I’ve been woodworking for a few years now and I am always surprised that I get more injuries from my freshly planed lumber than my tools. Anyone else find themselves getting essentially “paper cuts” from these newly sharpened edges? Any other things that still surprise any of you?
James
Replies
Yes splinters! I hate them but if cut out when fresh with my trusty old X-Acto knife is less pain than trying to do it a week later!
Any other things that still surprise any of you?..
That after all these years I still run my finger down that new cut edge and get that 'paper' cut even in 2009!
I re-read my post and had to comment that I think Jatoba is the sharpest edge any wood can make! Purpleheart comes in second!
Edited 6/7/2009 11:20 am by WillGeorge
>Any thing still surprise you?
No.
: )
I don't get the cuts from the wood you speak of. A couple of things that bite me:
My miter plane cuts my finger tips because I tend to hold it with my finger tips on the bottom where they would normally be safe on a bench plane and I windup nipped.
Being in the habit of using a metal working hacksaw I tend to wipe the metal chips out of the teeth with my finger tips when I finish a cut and am about to hang it back up. Going with the teeth not against them. When I try this with my woodworker's saws ( much sharper ) I get little cuts on my digits.
If I try to wipe the wood dust out of my Japanese saws I wind up on the floor swooning from the blood loss. Well almost that bad. I finally broke my habit of trying to wipe the Japanese saw teeth.
roc
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
roc,
Good thing you aint a barber! Wiping off your straight razor by passing thru your finners. One thing though if it's real sharp you won't feel it, at least for a few seconds.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I remeber the first time I ran my thumb across a piece of laminate to see how smooth it was after it routed it. Then I thought that looks like blood and my thumb had a nastey gash that took a few seconds to feel.I dropped my marking knife and it stuck in the top of my work boot no injury.Yes fresh planed wood can be sharp. But what is my pet peve is the staples in 2x dimentional stock from the shipping covering.
shoe,
staples.
three weeks ago i began to rip a 7"x8' red oak board. did not see the big fat staples in the end of it. i have a habit of leaning a bit to my left when ripping so the staple did not hit me between the eyes. rather, it hit and penetrated the right side of my neck. that was a bit of a surprise.
eef
Edited 6/8/2009 12:26 pm ET by Eef
Close call ! How's your neck? Lots of potential for disaster.Does remind me of a stupid thing we tried at a skeet range. We all wondered what would happen if we shot a 12 gauge shotgun shell lying on the ground. I set in on the concrete bunker were the clay pegions were throwen. I shot the back of the shell and seeing not much happened but you could see it went off. My friend standing to my left a few feet, yelled and grabbed his neck. The primer came back and hit him. luckily nothing but a little bruise.Well all us adults sort of mumbled at the same time, how they were suprised but felt like how stupid can we get. A lesson learned about playing amuatur Myth Busters. "Don't try this at all"
shoe,
to tell the truth, i suspect the metal is, as of now, still in. i kind of hoped that it might fester out. doesn't hurt anymore.
i spend the better part of monday through friday teaching woodworking skills to children 16 to 18 years of age. it is humblilng to remember, by way of seeing, all the nincompoopish and stupid things we once did. i often find myself having to discourage young lads from breaking red oak boards with their foreheads, karate-chopping plywood, sticking sticks into coasting saw blades and on and on. it is a wonder that childhood is survived by as many as it is.
eef
> you can't have a Red Rider BB gun you'll shoot your eye out.Didn't you guys see A CHSRISTMAS STORY ?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppOXpyhM2wAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZh7OZ5Xc4Q&NR=1Reminds me of a story a machinist friend told be when I was picking his brains about whether I should buy a metal working mill or a lathe for my intended main use.He told me about a friend and coworker who was running at high speed and chipped a carbide. The chip shot off the cutter and logged in his neck in his spine. The guy died.Maybe he just told me that to scare me. Brilliant guy though. Big wig at HP. AND he could work magic with metal, photography, anything he put his hand to.I wear a full face shield around my table saw and when using brittle carbide type cutters rather than just goggles.As far as staples go. Not too long ago I laid out and hand sawed the end off an expensive plank. I wasn't generous with how much I cut off. "Saving wood" Just enough to get rid of the grit in the end grain before I resawed.I resawed it then noticed a steel colored dot in the wood. At first I was totally pissed because I thought I had cut the staple with my Laguna Resaw King blade. After calming down and lookin' it over I realized I cut through a staple while hand sawing and didn't even notice. The hand saw was OK too ! Must have been a long staple and I just caught the tip of it.Wheew glad I didn't mess up my nice LRK blade.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 6/9/2009 12:22 am by roc
Bob
Good thing you aint a barber! Wiping off your straight razor by passing thru your finners...
My GrandPa did that all the time. I think when stropping the razor. Never thought of it untill you posted those words. I am not sure but I would think he was 'testing' the edge for a burr? Fingers can feel very small things. Even if your fingers are like a farmers of a dirty old mechanic like me..
I 'think' it can be done safely.. I check my knife, plane blades, and chisel edges that way. Anything sharp... I just make SURE I 'feel' by moving my fingers away from that sharp edge and NOT towards it!
Just funnin ya a bit!
AND your comment...
Yeah, how fast every flat surface in the woodshop disappears under a pile of, well you name it.
Very small shop and I seem to put EVERYTHING on top of my table saw..
I spend more time moving things that actual work on my TS...
Edited 6/7/2009 11:16 am by WillGeorge
James,
Yeah, how fast every flat surface in the woodshop disappears under a pile of, well you name it.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Yeah I get those papercuts, as my left hand does the work of two featherboards as I manually feed (with my right hand) freshly planed lumber through the tablesaw. Not sure if the 'freshness' of the planed hardwood helps or hurts in this situation, but makes me think I ought to look into at least a side mounted featherboard, though it is just one more thing to adjust and would slow me down.
Brian
Yup, did that once with a 45* miter, fresh off the miter saw. Not gonna do that again...
I'm surprised no one has come out with a wood stretcher, ya know, when you cut your board a 16th too short and you need juuust that little bit extra.
I'm surprised that I don't miss the table saw and lunchbox planer I sold 3 years ago and never replaced. It helps that I have a buddy with a garage full of Powermatics.
I'm not surprised that my woodworking projects have changed because I no longer have big tools, but I'm surprised what I make now - stave constructed drums (ya know, snare, tom tom and kick drums) - and the router is my primary power tool.
I'm surprised that with the right gumption, you can shop-make a lathe for safely turning said drums (both externally and internally) for about $150 or so in parts. And it doesn't have to be motor-powered.
Cheers,
Seth
Edited 6/8/2009 9:55 pm ET by Hamelech
"I'm surprised no one has come out with a wood stretcher, ya know, when you cut your board a 16th too short and you need juuust that little bit extra."
There is a way to accomplish that task. If done properly, said repair can almost become invisible.
............there may be a cost involved, all things are negotiable...............tough economy, you know...... ;0)
I'm not flippin' you off.........just counting cubits
Edited 6/9/2009 3:19 am by oldbeachbum
Plainsman premium cabretta leather gloves. Thin enough to still feel the wood and thick enough to avoid the pain.
Best way to check how sharp a tool is, just scrape a fingernail across it, or if your collecting scars, try to shave your arm with it!
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