I am always very, very cautious when using power tools and I’ve never had an injury using them. Last week, I was using a chisel to shave the bark off a spot on the back stretcher on a rustic bench I was building. I had my left hand holding the stretcher and was using the chisel in my right hand. I came to a place in the wood that required a little extra effort. When I got through that area, the chisel jumped forward and sliced along the back of my hand leaving about a four inch long laceration. I cut through two tendons and a nerve. I will have surgery by a hand specialist this Thursday. I have been assured by several medical types that I will regain full use of my hand, but that it will be several weeks and require some physical therapy.
I know that pointing any sharp object toward any body part is a stupid mistake and believe me, I’ve been berating myself better than anyone else could about making such a mistake. I’ve thought about what may have led to this mistake. I wasn’t tired, hungry or particularly emotional about anything. I wasn’t in a rush. I knew better. The only things I can think of are that I allowed myself to be momentarily distracted possibly because I was lulled into a false sense of security by the lack of a power cord.
In any case, I’m writing this just to say – let’s be careful out there.
Scotty
Replies
Scotty,
I know it's easy to say these things in hindsight, but next time use a clamp/vise to hold the work instead of your free hand. In almost every hand tool operation I can think of, use one hand to provide the force required and use your free hand for guidance/control. It truly saddens me when I hear of folks making that one mistake.
I'm truly sorry to hear of your accident and wish the best for a successful and speedy recovery. Farbeit for me to advise as I have made my share of mistakes and paid the price. If we all work together we can all help each other to be safe.
Best Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I appreciate you posting this and I hope you get better and regain full function soon.
One thing I like to think about this that a lot of us used hatchets when we were boy scouts and never got hurt. But our hatchets now are sharper than kitchen knives and these things don't give you a second chance.
We really need to revisit the safety discussion as we become better sharpeners and also more ambitious woodworkers. I can do things with a hatchet or chisel or drawknife that I wouldn't have attempted even 3 years ago. Its not a complacency thing, its a skill thing. As my skills increase, the danger increases. I move sharper tools with more force and for longer periods of time and further into exhaustion than ever before.'
I've grown increasing nervous about this at Pennsbury Manor where our tools have grown increasingly sharper and our woodworking increasing more ambitious. We've escaped serious injuries so far, but what has been responsible for that success will probably not be good enough in the future.
I hope your selfless post about your unfortunate accident will raise consciousness about this important issue.
Adam
P.S. Once again, another great article idea for FWW free of charge: "Hand tool safety for advanced users"
My sympathies. Did the exact same thing on the Veritas Medium Shoulder Plane in March; took off the nose and thought I could use it as a chisel plane. I was "tuning" it when it jumped and the blade embedded about an 1/8th of an inch at the bottom of left palm. The blade was brand new and extremely sharp; took 5 stitches; luckily no internal damage. Since the blade was sharp you can hardly see the line. Lesson learnt; now I always secure the piece on bench with clamps or vice and when my left hand is in the "line of fire" wear leather gloves.
Get well soon.
LB
Thanks for your post Scott, I've had my own experience in this regard. Last year I was close to finishing up a prototype infill smoother. The night before I thought I would be finished with the body, I honed the iron so it would be ready to go when I started the process of tuning the plane the next day. When the body was complete I installed the iron in the body and tighten up the lever cap. I lifted the plane to sight the light thru the throat of the plane. What I did not realize at that time was that I miscalulated the pivot point on the lever cap, the iron was not being held by the lever cap. As I sighted the light thru the throat the iron slide right out the back of the plane. Let me say this, ONE SHOULD NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EVER TRY TO CATCH A PLANE IRON!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!! LET IT HIT THE FLOOR!! YOU CAN GRIND THE DAMAGE OUT FASTER THAN YOU CAN HEAL!!
The iron hit me right behind my thumb on the fat part of my left hand. It didn't go very deep the bone stopped it. I was sliced so clean that I just pulled the wound back together and put a butterfly on to hold it closed. I decided to forego the trip the emergency room and it healed nicely, however I do have a scar to remind me of the incident. Another inch or so and it would have gotten me on the wrist. I know a lot of people on this forum handle sharp plane irons so take my advice, LET IT FALL!!!
