This past Saturday I had my first woodworking accident on my portable table saw. I consider myself lucky not to of lost my finger but it will never look the same.
Here it what happen.
I was using my left hand as a feather board like an idiot and when the cut was complete I kept pressure on the scrap piece trying to push it off the table because it was small and sure enough the blade got a hold of it kick it out and my left middle finger went into the back side of the blade. The cut was on an angle I lost about a 1/3 of my finger nail, shaved a small part of my bone, and all of the soft tissue on my finger tip is a shredded mess. The plastic surgeon folded everything back that was left and stiched me up. Now its a waiting game to see if the peices he put back together will granulate together. I never felt so much pain in my life.
I have a new level of respect for my tools and for the safty devices that come with them I just wish I didnt have to learn the hard way.
Please be safe
Sean
Replies
Ahhhh, jeez Sean, my condolences! Obviously it's a good think it wasn't any worse than that, but still..... We appreciate you posting the report and I hope everyone pays heed!
It's so easy to under-estimate both the speed and the force that is exhibited during a kickback incident.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Ouch!! And I thought the cut I got from a chisel, when carving on some locust was bad!! I have had numurous stitches, mostly in construction work, and I have found that it was generally because, I was busy, wanted to get the "thing " done that I was doing, and didn't think about the safest way, to get it done.
I hope it heals well, and you never have to go through this again!
Steve Pickett
I just came back from Lowe's today and when I went in, grabbed Popular Woodworking and read the article about Saw Stop (the table saw with the ability to stop in 1/200 of a second if you come near the blade with flesh). It's the one that uses the hot dog on a piece of wood and when they shove it into the blade it saws the wood and when it gets to the dog it stops and they show you just a little nick in the hot dog casing. I've been looking at this saw for a while and all the magazines that test it have what I think are little niggly pet peeves about the saw. But the bottom line is, I'll bet Sean wishes he had that saw no matter what the peeve is. I think a contractor's saw is about 7 or 8 hundred bucks and a cabinet saw is 3 thousand.
Dave
Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope it works out ok. Thanks for sharing too. It helps remind us that it takes only a second and a mistake to have bad things happen. God bless and hope you have a speedy recovery.
I hope you recover well and soon. Your cautionary tale will almost surely help someone else avoid an injury -- thanks very much for sharing it.
I'm going to print it out and post it by my table saw -- I have three sons who will be using these tools with me, and your tale will help them understand the possible seriousness of a single slip-up with these powerful tools.
Edited 10/6/2005 2:32 am ET by vulcan666
Sean
Welcome to the 'Less-Than-Ten' Club.
My commiserations on your accident, but like me & a lot of others I know it is usually the result of a lapse of concentration or sometimes just downright stupidity.
I have 2 apprentices who, I think, believe that I am over conscious of the potential for an accident to occur but to date they both have all their digits (touch wood) & I have every intention of getting them thru their time that way.
Don
Sean, I don't speak from experience but that will probably hurt for a long time, as the finger tips are very sensitive by design.Sounds as though it could have been worse, so In one way you were lucky.
How much projection above the workpiece did you have?
The blade was projecting above the workpiece more than needed for sure I normaly set the blade height just above the stock thickness.
So many things I did wrong that I normaly dont do.
Thank You all for responding to my post and sharing your stories so that we all can practice safer woodworking.
Sean
Sean,
I am very sorry to hear about this. I hope that it heals up well. Be assured of this though, this was a good 'wake up' call for me. I am going to print this out and put it in my shop by the door, laminated, and on color paper. It just isnt worth it, losing digits!
Ill be praying for ya.
rasko
I have some shorter digits on my right hand from a table saw incident a few years back. It took me a year to get up the courage to go back and use the damn thing again. My problem was not using the splitter or a guard and the piece kicked up over the blade pulling my hand into the blade. I did not lose any fingers but really mangled my index finger and shortened my thumb some. I still feel stupid and humbled, but now when a setup looks risky I stop and think of a better way.
Take a look at this months issue of "Wood Magazine" where they show several pictures of cutting a tenon on a table saw, without an auxillary fence located short of the blade. They have pictures of the tablesaw's fence engaging the tenon to be cut using the saw's whole fence, while pushing the piece of wood with the miter gauge !!!!!!!!!!!! I'll bet a lot of novices will learn quickly exactly what a tablesaw's kickback can do. I hope their medical insurance is paid up. The same also goes for Wood's liability insurance. Take care, Rob
Saw this very thing happen a few years ago. Was attending a class (wont say where!) making raised panels. Two young chaps and myself in attendance. The instructor needed some 5/8 to 3/4 stock for rails/stiles and said their planer was out of order so would run some short pieces of 6/4 on edge through the table saw. No guard. Okay, a narrow push block on the piece and push it through. I've done this. No problem. But as the instructor pushed the wood through, he was holding the 1/8" thick fall off with the tips of his fingers. I looked at the other two attendees and they were giving me the same look I'm sure I was giving them. I made 3 steps toward the table saw to point out the error when the blood flew. He was lucky. Some nasty gouges in a couple of fingers, but no amputation(s).
