergency room and two stitches at the entry wound.

[Matt Mutus]

Most of all...I try not to rush anything. Rushing (and fatigue) are the main causes of accidents, IMHO.

I haven't read this whole thread... but I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. Being in a rush is when you tend to do things you normally wouldn't do, even when you know it in the back of your mind. The need to get something done fast becomes more important than caution. This is more common with people who are on jobs, but hobbiests can fall in the trap too.

But I don't think newbies or weekend warriors are the biggest risk for power tool injury - They are usually more cognizant of injury risk than people who are a little too comfortable. Of three guys I know who have lost a piece of themselves, all were experienced tradesmen, not newbies - and the one thing they had in common is that they were in a rush.

All my own dangerous moments had the same circumstances also - job over estimate... customer antsy... boss irritated... get it done yesterday... next thing I know I'm counting my fingers to see if they're all stil there.

I often think back and wonder, if I was permanently injured... just how important would that rushed job seem now?

[Greg Heppeard]

Hmmmmmmmm let's see if I can remember most of them. Smashed fingers with hammer...several times (I'll probably never learn). Ran my middle finger into the running table saw blade, trimmed my fingernails to the point of blood with a panel shaper, stabbed my hand with an extremely sharp chisel...all because of complacency and repetition. Countless splinters, the most notable was a 6" oak splinter through the top of my knuckle. Several kickbacks to the stomach from table saw...I try to stay out of the line of fire now. One nasty kickback to the head from bandsaw...never cut round stock now without a clamp involved somehow.

:o

[John Thompson]

"The second time was on New Years Day a few years ago...I proved that the 3/4" Ashley Iles chisel I was sharpening was...well...sharp...by requiring 5 stitches on my left thumb knuckle...on a holiday"... Jim Becker

**********************

Cannot think of moment that there was not evidence of knicks and cuts.. but the worst was knocking an Ashley Isles chisel off the work-bench and instintly trying to catch it without thought.

Would have required 5-6 stitches but was too close to the knuckle to stitch. The doctor got it stopped bleeding in just under an hour with a pressure bandage as I am on a mild dose of prescription blood thinner.

Watch out for Ashley Isles as apparently from Jim's previous post.. they're out to get ya! :)

Sarge..

[Steve LaFara]

Where do I start? I guess the two major ones are a left index finger that's now about 3/8" shorter thanks to a router table incident and four new front teeth and 15 stitches that left a very manly looking scar in my upper lip from a table saw kick back. Lots and lots of other minor things but the worst was when I fell off a ladder drywalling the ceiling of my garage and lost half of my right pinky. Not really wood working but I was holding a drill at the time.:(

I have the two pieces of wood that got me marked with the dates of the accidents prominently displayed as a reminder. Blood stains last a lot longer than I thought they would. Oh, and the cheesy aluminum ladder is now in some land fill.

[George Bregar]

Oh let me add I was making a couple of quick cuts on the CMS. I x-cut the first board, moved it back...that is not left of the blade, but further from the MS fence. I slid in the second board to cut. When I went to cut it the blade also caught the first board, and of course my thumb was between the two boards (holding the second) when the blade pulled the first into the second. Make sense? No real harm, other than a badly bruised thumb, a small cut, and a lesson learned. :o

[Michael Gibbons]

I'm normally attentive but the first day I brought my new TS home i had to make a fast first cut and used the mitre gauge with the rip fence. Can you say kickback? The little square missle went flying by me:eek:. I do wear my glasses and definetly wear earmuff when on the router table- too loud and screachy.

[Robert E Johnson III]

I guess you can call this woodworking. I built my 1200 sq. ft garage shop my self which took over a year to build off and on. Injuries on the fingers came from hammering shingles ouch, but the really close call came from installing one ove the garage door tracks when I was in a hurry stepping down from the step ladder I caught my wedding ring in the track causing a small cut on my knuckle,swelling for weeks and ruining the ring which I quickly removed befor there was swelling. Lesson here is to remove rings before working. I do wear saftey glasses all the time when operating any shop equipment.

[David Freed]

I tried to make a through cut on a 2' long board on the table saw. I had done this at other times with no trouble. I put one end of the board on the saw table past the blade and lowered the board into the blade. I stood to the side and loosely held the end of the board past the blade with my left hand, while keeping a firm grip on the other end with my right hand. I was thinking that if it kicked back it would just yank the board out of my left hand. Just as I saw the blade coming through the board, it did kick back, my left hand hit me hard in the chest, and when I looked at it, the end of my middle finger was split right through the bone and I could see some of the bone exposed on the finger next to it. There was hardly any blood and it hardly hurt at all till the next day. I am not the queasy type and since it wasn't bleeding much I went to the house, washed off the dirt and sawdust as best as I could, and had my daughter drive me to the hospital. The doctor wanted to try to find a surgeon to repair the tendon that was missing from the end of my finger but I didn't have insurance and I told him to just patch it up and let me go home. That was 2 years ago. The end of my finger won't completely straighten and is a little stiff but I don't notice it when I'm working.