Ron Brese
http://www.breseplane.com
Ron,
LET IT FALL!!!
Amen to that.
One of the first things they taught us when I went to barbers school back in '67 was LET IT FALL whenever you drop a straight razor. Now I let everything fall when I drop any tool. It takes a while to condition your mind to do it as your natural reaction is to prevent it from falling on the floor/concrete and damaging the tool.
As you said, you can grind out the damage faster than you can heal.
Sounds like another sign needs to go up in the woodshops!
Thanks,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 11/28/2007 8:38 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
ONE SHOULD NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EVER TRY TO CATCH A PLANE IRON!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!! LET IT HIT THE FLOOR!! YOU CAN GRIND THE DAMAGE OUT FASTER THAN YOU CAN HEAL!!
Ron,
I sometimes go on at great lengths about how you include a brass button at the top of your blades to prevent it from sliding through the mouth of the plane, and now you tell us you dumped one out the other end! Truth be told, I've come close to doing the same thing when I failed to tap the wedge down tight. Glad to hear Lady Luck was with you, at least in part.
As to my personal experiences, I could make a list (sadly). But I'll just offer some bits of advice:
Don't ever try to rip a piece of 3" stock on the table saw using a paint stir as a push stick.
While ripping long boards on a TS, don't ever use a screwdriver to hold the kerf open.
And though not actually shop related, when putting the lawn mower back in the shed, DON"T EVER put your fingers on the hot muffler!
Regards,
-Chuck
"DON"T EVER put your fingers on the hot muffler!" Awwwww, Jeez, been there, done that! I was drilling post holes with an engine-operated, one-person auger years ago. Not a task for a lightweight, which I was at the time, LOL. Exhausted, I turned it off, wiped my brow, and leaned to the side to brace myself on the machine. RIGHT on the muffler with my palm. Ohmigod did it hurt! For days! (gotta stop now, blue language ahead)
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 12/1/2007 11:54 am by forestgirl
Okay, I have to chime in. Long ago between high school and college, I painted houses on summer and other breaks. Does everyone know what a ladder jack is? It is the aluminum shelf bracket like thing that supports a plank on a ladder with an "L" shaped end to prevent the plank from sliding off. Anyway, they will adjust and flatten out for storage. At the end of a day were were cleaning up on a flat roof section of a house, tarps and planks and paint cans and tools everywhere. We were all looking for the last ladder jack when I thought I spotted it under a tarp. As I was stepping and bending down and moving the tarp at the same time, I stomped on one end of the jack, which used a well-placed dust brush as a fulcrum, and "Three Stooges Rake Trick Like" jumped up and clocked me right in the forehead almost knocking me out and off the roof. Multiple stitches.
Ouch!!!! It is for a similar reason that all short-tine rakes are required to be placed with tines down when leaned against a wall. ROFL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I move that we end this thread... each injury is worse than the one before. The next post will be from someone stating "How I killed myself in the brush chipper..."Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
"I move that we end this thread... each injury is worse than the one before." Oh, no! Glaucon.... I'm lovin' this thread, have relayed several of the side-splitting stories to hubby. (Side-splitting only because no permanent harm was done). Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, they got nothin' on this crowd for comedy!!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 12/2/2007 11:52 pm by forestgirl
FG,
Hey! I resemble that remark!!
Nyuk, nyuk. Wooob-woob-woob.
;-))
Ray
G,
Did I ever tell you about the time I was blowing clean an obstruction in the dust sucker? It suddenly turned on and I found myself inside the dust bag. The worst bit was that I was inside out. I still haven't figured out how to reverse the process, although there have been many suggestions. "Sit here on the compressor", a "friend" advised......
Lataxe, for hire to anatomy clases everywhere.
Lataxe,
Took a lot of guts for you to share that story.
