What's Your Safety Record While Woodworking?

[Matt Mutus]

Most of all...I try not to rush anything. Rushing (and fatigue) are the main causes of accidents, IMHO.

I haven't read this whole thread... but I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. Being in a rush is when you tend to do things you normally wouldn't do, even when you know it in the back of your mind. The need to get something done fast becomes more important than caution. This is more common with people who are on jobs, but hobbiests can fall in the trap too.

But I don't think newbies or weekend warriors are the biggest risk for power tool injury - They are usually more cognizant of injury risk than people who are a little too comfortable. Of three guys I know who have lost a piece of themselves, all were experienced tradesmen, not newbies - and the one thing they had in common is that they were in a rush.

All my own dangerous moments had the same circumstances also - job over estimate... customer antsy... boss irritated... get it done yesterday... next thing I know I'm counting my fingers to see if they're all stil there.

I often think back and wonder, if I was permanently injured... just how important would that rushed job seem now?

[Greg Heppeard]

Hmmmmmmmm let's see if I can remember most of them. Smashed fingers with hammer...several times (I'll probably never learn). Ran my middle finger into the running table saw blade, trimmed my fingernails to the point of blood with a panel shaper, stabbed my hand with an extremely sharp chisel...all because of complacency and repetition. Countless splinters, the most notable was a 6" oak splinter through the top of my knuckle. Several kickbacks to the stomach from table saw...I try to stay out of the line of fire now. One nasty kickback to the head from bandsaw...never cut round stock now without a clamp involved somehow.

[John Thompson]

"The second time was on New Years Day a few years ago...I proved that the 3/4" Ashley Iles chisel I was sharpening was...well...sharp...by requiring 5 stitches on my left thumb knuckle...on a holiday"... Jim Becker

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Cannot think of moment that there was not evidence of knicks and cuts.. but the worst was knocking an Ashley Isles chisel off the work-bench and instintly trying to catch it without thought.

Would have required 5-6 stitches but was too close to the knuckle to stitch. The doctor got it stopped bleeding in just under an hour with a pressure bandage as I am on a mild dose of prescription blood thinner.

Watch out for Ashley Isles as apparently from Jim's previous post.. they're out to get ya!

Sarge..

[Steve LaFara]

Where do I start? I guess the two major ones are a left index finger that's now about 3/8" shorter thanks to a router table incident and four new front teeth and 15 stitches that left a very manly looking scar in my upper lip from a table saw kick back. Lots and lots of other minor things but the worst was when I fell off a ladder drywalling the ceiling of my garage and lost half of my right pinky. Not really wood working but I was holding a drill at the time.

I have the two pieces of wood that got me marked with the dates of the accidents prominently displayed as a reminder. Blood stains last a lot longer than I thought they would. Oh, and the cheesy aluminum ladder is now in some land fill.

[George Bregar]

Oh let me add I was making a couple of quick cuts on the CMS. I x-cut the first board, moved it back...that is not left of the blade, but further from the MS fence. I slid in the second board to cut. When I went to cut it the blade also caught the first board, and of course my thumb was between the two boards (holding the second) when the blade pulled the first into the second. Make sense? No real harm, other than a badly bruised thumb, a small cut, and a lesson learned.

[Michael Gibbons]

I'm normally attentive but the first day I brought my new TS home i had to make a fast first cut and used the mitre gauge with the rip fence. Can you say kickback? The little square missle went flying by me. I do wear my glasses and definetly wear earmuff when on the router table- too loud and screachy.

[Robert E Johnson III]

I guess you can call this woodworking. I built my 1200 sq. ft garage shop my self which took over a year to build off and on. Injuries on the fingers came from hammering shingles ouch, but the really close call came from installing one ove the garage door tracks when I was in a hurry stepping down from the step ladder I caught my wedding ring in the track causing a small cut on my knuckle,swelling for weeks and ruining the ring which I quickly removed befor there was swelling. Lesson here is to remove rings before working. I do wear saftey glasses all the time when operating any shop equipment.

[David Freed]

I tried to make a through cut on a 2' long board on the table saw. I had done this at other times with no trouble. I put one end of the board on the saw table past the blade and lowered the board into the blade. I stood to the side and loosely held the end of the board past the blade with my left hand, while keeping a firm grip on the other end with my right hand. I was thinking that if it kicked back it would just yank the board out of my left hand. Just as I saw the blade coming through the board, it did kick back, my left hand hit me hard in the chest, and when I looked at it, the end of my middle finger was split right through the bone and I could see some of the bone exposed on the finger next to it. There was hardly any blood and it hardly hurt at all till the next day. I am not the queasy type and since it wasn't bleeding much I went to the house, washed off the dirt and sawdust as best as I could, and had my daughter drive me to the hospital. The doctor wanted to try to find a surgeon to repair the tendon that was missing from the end of my finger but I didn't have insurance and I told him to just patch it up and let me go home. That was 2 years ago. The end of my finger won't completely straighten and is a little stiff but I don't notice it when I'm working.

