Safty tip 'o the day

[Paul Downes]

I have been dilligently talking to my sons about shop safty. Today my oldest son wanted to turn some extra drum sticks so I sawed him some white oak of the right length and showed him some turning techniques. We went to the band saw to make a thickness gage for the demensions of the stick. As I sawed the template I talked to him about keeping fingers well away from the blade and with a drum stick in my right hand I continued to whittle away a thin piece of pine. Well, the end of the drum stick caught the bandsaw blade and slammed into the table with sufficient force to break 4" off the end. The bad thing was that the end of my middle finger was between the drum stick and the table. I could feel the pain almost to the elbow, and commented that broken bones usually stop hurting after 4 weeks. That is why son, you always lower the blade guide to just above the stock you are cutting. I'll show him how to drill a finger nail tomorrow. :eek:

[Chris Padilla]

You typed this out pretty well...even kinda long!

Hope you feel better and heal up soon, Paul.

"Teach, your children well, their father's hell...." ;)

[Alan Turner]

Have you got the nail gun thru finger lesson on schedule? May you heal quickly.
I watched my father cut off part of the end of his thumb when I was about 10 y.o., and it left a lasting impression on me. I have all 10 of mine, perhaps as a result of that gruesome sight, which replays in my mind from time to time.

[Paul Downes]

I've seen some real bad maimings in the metal working industry over 26 years. I think there is a lot of value in having to wittness such events. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I still have all ten of my fingers, though my left hand has taken a beating. I think I have more scars on 'ole lefty than on the rest of my sorry hide. The worst time to hit a finger with a hammer is in February when the fingers are half froze. Boy, when they start to thaw out......I constantly think about saftey on my job, and I frequently imagine what would happen if I do this or that wrong.

[Waymon Campbell]

Paul - Thanks for sharing and I hope you finger heals fine.

[Dennis Peacock]

Hey Paul...

I hope you heal quickly and with as little pain as possible.

Just don't EVEN think about teaching him the ol' "hand in the tablesaw blade" tip on safety..... :D :eek:

[David Klug]

Dennis you just had to mention the tip of the table saw blade didn't you. I was sawing a peace of oak on a Shopsmith with out the splitter and the wood was binding behind the blade. I wanted to get another grip on the small board that I was sawing, so I reached behind the blade to put pressure on the board and hold it in place. Bad decision. when I went to get another grip the blade pulled the board back, very quickly, and it took a small chunk out of my fore finger. I was very happy that was all that I lost.

DK