The loss of a finger

[swiftden]

Sadly i must inform you all that i am typing with one hand at moment. Amputated half of my left little finger on the edge planer on my Durden Pacemaker. I got rushed from Murray Bridge to Flinders Private hospital and the surgeon operated at 8.00pm.
He was unable to save half of the finger which was shreadded beyongd repair. But i had enough good skin for him to cover over it.
Feeling a bit sore and sorry for my self. I go back to see the specialist next Tuesday to get the stiches out and get assessed.

Not sure how i will go now for awhile but i will get back out the shed. unfortunately it was just one of those things that happens that could have been alot worse.

[Sir Stinkalot]

Sorry to hear about your situation. It just goes to show that you can never be too careful. Good luck getting back to it in a few weeks time.

[NewLou]

Gidday Swiftden

Hope your recovery is swift n let us know when your back on track n enjoying your shed time.

I really do hope that 'just one of those things' dosent happen to me

REgards Lou

[Groggy]

Ouch! Sad news swiftden, I hope you recover quickly.

[Clinton1]

Thanks for talking up and reminding us to keep being serious on the safety side of things.
A man less brave would have kept his mouth shut for fear of looking like a goose when he told people. Thumbs up to you, mate.

Edge planer......... ouch:eek: If I think about it too much I'll start feeling sick.

I'm glad is wasn't anything more serious (think of kickback on the thicknesser and a post ripping off the neter regions danglie bits :D ), and I hope you heal swiftly and beyond the doctors expectations.

Get well soon, and hope the planer doesn't suffer an injury when you get back to the shed!

[E. maculata]

Pretty unlucky or fairly lucky it wasn't worse, depends how you see it, anyhow here's to a swift recovery and a lesson for all here:eek:

[Wood Butcher]

That is really bad news. I honestly don't know what to say except I hope it doesn't diminish your love of woodworking.

[BobR]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. Makes my being hit in the guts with a kickback from the table saw look like a walk in the park.

[journeyman Mick]

OUCH!:(

[Green Woodchips]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I'm sure the Durden isn't too concerned. Workshop machinery is, unfortunately, rather lacking in comparison.

Still, there is a bright side: now you can freak out little kids as you pretend to make your whole finger disappear up one of your nostrils.

Get better soon!
GW

[zenwood]

Best wishes mate on your recovery.

[BobL]

Owwwch! that is too bad and thanks for soberly reminding us to be careful in the shed.

I have some feel for what you are going through, 28 years ago I lost 5 mm off the top of my left hand ring finger using a toy 4" buzzer (which I still have). Couldn't play guitar properly for years afterwards (my son says I still can't play now).

[arose62]

Errr... my 2nd thought (after Ouch!), was "How?"

What did you do wrong, so that I can make sure not to do it?!

Or is it some attribute/facility particular to that specific piece of equipment?

I'm hoping to give a jointer a home after the Sydney show, and I read your post as having had your accident whilst jointing.

Speedy recovery!

Cheers,
Andrew

[Andy Mac]

Sorry to hear of your accident, Swifden, we all feel for you. I know I shudder went I think of the potential damage lurking in machines like this.
Is the Pacemaker like the Junior Joiner, with the planer on the same shaft as the saw blade? Obviously this means they both turn at the same time (Duh!) and having owned 2 of these things I've always been paranoid about accidentally moving the planer guard aside and exposing the cutters, when pushing timber through the saw...a real design fault in my opinion. Is this what happened to you?
Its always given me shivers, so I have on both machines drilled a hole through the planer guard into the table and dropped in a safety pin to locate the guard. A bolt with a ground-off head has sufficed.
Hope you recover well, and return to the shed soon!:)

Cheers,

[JDarvall]

Sorry mate. I took off the tip of my middle finger with the jointer, cause I was tired and rushing about. Not good enough of an excuse, but...(shrug)

...another reason why I prefer hand tools. clumbsy bloke like me cops plenty of cuts, but never lost a finger from a handplane cut.

But sounds like you came off a lot worse for wear....at least it was a pinky and not a thumb or index finger.

Hope you feel better soon.