Years ago, I worked with a Navy trained electrician. Any time he went into a panel with a tool, he would tuck his off hand down the back of his trousers/belt. When asked why, he said it kept him from leaning on the panel with his free hand so if he got zapped, the amps would be less apt to pass through his heart.
That stuck with me and now any time I get the urge to put my off hand in the 'red zone', I think of that and promptly stuff it down the back of my pants! Just a reminder.
That said, I wish you a swift and complete recovery from a hard lesson learned. Stay safe and keep well.
Chuck
Sean,
A speedy recovery to youand best wishes that all goes well. Always a somber reminder to all of us that "its done in an instant". Last year my router table took a bite out of my rihgt middle finger, all healed well , however there's still a funny tingle there.
" Hey, lets be careful out there" ............. (another 70 s show)
E
Sean,
My heart goes out to you, man. Talk about "There, but for the grace of God go I"! Tomorrow, when I go down to the shop and consider running a short piece through the TS, or using the jointer without the guard, or any of the other lame-brained short cuts I take so casually every day, I'm going to remember your predicament and think again. Thanks for sharing your story, and good luck with your recovery.
Edited 10/6/2005 8:50 pm ET by Segil
Sean,
It literally makes me cringe to hear such stories, 'cause I have had it happen to me. There is nothing more painful than mangled fingertips. In 1987 I jointed all 4 fingers of my left hand, really trimmed the ends off the 2 middle ones and took bits off the other 2. I'm not gonna go into the pain and accompanying difficulties. But I firmly believed that I had learned my lesson once and for all, that I would never ever again work carelessly in the shop. Well, it took a while, 12 years in fact, but in 1999 I managed to take the tip of my pinky right off in a stupid accident. (Mine are all stupid it seems). More than the physical suffering, I didn't know how to deal with this from the inside. How can I continue to be so unconscious at work? What does it take to really change the way I work, not just for a while?
(I hope you're not waiting for the answer. I'm not sure I have one)
speedy recovery,
DR
I too, can now do fractions on my hands, thanks to my jointer. All dressed up in my safety gear, glasses, hearing protection, and the darn push block sat right on the edge of the machine - but I was in a hurry and whammo - lost most of the index finger on my right hand - I now teach woodworking safe woodworking and cabinetmaking at a woodworking school in Ct. -
I have certain rules for woodworking:
If you are tired, in a hurry, unsure of how to make a safe cut, or have used any mood altering substances (alcohol, etc) - don't go into the shop. Period.
Its a not-too-pleasant reminder when someone asks you directions, you point, and they still don't know where to go!!
I can not think of a reason to get maimed for a hobby or business (although I've come close with my golf swing)...
but I was in a hurry and whammo Is the KEY!.. Nothing more stupid than a human in a hurry.. Been there and did that..At least I got all my fingers.. Came close to loosin a arm once!
Here everyone post this in your shop!!!
3fingers,
What's the story behind this picture?
About 3 years ago, at work. I was cutting with a circular saw and it bound in the strip I was cutting, kicked back and went over my hand. Which I was holding to close to the the saw. I even said to myself I should not cut it like this. But was in a hurry to get the job done. The board was to small to cut with the circular saw I should have grabbed another board or went to the table saw.
I have more pic's if you can handle it!
Did the injury occur to your dominant hand and are you still able to work?
It is my non-dominant hand, I have workman's comp. now and they are paying for me to go to school.
I can do most things still. But fine manipulation with my left hand makes things difficult. Especially crown.
Sean -Thanks for taking the time to type with an injured hand. Heal fast, and heal well, friend.Ken Werner
3, go ahead and post the other pictiures you mentioned-it may helpsomebody. I think that the sub conscious stores things....Philip Marcou
Edited 10/10/2005 4:42 am ET by philip
WARNING: Pictures my be to graphic for some viewers.
Most sobering thing I've seen since I had my own fingers shortened. (Much less severe than your accident). Thanks for having the courage to post these.
DR
It's extremely important for people to see those pictures. I've also read all power tool injuries posted on another site (which any beginner should do), but nothing hits home like a photo. Andy
I'm awfully sorry this happened to you. I am going to print these and make sure my boys see them; I want them to really respect the power of the tools we're using.
You are very generous to share in this way, and I hope it's at least some small comfort that you may personally prevent others from being similarly injured.
As someone else mentioned, it's one thing to tell my boys that a saw blade that can rotate through 2" of solid oak without even slowing down will ruin a hand without caring, but it's another to see the results.
Best wishes.
I have to ask where was the skin graft from? I bet that hurt too!!
The graft was taken from my left upper thigh. And yes that hurt.
One other thing I could have lost my whole hand. The saw cut my middle flexor tendon. Almost lost that finger as well. But I have prosthetic that helps me and also my C.P. is working on a myoelectric thumb ($30,000). All paid for by WC.
Someone mentioned the "Saw Stop" saw.
