My Table Saw Accident

[Larry Bud]

Well, just got back from the emergency room where I got 9 stitches in my right index finger. I'm a relative newbie to serious woodworking, and I took a decent chunk out of my finger. It apparently got down to the bone and took a small chip out. The angle of the cut was pretty lucky, though. There was no tendon damage. Took part of the nail out, but I was told the part that was cut will grow back.

The worst part of this isn't the (incredibly small amount) of pain, or the few months of healing. But that I feel like an idiot. This could have been easily prevent with a pushstick. Hopefully this is a wake up call to me.

The injury could have been much worse. The blade was only up about

1/4", and was cutting a rabbit in a small board, about 8x10 in. I was happily running the board through when I believe it began to bind up, then it suddenly kicked back. Not sure if the board pushed my finger into the blade, or if I slipped when the board kicked back. It all happened so fast. My hand was a good 6-7" away when I was making the cut. I didn't even realize I was cut until the blood started dripping. I thought the board came back and bashed into my finder, and numbed it. No such luck.

Anyway, thought I'd share my story.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sorry to hear of this. You say a push stick could have saved you, but why did it bind up to begin with? Splitter in place? Pawls used?

Perhaps you can save another finger for the rest of us if you know the cause. Ed

[Bay Area Dave]

how do you use a splitter when you are rabbeting, Ed?? I'd like to see that! :)

dave

Edw>>Well, just got back from the emergency room where I got 9 stitches in

[Preston Andreas]

Good to hear you didn't lose a finger. It happens so fast and in my case, I still swear my finger wasn't near the blade when it was butterflied. I was ripping bunches of small strips. I would push it through using my right hand and a push stick, then I would reach behind the blade with my left to retrieve it. After several hundred of these, obviously I must have gotten lazy, although I still say my finger was nowhere near the blade, and I still don't know how it happened. I apparently drug my left forefinger across the blade as I brought back the ripped piece. Man, what a sick sound it makes when your finger is being mangled by the blade. It butterflied my finger from the tip, up near to the first knuckle. Fortunately, it was next to the bone and I was using a Woodworker II. I still think the finger cleared the blade and I still can't figure out how it got cut.

And don't even start posting about using guards, safety guidelines and other BS. I do this for money, so I am allowed operator stupidity in the pursuit of fast production. Of course, I won't mention the two weeks I sat at home watching Oprah, Rosie and Jerry Springer while I was waiting for it to heal. Oh well.

Preston

[David Binkowski]

No... I think the pain and months of healing is the worst part.

[David Binkowski]

Just remember. Thats why God gave you nine spares ! Just don't use them all up too quickly.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Guess I wasn't paying attention again. Ed

[clutch]

Glad you made it with most of your finger. Your whole attitude about safety will change for the better now.

Wes

[David Babcock]

I was a newbie......12 if I remember right, and I watched as the blade made its cut at the surface of the wood, not thinking that because of the curve the bottom of the blade couldn't be seen..........no push stick, just ripping it in half.........you're so right, it is a sound you'll never forget, as the bone hits the steel. The top of my thumb from the nail up was dangling by the cuticle. They sewed it on, but there's no feeling. But, there was when my father came home. After going off on me for a half hour, he took me back to the saw and showed me the correct, and safe way to use a table saw. That was forty years ago.......haven't been cut since.

Safe and slow is the way to go............

[George]

I think you'd better start slow. The trio you mentioned diminishes your IQ one point per hour watched....

[Robert Sorenson]

I wasn't so lucky, I lost the ring finger on my left hand down to the first knuckle (from the hand).

I was using a long push stick (about a 12") which ended up being caugth by the blade pulling my hand into the wobble dado blade; can we say ouch! The funny part is I never felt a thing, never went into "full" shock, and never passed out. The finger was destroyed, all the paramedic could say was, "...get in the abulance..." but I have payed my dues since! I ended up with

25+ stiches, no finger, and a hand that is still pretty much useless. The pain has come and gone since and the "phantom" pain is probably the strangest part of all. There is just something not rioght about the part being gone hurting the worst. The use of my left hand is coming back, fortunately I am right handed, but I still can't close my hand or grip things too tight.

It took me two months before I went near thew table saw again and am now v-e-r-y wary of the moving blade.

A new motto, "Think twice, don't cut at all!". Well, just got back from the emergency room where I got 9 stitches in

[Larry Bud]

As someone else mentioned, I was rabbiting. Good question of why it bound up. I'll have to go see if thefence is out of alignment. I looked at the board itself, and there's a dent in it where my finger fits nicely. So it looks like the board kicked back into my finger, and then knocked my finger into the blade.

[Juergen Hannappel]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Get rid of that, afaik they are forbidden in Germany for provoking such accidents as you have had...

[Lawrence A. Ramsey]

Thanks for your honesty! Most, if not all, of us have had the same experience; some got cut and some didn't.

[Leon]

Preston, 14 years ago I cut the end of my left thumb off. For months I thought that I had a kick back situation on the last board that I was cutting, but oddly none of the wood had blood or tooth marks on it. I later found that I had apparently blanked that out of my memory. I actually cut my thumb after I had turned the saw off and was attempting to remove the fence before the blade had completely stopped. Something to think about, especially when you cannot remember. ;~)

[Preston Andreas]

Never said I was real smart.

"Hey Ethel, where is that college diploma I urned?"

[Lazarus Long]

Yeah, the root of all accidents (glum look on face). Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.

[Bay Area Dave]

A "red" tee-shirt?

dave

Lazarus L> >

[Bill McNutt]

Gentlemen, Your cautionary tales are most welcome.

I remain scarred from an assortment of hand tools, but un-maimed.

Bill

[Larry Kraus]