At one of the shops where I worked, "Pappy" Miller was leant over, adjusting the shaper's cutter depth. The blast gate was open, and sucked the baseball cap right off his head. Pap ran full steam the length of the shop, sped around the corner, and yanked open the door to the collection system's outlet, just in time to see his cap disappear into the furnace, which burned all the dust and debris. We talked for months about the time Pappy's cap went up the dust spout. (Woodworkers are easily entertained.) By golly, I think that cap might've been inside out, too.
Ray
Just remember that Comedy is you falling off a cliff, tragedy is me cutting my finger.
Doug
I had my surgery last Thursday. Am now coming out of the drug induced haze and found myself wondering what I could do in my shop one-handed. Sweep up is about the only thing that came immediately to mind. I'm contemplating putting a clear finish over the blood spots on the floor to remind myself to be careful. The surgery went well. The hand-doc repaired four tendons and a sensory nerve. I'll likely have 4-6 weeks of rehab and a year or so of neurogenic pain to cope with as the nerves reconnect.
Thanks for all the posts. They have helped me keep my spirits up as I type one-handed.
Scotty
Scott,
Glad you are recovering. I broke a wrist a couple years ago, an injury that I feel would have probably disabled me had it been treated 20 yrs ago. Thanks to today's technology and the expertise of my orth. surgeon, I'm essentially un fazed by the event. Don't neglect the rehab. It did me a world of good. (No pain, no gain.)
Best of luck,
Ray
> I move that we end this thread... each injury is worse than the one before. The next post will be from someone stating "How I killed myself in the brush chipper..."Oh, oh! Did you ever see Fargo? I was that guy who's foot was sticking up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qWFhDvURLg<sick, twisted grin> ;)
Andy
<"Oh, oh! Did you ever see Fargo? I was that guy who's foot was sticking up!">Nice friends you got.Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Scott
Always good to be reminded of safety, and your posting does just that. Don't you friggin hate when that happens? Best of luck recovering. I had hand injuries as a crazy youngin, and didn't bother with all the therapy - I've regretted my stupidity on that for the last 20 years. Do all the hand excercises they recommend, and then some.
jack
"I've thought about what may have led to this mistake. I wasn't tired, hungry or...." Might it be simply that you've not made the same mistake with something less lethal, thereby depriving yourself of a learning experience that would have helped avoid this accident? I've cut myself with a screwdriver several times, given myself a black eye when a hammer being used to pull a nail out of a fence post (at nose height) broke loose. Those kinds of "little" accidents get one in the habit of making sure a body part isn't in the potential path of a runaway hand tool!
Wishing you a rapid and complete recovery.
FG,
So you gave yourself a black eye with your own hammer huh? Welcome to the club! I once was driving a 16d nail up into a 2x4 over my head, when the claws of the hammer caught the knot on the string of my hooded sweatshirt. That hammer flew right back at me when I ran out of slack in the string, and caught me upside of the head. Most knocked myself off the stepladder.
Ray
Wow, that's waaayyyyy more clever than my trick! Glad you didn't fall off the ladder, that can be fata!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I have whanged my head with a hammer a couple of times, but not so spectacularly. I was rebuilding/remodeling the barn over a couple of years and would get really engrossed in doing something, meanwhile forgetting what I was doing, so to speak. Reality likes to reassert itself, I find.Have also stabbed self with screwdrivers and blades of various kinds, and sliced off about a third of my right thumbnail. That didn't hurt as much as you would think, but was a great annoyance because I play guitar with my nails. That much nail takes a long time to grow back.My favorite klutzpisode was while working on a car about 20 years ago. I had trouble getting a plug out of the back of a big-block engine, so I put a couple of extensions and a universal on the ratchet wrench, and really leaned into it. It broke loose suddenly, and because I was leaning so far into it, my right hand shot forward in the arc of the turn and I bashed myself in the side of the face. That hurt a lot.Joe
Film at 11:00...(Glad you weren't hurt)Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Ray
In 1988, I was framing an addition to my home, and this was before I owned a framing nailer. I had the ole' 26 oz.'er going, and missed! It was the nice heavy California framer with the waffle imprint. Well, I split my thumbnail in two, and mashed the thumb real good. Now, almost 20 years later, that is the thumb that gives me all the trouble with arthritic pain in the morning in the shop before I get it warmed up.
