Inattention punished

[Rocker]

After ten accident-free years using a table saw, my luck ran out today. I gave myself a 20 mm long gash in the tip of the middle finger of my left hand, through breaking the rule of always keeping the hands at least 100 mm from the blade. I was using a push-stick with my right hand, but used my left hand to press the timber against the fence. However, I count myself very fortunate that the accident was not a lot worse than it was. Hopefully, this incident will have taught me to be less complacent, and to concentrate 100% when using the most dangerous machine in my shed. It looks as though I won't be able to do much in the shed for a week or two, damn it.

Rocker

[arose62]

Sorry to hear that, but glad it wasn't worse!

Maybe we can band together and convince the medical insurance industry that it'd be cheaper to give all DIYers a finger-sensing tablesaw?

Cheers, and speedy recovery!
Andrew

[Auld Bassoon]

Hi Rocker,

Ow, that sounds nasty enough - but could have been much worse - as if you need telling that.

I hope that you heal up soon; in the meantime, I can recommend some very good single malts to ameliorate the pain and anguish....

[Rocker]

in the meantime, I can recommend some very good single malts to ameliorate the pain and anguish....

I wish; but plain old VAT 69 is reasonably effective too:)

Rocker

[Ivan in Oz]

I won't be able to do much in the shed for a week or two, damn it.
Rocker

Not only in the Shed;) :rolleyes:
I did similar to LH Index nail and QUICK!!,
Thats 5 Minutes after telling the Teenage ABs about 'tool' safety:cool: including Saws:eek: :o

It was a 'Birds and Bees' talk in comfortable [for me] surroundings ....
not for long, dash it:(

[John Saxton]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune Rocker, and I hope it does'nt keep you from your ww too long.

You get a bite off one of those machines in the shed ,it's a wake-up call to all of us but hopefully with minimal damage to flesh/blood/bone/pysche!

I often wonder does time time dull security and all the safeguards we have in place to protect ourselves.Complacency like tidying up the shed to make it a safer working area is one that I ignore but reckon I'll get around to one day.
Just filled a 10CU/M skip with all manner of stuff and the shed still needs a clean-out.

ALL THE BEST ROCKER

CHEERS:)

[Shedhand]

After ten accident-free years using a table saw, my luck ran out today. I gave myself a 20 mm long gash in the tip of the middle finger of my left hand, through breaking the rule of always keeping the hands at least 100 mm from the blade. I was using a push-stick with my right hand, but used my left hand to press the timber against the fence. However, I count myself very fortunate that the accident was not a lot worse than it was. Hopefully, this incident will have taught me to be less complacent, and to concentrate 100% when using the most dangerous machine in my shed. It looks as though I won't be able to do much in the shed for a week or two, damn it.

RockerBeen there done that Rocker. Just before Christmas. L hand index into the table saw. Took a piece of nail a piece of bone and a chunk of flesh. Its now regenerated and only hurts when i hit it. Macallan 12 year old (about 80 bucks) will dull the senses and dim the memory.:D:D

[redwood]

Bummer to hear you getting nicked:( no doubt with 3/4 bottle ov vat in the system and the sympathies of all aroud you your feeling ok now:D one question? what kind of push stick do you use:confused: some of the conventional ones that are favoured by many are down right danderous and must be avoided:(

[redwood]

Been there done that Rocker. Just before Christmas. L hand index into the table saw. Took a piece of nail a piece of bone and a chunk of flesh. Its now regenerated and only hurts when i hit it. Macallan 12 year old (about 80 bucks) will dull the senses and dim the memory.:D:D yeh but you just finished dissin the dovetailes on a particular coffin and had revenge swiftly enforced:D :D :D

[Shedhand]

yeh but you just finished dissin the dovetailes on a particular coffin and had revenge swiftly enforced:D :D :DWho? Me?:rolleyes: I'd already forgotten. In fact I've taken all the flamers off my ignore list (New Year Resolution):D:D:D:D

[Rocker]

Redwood,

The pushstick I normally use is the grey plastic one sold by Carbatec for $4. I don't really want to get into a debate on the merits of different styles of pus-sticks, since this topic was exhaustively covered some time ago.

