Close calls and worse....

[GhostFist]

My hope is to recount some accidents or near misses in relation to carpentry and wood working in order to scare the bejesus out of all of us so that we may remain safe doing what we love.

so OK, here's me....
I'm missing a good Chuck of my pinky finger on my right hand and the last joint on my ring finger just next to it is completely fused. these fingers were crushed while unloading some rather large cabinets we were about to install. it was a two man job to unload a unit off the back of a cube van, and the size of the cabinet made it difficult to see the vans ramp while holding the cabinet. whenever two or more people have to lift something heavy I always try to talk through the motions so we're all on the same page. I guess other buddy wasn't listening. he's at the bottom of the ramp while I'm still at the top trying my best to watch my footing. he makes a sudden and unannounced jerky motion to clear some obstacle at the bottom of the ramp which throws me off balance. I fall off the ramp the cabinet falls on my hand and off smashes my two fingers. I guess the lesson in this one is that accidents can happen anywhere on the job site not just around power tools. and communication is of the utmost importance when working with a partner.

 

[Kev]

Sharp knives ...

Something that always made me a bit squeamish when I was working for a OH&S products company a few decades ago. One of their products was mesh butchers gloves. Butchers often lose a finger or two. Anyway, the range of gloves was amazingly broad as they made them in three sizes and then in every permutation of missing fingers per hand.

 

[mouppe]

When slicing veneer, I ran the knife along the ruler, must have done it hundreds of times, but this time I had left my left index finger hanging over the ruler edge.

Exacto blades are sharp, but at least they cut clean and the finger healed nicely.

My pet hate is when people walk into the workshop whilst I am using a machine, sometimes I don't hear them knocking and they just come right in. I get the shock of my life when I suddenly see them standing right behind me. Once I had a router in my hand, I jumped in surprise, and almost killed the guy- not with the router, but out of anger because he was such a bloody idiot to come right up behind me when I was using a handheld router.

 

[RC]

When I was a young lad I borrowed a lenght of electric cable from my grandad to move a fluorescent ceiling light in the garage a few feet.

All was well until I started to peel the rubber shell off the cable electrician style with a scary sharp knife of mine i.e. cut around first and then slit the shell lenghtwise with the knive.

Well, found out the hard way that the cable was lead insulated under water cable and super slippery under the knife. The knife skid along it like on teflon and cut my left forefinger to the bone right throung my nail until the first joint.

Luckily the doctors could sow it back together and I still have feeling at the tip of my finger. It does get sore in cold weather (about 9 months a year here) even today.

 

[PaulMarcel]

My pet hate is when people walk into the workshop whilst I am using a machine, sometimes I don't hear them knocking and they just come right in. I get the shock of my life when I suddenly see them standing right behind me. Once I had a router in my hand, I jumped in surprise, and almost killed the guy- not with the router, but out of anger because he was such a bloody idiot to come right up behind me when I was using a handheld router.

+1000

Except in summer, I work with the garage door open. Never ceases to amaze me how many religion solicitors will walk right up and stand behind the table saw then start waving their hand frantically like "woohoo, hey, I hear the deafening noise and I see your focus on a sharp spinning blade and I can see the board coming right toward where I stood but do you have a moment for me to save you?"  Do that again and they'll need someone to save them.

 

[Alan m]

1.  i was using my handheld electric planer. i put it on its side as it slowed down. i was moving the piece or something similar , anway something knocked the planer and i went to catch it. anyway my middle firger hit the blade. thank god it was slowing down or i would have been in trouble. no major damage but was shocking raw for months.

2 we were doing a slurry tank on my uncles farm . the slats were on the top of the tank . were able to walk around  easily but the sides of the tank were still open (waiting for the concrete to cure enough to back fill, where we were walking across from the top of the tank onto a concrete yard was only 2 feet ( dont worry i know it was stupid now). easy to walk across. anyway the edge of the concrete yard had become covered in  mud but i didnt realise.  anyway i steped across and my foot didnt grip  and down i went. luckely i caught onto something and most of my weight was on the that side before i sliped. if i had fell anything could have happened.

