Dangerous Hobby

[Matt Campbell]

Here's a reminder (as if you really need it) that we have a dangerous hobby. Recently I was passing some cherry over my jointer. After one of the passes, I decided to wipe away some saw dust from the infeed table. Well, I had taken the guard off several minutes before to adjust the fence for some rabbets and didn't put it back on. When I wiped away that saw dust, I accidentally put my middle finger into the running cutter head. Blood immediately started to pour out so LOML took me to the ER. The jointer took away flesh down to the bone and maybe part of the bone. No x-rays were taken to confirm though. Please no one be as stupid as me and work without the cutter guard. I took some pics with my cell phone. They don't do the wound justice, but this is all I have in case anyone wanted to see. I'm thankful because it could have been much, much worse. I definitely won't be working without that guard anymore.

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...tt/finger1.jpg

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...att/finger.jpg

[Jim Becker]

I'm glad you'll be ok, Matt, despite losing some flesh. Thanks for the reminder that it should always be "safety first".

[Michael Weber]

My sympathy on your mishap. I can empathize as well, as that's exactly what I did about 6 months ago. I was wearing leather gloves and the knives took the end of the glove finger and then my finger right off. Still have a flat numb place on my ring finger. Don't remember seeing any bone but lots and lots of blood. Like the sargeant in Hill Street Blues used to say "Lets be careful out there"

[Phil Harding]

... or any other piece of equipment with spinning blades. That's the lesson I learned about three months ago. I was edge jointing red oak and black walnut. I had already picked numerous splinters out of my hands from this wood so I decided to wear my work gloves while handling it for edge jointing. In hind sight I realize now that a voice in the back of my head was shouting at me that this was a stupid idea, but I wasn't listening.

The gloves were a little large and were a loose fit for my hands. The tip of a glove finger caught in the blades and pulled my left pinky into the blade. The jointer neatly and cleanly cut about 3/4 inch off down to just below the first joint. Lots of blood but fortunately not much pain. I am also fortunate that it was the left pinky - my least used finger, but it doesn't lessen how stupid I feel about the whole incident.

-- Phil

[Al Willits]

This stuff don't even need to be running, when I was cleaning the protective coating off the jointer I had just gotten, I moved the blades enough to be able to wipe the top off, rag was enough friction to move the blade holder just enough to get a blade up and the second or third pass took a pretty good slice out of one finger and a smaller slice out of another..painfull learning curve.

Al...no stiches, but lots of band aids, rags and electrial tape..

[Cody Colston]

My worst shop cut was with a stopped jointer...heck it was even unplugged!

I had wiped wax on the beds, let it dry and was buffing it off with a rag. I held the guard back to wipe close to the cutterhead and got a little too close. Sliced the end of my right ring finger. Took that sucker a month to heal up, even after "suturing" with a drop of CA glue.

BTW, I'm also in the "no gloves around power equipment" camp. The only power equipment that I use while wearing gloves is my chain saw.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

EEEK. Big 12" jointers and shapers are the only machines I know that can scare me.

[Randal Stevenson]

I have a feeling, he is going to use this as an excuse for a air compressor with a blow gun. An electrician to wire up some electrical lockouts, and a pair of butchers gloves.


Any time the phrase "real quick" comes into play with shop tools, rethink your decision.

[Michael Pfau]

Matt, a couple of years ago, i got in a fight with my biscut jointer, guess what...it won! lost 1/4 inch off my middle finger, and took the edge off my pointer finger. Very stupid thing to do. Your finger will heal, and you will remember after this that the guard must be on...haha....

[John Shuk]

I'm sorry to hear what happened to you but thanks for sharing it. It helps keep safety up front where it belongs.

[Bob McGovern]

Sorry for your pulped finger, Matt. Jointer doesn't even leave anything to reattach.

I did much the same a couple years back -- jointing a thin, crowned strip; in a hurry to go hang doors; strip slid off the fence and under the cutterhead guard, and my right hand stupidly followed. Took a neat 1/4" off the middle finger.

Went & hung the doors anyway. (Self-employed woodworkers can't afford downtime, nor health insurance.) Bled like the proverbial stuck pig. Never did more than bandage it. Healed surprisingly fast, but two years later it still tingles oddly. Lot of nerves in a fingertip.

I feel lucky to have got off so lightly, on this and other occasions. Safe work, everyone!

[Jeff Miller]

Man I know what you mean.

I had about 20 14"x 2"x 3\4" pieces to run through my router table just rounding over two edges. I run the piece through blow the dust away reach for another piece and so on. About 3 pieces to go and my left hand wanted to do the dust removal, router bit took a chunk out of the middle finger. What a dumb butt attack.

But I had no guard, no dust collection,and was in a hurry.

So now I have built a new router fence.With a guard and feather boards and dust collection

Now I have to learn to slow down.


JEFF

[Pat Germain]

One of the employees at my local Woodcraft rides a scooter, is on constant oxygen and is missing multiple pieces from his digits. He seems like a very nice and very competent fellow. But I gotta wonder how much of his ailments are from woodworking; maybe all, maybe some, possibly none.

Either way, it sure makes me think safety whenever I see him.