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Swiftden,

Sorry to hear of your mishap, but as others have said, thanks for sharing with us and the timely warning, especially as winter starts, it gets colder and hands get stiffer and slower in the cold, well, mine do.

Best wishes for a speedy and painless recovery.

cheers
Wendy

[Wongo]

Swiftden, I am so sorry to hear about your incident. This is the first serious accident on this forum. I hope you recover quickly and it won’t affect your life too much.:(

[CameronPotter]

:(

That sounds awful. Best wishes on for speedy healing.

Cam :(

[Caliban]

Den
I offer my condolences from my sickbed.Greenie on the way
Lucky for me I'm bedridden or the way I've been going lately-kickback, broken leg; I'd be joining (sorry about the pun) you.
Oi Scott
I think my injury is serious (5 1/2 hours surgery.)

[Wongo]

What did you lose Jim?

[swiftden]

It all happened pretty fast. So to speak and i guess it is just something to pay more attention to. Yes the pachine is like the junoir jointer but it is the bigger brother. The machine bit into the timber threw it accross the room and dragged my finger in on the way past.

Yeas it is a warning to be very careful trust me i now know more than ever. Not that i wasnt before. I wont take it out on the machine but it might be awhile before i am game to use it again. I can't weight to get back on the horse so to speak(was making a rocking horse at the time).

I am building a new home at the moment and have alot of retaining walls and pergolas etc to put up so im sure this may slow me down a little. it coul dhave been a lot worse and i could have lost all my fingers or even the hand. Im just glad it was only a half and on my left hand. Id be lost without my right one.

Regards
Allan

P.s. Stay safe every one , never fear your machines just show them alot of respect.:cool:

[Caliban]

What did you lose Jim?
Where do I start?
Self respect
Uniqueness (now I'm just like Silent C)
Confidence
Mobility
lack of pain
chance to snap up cheap Lie neilson #62:mad: :mad: :mad:
sex appeal:D
charm
shed time:eek: :eek: :eek:
freedom
money
independence
opportunity to go to work
and last but not least
my sense of humour.
oh and Zed's respect.;)


but
point taken.

[echnidna]

Sad to hear about your accident.
I've seen this happen a couple of times.
One minor slip of attention etc on a jointer and its gone.
Luckily it was your little finger.
At least on a saw the damage is usually less severe.

To joint safely
Take the blades out of the jointer head so you can still use the saw.
Use a thicknesser on faces.
Square and straighten with the saw
Clean up with the thicknesser (or a jack plane, its actually quite easy to do from a straight sawn edge)

[jmk89]

Allan

I am really sorry to hear about this.

My FIL used to manage a workshop and he says that the machines that caused most injuries were those like planers and jointers, where you can't see the cutting edge. So you have added your name to our collection of stories on how easy it is to damage yourself on these.
Get well soon

Jeremy

[JDarvall]

.....like planers and jointers, where you can't see the cutting edge.
Jeremy

I'm glad you said that Jeremy. Thats where I got unstuck too I feel.

As soon as I put the safety guard back on, I had my jointer accident. Years without the guard and no problem. Not that its an excuse, but like you said, not being able to see the blade brings with it a degree of complacency.

[CameronPotter]

That's why most knife makers say that the buffing wheel is the most dangerous tool you can own (until you start playing with high temperature salt pots).

The buffing wheel has no sharp edges, but it can catch a knife and throw it right at you. I have seen some nasty pictures of such injuries...

[TassieKiwi]

Sorry to hear of your injury swiftden. No bloody good. Just for future's sake, if you did it again, how would you do it differently? That is, so it didn't happen? Would a push pad have helped? I use my Grrippers a lot but in the back of my mind questions niggle as the thing passes over the blades :eek: :eek: :eek: .

Was it a big piece of timber? Was the depth of cut too much?

Anyway, all speed on your recovery. Chin up. Bloody big single malt will cheer you up.