3 we were putting a new roof on my grandmothers house . a lot of the family were helping out  doing the demo on the room etc . my uncle is 24 stone or more and he was up on top of the 3x1 (house is very old) ceiling joist and was cutting the timbers that were holding up the joists from sagging  in the middle (not sure the name but i think their hangers)  anyway 24+ stone incompedent uncle ontop of 3x1s  cutting the only thing holding him up with a chainsaw. luckily i  went up on the scafold when i did. he had 4-5 more to do . i screamed at him to get down. i picked up my hammer reached in and knocked off the last few then hit  a few of the joists. down she flew. the whole ceiling . if he was ontop he could have been killed. the look on his face said it all. he was as white as a sheet for the rest of the day.

4 .i have an old chopsaw  (now used for cutting up scrapes for the fire) . the blade guard worked simal to the dewalt ones but this was a lot crappier. the spring was shoving the arm back against the blade guard. i was cutting one day and reached across to move the peice  and felt the blade spining really close to my arm. . the arm had roughened up the side of the guard enough that the arm could hold it open. i broke off the spring  straight away and  now it works  safely (one of the only times i can think of that removing a safety devices  could improve the safety, ) now the guard can go up and down and cover the blade without leaving it exposed. that day i went and bought my big dewalt 718. pitty i didnt know about festool then.

 

[promhandicam]

A picture is worth a thousand words, so they say so here is one:

Using a hole saw to cut a hole in a piece of 6mm ply, while holding the ply upright with my left hand rather than getting it out of the van and supporting it properly. Only the nail thankfully but still a nuisance.

On other forums, a common reply to posts like this is, 'no photos - didn't happen!' so lets actually see some evidence!

 

[Alan m]

holesaws are divils for doing unexpected things

 

[Jesse Cloud]

I was cutting a circle in a piece of 3/4 plywood with a cutter like this.  I thought I had it securely clamped to my drill press, but mid way through, the clamp loosened and the piece started spinning at 250 rpm.

Luckily, I was able to jump back pretty quickly and just got a bad scrape.  Could have broken an arm if I had been standing a little closer.

 

[GhostFist]

out of curiosity, how many on this forum have cut themselves on a table saw? if so what was the condition of the saw and what were you trying to do with it? no shame meant we've all done stupid things. I just am curious to know because of the whole sawstop thing.

 

[peter halle]

I have had over the years several close or more calls.  I have certainly depicted several here already - not out of pride - but rather in an attempt to do exactly what Ghostfist is trying to do.

Every time I read / hear of someone cutting metal I am reminded of two instances - both of which were not pleasant.

The first was I had to resize a steel insulated door for an opening.  As I got ready to cut my instinct told me to go and get the safety glasses out of the truck.  I didn't listen.  I cut and something shot up towards me and I close my eyelid.  Problem averted.  Over the next three days my eye got itchy and irritated.  I finally went to the eye doc and low and behold I had a piece of metal partially embedded in my eye and partially not.  It was scratching my eyelid.  I now have a permanent rust spot in my eye and I am not a candidate for laser correction.

The second was an easy job.  Repair a faucet and install a deadbolt.  I needed a new hole saw for the deadbolt so on the way I picked one up.  My wife went with.  Fixed the faucet and then went to cut the hole for the lock.  After doing hundreds of these over the years this was the time when the hole saw sent a metal shard directly into my eye.  From 2 feet away.  When we left I told my wife to drive me straight to the eye doctor.  She called instead and we went directly to the eye surgeon.  I didn't feel a thing as they removed that piece but my wife swears that it was more than 3/8 inch long.

I have a pair of Festool safety glasses in the truck and also in the shop.

Regarding rings:  I have had to squeeze a wedding band with a pair of vise grips to get it off of my finger in the past.  I now have a titanium wedding band.  That stays in the truck.  You mash that and you loose your finger.

Stay safe!

