Kickback Hurts! (WARNING! GORY PICTURES!!)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Peter.....you aren't alone about ignoring that little voice. Ignoring that little voice and being distracted is what caused my recent accident that resulted in 14 stitches in my right wrist. Even a router that has been shut off can be dangerous if you don't wait for it to completely spin down before flipping it over.

[John Piwaron]

Overall, I learned to listen to the voice inside my head. I had a tinge of fear before i made the cut. I actually said out loud to myself "this is stupid", yet I went ahead and did it anyway.

God knows I've done that too. Being young with the feeling of invincibility works against you. Thinking you've got it all "under control" is an illusion that takes a long time to see through. I listen to that little voice now too. I'll consider other ways to make the cut and go with the one that presents the least risk to me.

Maybe without knowing it, this group has helped me a lot. When I read postings I see other people have taken the cuts and built the things I'm building. It's the descriptions of how they made the cut that show me the alternate method(s).

[paul cottingham]

Overall, I learned to listen to the voice inside my head (or what's left of it anyway!). I had a tinge of fear before i made the cut. I actually said outloud to myself "this is stupid", yet I went ahead and did it anyway.

Let me assure you that you are the only one. I never ignored that little voice telling me to be (much) more careful with the piece of plywood I was cutting. Nor did it kick back and render my thumb useless for a week (but not broken, thank goodness.) The little voice is rarely wrong.
Of course, the real lesson I learned was to stop using plywood in most of my projects, but that's a different story.

[daniel lane]

Peter, I'm glad you're doing well. I recall when you first posted this thread and as with most of these types of threads, I read the entire thing to ensure that I learn from others' mistakes. The one thing I can pass along that may help others is something my father taught me - the thing you don't want to do is often the thing you should do. Now it's easy to misinterpret that, but in general, I always hear that as, "when you don't want to bother to go across the room to get a push stick, that's when you should." Or, "when you don't want to reset the fence to the other side of the blade, that's when you should." I've my share of scars from my own muck-ups, but I thank my father for teaching me that...it's a great lesson that's often even applied to - and been of great use in - my marriage! ("When you don't want to admit you made a mistake and apologize, that's when you should." Wow, that's made my life so much better...)


daniel

[jim gossage]

No, I wasn't using the blade guard, but I was using my riving knife. My blade guard does have two sets of pawls on each side (small ones and large ones)... but as a few others have said, the blade tilting toward the fence plus the very small work piece was a recipe for disaster. When the piece kicked back, it hadn't even reached the riving knife yet. The splitter and riving knife couldn't do anything to prevent this particular accident.

Glad to see that you’re well. Your post was a great lesson to me. I am pretty safe in general but after reading all the posts, I recall a time or two when I was in the danger zone. I have always heard that cutting with the blade tilted toward the fence is dangerous, but I’m having trouble visualizing how your kickback occurred. The back edge of your piece must have been caught by the rear part of the blade and kicked forward. Since the blade was tilted toward the fence, I would think that the top opening between the blade and fence would be smaller than your piece, and therefore the piece would have to kick straight back to exit it’s confined space, rather than upward. But it seems from your injury that the piece had a significant upward component of travel. I’m probably overthinking this, but can someone explain the trajectory? Peter, how were you guiding this piece along the fence, with a pushstick? And where were you pushing on the piece - close to the fence?

[Don Morris]

Peter,

A momentary loss of concentration got my last 1/8" of my left middle finger. I also think I try to practice safe woodworking. I wear a half mask and ear protection, use the Gripper system, etc. I read every post like yours and posted my blunder months ago. They remind us that wwing can be dangerous and requires constant concentration. Hope you heal well and like me, renew your sense of "is this a safe procedure" every time you send a piece of wood forward. And if that inner sense says "NO". Stop and re-evaluate how to make it safe. Regardless of whether you're using a SS or cabinet saw or contractor saw or other wwing tool. Just real glad you didn't do more damage.

[Keith Christopher]

We all make mistakes. Glad you're 'ok' and recovering. But as you say. an excellent reminder to us all.

praying for a speedy recovery.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. Just to be sure, I started this thread over a year and a half ago. I'm totally healed at this point. The mean mug a few posts back is how it looks today and will probably look forever (unless I go see a plastic surgeon).

[Keith Weber]

Wow! An "L"? Really?? Sounds like Murphy was involved somehow. Having a permanent and symbolic "L" on your forehead is WAY more than deserved punishment for the act.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Yep. It's a bummer no doubt!