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this may gross a few people out, but i recently read a thread on horror stories in another forum, and it was a big wake up call as to what can happen if you don’t respect your tools and work safely and carefully. I’m not a safety nut, but it refreshed my memory as to how easy it is to get hurt in a workshop. fortunately i have never had any serious injuries, but i do have a few stories about others who haven’t been so fortunate. i hope you guys will share some stories as well.
i’ll start with a story i heard about a beginning woodworker who was using a router table with a long straight bit in it. anyway, he hadn’t tightened the base up and the router began to slip out of it’s base. for some unknown reason he grabbed the spinning bit to stop the router from falling. from what i heard, his palm looked like a mangled hamburger.
another one is a story about another newbie using a lathe. he didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t set up the tool rest properly. his chisel caught on the workpiece and was launched up at his face. it knocked out a tooth and punctured his cheek.
a little while ago my shop teacher had a major accident. he was in the school shop late and was sawing up something on the bandsaw with a dull blade. he used too much pressure and his finger slipped got sliced along the top by the blade. remember, even a dull tool will cut flesh very easily, and even experienced woodworkers can have accidents. i’ll leave the stories at this for now. i hope i haven’t grossed too many people out. have fun in your shop, but be safe, and make sure if your around others that they work safely too.
andrew
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A guy at the local college woodworking class was freehanding a crosscut on the TS well hes missing a digit or 2 now not a pretty site. Glad I didnt see it.
*My sister asked me to build a mini casket for here son who died quite early in life, my marriage was failing all around me at the same time. I wanted to help Sis out, so I forged on even though my frame of mind was not the best.In a quick second got my finger to close to the table saw blade. I ended up with a few stitches and still have 10 digits but on cold days like today I get to be reminded to be in a good frame of mind in the shop or leave the power tools off. I have enjoyed woodworking for 30 years and never thought it would happen to me!bake
*I had 1/4" up cut spiral router bit break off and hit me in the chest. I was very lucky I was wearing my leather apron. I would of hate to see what it would of done to me with only my t-shirt on.Andrew my sister walked to my shop while I was using the bandsaw. She tried to get my attention by turning of the light when I turned to see what was going on I stuck my figure into the blade. A sharp blade will cut even better than a dull one.Scott
*Working late one night -- after a long hard day, overtired -- I was making a few last cuts on the tablesaw. Someone approached the tool, I got distracted, and my left index finger touched the top of the blade. It happened in a fraction of an instant. I didn't feel any pain, just a little push on the end of my finger.Fortunately, I had the safety habit of insuring the blade is always just slightly higher than the board is thick. A piece of the end of my finger the size of a small pea disappeared. The day got even longer as I my friend got to drive me to the emergency room with blood running down my arm. I did not lose the nail, but my left index finger still has flat spot on the tip.The lesson learned: when I am tired I don't go into the shop, except maybe to sweep up or get a reference book. I am very faithful to this principle... as you might imagine.Peace.-Rob
*When I first got into woodworking, I needed a shop. I took over the garage and began spending LOTS of money. My first project was my workbench. A hefty mass of wood made of nearly a unit of 4x4s. I was cleaning up the bottom of a half lap joint with a chisel and since I had no vises around, I was holding the 4x4 with my hand and cutting towards it with my other. Sure enough, when you cut towards yourself, you end up cut. The 1" chisel gave me 13 stitches on the palm of my left hand. Beleive me, you NEVER want to have stiches on the palm of your hand. After the bench was finished, I carved 13 stiches on the side of it and left the blood on.Jeff
*Andrew,Thanks for the post--as gross as it can be to read, it's still good to have posts like this once in a while to reinforce safe practices. For some reason people send us pictures of the aftermath of some of their injuries. I am not sure what would motivate a person to send in a pic of their mangled hand (or to take a photo of it in the first place!), but nevertheless, it certainly brings the point home. I'd be passed out on the floor.Anyway, thanks for your post.Tim
*Tonight while working in the shop, I was cutting some small pieces, I left the saw on ,turned my head and saw my 4 y.o. girl reaching for one of the pieces right over the blade. She must of missed touching it by the grace of God. I freaked hit the saw, hit her and ran her butt into the house. I was so upset I couldnt go one I quit for the evening and here I am.
*Saw a teenage girl on the news a few weeks ago that had cut her hand off in high school shop class with a miter saw. She was being interviewed on the step of the hospital, where they had re-attached the hand, with prognosis unknown. What really pained me was her description of how it happened -- she looked away for a second, here hand was in the wrong place, and the blade guard didn't "work like it's supposed to". So this girl was trained that the blade guard's purpose is to somehow protect her hand if it gets in the line of cut? How tragic. This may never have happened if she'd receive better instruction.I know we're supposed to be the most afraid of table saws, but miter saws are what really give me the willeys. 'something about lowering the blade down toward the vicinity of where my hand is located. And it's pretty easy to let your mind wander when doing repetitive stuff with them. I always treat these things with alot of respect. BTW, I have 4-yr. old, too. It's very comforting to know that power for the tools goes through a big disconnect siwtch, that's padlocked shut when I'm not around. And whenever the switch is energized, so is a circuit with a red warning light, that reminds me to shut it down when I leave the shop.
