How often do you cut yourself?

[Zach England]

Just curious. I haven't been doing much woodworking lately, but started a small-ish project last week and have been doing almost everything with hand tools (in places where before I would have used a mortiser, router or dado stack). Last week I took a good nick out of one finger with a plough plane, shaved the very tip off another with a skew rabbet plane, and last night put a small cut in another with a chisel.

This is a problem for me because my main hobby, which is starting to look more like a part-time job, is ceramics and it is really hard (impossible) to throw pots on a wheel with sliced up fingertips.

Am I just clumsy? Does this get better with experience?

[Derek Gilmer]

I hope it gets better... The first time I tried starting a rip cut with a 6 ppi saw it jumped off and bit me good. To teach the saw a lesson I laid it on the table saw as I finished ripping the board. It hasn't mis-behaved on me since then.

[Moses Yoder]

It sounds like you and my wife both have the accident gene. I told her I had to stop feeling bad for her when she hurt herself or get medication for depression. I occasionally get splinters when I am working on a project, but hardly ever cut myself with tools. This may be because I have a well defined aversion to the escape of my blood from my body which makes me very careful.

[David Weaver]

Once a year for something bad enough to draw blood and need CA glue.

Quite often for stuff like accidentally sanding off pads of your finger with a sharpening stone, splinters, pinches etc.

The only thing I've ever had to see a dr. for in the shop was getting steel in the eyeball - off of a low speed belt sander. Never would've thought that was possible.

You'll get fewer injuries over time. keep CA glue handy for the small ones, it may save your ability to do pottery work with small cuts.

[Joshua Byrd]

I cut myself every now and again in ways that I wouldn't have thought possible. The two most recent put very big gashes in my index finger and thumb, respectively. Cut the index finger when I was filing an old chipbreaker level (file slipped on the push stroke) and I cut the thumb when I was filing an old roofing hatchet (hatchet slipped and got my thumb on the way down - I didn't even try catching it! :P ). I might need some mesh gloves for future filing projects...

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

The only time in years I've managed to cut myself on an edge was lapping the back of a new blade. When do cut myself, I always manage to cut myself on the sharp edges of freshly dressed lumber. But mostly when I slip, I bash my hands into something (usually a clamp) and give myself quite the bruise and sore spot.

[Chris Griggs]

I cut myself more often then I would like to admit (probably about once a month) - however, I cut myself much less often then I use to. I used to constantly cut myself with my marking knife. Now when I do its usually small knick from a freshly sharpened chisel that I'm not paying enough attention to. Typically this isn't when I'm actually using the chisel, but when I'm picking it up, or just holding it in my hand before use. Router plane also likes to bite me on a fairly regular basis, once again not so much in use as much as when I'm taking it out, adjusting it, or wiping it down before putting it away.

[mike holden]

Zach, I have always felt that a job was not done until I had bled on it. This goes back now some thirty-five years to when I began my apprenticeship in the patternmaking trade.
Nothing serious mind you, just a small cut, fixed with a band-aid.
Mike

[Jim Stewart]

I use both power tools and hand tools. I usually rough out projects on a miter saw, band-saw, planer, jointer, sometimes a table saw, and a router. After that I use hand tools. I use a LV smoothing plane with a 50 degree angle on the blade, a small brass LN block plane, an adjustable mouth LN block plane, a LV medium shoulder plane. I occasionally use a stanly #7 jointer, and a LN #4 smoothing plane. I don't think I have ever cut myself with these.

I use LN chisels and some old stanley 750's. I have nicked myself with these but not in a long time. I am alarmed that you cut yourself because people have cut their fingers off with sharp chisels. Always secure your work in a vise, clamps, hold down, or shooting board. Always pare away from you. The same goes for planes.

[Brian Cameron]

I agree with Mike....my wife says that if I didn't bleed on it..I didn't do it...never anything major...scraped nuckles etc...sort of like a signature on a piece

[David Weaver]

I would imagine that all of the discussion on the boards of people cutting themselves with chisels has probably really cut down on the number of people who do cut themselves with chisels.

For me, it's been the marking knife, getting fatigued with pull saws and pulling one out of the cut onto a hand or finger, etc, but those are seldom now because you only have to get the disgusting feeling of something getting in deep to remember it.

It's handling wood and pinching yourself moving things around, etc, that are the known threat to me now. About the only power tool I use is the bandsaw, and being a mosty HT woodworker is probably a positive assist in that because you don't have the urge to ram something through the saw - any speed with a power tool is fast, especially on a resaw or long rip of hardwood.

There is a lot of discussion of power sharpening, and I figure sooner or later we're going to get a story from someone who is struck by an iron or chisel flying off of a leather strop. I flung one (an iron) across the shop a couple of years ago on a setup that I thought was pretty safe, and one where I felt like I had control of the iron. It was enough of an experience that I think I'll not put an iron on a disc sander strop again.

[Jeff L Miller]

I'm in the frequent injury club with those small cuts.

I also take some twisted pleasure when I watch Roy Underhill working with a band-aid on one of his fingers; makes me feel better to know I'm not alone.

Jeff

[Zahid Naqvi]

I think the important question is when do you cut yourself. Every time you pick up a nick, stop and think about what you were doing wrong. Sometimes accidents do happen but they should be few and far in between. I have found out that I pick up small cuts when I am hurrying the work or stressed out because I made a mistake. Whenever I feel like I am starting to pick up speed I remind myself to slow down. I cut my thumb couple days ago while scraping glue from a joint with an old chisel, the thumb should not have been in the path of the chisel's movement, but I was hurrying because we had to go somewhere and I wanted to finish the cleanup before we left. You should not be getting injured beyond small bandaid type stuff, if you are as frequently as you say then you need to step back and look at what is causing it.

[Chris Griggs]

I also take some twisted pleasure when I watch Roy Underhill working with a band-aid on one of his fingers; makes me feel better to know I'm not alone.

Jeff

I was just thinking the same thing - he always makes me feel better about my cuts. I think we should all be clear that we are talking little knicks and scrapes hear and there (I think anyway). Following the rules that Jim just laid out has kept me from ever getting a really nasty cut. My worst cuts need some CA glue or a bandaid at most- most need only a minute or two of pressure with a paper towel just to stop the bleeding.

Like David, many of my cuts are actually scrapes. For instance, I bang my knuckles into the top of my leg vice chop all the time when I'm edge jointing - this is teaching me to set the board higher up in the vise.

My worst cut recently happened when I was sawing the shoulders off of some dovetails, was probably moving a bit too fast and using a bit too much pressure - the saw jumped out of the kerf and gouged the tip of my thumb that I was guiding it with, not a bad cut, but saw teeth are definitely more painful then a slice from a chisel - lesson learned.

[bob blakeborough]

I get little cuts and knicks all the time. If you don't you're just not trying hard enough! lol! Really though, when you work with sharps tools and wood, you are going to knick yourself up quite often. It has never been enough to stop me from working though (knock on wood)...