Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 16 to 30 of 44

Thread: Whats the worst injury you've had woodworking?

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Belden, Mississippi
    Posts
    2,742
    Triped over an air hose while carrying an arm load of cypress. Trashed a knee. Anyone want a titanium knee joint after I'm dead?
    That, my friends, was an expensive trip for sure.
    On the other hand, I still have five fingers.

  2. #17
    Not a worst nor my worst but most recent and after the fact funny. I was putting a leg vise wood screw back into the nut and let the screw turn backwards drawing my two middle fingers into the nut. One of the black nails just cleared, the other still has some black. BTW, it didn't take long to turn the screw the correct way but damn it hurt.

    ken

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    The old pueblo in el norte.
    Posts
    1,844
    Quote Originally Posted by ken hatch View Post
    Not a worst nor my worst but most recent and after the fact funny. I was putting a leg vise wood screw back into the nut and let the screw turn backwards drawing my two middle fingers into the nut. One of the black nails just cleared, the other still has some black. BTW, it didn't take long to turn the screw the correct way but damn it hurt.

    ken
    Ouch. I bashed my thumb with a hammer the other week hanging a window. I think it hurt my pride more than anything else, I've hung hundreds of these things in my life. I was worried about the nail falling off, thankfully it's cleared.
    ~mike

    happy in my mud hut

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Connecticut Shoreline
    Posts
    336
    When I was working as a Carpenter's helper (back in the early 1980s) we were building an addition to a house and I was insulating the second story walls with rolled fiberglass. I had the paper tab all stretched out, preparing to staple it to the stud and was reaching way over my head, standing on tip-toes. I miss-swung my hammer-stapler and drove a staple right through the fleshy part of my thumb, just next to the nail. I called out to the foreman who climbed up the ladder and saw me stapled to the stud, bleeding like a stuck pig. He sorta chuckled and took his time getting out his pliers and tossing them to me. In retrospect it was kinda funny, I guess. But it's taken me 35 years to really appreciate the humor.

    DC

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Columbus, Ohio, USA
    Posts
    3,441
    Falling chisel. i do not remember if I dropped it or if it rolled off the bench. I was seated at the time. I wisely chose to NOT try to catch it, but, it cut through my leg on the way to the ground. I probably should have had it sewn closed, but I used butterfly bandages and it healed nicely.

  6. #21
    I had a similar experience when air-nailing a half round nosing to a windowsill. The nail deflected and pinned the fleshy pad of my index forefinger to the sill. I had to ask the homeowner to dig my end-cutters out of my toolbox so I could free myself. Good thing she was home, I might still be there. "Do not be concerned, madam, this happens all the time." The only lasting damage was embarrassment. I am much more careful about where I put my free hand now when using a nailer.

    The worst injury I had was a tablesaw kickback, go figure. I was ripping 8/4 oak on a 45 degree bevel. The offcut rode up the backside of the blade and punched me in the forearm, leaving a major indent that wept plasma for several days- only a few drops of blood though. I still have the scar 25 years later to remind me. That was before I started using a splitter- now I would be very reluctant to operate a saw without one. It seemed as if time slowed down, I could see it happening, but it sure didn't slow down enough to get out of the way.

  7. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Jenness View Post
    ... It seemed as if time slowed down, I could see it happening, but it sure didn't slow down enough to get out of the way.
    Hate when that happens! (to me, too often)

  8. #23
    Ouch! Be more careful! Please!
    "The key to a long life is when you start to die, don't"

  9. #24
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Ingleside, IL
    Posts
    1,417
    Back before cordless tools, I worked on tract homes, and when I hung cabinets I would get the uppers on the wall and clamp the stiles together, drill them and screw them together. I got in the habit of tossing the drill and letting the cord run thru my fingers until I hit the knot I had put in the cord and then another couple of inches and it was on the floor. The drill would often bump against my leg. I worked in shorts during the summer, and for some reason I had a planer up there and did the same - took my finger off the trigger and tossed it. Instant skin graft. Extraordinarily painful.

    In the shop - only the 2" trim nail I shot thru my palm. So nothing major.
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Northeast PA
    Posts
    527
    7 years ago I took about 3/8" off the end of my left index finger on a jointer. Cut clean through the nail bed and took off the end of the distal phalanx. It was not fun. And I do not take narcotics so it was a few nights of sleeping on the couch with my hand propped up & elevated to stop the throbbing. Oh yeah, and ibuprofen. LOTS of ibuprofen.
    Lessons learned? 1) DO NOT wear gloves while using the jointer. 2) If it feels dangerous, it is. Don't do it. 3) ALWAYS use a push block.
    I have pictures, but I'll spare you lol
    ---Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny---

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Mountain City, TN
    Posts
    573
    Broke/mangled right index finger on one of those dado blades you twist to adjust the cutting width. It wasn't that painful ( although I admit I do have a high pain tolerance). My first thought was, "How did I do something so stupid?"

    I got my finger mended by a really nice plastic surgeon. Emergency rooms are very interesting places to be.

  12. #27
    LOL be careful please!
    "The key to a long life is when you start to die, don't"

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Issaquah, Washington
    Posts
    1,320
    Interesting that this thread should come up now. A week ago Friday I came back from a material run to Seattle with $2,500 of VG Fir
    IMG_1511.jpg

    My right thumb is totally out of joint and worthless as far as being able to apply any real pressure and my left index finger is recovering from a drill incident a week prior. When attempting to carry an 8/4 x 12" x 14' stick my thumb failed once again and the board slid down through my right hand running an 1/8" diameter "splinter" through the meat of my right hand. It pushed the back skin out about 1/4", I could wiggle it but not remove it. Went to the Emergency Room where they cleaned it, shot the hand full of Novocaine but were not able to remove the wood. Tried a second ER Saturday with the same end result.
    IMG_1514.jpg

    Had to wait until the following Monday to see a hand specialist surgeon while sporting this lovely protective half cast.
    IMG_1515.jpg


    He did a full on operating room procedure on Tuesday, it had to be bloodless so he could see all the tendons, ligaments, nerves and arteries. All is good now, surgery to fuse the thumb is planned for the fall (I am way buried with commissions) and I am now wearing a soft splint that helps support the thumb and allows me to hold saws, planes and other implements.

    Linda has mentioned potential eligibility for a Darwin Award.
    Last edited by Bill McNiel; 03-02-2020 at 9:03 PM.

  14. #29
    LOL thats great!
    "The key to a long life is when you start to die, don't"

  15. #30
    Between Woodpeck and Lie-Nielsen I've gouged a pretty deep hole in my bank balance a couple of times.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •