You have got to be careful!!

[dltflt]

I'm spending the end of my weekend in the urgent care. Just shot a 1" pin nail into my thumb. The funny thing is it has not bled a drop yet.

 

[peter halle]

Ouch.  Hope you feel better.  I have shot an 18 gauge completely thru my thumb that then stuck in a wall 10 feet away, so I kinda know what you are going thru.  No blood either on my end - just an entry and exit hole.

Peter

 

[dltflt]

The first thing I did was check if it went through or at least sticking out so I could pull it out. But no it drove in just far enough I could not get it with a tweezers.

 

[peter halle]

Double OUCH!  Probably will be triple OUCH before you are done.

Hang in there buddy!

Peter

 

[Sparktrician]

Got to ask - how did you manage to pin your thumb?  I'd prefer to not duplicate your trick if at all possible.  Hope your recovery is smooth in any case. 

 

[builderbob]

I have to say that I use my pinner quite often. On top of that I use the cadex with headed pins. I've often thought of how easy it can be to get shot or accidentally shoot someone else with one of these. They don't rely on the nose being depressed...mine has a double trigger (first acts as a safety). A company I install for occasionally will work onsite with me and in his field tools, his pinner doesn't even have a safety. Touch the trigger, fire a pin. That's nuts!  Hope the recovery is easy peasy!

 

[Brandon]

Back in my framing days I put a 10p nail through my thumb, the initial pain wasn't bad but the throbbing for the next day or two was unreal. There was indeed some bleeding, big nail though. I've put a few 23ga pins in my fingers through the years, not through yet though, I guess I'm not a particularly careful guy when it comes to nailers

 

[peter halle]

Bob brought up a good point in my mind - double triggers as safeties.  When I shot myself it was an 18 gauge that had double triggers.  My Grex 23 gauge has Dougle triggers.  I have found that the tendency with double trigger guns by nature to is depress and hold the back trigger which is the safety and then you have the ability to fire at will.

Peter

 

[dltflt]

Back in my framing days I put a 10p nail through my thumb, the initial pain wasn't bad but the throbbing for the next day or two was unreal. There was indeed some bleeding, big nail though. I've put a few 23ga pins in my fingers through the years, not through yet though, I guess I'm not a particularly careful guy when it comes to nailers

All I can say is ouch.

 

[dltflt]

I did have to go to the emergency room because the Urgent Care could not take care of it.  The double trigger is definitely the problem.  It is way to easy to accidentally pull both triggers which is what I did.  I was repositioning myself around the tub to get one last pin in the quarter round and instead I shot the last pin into my thumb.  It went in near my knuckle and you could see the other end at the tip of my thumb just under the nail bed.  So for the worst pain has been the shots to numb my thumb and the IV they put in to give me antibiotics.  This is my first accident doing any kind of woodworking in 40 years, so I think I'm doing pretty good.  This is a new tool for me so I know what to look out for now.
I just want thank all of you for your concerns.

 

[Paul G]

Why is it we sometimes have to learn lessons the hard way, like the time I slit my finger open with a chissel, what's that rule, never cut towards yourself... [doh]  I hope the recovery goes quickly for you and lesson learned.

 

[Kev]

You don't have to "make a mistake" to cause an injury. Almost 20 years ago I lined the floor of the entire house with masonite, pinning it in a 150mm square grid with a air nailer that seemed to have a lot of recoil. I was in a rush and put in a massive effort ... the result was a painful creaking elbow that took years to recover.

(two days earlier I'd sunk to my knee when a floorboard disintegrated under my step - never had splinters like that before or since)

 

[mastercabman]

You're lucky
I have a co-worker that shot a 23g in his hand and had to have it surgically removed by a hand specialist.No one else would touch it.

 

[DaveZ]

A guy building a fence for me told me about his boss who was working alone and shot a 10p nail through his thumb and into the board he was putting up.  Unable to extricate his thumb from the board, he called 911 from his cell.  Since he was working in a backyard, the responders were unable to see him and he kept watching them drive by - he had to guide them to the right property by relaying instructions to the dispatcher each time they went by.

 

[Holzhacker]

[poke] hahahahahaha
Ok, yes I'm a jerk. Sorry, having done it too many times I can't help but laugh, (schadenfreude)
I've managed to shoot at least 4 finish nails through my hand or finger over the years. 2 shot right through, 2 I had to pull out with a hammer. Also shot a framing nail through the edge of my palm. Luckily it was close to the edge and I could just pull it out.
Doesn't hurt when it goes in or through but man it hurts like hell afterwards.
I hope your finger heals up good.

 

[dltflt]

I have definitely learned my lesson.

Kev that had to be horrible

Dave I think I would have been in panick mode if I were nail to something.

 

[Sparktrician]

Bob brought up a good point in my mind - double triggers as safeties.  When I shot myself it was an 18 gauge that had double triggers.  My Grex 23 gauge has Dougle triggers.  I have found that the tendency with double trigger guns by nature to is depress and hold the back trigger which is the safety and then you have the ability to fire at will.

Peter

I've had to get used to the double trigger on my Grex.  In practice, though, I just don't hold it back and quickly move to the next one.  Guess I'm too much in the drill of keeping the finger off the trigger until the sights are lined up on the target, not that this is a bad thing.  The practice translates well to woodworking. 

 

[Paul G]

Bob brought up a good point in my mind - double triggers as safeties.  When I shot myself it was an 18 gauge that had double triggers.  My Grex 23 gauge has Dougle triggers.  I have found that the tendency with double trigger guns by nature to is depress and hold the back trigger which is the safety and then you have the ability to fire at will.

Peter

I've had to get used to the double trigger on my Grex.  In practice, though, I just don't hold it back and quickly move to the next one.  Guess I'm too much in the drill of keeping the finger off the trigger until the sights are lined up on the target, not that this is a bad thing.  The practice translates well to woodworking. 

Never thought about that before but my ingrained habit from many years of firearms use is finger off the trigger (and always mindful of where I'm pointing) and the same has carried forward to power tools for sure.

 

[dltflt]

That surely is going to be my habit from now on.  I've just been so use to the tip being the safety on my larger nail guns that I never gave it a thought.

 

[Jonhilgen]

I have a senco pin nailer...no safety.  I have pinned my hand, but usually it's when I'm holding the pieces together and I catch it on the backside. 

You can try to mitigate injuries, but sometimes it just happens.  Like this today, was installing pocket door hardware and slice my finger in the track somehow...I've installed tons of these, yet it happened.  Throw a bandaid on with some tape over it and keep going.

I've adopted the mentality that if I'm not bleeding, I'm not working. 

Jon