The importance of body position.

[Shawn Pixley]

It is easy to get complacent about how you work with dangerous consequences.

Normally when I use a chisel I try to have two hands on it if not striking it. This makes it much more difficult to cut yourself. Yesterday, I was routing a couple of hinge mortises and decided to sit while doing so. So when it became time to pare the corners with my chisel I remained sitting and worked at right angles to my body as opposed to standing and working with the blade going away. The wood gave and the chisel contacted my finger between the palm and the first knuckle. No pain but I knew I cut it as the chisel is sharp, sharp, sharp. A bandaid or two with gauze and I could go back to work.

I should have gotten up, ensured the piece was properly held and and worked above with proper position. I paid the price for being lazy.

[Jebediah Eckert]

Ugh, sorry to hear. A good reminder for others, maybe it will prevent somebody else from getting injured. You certainly won't forget. Sounds like a tender spot. Speedy recovery!

[Stew Denton]

Hi Shawn,

Hope you mend soon. You are not alone in getting nailed while doing something less than carefully. My last chisel cut healed up rather quickly. That's the nice thing about cutting yourself after the chisel is sharp.....sometimes you heal quickly with a clean cut.

Stew

[Matthew N. Masail]

I hit myself in the same spot last month while squaring off a dado for a glass shelf in a piece we were restoring. I did it with piece standing up as I was too lazy to lay it on its side, chisel slipped because of bad posture and stabbed me all the way to bone. It did heal quickly but it's still a little tender. It's true we can get too comfortable sometimes and forget it's a real safety issue. Hope you heal in no time.

[Stanley Covington]

Sorry you were injured. But you were lucky to learn the lesson at such low cost. The injury could have been a lot worse, as many, especially carvers who must make cuts directed towards their bodies, know.

Stan

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I always appreciate these warnings... makes me more likely to think about it when I do the work.

[Jim Koepke]

Shawn, Here is hoping for a speedy recovery.

As careful as I am, I have still cut myself a few times.

Like Andrew, these warnings are appreciated and make me more likely to take the time to work safely.

jtk

[Daniel Rode]

I can never have too many reminders about safety and body position. I try to be careful and methodical but it's easy to get complacent.

It doesn't take much contact from a sharp to do damage. My chisels are sharper than my kitchen knives.

[Pat Barry]

I sometime think I draw more blood than the Red Cross

[Mike Ontko]

Shawn, thanks for sharing the story as a reminder to the rest of us. Glad to hear though that you can still count to ten!

[Phil Mueller]

On one hand, I'm glad it's not just not me...but on the other hand, sorry to hear and glad you survived to type about it.
The only "probably should have gone to get stitches" injuries I've experienced has been with chisels. Don't know what it is about them, but I have to force myself to go through the mental safety checklist each time I pick one up. Thanks for the continued reminder.

[Jim Koepke]

chisels. Don't know what it is about them, but I have to force myself to go through the mental safety checklist each time I pick one up.

If it prevents an injury, it is worth it.

I try to remember to remind myself about how to position my fingers when near a sharp edge.

jtk

[Bob Glenn]

I used to tell my wood shop students, to prevent hitting your thumb with a hammer, hold the hammer with both hands.

[steven c newman]

Pare some pine to make a mortise....
pared lines.jpg
And my nice, wide Aldi's chisel hopped up out of there, and bounced off my hand, near the thumb. Just enough to make it leak all over the place. Wasn't a stab, nor a slice, just "broke the skin" sort of thing. Them Aldi's chisels sure are sharp! Operator needs to be a bit "sharper" though.

[Shawn Pixley]

Thanks all. It was my own stupid mistake. It wouldn't have taken any time to stand up and get in proper position. But it was a nothing pare, so I got careless. It doesn't matter about the cut, the tool must be respected.