The video on their website is worth watching (http://www.sawstop.com ).
P.S. No affiliation!
Sean,
Sorry to hear about your accident. A while back I stuck my ring finger into a roundover router bit (as it was slowing down) and chopped a bit of the end of my finger. Today it has healed so you can't even tell it happened. I often think of that accident as a lucky break and use it in my mind to prevent anything worse.
I do have a question for you. When you say you were using your left hand as a featherboard, do you mean you were pushing beyond the beginning of the blade? Or did you get cut because you just moved your finger too close to the blade when removing the scrap? I'm not asking this to make any points, I just want to make sure I understand what happened.
I was pushing beyond the blade and thats what so upsetting because there was no need to do that I should just left the scrap lay there until the blade stopped.
Sean.
I had the exact same accident 10 years ago.
I was ripping strips of plywood down to 5/8" wide for protection strips (in a big commercial shop). Left hand was the featherboard and hold/down. It was a big saw with a riving knife, so wasn't worried about kick.
Someone called my name. I looked up, and moved my left hand.
WHAM.
Let me tell you, a 10HP 14" blade has a lot of impact force. (and a 3/16" kerf!)
Diagonal cut, into and through the nail. put a little dado in the tip of the bone.
Had it stiched up at an occupational health clinic. Healed beatifully, you can barely tell.
A valuable lesson learned, at a costly, but not too high price..The older I get, the better I was....
Y'know the darn things don't even have to be TURNED ON--I cut the crap out of my left-hand middle finger changing my planer knives. Probably looks a lot like yours; I'd bet that it didn't hurt as bad, though. I didn't get a digital block, I've heard that they're excruciating.
So, I made a move toward--although not completely toward--hand tools. Few days ago I was planing the edge on a piece of some weird wood that I got from a pallet. Didn't notice that my left-hand pinky was daintily hanging over the front edge. I'm just slamming this 14" L-N jack plane through this wood, shaving down a rough surface, and lo! The tip of my pinky drifts into a knot hole, right in front of the moving plane. Smashed it worse than a car door.
There's risk in it, no matter how you go. You're right, the tools and process deserve respect; anything that will cut or shape wood will play hell with human body parts.
Condolances and support.
Charlie
a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts,
build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders,
cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure,
program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects.
- Robert A. Heinlein
Oh yeah, the ring block is something else.
Works like a charm during the stitching, but then it wears off....
Throbs like a rotten tooth for about a week.
The older I get, the better I was....
Charlie, what is a digital block?Philip Marcou
Sorry, Philip,A digital block, at least in medical terms, is the process used to numb a digit; an anesthetic is injected into the first knuckle, right where your hand starts to become a finger. Ugh. Gives me the willies just thinking about it. I'm a baby about pain; I know it's true, because an ER doctor told me so. I had a splinter under a nail that got infected, and the only solution was to burn a hole through the top of the nail with a tiny red hot wire to let the pressure release. I asked for anesthesia, and the doc said that the block would hurt worse than the procedure by far. Sat on my hand and stabbed a red hot wire though my fingernail, then called me a baby and slapped me on the back. Doc was a woman, too. The best way to defend yourself in a court of law--or an emergency department--is to stay out of it. : )CharlieA human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher
a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts,
build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders,
cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure,
program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects.
- Robert A. Heinlein
Thank that Doc.
You are absolutely correct about how a digital block works. Often called a "ring block" because it uses about 6 shots into that joint.
Hurts for days, and days. Well after the throb of the injury has gone.
If I knew then what I know now, I would've jut bit some leather while he sewed.The older I get, the better I was....
I had a similar incident about 18 years ago. I learned respect not only for the tablesaw, but for the awesome power of Demerol.
It gets better. Good healing to you.
Andy Engel
Senior editor, Fine Woodworking magazine
An updated profile is a happy profile.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
None of this matters in geological time.
I lost the tip of my left index finger not too long ago in a table saw incident. I was practicing making rabbets so the blade was fairly low. I was using 6" long or so pieces of wood. I was using my left hand as a guide and using a push stick with my right hand. The last piece I cut bound and flipped and my finger tip went into the saw and the finger tip was gone. It is still sensitive and awkard after more than six months, so maybe it will be just be this way forever. Anyway, I thought I was being pretty careful and maybe I should not have been using my left hand to guide the piece ... I had done this quite a few times earlier the day in a class and was just trying to improve technique. The odd grain in the piece that flipped had something to do with it -- you just never know.
Similar thing happened to me in July...1st semi-serious accident, now my left middle finger is 3/8" shorter than my right. Day after the surgery hurt the most. The finger looks pretty good now, but still hurts like crazy anytime it gets hit...I hope they don't have to go back in to cuts nerves back farther. Be safe folks, because isn't always "some other guy."
Young, poor, and eager to learn
Sean
Thank your honesty and humility in sharing this experience. You may save someone, like myself, from a similar accident.
Get well soon and I hope everything goes well.
Grits
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