Jeff
I did just about the same thing (but not as bad) to my finger while trying to put in a box for an outlet (the drive in the nail kind) on a truss joist. The fist two hits got the board a shaking the third hit deflected off the nail and turn the hamer blow 90degrees sidewas and right into my finder, Hurt like a so and so.
Doug
Well, since the "bizzare accident" aspect of this thread is continuing, I'll contribute one more. It happened to a young boy (maybe 10 years old) who was coming into our retail shop with his mom. You know how adults are always telling their kids "Tie you shoes!!" Well, his shoes, light hiking boots, were tied quite nicely, thank you. He ran through the door of the shop, and in an instant, became horizontal, launched toward the corner of a handsome wooden tool trunk sitting on the floor for display. He missed impacting the corner with his head by a couple of inches!
So, what the heck happened??? The loop of one nicely tied lace had hooked up with a hook on the other boot, locking his feet together! Weirdest darned thing to happen, and man was he surprised! forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jeff,
Once drove a yankee push drill right thru my thumb, holding a small piece of stock while bouncing away on it. Guess I let up a little too much on the upstroke, the thing lifted from the hole, and next instant, I romped on it, put it thru the ball of my thumb. The worst part about a hand tool injury, is the knowledge that one did it to one's self. Can't blame it on "the apprentice", "the stock binding", or "tension in the wood"---"Oww, I just pushed that dam' thing right into my own hand!"
Ray
FG, You're hammer story reminded me of a college buddy of mine. He had a job at one of the local truck stops in the tire shop. He came in a little early one evening with his forehead swollen to the point his eyes were nearly swollen shut! It seems he'd been breaking down a particularly difficult flat and was attempting to break the bead with a 16# hammer. As the hammer head struck rubber, the head came off, flew up and hit him right between the horns! He was out cold for about five minutes.
To add insult to injury, when he finally came to, the boss was kneeling over him scolding him (tic) for sleeping on the job!
We laugh about it now, but my friend was truly lucky. Depending where the hammer struck him, the injury could have been much worse. Up to and including death!
To the OP: thanks for sharing your story and I wish you a full and speedy recovery.ONWARD! THROUGH THE FOG.
Chuck
Scott,
Very sorry to hear what happened. You will get better and please be extra careful next time.Syma
When I'm working I often think of what Tage Frid said, at least I think it was him. Something along the lines of you may get away with being unsafe today, but someday it'll get you.
Gotch all beat...ran a belt sander over my lower back...don't even ask....Jimmy
Well, I don't have anything to compare with any of this. I did give myself a paper cut the other day. Which wouldn't merit a mention except that it was P320 paper. Which I can report does much more damage than the 100% post-consumer-recycled copy paper from Office Max.
-Steve
Been there, done that:
http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?msg=8656.50
Heal fast!
I appreciate all of the replies, support, teaching etc. Knowing that others with far superior skills have at times come by them the hard way at least leaves me more hopeful about my future in woodworking. I'm certainly going to look into ways to use vises to hold larger pieces of work. It has not been my habit to do so in the past.
One-handed typists write short posts.
Scotty
recently,went to the shop to get my utility knife from my tool box, and stopped by he work bench to check on my already glued up project and one distraction led to another, well my toenail will grow back, I knocked a piece of ok of the bench onto my foot!! don't forget to wear proper footwear either , my habit if stopping by the shop in my sandals is also a why did i do that thing, hindsight is 20/20.
Hang in there dude, we're all with you. A reminder of safety is always good....I sincerely hope you recover from this incident quick.
Have a brother in law who has a handyman business. He was nailing upwards on the underside of a patio roof joist when the nail didn't take on the first hit and instead bounced off and ricocheted back into his eye. Took a surgery and a 2 month recovery.