Den

[Wild Dingo]

Buggar Swifty... hope all goes well

The old jointers one of those tools you sorta forget its lethal cause its such an insipid looking thing... but whirling blades of steel reside so all care must be taken

Ive a rule I took to heart a couple of years back when I slipped and cut my thumb on the table saw cause I was a tad weary and should have stopped but wanted to finish what Id begun... that is if Im tired weary niggly phissed of or otherwise not right in the head or with the world I dont turn any of the machines on... yep it means delays it means stuffing around trying to sort other niggling little jobs but it means you dont make stuff ups like this or the one I had ... or that Caliban experienced... bloody hurts!

Take it easy all right

[dazzler]

Hey:D

Okay hes bin hurt.....but now is the good stuff.....

Ohhhhhhhh.........I'm in pain.......need cold beer:D

Mmmmmmmm Panadeine Forte.....:o



Mmmmmmmm Beeeeeeeeeeer:D

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep time:D

[Stuart]

........The machine bit into the timber threw it accross the room and dragged my finger in on the way past....
Sounds like you might be in the market for a Grr-Ripper. Not sure if it would have helped, but it sounds like it might have, and hopefully prevents a next time.

Thanks for the timely reminder- will take it to heart cause I'm rather attached to my fingers.....

[RufflyRustic]

too true Dazzler:D

Though I don't need to mix codeine with anything to get off my face:cool:

I took Swifty's warning and stayed out of the shed today, I don't think a bad headcold/flu is conducive to using sharp chisels:(

cheers
Wendy

[Rocker]

You have my sympathy, Swiftden. A few months ago, my finger had a slight argument with my table saw, which the table saw won. It was not nearly as serious as your accident, and my finger is only missing a millimetre or two, but it taught me a lesson that I shall not forget in a hurry.

Rocker

[Auld Bassoon]

I'm sorry to hear about that mate! I believe the RIGHT little finger is often at risk because of the "trailing edge" type of accident - but how did you left one get in the way?

[powderpost]

Can sympathise with you. Reading your post brought back some nasty experiences, one, a close shave (literally) with a surfacer and a 5mm shortening of left hand middle finger on the circular saw bench. Sterilise the wound internally with a little rum each night before going to bed.
Jim

[swiftden]

Thankyou for all your support and sympathy. I hope to be back on track soon after all i have alot of projects to get finished and aslo a cinema entertainment cupboard to build for my new home.

hopefully everyone ill heed this warning and continue to work, enjoy and play safe at their chosen hobbies.

regards
Allan

[Wongo]

Hey Allan, which finger did you lose? I hope it is not the little finger on the left hand. I find it very hard to clean my nose without it.

:D

Sorry it is Friday.

[Gra]

Lucky it wasnt the middle finger, otherwise you might have problems communicating in traffic:D:D:D:D

Good luck, and enjoy your recovery (Drugs are good;);)...)

[Gil Jones]

Hey Allen,
Here is wishing you a speedy and painless recovery!!
Can't say I ever cut one off, but I did cut half way thru one with a band saw (42 years ago).
Get over it soon!

[Rossluck]

I hope the rest of your body has a long life.

[Bob38S]

Thanks for the timely reminder - just putting together the new jointer I picked up last Friday.
Bob

[swiftden]

Excellent peice of machinery but like anything it has teeth and will bite if you get in its way with the wrong object!

[swiftden]

Some out of focus pictures of my finger still got half the stitches in.

[JDarvall]

Some out of focus pictures of my finger still got half the stitches in.

oh, thats nothing ! ;)

no, looks nasty. When I took the tip off my finger, it turned up a couple of months latter wedged in the tread of my boots.

Been walking around on the tip of my finger for months and I didn't know it :D :rolleyes: kinda funny at the time.

[meerkat]

Hi Allan,

sorry for the loss.

Andrew

[Bluegum]

hey swiftden,

hope its healing up ok mate sorry to hear about you accident though.

[swiftden]

Wow din't think to see this resurface after a couple of months. Finger is healing very well still a bit bulky but the scar tissue is settling down. I still havnt used the jointer again tho.

Maybe one day ill get game enough to use it . for the time im content to move it over to the new shed at the new house at the end of the month. It will get a home and then i have to get over my fear and use it again.

[meerkat]

Wow din't think to see this resurface after a couple of months.

Yeah well some of us don't heed the warnings that others send us.:o

I can tell you though together with your pictures my boys are paying a little more attention too:)