A split second of stupidity.......

[John K Jordan]

That’s what has me shook up. I personally know 2 people in the last 3 years who lost fingers and part
of a hand,

I sat next to a boy in 4th grade who had a three fingers missing from his left hand and a thumb and two fingers missing from his right hand from a table saw accident. What a kid was doing with a table saw I don't know but it made a huge impression on me. Translation: scared the fool out of me, gave me nightmares. Your description did too. (hopefully not with nightmares but I'll let you know tomorrow!) I'm glad to read your update about the relative severity.

JKJ

[Rick Potter]

I cringed, reading your story, Rick. I have seen, and worked on, a lot of accidents. Let me second the suggestion to see a doctor tomorrow. I would think attention to combat getting infection is called for. Don't wait until it is infected.

Glad it wasn't worse.

[Carl Beckett]

Very serious and very scary. Glad it wasnt 'worse'. Thank you for sharing your story as a reminder.

+1 on having a doc check. Infection happens so worth taking care of.

Merry Christmas!

[Jim Becker]

Yea, while you can largely treat this yourself, getting it looked at by a physician to insure there's no infection issues is a good idea. It's often hard to pick up on "micro debris" ourselves.

[Doug Hepler]

Rick

I am more interested in accident prevention than in sympathy for the victim. In your case, however, it sounds as if you routinely use safe practices and I do feel sympathy for you. Life is not fair.

Obviously, if the guard had been on you would not have been cut, but it seems pretty unreasonable to expect somebody to completely re-assemble a machine while he is repairing/testing it.

Keeping in mind that accidents are usually the result of a sequence of small failures, do you have any insights into how this accident could have been prevented? Specifically, was it necessary for you to reach over the spinning cutters while the guards were still off?

Doug

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Rick,

I agree with others here. See a physician to address possible infection issues.

Your quick reactions obviously saved you from more serious injuries. I am glad to hear that!

Heal quickly and completely!

[David Utterback]

Thanks for alerting us and focusing our attention. Hope you heal well and soon.

[Rick Peek]

Rick

I am more interested in accident prevention than in sympathy for the victim. In your case, however, it sounds as if you routinely use safe practices and I do feel sympathy for you. Life is not fair.

Obviously, if the guard had been on you would not have been cut, but it seems pretty unreasonable to expect somebody to completely re-assemble a machine while he is repairing/testing it.

Keeping in mind that accidents are usually the result of a sequence of small failures, do you have any insights into how this accident could have been prevented? Specifically, was it necessary for you to reach over the spinning cutters while the guards were still off?

Doug

That's the crazy thing. I didn't need to lean in, and not quite sure why I did. I think my mind my have wandered for a
split second. And with the machine running how did I get my arm that close? Clearly my mind had other things going on
In the past I've been running wood thru the table saw and after the cut realized I barely remember the cut. Realizing what
I had just done and calling myself an idiot. Some accidents happen because of unsafe practices, some not paying attention
and some just bum luck. I think mine was the second one.

[Mike Cutler]

Rick

I had a coworker many years ago that was an RC airplane enthusiast. He working on a rather large engine and prop, which he had affixed in a test vise on his bench.
With the engine running, which had to be loud, and the prop installed, he could see through the spinning prop, which apparently his eye didn't register as spinning because he could see through it, to a tool he needed. He tried to reach straight through that spinning prop and get the tool. It messed him up pretty bad for awhile.
I wonder if it was the same effect with a spinning cutterhead. Your eye just didn't interpret it as moving??
None the less. Hope you heal well, and once again at least have the Doc check it out. There's nothing on that cutter head that was meant to go in the human body.

[Charlie Hinton]

Holy guacamole!!
Very sorry that you got injured.
Very glad nothing was amputated.
Its great to focus on prevention but no one is perfect and unexpected $**t does happen all the time.
Thanks for posting.

[Donn Ward]

Thank you for sharing your experience, perhaps it will save one of us from a similar lapse in judgement. I hope you heal quickly and can get back in the shop very soon.

[Bill Orbine]

That's the crazy thing. I didn't need to lean in, and not quite sure why I did. I think my mind my have wandered for a
split second. And with the machine running how did I get my arm that close? Clearly my mind had other things going on
In the past I've been running wood thru the table saw and after the cut realized I barely remember the cut. Realizing what
I had just done and calling myself an idiot. Some accidents happen because of unsafe practices, some not paying attention
and some just bum luck. I think mine was the second one.

Rule number 2.....See number 1

I hope you get well soon. Like the others, I'd go to the doctor I were you. Preventive medicine more or less even if you feel fine. Get some antibiotics prescribed and maybe you're due for tetanus shot?.....Another rule number 2 see rule number 1 deal!

[Doug Hepler]

Rick and Mike

Thank you for your comments. Reaching (or walking) through a spinning propeller or reaching over an unguarded cutter are both examples of a lapse of situational awareness. Such lapses are recognized causes of accidents in other fields and probably in woodworking too. The people who make mistakes because of such lapses usually do call themselves stupid. That does no good at all, because they usually are not stupid.

This class of causes is tricky to address because concentration and focus on the specific task immediately at hand -- which we normally consider a good thing -- tend to cause lapses of situational awareness. Smart people are very liable to over-focus.

Most propellers are painted to improve situational awareness. Procedure training is the solution to Rick's example, but honestly you can't train yourself to do every possible unexpected one-time procedure. So I don't have anything to offer that would prevent this type of accident except to name the possible cause (or contributing cause).

I tend to over-focus on what I am doing. More than once, I have done the wrong thing perfectly, such as cutting a board exactly 1" too short. I have improved somewhat by training myself to be more aware of what I am doing and why I am doing it and by rehearsing unfamiliar procedures in my mind before I do them. Being tired, frustrated and annoyed really reduces my ability (willingness) to do that.

That's all I have to offer. I hope it helps somewhat. And, yes, Rick, you probably should have had a doctor look at that by now.

Best of luck

Doug

[Rod Sheridan]

Rick, I'm really glad to hear that you're OK, as others have said, make sure you seek medical attention for the abrasions/cuts................Thanks for posting this, it may prevent someone from having a similar injury..............Regards, Rod.

[Robert Engel]

Rick

These are learning experiences (and we've all had them) & can be a positive because they can build an even higher level of safety awareness going forward. Glad it wasn't worse.

On another note, I watch a fair bit of YouTube ww'ing videos. There are many inexperienced guys watching some of the insanely dangerous techniques. One of the worst I've seen recently was a John Heinz episode ripping 1" wide strips of 1/4" ply with no push block or even a splitter. He's a clever guy and I generally really like his content, but he, like others seem to have no sense of responsibility in this area. I've made a couple comments and gotten some pretty venomous replies. Unfortunate.