Since then I'm reminded from my wife and all my kids to WEAR MY SAFETY GLASSES if I even look at a tool. To be honest, before he did that I would've felt stupid to put on protective gear just to hammer a nail into a board. Now it's easy to see the alternative and what can happen....and what does it really cost to be safe? I've gotten in the habit of wearing at least fingerless gloves all the time also. Not much protection, but better than bare skin.
By the way, whenever one of us woodworker types come into the ER with some kind of cut/puncture/laceration/impaling the doc will invariably say "Well, at least the blade was sharp....!"
Why yes, doc, I owe it all to my special Sharpening System...let me tell ya about it. You sharpen your own scalpels, doc?
charlie -- "Count your blessings....it could always be worse!"
Edited 11/28/2007 3:29 am by charlie4444
WEAR MY SAFETY GLASSES if I even look at a tool.
One of the few benefits of aging is the need to wear glasses for any sort of close work. I got a few pairs of safety glasses from Duluth with a close approximation of my reading glasses' prescription and, since I can't work without glasses, I always wear them.
Glad to see I am not the only one that has been hurt by a hand tool, but then again I have been hurt by a can of the pop and cook cinnamon rolls.
But should we be talking about this? One of the protect every body from every thing types may decide that we need a law to protect us from the dangerous tools :)
Doug
I always have a 'little' lecture in my classes (hands-on activities building stuff) about what's the most dangerous thing in the room. The kids guess stuff like screwdrivers, scissors, saws, hammers and, when I pull out my pocket knife, they all say that. "Wrong", I tell them, "it's us."
Sorry to hear of your injury, and I hope that you heal quickly.
I too, have a great deal of respect for the effects of power tools on flesh and bone, but my worst injury was with a freshly sharpened chisel. It was just a laceration, and healed without sutures, but it taught me a lesson I won't soon forget. Some points:
1. Dull tools are more dangerous than sharp ones, as there is a tendency to try to over power the cut, and this can lead to unpredictable trajectories.
2. That said, properly sharpened WWing tools are truly "scary" sharp. Our experience with paper scissors and kitchen knives tends to mislead us when we use WWing tools. I am unlikely to be cut when I reach into a sink full of soap suds and encounter the business end of carving knife...but if I pick up a freshly sharpened plane iron or chisel by its cutting edge, I will be cut. It's just that sharp.
3. I think Adam has a point when he refers to a boy scout's experience with a hatchet. When using a hatchet, we are always taught to never have an arm or leg near the path of the cutting head. A similar dictum applies to WWing tools. Your off hand cannot be near the trajectory or possible rebound of a sharpened hand tool. An analogy: I like to use a RAS for cross-cutting. Once I have the stock up against the fence, one hand is planted down the fence, at least 18" from the path of the blade, the other hand is on the handle in front of the blade, neither hand ever moves towards the blade, and the blade has a set trajectory.
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
G,
You and Mr C are correct to identify the axe as a most dangerous type of handtool. The nature of the tool and its usage is inherently dangerous, compared to other sharp handtools.
One may arange matters so that a chisel or plane is always having the sharp bit pushing away; similarly, a saw has a nice thick bench between its teeth and your legs.
The axe (and the adze) are both swung freehand in an arc, often agin' stock that is but loosely held, if held at all. The space covered by the extended arc, that part of the arc not meant to be traversed by the axe, is often occupied by some part of your leg........
For instance, riven lengths of green wood are often trimmed with a carving axe by holding the top of the riven timber length with one hand, on a log end or similar, whilst the other hand chops the axe at the edges to take off large slivers. It is all too easy for the axe blow to glance off the timber and down towards the leg. One may even find the axe leaving one's grip and going for a little trip down to the toes!
Standing on a lump of wood whilst adzing it flat risks the ankles, shins and even a whole foot.
For this reason I wrap up in thick leather stuff when plying the axe. Murphy's Law Part 56c says that: "If an axe is swung more than N times, the last swang will chop your leg, if available". Part 56d says: "The axe blow inadvertently applied to the leg will chop the maximum number of nerves and sinews in that area". Part 56e deals with the amount of blood loss, which is again "maximum".
We need not mention that part of Murphy's laws concerning the unusual absence of any nearby friend to hold the severed limb on, whilst piggy-backing one to the hospital.
