Sounds like an excuse to buy Kevlar gloves. Get well.
Bill
Member
Sounds like an excuse to buy Kevlar gloves. Get well.
Bill
On the other hand, I still have five fingers.
Member
My stupidest moment was when I was advising my son to be careful as "this chisel is very sharp" and not watching where the sharp edge was -- it was cutting my arm at the same time! Fortunately not as bad as yours. Thanks for sharing -- it's a good reminder for us all.
Guest
Haven't caught a chisel yet, have always been wary of them.
But I did accidentally drop a wet straight razor about a month ago and in an attempt to yank my hand out of the way of it falling, caught it as my hand was heading up and it was heading down, filleted part of my index finger. Luckily straight razors are not that heavy.
It is amazing how fast a straight clean cut will heal, as long as all of the tissue is still there and nothing gets "chunked" out.
I did catch a ryoba coming out of a cut one time when I was trying to rip 8/4 oak. Right in the thumb of my non-sawing hand, which was stabilizing the board well below the cut. That went in right to the bone, and the cut was not quite so neat as a chisel cut. The inexpensive induction hardened japanese saws of any quality at all have extremely sharp teeth (the "sharp tooth" western saws at home depot, not so much).
Anything sharp in the shop can get you if you don't figure out ahead of time where it's going if it comes out of the cut.
Member
Dan and John, glad you're okay. I've always said that it's not really a project unless I bleed, but I've made it this long with nothing major (no stitches). My hands have several scars to which I refer by lesson: "Don't push on a wrench," and "don't push on a screwdriver" at the two largest. Heal fast, both of you, and get back to making shavings!
I always irritated the crap out of my scoutmaster by referring to this lesson as, "always cut towards the other guy" but humor aside, I live that lesson every day and try to pass along the wisdom. Has saved me several times when there's been a slip.Originally Posted by Dale Cruea
daniel
Not all chemicals are bad. Without hydrogen or oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.
Member
Ahead of time is the key and applies equally to using a chisel, a saw , or cutting drywall with a utility knife. In industry we called these "line of fire" injuries.
Member
I recall someone in the furniture conservation shop instinctively grabbing for a freshly sharpened knife from a Lion miter trimmer that he dropped just after honing. Did him a bit of no good,as the Brits say!!!
Member
When I first got into woodworking I did that with a chisel on a few occasions - it can be really hard to stop oneself. Luckily I always escaped with pretty minor cuts.
I've since learned to put things in places where they won't roll of my bench to prevent the situation from presenting itself - trying to catch one of your nice tools is a tough instinct to fight in the moment.
I'll add that i think the the single tool I have cut myself with more than any other is a marking knife - it took me quite a while to learn how to hold down a straight edge and keep my fingers out of the path of the blade.
Member
I used to have this problem in general, until the day I moved to catch a falling XActo knife while sitting down. It fell into my lap and stuck vertically into my leg; I just looked at it and said, "that was stupid." Luckily, such cuts are quite clean and easy to close. I haven't done anything like it since, and in fact have developed a good instinct of quickly jumping out of the way to avoid falling sharp objects!
daniel
Not all chemicals are bad. Without hydrogen or oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.
Member
I remember thinking once that I bumped my hand with the side of a chisel... (close call, i thought ) Until a few seconds later when i flexed my thumb, the whole back of it "unzipped" from one knuckle to the other, right before my eyes! What a shock! When i got back from the hospital, i drilled my bench for dogs and put a good vise on it, and resolved to always work away from myself, with no hands in the path of the tools. I know that when paring especially i tend to get dangerous... I have found that locking my shoulder and elbow, and just flexing my wrist and fingers forward, i can get a controlled cut without overreaching if the chisel mistakenly exits the cut. I hope that makes sense.
Member
Between woodworking, being in the kitchen, and parts of my job and other things, my natural instinct has been trained to step away and get clear of falling objects, and not reach out and grab them. Now I'm really terrible at sports.
I've gotten good at the habit of planning where the sharp thing will go if it slips - I haven't cut myself in a long while (knock on wood) but I always manage to injure myself pretty good on all the dull items in my shop. The last one was when I took a big swipe with a plane and smashed my hand into a something at the end of the stroke. I lost a lot of movement in that hand for a while.
Member
I too have (Through bad experiences) developed the cat-like instinct to no longer grab, reach, or attempt to slow a falling object. My failures have far outweighed the successes, and I have plenty of scars to prove it. But for me, it's been the close calls that have affected me the most. I knocked a pair of scissors off the counter one day, and heard them hit the floor but not bounce. When I looked down, they had stuck perfectly vertical in the wooden floor.
However, I tend to injure myself even when I'm doing things the right way...case and point, I can't count the number of times I have cut myself on the sides or corners of a chisel blade. Nowhere near the end, but still sharp if your hand moves at all. I've also cut myself on the back side of a saw...that's right, not the sharp edge, the blunted one. But I have never plunged a chisel into my hand (Since I was 13 or so). I've never lost a digit, or even had to get stitches from a woodworking accident, so if some minor bleeders are the price I pay, I can take that...besides, it adds character to a piece
Member
One aspect of this that often trips up beginners to the hand-tool side of things is that a proper workbench is not only a good-to-have, it's a must-have. What I say to beginners (often bringing a look of dissapointment) is that if you can't afford to construct a proper workbench, you can't afford to do hand-tool woodworking - for exactly the reason you descibe.
Member
Chisels are definitely the most dangerous tools in the Neander workshop. Socket chisels add yet another dimension - watch out for the blade/handle separation at the most inappropriate moments. I've always been careful to keep my body parts behind a chisel when using it. But I've had a couple of surprises when the handle came loose as I was picking a chisel up to bring it to/from the work. I thought I was safe after the hairspray trick, but no such luck. Always keep your guard up, those chisels are out to get us all
Member
Glad you are OK. Here I thought I was going to hear about a new toy that put a serious dent on the wallet. A gash to the arm is no way near as much fun.
Chuck
When all else fails increase hammer size!
"You can know what other people know. You can do what other people can do."-Dave Gingery
[OP]
Contributor
As usual, David, you strike at the heart of the matter.
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