cut myself on the saw last night!

[keith ouellette]

Even though its not that bad I had to wait till my wife left to take the picture because she tends to panic and worry a lot.

I was re sawing some of my free white pine (maybe spruce) on the table saw when It felt like someone hit the tip of my finger with a hammer. I think I was very lucky.

The culprit, other than the stupidity of not using a blade guard.... too much dust it the air. I had a dust mask on and without my dc working the shop filled up with dust but I didn't really notice the poor visibility until after I got cut.

finger.jpg

You can't tell from the picture but a uniform 1/16 of an in deep and 5/16 wide section of meat was removed (yes I measure it with a caliper. I know its weird) It throbbed and kept me up most of the night. I told my wife I jabbed it with a screw driver. she hasn't seen the wound.

Some one had just posted some pictures of accidents and I claimed I was going to get a guard for the saw. I was going to look into it today. to late. The guard that came with the saw, a 3hp jet exacta saw, was attached to a splitter that I could never get lined up right. After the accident I wrapped the finger and sought out the original knife and guard and this time I was able to figure out how to adjust it properly so it lined up with the blade. I have no idea why I couldn't figure it out before.

I won't use the saw without it again. I wasn't going to show off my stupidity but then I figured this might help others to make more sound decisions. I have a very active imagination and have thought of some very horrible results I COULD have had. I was very lucky.

[Matt Woessner]

Keith,
Man you are lucky, please use the guards and be careful. I only takes a split second to change someones life using the tools we all are "comfortable" with.
Take care of you injury.

[Prashun Patel]

I'm glad you're ok. I read these accident posts with a LOT of humility and sweaty palms, thinking each time, "Damn, that coulda been me!"

[Peter Quinn]

Dats UGLY Keith. Very ugly. Reminds me why I don't like to resaw on a TS. Not sure a guard would be of much use in most resaw operations, but a BS sure comes in handy. I hope you have a speedy recovery.

[Lee Schierer]

What hit your finger may not have been the blade. Some knots in soft wood can be very hard and when they are on the edge of a board, they can come loose and hit the blade with explosive results. While I won't discourage you from using your splitter and guard, you might also want to make some push sticks and feather boards to use for future resawing efforts. Use these tools to keep your fingers as far from the cutting action as possible.

Work safe.

[keith ouellette]

What hit your finger may not have been the blade. Some knots in soft wood can be very hard and when they are on the edge of a board, they can come loose and hit the blade with explosive results. While I won't discourage you from using your splitter and guard, you might also want to make some push sticks and feather boards to use for future resawing efforts. Use these tools to keep your fingers as far from the cutting action as possible.

Work safe.

Good thought on the safety equipment but I'm sure it was the blade. there were two strips of cut skin still attached but hanging loose. I snipped them off with a wire cutter. you could see how three teeth of the blade made the cut. My finger hit the blade at an angle about 45deg to the blade as I was reaching for the wood as it came out. Not to bright. I know.

[frank shic]

heal up soon, keith. remember: what does not kill me makes me stronger! and get a better blade guard/dust collector in the future, ok???

[Rod Sheridan]

Keith, thank you for posting this, I hope it heals well for you.

On the forum we often hear from members who claim that they don't need a blade guard because they are always aware of what they are doing, they're experienced ....Yada...Yada...Yada....

A bunch of bull.

People are not machines, we lose concentration, we make mistakes, we fail to realise that it only takes milli-seconds to have a life altering accident with machinery.

I'm very glad to hear that your wake up call was something that you didn't have to ask your wife to find your fingers in the scrap box.

When I was working for a year between high school and university, a women who worked in the shop with me severed three of her fingers off in a straight line from the base of her index finger to the top of her small finger.

I can hear her scream to this day, and I remember having to help the foreman look through the scrap box for her fingers to take to the hospital.

A moment without a saw guard, a lifetime to regret it.

I'm glad you're OK Keith.............Rod.

