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gketell

gketell

Local Chapter Leader
Joined
Dec 15, 2006
Messages
2,772
Location
Pleasanton, CA, USA.
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I want YOU to be careful working in the shop.
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Or is this one better?

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I have an idea, Be Careful working in the shop.
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My son was working on a project for school and was routing out the center of some disks using a template. He lost concentration for a split second and the router grabbed and flipped the disk. The ring snagged his fingernail on the way by and removed it as well as the skin on both sides of it. No actual router-bit to finger contact and no structural damage but that is small consolation to him right now.

If you are interested in seeing the finger in all its glory scroll wayyyyy down.
































































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Y'all be careful!!
GK
 

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Last edited:
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I think I'm glad the pics didn't show, on mine at least...

Dale
 
I don't know what is going on guys. I've uploaded the images twice and can see them fine on my machine in both Firefox and Safari (after the second upload) but not on my wife's computer now. Something weird is going on with the attachment management code.

I'll copy the pictures to my website and link to them there after dinner.
Or, hopefully, one of the mods can fix it in the meantime.

GK
 
Greg, UURRRPPPP, thanks, now I feel better. Wow, he's lucky. I've lost nails a half dozen times, it's not pleasant, but beats the crap out of losing the end of one's finger. Oops, I've done that too...but I won't show pics of that, some time zones are still having dinner.

Dale
 
I saw them. didn't spend much time on the last one though.:biggrin:

Just goes to show, it only takes a split second for an accident to happen.:doctor:
 
I am glad that is was not worse. :) It looks like my big to, a piece of melamine fell off the workbench and landed smack on my toe. I hope that you are a fast healer, I am not:frown:
 
I was using a router today to dado out some odd shaped half-lap joints for some very old window cases on seminary campus. I had to free-hand them with a 1/4" dado bit and do my best impression of a gorilla grip. You'd have to see the weirdo joint for it to make any sense, but there was just no practical way to set up fences around the joint.

Fortunately no casualties...... was kinda fun.
 
I took a woodworking class this weekend, and the instructor had a good point about safety. He said that most people don't have an accident because they don't know any better, but because they didn't listen to the little voice in their head that kept asking "ARE YOU SURE THAT'S A GOOD IDEA?".

I know from my own experience that the times I have to watch myself the most is when I'm doing something that I'm very comfortable with, have done many times before, and don't have to mentally step thru all the processes before hand. I've caught myself a few times getting ready to do something really really stupid (like crosscutting a 2x4 with a circular saw TOWARD my body, cuz it was easier than going around it to get the cut from the other side.)

I know I give ALL my tools respect, but especially the routers. Your son was lucky that it wasn't the bit that grabbed him, but I'm sure he has a new appreciation for just how quickly things can go wrong.

Just my .02

Steve
 
My high-school shop teacher was a stickler for safety... not so with the junior-high school teacher. One dude in my class slipped carrying some sheet metal, sliced all of the tendons in one wrist. Another nearly cut BOTH thumbs off on a bandsaw. Your kid's finger doesn't look that bad at all. :D

Once, years ago, I smashed my fingernail pretty good. I didn't want the nail to grow in funny, so I went to the doc to have it fixed. Getting it fixed was far, FAR more painful than actually smashing it...
 
When I was in woodshop anytime there was an accident the shop teacher would hang the blood splatted wood on the wall in the back of the shop as a reminder to everyone else about what could go wrong.

They even left a hole in a wall that was caused by a tablesaw kickback unpatched to show the kind of damage that can be done if you don't pay attention and use the tools properly.
 
I had a shop teacher in middle school who tried to stop a kickback from killing a student and ended up losing parts of three fingers. But the student lived.
 
I lost the whole fingernail to a beltsander a while back, it regrows fine in about 3 months. Also sliced about 3/16" off of the tip of my thumb, also grows back.

Glad Ethan has somebody around to teach him these things. Nobody taught me how to use a router, and the first time I did, I went the wrong way, it grabbed the wood, and pulled my finger into the bit. Similar thing happened with a tablesaw kickback, but the wood cut me, not the blade.
 
We're hoping his fingernail will return to normal but the doctor isn't sure because the area under the nail got ripped off too so there is one side that may not ever reattach. We'll see in 3-6 months.

GK
 
Routers and table saws. Start talking about shop accidents and it is always routers and table saws. Very dangerous tools. I don't like them and use them only when there is no alternative.
 
RMB said:
Also sliced about 3/16" off of the tip of my thumb, also grows back
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I did that when I was younger, working in a sign shop. I had just put a new blade on my x-acto, and went to cut along a ruler. I looked over my shoulder before cutting, pulled the knife without watching, and felt a funny "thump". When I looked down, the tip of my finger was laying there. :giggle: It was about the same as yours, and while it took some time, it did grow back. It sure tought me to watch while I cut, and to not leave my fingers hanging over the ruler...
 
The one I always saw people with missing fingers talking about is the jointer. I have one but it has never been turned on, partly cuz I'm afraid of it.

I can't tell you how fast my heart was beating using the router to finish the pieces my son was working on. Mind over matter to not think "it is my turn next". Yikes!!

GK
 
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