It happened a few years ago, but I just got my scanner and can post photos.
The short version is that I was jointing a thin board with a triangular cross section. It caught and wedged under the guard and zzzzing! it was over in an instant. No more fingerprint. You know when people say it happened so fast they couldn’t react? It’s true. I hope mentioning it makes someone else stop and think before they can relate all too well.
Here are pictures taken after the first bandage was taken off 5 days after the “planing”. Don’t look if you don’t want to.
Replies
Yikes Wayne,
Thats grusome! Hope its healed well. The jointer seems so tame compared to some of the other tools, but...
I took of the end of my thumb with a utility knife a couple of years ago. Running it along a square, cutting belting, and zip. Like you said, to fast to react. I bet you can still feel the difference when you touch something too.
Steve
The jointer seems so tame compared to some of the other tools
What ? Better respect the Jointer its a notouris Meat Eatter I would say its one of the more dagurous power tools.Who Ever Has The Biggest Pile Of Tools When You Die Wins
I recently read Mike Dunbar's article in FWW. He made a cupboard by hand.It looked like fun.
As a guy who just does this as a hobby, and needs his hands to make a living (I am a doctor), I am thinking of just doing the hand tool thing. I guess I could pay to get the wood milled. Milling the wood is, for me, the least fun part of things anyway.
Then again, the worse cut I ever got was from a chisel.
Frank
Frank,
Hand tools are also a lot quieter and are fun to collect and use. Wood molding planes can be awsome. Check out Larry Williams website for some incredible woodies.
aka Steve
I just recently bought a bandsaw and now use that for a lot of the work I previously did on the table saw. I know no power tool is fail safe but the band saw is inherently safer than the table saw - no kick back for one. Wish I had bought it first.
On my last three projects I had to switch to hand tools due to the the nature of the design - a lot of shaping and carving that couldn't be done with the power tools I have. I love it! No dust, no noise and I'm actually learning much more about the wood itself. And it opens a whole new world of design possibilities. I having to basically "retool" and it's not cheap but everyone should spoil themselves once in a while if they can.
Ron,
You're right, the jointer is spooky. I meant that in my opinion, the jointer "seems" more docile then the other tools. Its got good shields, runs smooth and is quiet, at least mine is. Perhaps that's why it bites on a fairly regular basis. False sense of security. If you ask me, the scariest tools in my shop are the router table and shaper. They are the reason I started using molding planes. Awfully hard to cut off a finger with a plane. However, as I got bit by a utility knife, any tool has the potential to be dangerous. Just like a gun. Use it properly and its perfectly safe. Misuse though can be catastrophic. Have a good one,
aka Steve
IMO, one of the reasons jointer accidents are prevalent and seem to surprise us is the lack of jointer "how-to" literature. There are several tablesaw books, and they're mentioned frequently on the forums and other places. Most people seem to have read up on the TS and probably even have a book on a shelf somewhere. However, when I wanted a reference on jointers, I found only one (other than chapters in various older power tools books: It's "Jointer and Planers," sorry don't have the author's name here at work.
That is where I first read: "Never joint a piece of wood shorter than 11 inches." and some other safety rules. Good stuff to about different operations that can be accomplished with the jointer.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 9/20/2003 5:43:00 PM ET by forestgirl
I've been around tools since I was a teen ( thats over 30 yrs. ago)and I consider myself lucky that I've never seriously injured myself with any power tool. Pictures like these send a chill down my back and will make me think twice whenever I use any of my tools. I know several guys that have injured themselves and the common thread seems to be either that they were tired or were rushing things (or both ). As for me, if something doesn't feel right , I will try to stop and figure out a better way. My best to all of you willing to share your injuries with the rest of us.
Thanks, everything healed fine. About half of it healed good as new. The other half was just a tad deeper, taking off every layer of skin, so it grew in from the edge rather than from below. There's no fingerprint in that area. The skin feels different, kind of like lips. It even chaps in really cold weather. But, there's no discomfort or disability at all. I was suprised that, after the first day, it didn't even hurt one bit.
Now I'm much more careful to use push pads on flat boards. I found a grout float is comforting because it's nice and big and good for holding the front of boards down, but something grippier and less likely to slip is better for the back.
Wayne,
If you like using the grout float as a push block, but would like it to have more grip, glue on a full strip of medium grit sandpaper or a computer mouse pad (rip the fabric/decorative cover off before gluing) to the bottom. (Double sided carpet tape works well with the sandpaper, and will allow you to replace it when it gets worn out.
Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Edited 9/20/2003 2:13:12 PM ET by Jackie Chan
You were lucky! My grandfather lost his whole pinky on the jointer. Than an other time he lost half of his index finger.
But than I went and topped him last year. I lost my index and thumb on my left hand. With a circular saw. The saw kicked back on me with no time to react.
Be careful out there I'm still in pain a year later.
the last photo is graphic it was taken about 2 months after the accident.
Dam 3fingers
I feel for you - dam that's to bad. Those dam old skill saws .