Peter

 

[Jonhilgen]

out of curiosity, how many on this forum have cut themselves on a table saw? if so what was the condition of the saw and what were you trying to do with it? no shame meant we've all done stupid things. I just am curious to know because of the whole sawstop thing.

I was holding a piece of wood over a recessed blade while cranking it up in order to cut a certain section out yet leave a section I needed.  I was of course in a hurry, and had my hand behind the blade while I was cranking it up.  The blade caught the wood and pulled my middle finger and thumb over the blade with it.  

Years later, it is still stiff but the nerves are slowly coming back to the area in my middle finger (although it doesn't take much nerve to use it).

Also got my index finger pulled into an edgebander.  Turns out the spiked spindle not only grabs wood, but flesh as well.

Jon

 

[mastercabman]

I had a very close call with falling from a 3 story building.I was working as a maintenance person at a large apartment complex.One morning i was asked to check a leaky roof.All i needed to do was to see if i could locate the bad area maybe put a tarp over until a roof contractor could come out.
The building was built on a small hill,so the front of it was 3 stories high,but on the back was only 2.So i set up the ladder on that side climb up and needed to go on the other side of the roof,where it was 3 stories.I was as careful as possible ,and then, well i went down.Rotten shingles was really slippery.
Got to the edge and still going.I grabbed the gutter,i did stopped for a second or two but it did not hold.
Then i landed.  Not on the concrete,but on the 3rd floor balcony! [thumbs up] So really i only drop 2-3 feet!
Really a close call,i don't think i would of made it alive.
But i did get stock on the balcony for a couple hours [laughing]

 

[sean_hogan]

My paslode gun was sticking at the pin so I decided too oil it and push the front back and forward too spread the oil, heard the fan clicking on and accidentally for some reason pressed the trigger, worst pain in my life, had too get and operation too get it removed, the head of the nail was inside my hand so I ended up with 4 stitches on my palm and 2 on back of my hand, in this picture the nail came from the other side lol.never felt so stupid. Worst pain I have ever experienced

 

[jmbfestool]

Man da is sick!  Ewww can't believe you did that! At least you didn't nail your self to a piece of timber as that would be bad!

Jmb

 

[jmarkflesher]

Had a guy working for me in Newark, NJ. We were building over 10,000 exterior wall panels to ship to a jobsite. Each two man team worked at their own table, one shooting on the top plate the other shooting the bottom plate. They may have had over 100 of the same panel to build, gets boring. Shooting through the plate into the stud the gun jumped off the plate and he shot into the bottom side of his wrist holding the stud. The 3 1/4" nail was only sticking out 1/4". It angled from his wrist towards his hand. The ER was amazed. After X-Rays they took it out. missed all bone and veins. No infection in the healing process. Lucky. MARK

 

[Uffe Kaagaard]

http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_may2004/6_Nail_Head.htm  [scared]

 

[peter halle]

That is a scary link.  I hope that guy doesn't waste his money on lottery tickets.  He used up all his luck.

Peter

 

[Kev]

Can't see how that could appen "accidentally" unless the nail gun involved was seriously doctored ...

 

[Ken Nagrod]

I'll add my 2 stupid "incidents" to the bunch.  First one, I definitely knew better and disregarded important brain cells.  Luckily nothing bad happened.  I needed to recut the width and angles of some 4 sided tapered feet from a large chair.  I put them on the table of my sliding compound miter saw with the length of each foot running parallel to the saw blade and hand held them.  Kickback, rocket, whatever you want to call it --- YES.  Fingers almost met the blade. 

Second "incident" was being lazy with same tapered feet and instead of using push blocks and running them across a jointer, I clamped my then, Bosch hand held power plane upside down and forgetting that feed direction is now opposite, proceeded to joint a foot.  As soon as it hit the rotating blades, it shot off like a rocket and my two fingers went straight down into the rotating blades removing fingerprints permanently.  Luckily the skin grew back, but there was a lot taken off and they bled for days, even after the emergency room did their work.

Bottom line for me.  Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk too!  [doh]