Anyway, I am finding that the best way to ignore the pain of my injury is to get back into the shed, tidy it up and get engrossed in jobs that can be done one-handed. I sold my Leigh jig recently, and am happy enough to make some small concessions to the Dark Side by hand-cutting the dovetails required in my current project. With a dovetail guide, hand-cutting is relatively easy, and does not require the years of gradually acquired shills that the dyed-in-the-wool Dark-Sider revels in.

Rocker

[redwood]

Redwood,

The pushstick I normally use is the grey plastic one sold by Carbatec for $4. I don't really want to get into a debate on the merits of different styles of pus-sticks, since this topic was exhaustively covered some time ago.

Rocker

glad ur back in the shed. as i dont remember the push stick debate and not realy interested in reignighting it as i have my fave and nothing will change that. but i do shudder at the cheapo plastic ones:eek: i have about 6 different ones like in the pic for different aplications from hard ripping right down to the safe ripping of 5mm slats:D

[channa]

Thanks for the reminder - just the day before yesterday I was working with the table saw and thought to myself "one day, if I'm not careful, that thing's gonna get me". It's hard to concentrate with 100% of your attention for 100% of the time. I have a love-hate relationship with my TS, bandsaw and router - I love using them, but every time I start them up I hate the thought of what they could do to a digit. To date I've been lucky, and only made mistakes with hand powered gear (chisels, saws and hammers). Best wishes.

[Tex B]

Sorry to hear of your mishap Rocker.

I've had a couple of near misses in the last few years, but fortunately nothing serious. I have noticed that my near misses come when I'm doing something repeatedly (like sixteen identical tenons) where I don't have to think about it and so start thinking of something else. Now I try to stop after a few and remind myself to think about what I'm doing.

Still, it's sometimes a bit like when I tell my 18 yr old daughter to 'think about driving when you're driving.' Too easy for the mind to drift to more interesting things.

Hope you heal quickly. They've got some amazing bandages that stay on for days and really seem to accelerate the healing. VAT 69 should help also.

Regards,

Tex

[Rocker]

Thanks for all the sympathetic posts. My finger seems to be healing well, and in fact I have been back in the shed every day since the accident. I found that concentrating on woodwork helped to relieve the pain, until I got some painkillers. I had also just received some new toys from Lee Valley that I could not wait to try out - a Veritas dovetail guide and a Veritas micro-adjustable marking gauge. The fact is that I am having so much fun on my current project - the grandfather clock featured in FW 171-172 - that I was not about to allow a relatively minor injury to keep me out of the shed.

Incidentally, I have discovered that a 70 mm length of 25 mm irrigation pipe makes an excellent finger stall to protect a finger from the small knocks that can be so painful after an injury.

Rocker

[AlexS]

Incidentally, I have discovered that a 70 mm length of 25 mm irrigation pipe makes an excellent finger stall to protect a finger from the small knocks that can be so painful after an injury.

Rocker
Picture please:D

[Rocker]

AlexS,

This photo has nothing to do with what Queenslanders feel about New South Welshmen:D

Rocker

[MajorPanic]

Sorry to here of your misfortune Rocker! :o :o :o

Using dangerous machines is a lot like driving. The longer you do either your chances of a accident increases exponentially. You were VERY luck to get off so lightly.
Just use the experience as a learning tool to help you avoid future occurrence, another way of saying it's time to look at just how you do some things.;) :D

This is the reason my left thumb is ⅛" shorter than the right one.... BUT it hasn't got any shorter! I just changed the way I do stuff on the table saw. :p

[bitingmidge]

Rocker,

I was horrified, mortified and every other fied to hear your news. Glad it wasn't worse, and that it happened (more or less) between projects!

The more I use my TS, the more I use my Grrrippers!