RonWho Ever Has The Biggest Pile Of Tools When You Die Wins
Hi Wayne,
I'm one of the more recent inductees to the mangled fingers group. I know exactly what you mean about it happening in less than an instant. I have been over my accident in my mind at least a million times but honestly have no idea how it happened or exactly the sequence of events that led to my fingers getting intimate with the saw. I posted my thread here as you, in the hope that someone else would read it and take a bit of extra precaution to avoid the same unpleasant experience. We will never know if we were successful, but safety is so important that we all need to be reminded of the consequences from time to time.
Since you didn't mention anything I assume all is now OK with you. Mine happened 7 weeks ago and the fingers are getting back to their old selves although it will still be quite awhile before they have the strength and stamina they did.
Be safe,
Ken
"I have been over my accident in my mind at least a million times but honestly have no idea how it happened or exactly the sequence of events that led to my fingers getting intimate with the saw. "
Sparrow, I hate to bust your chops, but that comment above has annoyed me some. I remember your post and I remember many of us clearly explaining what happened and how to prevent it next time. I hoped you had learned something from our comments to you, but I don't think you did.
Here's a refresher: http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=13363.1
Molten,
I did not express myself accurately in the most recent post with which you have taken issue. I should not have used the word "idea" but rather meant "memory". It happened so quickly that I have absolutely no recollection of that particular few milliseconds. All the posts were helpful in trying to understand what might have happened and I have since made a number of jigs in an effort to minimize the chances of another accident. One of the major drawbacks to communications in writing is that written words are rather cold and do not always reflect the true emotion or meaning intended. I'm sorry I have offended you again.
Be safe,Ken
I wasn't offended, just concerned that you hadn't learned from your unfortunate experience, but I'm glad to hear you have!
Go make some saw dust and be safe.
Hey
I have a jointed finger just lost the pad, we are lucky .I seen others not so lucky jointers usually pull the finger on in .
I worked for a guy that lost a finger, when he shakes hands he would wiggle the stub on your palm -I hated that.
Glad you posted pics. so all can see - hope all realize that it could have chopped off your fingers just a easy.
Ron
Who Ever Has The Biggest Pile Of Tools When You Die Wins
Your pictures are hard to look at considering that each of us who loves woodworking and uses power tools, knows the danger associated with them. I hope your injury heals soon.
I'm only 24 but I have been working full time with woodworking tools for 6 years.
Every now and again I read a post, or article, or hear a story like this post and it reminds me to be safe in my shop.
When I first started woodworking I was under the assumption that bad things don't usually happen to me so I shouldn’t waste so much time thinking about safety. Now I can tell you that I am the safest woodworker I know. I ALWAYS wear safety glasses. Just get a good pair that are comfortable and replace them if they begin to bother you. I also put on a tightly fitted gasmask whenever I'm in the shop. With the recent news regarding wood dust and cancer I have decided I am too young to start breathing it all day every day. I also have push sticks that I keep handy and use religiously. I keep my tools sharp and keep safety high on the list. When I first started out I was always told "time is money" but now that I've got the hang of things I realize slow and steady really does win the race.
I should also mention I have never had a single injury due to working with wood. A fact I am proud of and work hard for.
gecko,
I agree 100% with you, safety first. I have been around woodworking for around 40 years. I, like you have never had an accident either, a few minor cuts and slivers but that is it. I contribute that to paying attention any time I use anything that can cut me. It is not luck. Tomorrow I could go in my shop and have an accident, it will only take a second for me to let my guard down. As long as I keep this in mind, I will be okay.
Ken K
Hey Wayne,
Looks like your outfeed table is a little low. :) Seriously, that stinks. My college roommate did the very same thing but got his middle finger. now it's the same length as his ring finger. Good thing you didn't lose any bone.
ChadI am not a liberal.
Thanks. No bone, it healed fine. And I'm glad you're not a liberal.
Gecko,
The things you said reflect my own views and actions.
I recently got rid of my table saw, and my jointer. I replaced the table saw with a Festool setup, and I do all my ripping and cross-cutting that way. It is much safer, with a riving-knife circular saw, and it has about 99% dust collection!
I know a few woodworkers with mangled hands and fingers, including my mentor. I know one guy who had a habit of doing woodworking early in the moning, before work. He did his woodworking in his bath robe. Bad idea -- the sleeves of a bath robe hang loose. Well, one day, this guy got the sleeve of his robe caught in the router table. In an instant, the fabric got caught and his forearm was pulled right into the blade. According to him, this happened at the end of the cut, when the board has passed all the way through the cutter and you sort of relax a bit. It did a disgusting slice-job on his forearm.
I tell this story because even those of us who are safe may mentally "relax" after the cut is "done." I put the word "done" in quotes because woodworking machines are dangerous even when there's no cutting happening. It's something I remind myself of all the time.
Edited 9/22/2003 11:22:32 AM ET by Matthew Schenker
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