[Tom Young]

I'm almost embarrassed to mention this, but I sliced my thumb with a utility knife while chamfering the end of a tenon. Needed two stitches to close the wound. I remember thinking just before it happened that pulling the knife toward me was a bad idea. Then the knife slipped and sliced the thumb, through the nail, to the bone. I knew I had cut myself pretty badly but did not want to look at at it. Ignorance is bliss... Anyway, when I looked I knew my home first aid kit wasn't going to fix it. A quick trip to the Naval Hospital EM where they patched me up and I was back in the shop that afternoon, a humbled and much wiser woodworker. For those who have never had the pleasure of being taken care of by a Navy "Doc", part of the bedside manner is to make you realize how stupid you are for getting injured in such an avoidable fashion. And if you are a Marine, so much the better. I think every Corpsman on duty came to look at the old Marine who cut himself with the utility knife.

Semper fi,
Tom

[Lee Koepke]

As a weekend woodworker, and pretty new to the trade ... I have read this entire thread. I appreciate everyone sharing their stories, no matter how close or bad the incident. I am in the construction industry by trade (3rd generation) so safety is something I am always cognizant of.

I have never really been formally trained on any of these machines, and thats the one thing I think I would recommend to anyone buying any new equipment ( as a rookie ). Norm says it "learning how to use your machines properly"

When I got my first $200 table saw I read all the paperwork and thought I had it under control. I read about kickback, how to prevent it, etc. but didnt REALLY understand what it was all about, until a 3' piece of oak i was trying to rip got bored and decided to hit me in the gut. Painful, but thats about it.

I have to say that since then, I understand the mechanics of the machine alot better, and it makes me think my cuts thru often. Forums like this, and TONS of reading material has been my training. However, I woud be a big proponent of handson for new machines, because you really cant get the full appreciation from just words.

Thanks again for helping ME be a safer woodworker. Be Safe all ..

Lee.

[Pete Stack]

I got 10 stitches in my left index finger (including three through my finger nail) while chamfering narrow stock on a jointer. Finger tip is still a little sensitive, but no lingering effects. I was only six months into a job building decks, so using power tools was completely new to me. Whenever I get a new power tool, I always read ALL the directions and run it through a series of tests to get comfortable with it before actually using it on a piece of furniture.

I now--like most here--have several thousand dollars worth of power tools and have a dozen different ways of cutting a piece of wood. Yet it was a $4 plastic screen spline tool that almost cost my right thumbnail. I was putting in a new screen and rolling the spline tool along the edge when it rolled off. My thumbnail caught on the edge of the screen and was nearly yanked out. Nurses at the hospital put it back in place and it slowly healed.

[Brian Brown]

It's good to see the highest number of responses in this poll in the area of minor or non injury, but like the airline industry, nobody likes to see close calls. I had to vote for minor injury with no (:confused::confused::confused:) lasting effects. I put my left "communication" finger through a stacked dado set once. To this day I can't figure out how it happened. Lots of blood, bad words said loudly enough to bring several neighbors running, and big bandage for a long time. Fortunately, now nobody can tell.

Second accident about 2 years before, I was nailing a case together, and the brad (22ga) hit a knot in the wood, bent and turned almost 120 degrees, exiting the case from the side. It was bad enough that I ruined the side on my project, but as luck would have it, my finger happened to be occupying the same space at that moment. Bad words were said, and I managed to pry my finger loose from my project. Oddly enough, it was the same finger as above. :mad: I learned several important things from these incidents:

Accidents like this make it hard to signal and communicate your opinion with bad drivers
Blood is a poor wood stain
Swearing loudly while dancing madly around the shop with your hand stuffed between your legs usually summons the neighbors, and often the police
And most importantly, My fingers stay at least 4 inches from the blade or business end of the nailer (prefferably more) This is what clamps were invented for.

The only other problems involved hammers and thumbs, or slivers. While I don't believe I'll ever conquer the smashed thumb issue, I don't take those slivers lightly. I have found that some exotic woods come with exotic slivers. If you have alergic reactions to the wood, these slivers can cause some nasty swelling or infections. If I get a sliver from purple heart or yellow heart, no matter how small, I stop immediatly, grab a knife, and cut it out.

Enjoy your woodworking safely.:)

Brian

[Paul Girouard]

Lets see I started as a labor in about 1972 /73 after school and summers , got out of high school 1974 started full time as a carpenter helper working my way up the food chain.

In 1976 I had a sidewinder Rockwell 7 1/4" saw kick back and "JUST" nick the skin on my left thumb right on the knuckle :eek: 4 stitch's .

That's it I don't need any more thank you !

I joined the Navy in 1977 and did two four year tours working as a Aviation Electrician doing 4 cruises on three aircraft carriers always working on the flight deck in some capacity. One of the most dangerous working environment ever created n by man they say.


I've seen some nasty accidents , a couple resulted in death , blown over the side , and cut in piece , yes not in half but pieces by a E-2 Hummer / Hawkeye.

In the construction side I've seen a router ran down a guys arm when he didn't tighten the "D" handle grip and base tightly and started the router with it held over head to rout a beam , 45 deg. chamfer bit and motor rolled down his arm , 180 or so stitch's later he was fine :eek:

Had a guy fall backwards down a stair well hole hitting his head on some temporary beam bracing , fractured skull , broken collar bone , misc other injuries.

Had a guy cut the tip of his finger off on the jointer in a cabinet shop.

The same guy who ran the router down his arm also has shot out one of his own eyes with a nail gun and rolled another guy off a stage on some rolling "safe way" staging .

So ya it can happen to any one , any time !

BTW the USN does NOT have accidents , we only have incidents , there is always a cause and effect process. Find the cause , eliminated the process. ;)


Work with tools long enought and some things bound to happen , IF you don't control the situations.