[guy knight]

Sawstop for the tip

[Jason White]

How were you feeding the boards? Were you using featherboards? A push stick?

JW

Even though its not that bad I had to wait till my wife left to take the picture because she tends to panic and worry a lot.

I was re sawing some of my free white pine (maybe spruce) on the table saw when It felt like someone hit the tip of my finger with a hammer. I think I was very lucky.

The culprit, other than the stupidity of not using a blade guard.... too much dust it the air. I had a dust mask on and without my dc working the shop filled up with dust but I didn't really notice the poor visibility until after I got cut.

finger.jpg

You can't tell from the picture but a uniform 1/16 of an in deep and 5/16 wide section of meat was removed (yes I measure it with a caliper. I know its weird) It throbbed and kept me up most of the night. I told my wife I jabbed it with a screw driver. she hasn't seen the wound.

Some one had just posted some pictures of accidents and I claimed I was going to get a guard for the saw. I was going to look into it today. to late. The guard that came with the saw, a 3hp jet exacta saw, was attached to a splitter that I could never get lined up right. After the accident I wrapped the finger and sought out the original knife and guard and this time I was able to figure out how to adjust it properly so it lined up with the blade. I have no idea why I couldn't figure it out before.

I won't use the saw without it again. I wasn't going to show off my stupidity but then I figured this might help others to make more sound decisions. I have a very active imagination and have thought of some very horrible results I COULD have had. I was very lucky.

[John Dykes]

Make sure it's clean....

I took most of the tip of my left thumb off with a chisel I was sharpening (don't ask). The urgent treatment place did a poor job and left a considerable amount of grit in it. Looked like it was healing, but hurt like hell for about 10 days. I about lost the thumb due to infection...

The hand surgeon took off the entire top again to get all the bad stuff out... Still flat on top.

Make sure it's clean....

[george wilson]

In this instance,the Saw stop probably would have yielded a similar small wound.It will still cut you,but should keep you from losing fingers.

[John Morrison60]

Keith

I am glad you posted.
The reminder, especially coming from an old hand (no pun intended), is valuable.
I have a scarred finger from an old table saw miscue (stupid also) that reminds me.
But I still look at the sawstop with interest, every time I see one.

I find that I am prudent with the table saw, but I am concerned that I take some of the other tools (like the router) a little too much for granted.

Thanks again.
John

[John Thompson]

Glad you are OK and posted for a reminder to those that just don't use any device at all. Something is better than nothing as I have had stock twist and pop me on the arm and in the gut in the days long ago I used nothing.

I woke up one day and found ways to put safety devices in place without sacrificing them getting in the way. For those that can't afford a simple splitter that comes off easily.. I built two Saturday in about 30 minutes. I use a more complex rig normally but I wanted one for non-through cuts and one for when I take the shield off to do long 45* angle cuts.

The first picture is my main set-up which about eliminates any chance of getting into the blade or twist that can zap you. It stays on the saw unless I do have to remove it to avoid it getting in the way. The second picture is the two splitters I made from a $3 Johnson 12" square. A bosch barrel grip.. a file.. a drill and some spray paints were used as I am not going to pay the $$ required to purchase a simple splitter from Biesemeyer or whomever.

These are around .105 thickness as I use strickly .126 full keft blades. If you use TK's.. then a piece from most strap hinges will work fine as the splitter must be thinner than the blade kerf. They go on and come off in under 30 seconds as most "can" find that time if they look closley.

Sarge..

[Dave Verstraete]

Keith
Ouch!! but it could have been a lot worse. You didn't mention if you sought out some medical help. A trip to the doc might yield some antibiotics and instructions on how to handle the wound. Soaking the wound twice a day in a solution of antibacterial soap and warm water followed by antibiotic ointment and dressing eventually yields flesh growing back into the hole and filling it. I have personal knowledge since I "tipped" my middle finger in a tablesaw last August. I visited a hand surgeon and was glad that I got good info. It still "tingles" while typing.