And of course, we should always have a nice thick cover on all those edgetools when they are not in use, particularly drawknives and axes, which somehow always contrive to lie with their edges pointing up, awaiting a careless hand feeling about the bench for a mint chew or a bon bon.
Lataxe the scarred
I hear SawStop is working on "Axe Stop" as well as "Adze Stop" products. A small cartridge in the head will inflate a rubber bumper that engulfs the edge whenever a radar-like sensor realizes that flesh contact is imminent. The technology works well so far, but the axe will cost $50,000 - roughly the same amount as a custom fitted suit of steelplate armour. As soon as the company can bring the retail price under the cost of the armour, they plan to go to market.
One small consolation: after autoamputating an extremity, the chances of reinjury go down considerably as one is unable to stand or to handle an ax. I guess that's why there is no part 57 to Murphy's law...Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Perhaps ones first axe project should be hewing a peg leg.------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
Don,
Optimists might begin by hewing some solid wood gaiters, on the grounds that the axe-slip occuring on chop N will come later than the gaiter project completion. The pegleg is hence redundant (although there may be a business opportunity in them peggers, awaiting a canny Green woodworker somewhere). :-)
Of course, the protective leather alternative is most appealing. It is a fine thing to dress oneself in leather garments of an uncompromising nature......as BradChas the Bird knows. I prefer red or black to pink, though.
Then there are those straw and hessian leggings tied up with bailing twine. These have great appeal to a certain kind of primitive lady, especially if they become adorned with an axecut or three......
Lataxe the medieval
Well talking about protecting people. I like the commercial that has the guys working on the billboard and one falls off. On the way down a bunch of airbags deploy and he is wrapped inside a ball. So after they deflate he is fine. Now as a guy that has to climb on the occasional roof for work and as a guy that really dislikes heights/ladders that is what I want.
Doug
Too funny, I haven't seen that one! Bet they got the idea from the Mars Rover, eh?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Could be that is what it looks like. Like I said I want one!
Doug
A colleague of mine tells the story of the construction worker who arrived at the ER while he was on duty complaining that he couldn't get his boot off. It turned out that he had nailed his foot to the boot with his nail gun and not known it. It was easy for my friend to diagnose the worker's diabetes with peripheral neuropathy without too many further tests.
d,
Reminds me of a sick joke from grade school days:
"Mommy, mommy, why do I only walk in circles?"
"Shut up, or I'll nail your other foot to the floor."
Ray
Don,
This reminds me of your story about Fifteen Fingers Louie :)
Scott,
I guess there is some comfort in knowing you are not alone. I wish you a full and speedy recovery.
Regards,
-Chuck
Are we telling bizarre injuries?
Went to the hospital to visit a friend with a broken leg once, and met his roomie. This guy was felling trees with a chainsaw (in a group). He stopped and sat on a felled tree to file his saw chain. Another tree came down and hit the other end of the felled tree, dust was kicked up, some guys were thrown on the ground, they all dusted themselves off and asked if each other was ok. This guy said he's ok, his eye is a bit sore, and he can't find his file. (Know what a chainsaw file looks like?)
Anyway, he goes to the hospital to get checked out, gets an xray, gets the ok, and heads to the door. Technician scratches his head at the straight line on the film and they run to catch lumberjack guy at the front door: "you need to come back in, there's half a chainsaw file buried behind your eye".
When the tree-chair was hit, the file got bumped up under his chin, into his head between his brain and eyeball and then broke off. All they could see was the small hole in his neck and the eye was bulging a bit.
No, its not a ghost story and his name was not Jason. What's the moral? Don't sit on your work while sharpening your tools? ;)
Andy
I always though I had a pretty good accident free record until I read this post. I started counting, 4,5,6,7......No wonder I hurt in those places every morning.I grew up in a city that had a large leather industry, there were all kinds if guys with missing or crushed digits, The local bookie, old Joe lost both hands at the wrist, they called him Joe Hooks. Piece work has its disadvantages.Be safe...!Ron
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