P

[Andy Mac]

Hi Rocker,
I've been trying to avoid thinking about your accident (and some of the others posted here:o ) as it remains one of my nightmares. Its not through lack of sympathy, just a head in the sand approach!:) I hope you heal quickly and get back to work.
I use a tablesaw a heck of a lot, and one day it may come to bite me...as it has a couple of my students over the years. I tend to get way closer than the 100mm, and have loads of trouble with guards and extractor parts IN MY WAY! I don't remove them (well, maybe during some procedures...:eek: ) but seriously think they can cause trouble instead of saving it. Of course I use a push stick, but I'm not a fan of fingerboards either, so I my chances are getting higher.
I am very aware of the increased risk during repetitious cutting, when concentration can wander, but generally I approach the tablesaw with trepidation, even after 20 odd years.
BTW love your finger stall:D

Cheers,

[zenwood]

Sorry to hear about the mishap.

Did something actually go wrong, or did you simply feed your finger into the blade?

Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Rocker,

My finger is aching in sympathy for yours :( . Nice ingenuity with the finger protector :) . Glad that woodwork is helping you forget the pain. A Grandfather clock - cool!!

Cheers and I hope your finger heals quickly.

Wendy

[Rocker]

Using dangerous machines is a lot like driving. The longer you do either your chances of a accident increases exponentially. You were VERY luck to get off so lightly.


Major,

I think it would be truer to say that the risk increases linearly, until you start adding senility into the equation (which is probably what happened in my case), and then it starts to be exponential. Anyway, this accident, and the news that a friend the same age as myself had a stroke recently, which left him unable to speak, have reminded me forcibly that I am by no means bullet-proof, and that I had better hurry up and make what pieces I can whilst I still can.

Midge,

Unfortunately, the piece of wood I was cutting had another bit of wood glued to it vertically, so I could not use my Grripper. I was hanging onto the vertical piece with my left hand; somehow, at the end of the cut, the offcut vertical piece seemed to twist unexpectedly and drew my left hand down onto the blade. The silly thing is that there was no necessity to use my left hand at all. The push-stick in my right hand should have been able to do the job. Anyway, I am just annoyed with myself for letting this happen. I am threatened with banishment from the shed for ever if it happens again, so from now on I shall do my utmost try and stay safe.

Meanwhile I am consoling myself by buying a spate of toys - ordered a 1/2" bevel chisel from Lie-Nielsen today. It will be used for clearing the waste between the tails of dovetails. Perhaps I should have got a 5/16" one too:)

Rocker

[MajorPanic]

Major,

........Anyway, this accident, and the news that a friend the same age as myself had a stroke recently, which left him unable to speak, have reminded me forcibly that I am by no means bullet-proof, and that I had better hurry up and make what pieces I can whilst I still can.

Rocker

David,

You still have LOTS of exceptional quality pieces to come!!!
I was reminded today by an elderly friend that problem solving (especially woodwork) keeps you young!

So............ what's the next project Rocker?? :D :D :D :D

[Rocker]

So............ what's the next project Rocker?? :D :D :D :D

Major,

Pay attention! Read post #15:) I have got hold of about 0.08 cubic m of spectacular fiddleback blackwood for it, so I am hoping it should turn out well. But I am a bit miffed that the Veritas dovetail guide won't take stock thicker than 25 mm, whereas the pediment returns on which I have to cut tails are 29 mm thick*. I shall just have to revert to my home-made dovetail guide - the one I was cutting on the table saw to modify it when I had my accident. So my blood was not spilled entirely in vain.

Rocker

*Correction: The Veritas jig can be used on stock thicker than 25 mm, if you use your own clamp to hold it and put aside the clamp that comes with the jig.

[Andy Mac]

So my blood was not spilled entirely in vain.

Cant resist it...in vein? :D :D

Sorry.

[Rocker]

Here is a picture of my finger two weeks after the accident. It shows how very lucky I was not to have had a far worse injury. Now go and enjoy your dinner:D

Rocker

[MajorPanic]

Here is a picture of my finger two weeks after the accident. It shows how very lucky I was not to have had a far worse injury. Now go and enjoy your dinner:D

Rocker

Yummy.......... what's it like with gravy & baked potatoes :D :eek: :eek:

[outback]

Here is a picture of my finger two weeks after the accident. It shows how very lucky I was not to have had a far worse injury. Now go and enjoy your dinner:D

Rocker

Yep, got it.


Now go make something. A grandfather clock should do the trick :D

[Wongo]

Can I have some crackling?:D