*i've seen a lot of close calls. one guy in my shop class was trying to run the end grain of a 2" X 4" block over the jointer. i don't think he would have his hand today if i hadn't jumped in to stop him. I don't think a woodworker should be afraid of his tools, all you need is a lot of respect for them. i was teaching a girl in my old shop class how to use a router. the first thing i did was explain a bit about how to use a router and how it worked. then i clamped a piece of scrap to a workbench and showed her how to hold a router and how to use it. so it comes time for her to try it out. she went a bit to fast and the router kicked back a little. the first thing she did was scream and let go. no one was hurt, but it scared the hell out of me as the router flew up into the air.
*I was cutting a 1/2"x1/2" rabbet on a router table, my mind was miles away and I ran the end of the third finger right through the bit taking off one side of the end of the finger. Remarkably, I only realized what I had done by the blood on the table. The pain came later when the Demerol wore off. I got a fairly serviceable repair, the end was folded over and stitched down with the only drawbacks being that the finger is 3/8" shorter, the nail bed is cocked at about a 45 degree angle and it is very sensitive in the cold. Cleaning up the chips later, I found numerous micro-thin slices in the shape of the chunk of finger.I gave away my guitar and completely revised my safety practices. I haven't repeated the error, probably because I have a reminder right in front of me every time I lift a piece of stock onto a machine.
*Very sobering stories. I dont mean to redirect this tread, but in light of these stories I was reminded of a piece of safety equipment that I read about last year, but I've haven't seen on the market yet. It was an attachment for a ts that would stop the blade in a 1/4 revolution if a finger or hand came in contact with it. I was hoping to hear that it had come to market, as either an after market add-on or as a standard accessary to an existing ts line. Does anybody know what is happening with this great idea? I've been thinking of upgrading to a new ts, but would really like to have this piece of safety equipment on it.Thanks Joe Roth
*Here is a photo of what can happen when you makeseveral small mistakes at once. (a flush trimrouter bit was involved) If I'd been standing closerto the action we'd have a sex change story to tell.
*This mountain man I know here in central Virginia told me once that if you use a chain saw long enough you will eventually cut yourself with it. I think we all need to approach every piece of equpment with that thought in mind every time we use power tools. Be safe,Frank
*Joe,I read an article about that safety device about 6 to 8 months ago. It wasn't available on the open market as of then. But the kicker was the price. Upwards of $10,000 as I recall. It is a good idea, but the price needs to come to actually become usable.Eric
*A guy back in vo-tech high school with long surfer hair was checking out his handywork at the drill press. You guessed it! Grabed his hair and wound it up tight. Then yanked a hunk of scalp out and it was floppin' round and round like a piece of shag carpet.Another guy run his hand over a board that was cupped. As he pushed down over the blade, the dado cut became a rip cut and sawed through his fingers. Picked his hand up and all 5 digits were there. Turned it over, and four of them flopped over as they were now attached with nothing more than skin hinges.As an old galoot once said, "problem with power tools is that they will have your fingers off in a twinkle".Be careful out there....
*Most concern always seems to center over the table saw, but maybe because of that, I've never really had a "close one" with it. However, the much "safer" band saw isn't so very safe at all when one is cross cutting a cylindrical object (of any size). I've had a really scary episode there that made me truly respect the band saw. I've learned that it doesn't take too much extra time to grip that cylinder with a big clamp (usually a large hand-screw). But my closest calls have all come from my 15" drill press. It seems that when in a hurry I have (on a couple of ococcasions) neglected to either clamp down the work piece, or not use my drill press vise. One time I was sure that every bone in my hand was broken it hurt so much. I was fortunate then, no damage and it even stopped hurting in a half hour. But the lesson has been learned. I recommend that when anyone buys a drill press the very next thing you purchase is a good vise to use with it and figure out ways to clamp down the work piece. I approach the tools now with the self admonition, "If you don't know you can control it, find a way."
*I just had a close call tonight. i wasn't really thinking much and was ripping a small piece of masonite with my rip blade. i used my push sticks and just as i was finishing the cut the piece caught the back of the blade. ironically, i was making a push stick that would ride over my fence and make ripping a bit safer. fortunately it was only a minor accident., and all i have is a sore index finger from a chunk of masonite being hurtled at the tip. next time i'll take the extra few minutes to change the blade, and i also think i'm going to make a tool free arbor nut for my TS to speed up blade changes.