[Tom Young]

I'm almost embarrassed to mention this, but I sliced my thumb with a utility knife while chamfering the end of a tenon. Needed two stitches to close the wound. I remember thinking just before it happened that pulling the knife toward me was a bad idea. Then the knife slipped and sliced the thumb, through the nail, to the bone. I knew I had cut myself pretty badly but did not want to look at at it. Ignorance is bliss... Anyway, when I looked I knew my home first aid kit wasn't going to fix it. A quick trip to the Naval Hospital EM where they patched me up and I was back in the shop that afternoon, a humbled and much wiser woodworker. For those who have never had the pleasure of being taken care of by a Navy "Doc", part of the bedside manner is to make you realize how stupid you are for getting injured in such an avoidable fashion. And if you are a Marine, so much the better. I think every Corpsman on duty came to look at the old Marine who cut himself with the utility knife.

Semper fi,
Tom

[Lee Koepke]

As a weekend woodworker, and pretty new to the trade ... I have read this entire thread. I appreciate everyone sharing their stories, no matter how close or bad the incident. I am in the construction industry by trade (3rd generation) so safety is something I am always cognizant of.

I have never really been formally trained on any of these machines, and thats the one thing I think I would recommend to anyone buying any new equipment ( as a rookie ). Norm says it "learning how to use your machines properly"

When I got my first $200 table saw I read all the paperwork and thought I had it under control. I read about kickback, how to prevent it, etc. but didnt REALLY understand what it was all about, until a 3' piece of oak i was trying to rip got bored and decided to hit me in the gut. Painful, but thats about it.

I have to say that since then, I understand the mechanics of the machine alot better, and it makes me think my cuts thru often. Forums like this, and TONS of reading material has been my training. However, I woud be a big proponent of handson for new machines, because you really cant get the full appreciation from just words.

Thanks again for helping ME be a safer woodworker. Be Safe all ..

Lee.

[Pete Stack]

I got 10 stitches in my left index finger (including three through my finger nail) while chamfering narrow stock on a jointer. Finger tip is still a little sensitive, but no lingering effects. I was only six months into a job building decks, so using power tools was completely new to me. Whenever I get a new power tool, I always read ALL the directions and run it through a series of tests to get comfortable with it before actually using it on a piece of furniture.

I now--like most here--have several thousand dollars worth of power tools and have a dozen different ways of cutting a piece of wood. Yet it was a $4 plastic screen spline tool that almost cost my right thumbnail. I was putting in a new screen and rolling the spline tool along the edge when it rolled off. My thumbnail caught on the edge of the screen and was nearly yanked out. Nurses at the hospital put it back in place and it slowly healed.

[Brian Brown]

It's good to see the highest number of responses in this poll in the area of minor or non injury, but like the airline industry, nobody likes to see close calls. I had to vote for minor injury with no () lasting effects. I put my left "communication" finger through a stacked dado set once. To this day I can't figure out how it happened. Lots of blood, bad words said loudly enough to bring several neighbors running, and big bandage for a long time. Fortunately, now nobody can tell.

Second accident about 2 years before, I was nailing a case together, and the brad (22ga) hit a knot in the wood, bent and turned almost 120 degrees, exiting the case from the side. It was bad enough that I ruined the side on my project, but as luck would have it, my finger happened to be occupying the same space at that moment. Bad words were said, and I managed to pry my finger loose from my project. Oddly enough, it was the same finger as above. I learned several important things from these incidents:

Accidents like this make it hard to signal and communicate your opinion with bad drivers
Blood is a poor wood stain
Swearing loudly while dancing madly around the shop with your hand stuffed between your legs usually summons the neighbors, and often the police
And most importantly, My fingers stay at least 4 inches from the blade or business end of the nailer (prefferably more) This is what clamps were invented for.

The only other problems involved hammers and thumbs, or slivers. While I don't believe I'll ever conquer the smashed thumb issue, I don't take those slivers lightly. I have found that some exotic woods come with exotic slivers. If you have alergic reactions to the wood, these slivers can cause some nasty swelling or infections. If I get a sliver from purple heart or yellow heart, no matter how small, I stop immediatly, grab a knife, and cut it out.

Enjoy your woodworking safely.

Brian

[Paul Girouard]

Lets see I started as a labor in about 1972 /73 after school and summers , got out of high school 1974 started full time as a carpenter helper working my way up the food chain.

In 1976 I had a sidewinder Rockwell 7 1/4" saw kick back and "JUST" nick the skin on my left thumb right on the knuckle 4 stitch's .

That's it I don't need any more thank you !

I joined the Navy in 1977 and did two four year tours working as a Aviation Electrician doing 4 cruises on three aircraft carriers always working on the flight deck in some capacity. One of the most dangerous working environment ever created n by man they say.


I've seen some nasty accidents , a couple resulted in death , blown over the side , and cut in piece , yes not in half but pieces by a E-2 Hummer / Hawkeye.

In the construction side I've seen a router ran down a guys arm when he didn't tighten the "D" handle grip and base tightly and started the router with it held over head to rout a beam , 45 deg. chamfer bit and motor rolled down his arm , 180 or so stitch's later he was fine

Had a guy fall backwards down a stair well hole hitting his head on some temporary beam bracing , fractured skull , broken collar bone , misc other injuries.

Had a guy cut the tip of his finger off on the jointer in a cabinet shop.

The same guy who ran the router down his arm also has shot out one of his own eyes with a nail gun and rolled another guy off a stage on some rolling "safe way" staging .

So ya it can happen to any one , any time !

BTW the USN does NOT have accidents , we only have incidents , there is always a cause and effect process. Find the cause , eliminated the process.


Work with tools long enought and some things bound to happen , IF you don't control the situations.