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Thread: Stupid Stunt, Cut Finger

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
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    Stupid Stunt, Cut Finger

    Hi All,

    Don't know about you, but sometimes I pull some stupid tricks. I am old enough that I do know better.

    The latest was to cut my index finger near the tip, not really badly, but badly enough to bleed pretty darned good. I have been cleaning up some old Stanley #60 chisels that I paid pretty reasonable prices for. The relatively low prices were because they don't resemble a new chisel in any way shape or form, so I have been cleaning them up to restore them, flattening the backs, and sharpening them up to use.

    The order that you do these steps in is important, and I flubbed that up on the latest one I started. The first thing I like to do is clean up the blade, in my case that is with Scotch Bright, then either very fine sandpaper and/or a very light brushing with a fine steel wire brush. This is then followed with some metal polish.

    I haven't fiddled around much with the handles, as I haven't been too concerned with them, but am starting to think that maybe I should make those look better too. If I clean up the handles, that should probably be the first step. At any rate the last step is to flatten the back and sharpen the chisel. That's where I flubbed up. I wasn't thinking the other day, and sharpened one for the first step.

    Clearly, sharpening the chisel is obviously the last step, as a really sharp chisel is too easy to cut yourself with.

    I then pulled another boner yesterday evening, as I decided to polish the blade and listen to TV at the same time. To get to the point, I got distracted and gouged my index finger. I didn't cut it too badly, as I wasn't using much force at all, but the chisel was darned sharp, so it didn't take much force, and it bled pretty darned good.

    It will heal up just fine pretty quickly, I believe, but the cut messed up my plans for the evening and for today. My first thought after cutting myself, was "what an idiot trick", and then I thought, "well, so much for the stuff I had planned for the evening and for Saturday." I play bass in the church band, and a cut to the index finger of the right hand isn't going to noticeably improve my bass playing a lot tomorrow. My bass playing isn't that great anyway, but with my finger bandaged up enough, I think I can get by.

    Anyway, I know better. Have you pulled stupid stunts like such lately?

    Stew
    Last edited by Stew Denton; 04-25-2015 at 6:35 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Not lately, but it is usually after sharpening something.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Fishers, Indiana
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    I am clumsy by nature (at least thats the excuse I make). It seems each weekend, I have a fresh set of slices on my fingers. Sometimes I don't even notice until I see the blood stains on the wood.
    After enough years of doing it, I have given up calling myself stupid, and just live with the fact that it will happen.
    I figure as long as it is cuts and not loss of fingers, I can live with it.

    Hope you heal up quick.

  4. #4
    Stew,

    The way I see it, if the chisel is sharp enough the cut will be so quick and clean you never know when it happened. The first notice is blood on the work and tools and a "where the heck did that come from". A quick dab in the glue pot and a paper towel to help and it's as good as new....At least that's what they tell me, I of course have never done anything like that.

    ken

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    I never cut myself while woodworking. I also never lie. :/)

    My wife said the other day, "Did you sharpen the knives?" I asked why she wanted to know, and she said, "I just cut my finger, but the knife was so sharp it didn't even bleed- it just closed back up." I was proud.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Kelowna, BC, Canada
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    Welcome to the club, Stew. I play electric guitar in the church band and I've had to miss play times for three finger injuries. I could probably take just about any cut to the right hand in stride as I use a pick but I always seem to aim for my left hand.

    First time, took a 1/16" off the tip of my ring finger when removing an iron from a plane. Missed 6 weeks of playing

    Second, bounced a chisel off a bone in my middle finger. Missed 2 weeks.

    Third, zipped my index finger over a router bit. The kind of router that eats electrons. And was actively consuming at the time. I was fortunate that it was a small nick and only took a week to return to the lineup. But it happened on the morning of our first performance of the annual Christmas run. Missed the 5 shows over the next 3 days.

    The coordinator now makes me swear I'll stay away from my shop once we begin rehearsals for big events.

    There.have been plenty of small nicks in sensitive spots on the fingers, too, but that's what CA glue is for :-)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    South Coastal Massachusetts
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    Flattening the backs of my beloved Marples chisels always
    has the unintended effect of sharpening the sides.

    I don't remember to 'detune' them until I nick a guide finger
    while paring. I never remember to do this before cutting myself.

    Many of the legs on tables in my house have a sanguine cast near the bottom,
    hidden away in the back.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Plus one on the "so sharp I didn't know I was cutting myself" I have been doing some flat plane Scandinavian carving with one of the knives from Pine Wood Forge. I wasn't wearing a kevlar glove until I cut myself and didn't know it until I saw blood on the wood. Sir Roy would have been proud!
    Life's too short to use old sandpaper.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Yes, I've nicked myself more than once where the first notice I had is blood spatter on the workpiece. Hydrogen peroxide, removes bloodstains well from the wood - DAMHIKT.

    The sharp edges of wood when you have been planing / squaring stock have cut me more than once as well. Unfortunately these can be on the thumb webbing or other awkward places.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

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