*Joe Roth - The safety item you are refering to is called the saw stop. http://www.sawstop.comThe developer states that when in production it will add around 150.00 to the price of a saw. The only production saw that I know of is the one that these folks produce and it runs around 4000.00. Check out the site.Steve
*Andrew,I'm sorry, but I don't understand how changing your blade affects the situation. Please explain.Also, I seem to notice that a lot of these and other stories are related to working in the evening, something I rarely do, and if I am working in my shop then, it is doing finishing, no power work. I know that many hobbyists can only find time in the evening for shop work, and pros sometimes need to meet that deadline, but being in the a dangerous environment "after-hours" should put you on high mental alert. If you can't raise your awareness to that kind of level, stay inside in front of the TV or computer etc. for your digits sake.FWIWScott
*A few times when I was working tired, that little voice in the back of my head said 'if you keep doing this, you're going to get hurt.' In my fatigue, I ignored that voice and sure enough, I got hurt. I know, there's a lesson to be learned here.The accident which most caught me off guard was in the middle of the day when I was fairly fresh. I was ripping a 14" piece of oak to width. The narrow offcut was just the right size to get pulled down into the saw slot by the blade. The far end of the offcut whipped up & back, just clipping the tip of my right thumb where it was holding on to the pushstick. The nail was shattered & 2/3 of it ripped entirely off. The rest was removed at the hospital. Not all that serious an injury as those things go but it did get my attention and I'm much more conscientious about using 0 clearence table inserts now.Paul
*Tim, the reason people send those pix in to you is because they hope that you will publish them. If people see the results of being careless, they are much less likely to be careless. There was only one pic in this thread so far, one of a battered up thumb. I don't think I will forget it for a long time. I'd like to see more pix like that published. They would especially be useful if there were a short explanation of what the operator was doing and why it was wrong. Many newbies would read that, and remember it because it actually happened. That would change it from an "it could happen" situation to a "it DID happen, and it will happen to you if you don't take care" situation.That's the purpose of this whole thread, unless I've missed it. a jepson wasn't trying to gross us out, just to keep us aware and hopefully scare us into being safer and smarter with tools.I've only been woodworking for a couple of years, and my worst/only accident was with a belt sander. I was picking it up from the workpiece and somehow brushed the belt with a finger of my other hand. It caught between the belt and the enclosure where the belt reenters the machine. It ripped a chunk of my finger off. Before the pain really set in, I noticed that there was a wet streak on the belt and that chunk of finger fell out the other side. Then the pain hit me and suddenly, my whole finger was cold, throbbing, and bleeding profusely. It wouldn't stop bleeding. Luckily, it was not a very big chunk of my finger that was missing (no bone or anything) and it healed up 100% within the next couple months. Going two months without being able to use the tip of a finger will make you remember to be careful. The moral of that story is that the tool that you don't think can hurt you is most likely to hurt you. You give more respect to the "dangerous" tools and less to the "harmless" tools, like sanders and chisels. You take it for granted, and before you know it, the worst happens. The reason the tablesaw has such a bad reputation is because all else being equal, it might just have the worst capabilities. I would think a shaper or jointer would be more dangerous though. Something that could actually pull you in.About the SawStop device: I just picked up a workshop issue of Popular Woodworking, and there was a column/feedback thing written about it. One guy said he resented that the designer is trying to have that device government mandated. He's just trying to get rich. I agree with that guy and I wrote a long email to PopWood's email address. I think that if the general populace is lead to believe that a power saw can be "made safe" many more accidents will happen. I told them that the key to safety is education and common sense. Another guy said that people with missing digits would be happy to pay $150 (the amount the designer said the price a contractor's saw would go up) to have his finger back. Enough rambling for now.
*My rip blade has 24 teeth on it. when your cutting 1/8" thick masonite you can easily take a huge bite out of the material which is very dangerous. i could have had kickback with another blade as well, but i don't think it would have been quite the same. the piece actually got caught in the gullet and got launched towards me. if the blade had more teeth on it there would have been less cutting vibration and i most likely wouldn't have had a kickback. rip blades shouldn't be used on thin material and i was just being impatient. hopefully i'll learn from this lesson
*Thanks Steve for the info, sure would like to see this saftey item as a retro fit or available on new saws. Maybe there would be a few less horror stories.Joe Roth
*I have had two close calls. Both should have cost me a finger and only by amazing good fortune didnt.This first was when a circular saw kicked back and chewed up my thumb. Not badly it turned out.The second was when I was very tired using the RAS. was set up for doing angled cuts. ( I make a jig at the desired angle and leave the saw set to 90 ) Needed just one cut to make a piece shorter and didnt want to dismantle the jig ( or, amazingly walk 6 feet to get a hand saw ) so did the cut with the wood totally unsupported. All was OK until I actualy felt my attention wander, then come back. Just as all my faculties were on board again, the wood moved and got kicked back. My little finger got slammed between the piece being cut and the jig. To say it hurt wouldnt even come close. My first thought was " At least I didnt cut it " knowing my finger was nowhere near the blade, then I saw the blood. The impact almost ripped the end right off the digit. missed the nail to my relief. The pain, OMG the pain.Half an hour before I trusted myself to get out of the chair I sat in asap, another 1/2 an hour to summon enough courage to dress it, another hour flat out on the lounge floor waiting for the queasy feelings to stop.The only thing that helped after was a few days of hefty ant inflamms and pain relief. Sometimes I do the dummest things. Am very very careful now and THINK about what I am doing.
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