So its like this 2 1/2 maple for table legs ripping to 5" wide. Then bang ouch!
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hours in casualty (ER) and three stitches. My glove caught the blade and slammed my thumb down in the table. I was really lucky not to loose any real flesh (Nothing like you could get in combat). I have been warned by a few people about wearing gloves when machining. My question is do many of you use gloves when planning, ripping or spindle moulding. Was thinking of trying the gloves without the fingers in them or should I just give up on gloves altogether?
Huh??? You've been worn by others not to wear gloves while machining. You had a mishap because you ignored this advice, and discovered first hand exactly why others are telling you this. Now you're if you should give up on the gloves altogether. Just does not make sense to me Connor.
Anything loose or that will otherwise present itself as something that the tool can grab is a bad combination. Common sense makes it easy to figure out why. Tight fitting gloves? Well maybe, but I'm not going to say sure. It's all about how much they present themselves as something to grab. You also lose sensitivity with gloves on. Gloves with no fingers? Can't say - it's all about how much they present themselves as something to grab.
Why is it that you feel the need to wear gloves? Skin condition? Allergic reactions to the wood you use? There could be good reasons to protect your hands, but even then you're going to need something like a latex or nitrile glove that fits very tightly. Since you're considering fingerless gloves, I doubt the above apply.
Was that the blade that got you or were you badly pinched?
The discussion of gloves came up about a few years back concerning whether a glove would be pulled into a spinning blade. I conducted an experiment on a leather fingered and canvas backed glove to see if it would be pulled into the rotating blade on my TS. I turned the saw on and pushed the glove into the blade. The blade simply cut cleanly through the leather finger with out collapsing the finger.
Was your glove torn up? If not something else may have actually happened. You may want to review how everything happened again, as hard as that might be. I was not so fortunate 16 years ago and cut off half of my thumb. I remembered it as a kick back. That was not what happened at all. I got cut after completing the cut, putting the board down on another table and turning the saw off.
Your may never realize how fortunate you are. You might want to consider
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. A contractor version is coming out in the summer of 06.
Slow learner, are you? There is a reason you were warned not to wear gloves around machinery. Apparently, one serious injury was not enough to show you what that reason is. Do you need to actually lose body parts before you figure it out?
Until he realizes that wearing gloves while operating machinery is a poor idea, SawStop isn't going to be enough: he also needs PlanerStop, JointerStop, ShaperStop, etc.
Wearing gloves, long sleeves, neckties etc while machining is just an invitation for this type of thing to happen. Consider yourself lucky and learn your lesson now instead of next time.
On Sat, 4 Mar 2006 10:18:13 +0000 (UTC), with neither quill nor qualm, "Connor Aston" quickly quoth:
The reason insurance is so expensive is that nobody uses any common sense any more. Going to the ER for a scratch like that is foolish, IMHO. It cost the insurance company (or your Socialist country ;) $1,000 for your little cut.
Just a month ago I bandaged a 1/2" wide x 1/8" deep cut on the tip of my finger. (I hit a coffee can lid with the tip of my right index finger when going to recycle the cans and cardboard box.) Luckily, the bone stopped it at only 1/8".
I immediately cleaned it out in lukewarm water, wrapped it until it slowed its gushing of blood, put some Bacitracin on it, and put a cloth bandaid in butterfly fashion over it. I kept it dry and redressed it daily with bacitracin. In a week, I removed the bandaid and had a usable finger again. A month later, I can't find the scar without looking very closely.
The cut I got would have taken several hours and received 8-10 stitches in the ER and cost me over $1,000. The treatment I gave to myself cost less than a buck and took ten minutes. By using common sense, I didn't have to waste anyone's money or my time. The human body knows how to repair simple problems such as this. Just clean the wound, apply an antibiotic, and dress it. Keep it clean and it heals itself quickly!
C'mon, people. Use your frackin' heads for once! Global health care systems are overloaded due to nonsense like this. (see sig)
Gloves and moving machinery are a BAD combination. They always have been and always will be. They will pull your hand/fingers into the rotating blade very quickly. You should have been taught that by your father, by friends, and in all shop classes. IOW: You should have paid attention to the MANY warnings. You're damned lucky you only got a scratch, Connor. But since you're asking the question about gloves, I see that you haven't quite learned that lesson yet. I hope you do before you lose a finger, fingers, or an entire hand.
Yeah. But you have to start somewhere. I would really like to hear back from him to see what shape the glove is in. I have proven that wearing a glove is not absolutely going to always cause a problem with a TS blade but I am still not going to wear a glove to see if that proof plays out the same again. Same with the SawStop, knowing that the blade will stop if I touch it does not encourage me to be careless enough that I might touch it again.
Tools with spinning parts that do not cut can be very dangerous with loose clothing. The planer, lathe, drill press will get loose clothing and pull you in.
Well, they're your fingers. You have to decide which poses the greatest risk/benefit - gloves and no callouses/splinters but greater risk of bigger damage, or rougher hands. The problem is that any glove that's strong enough to last and that provides substantial protection, is also strong enough to get grabbed by the saw blade and pull your finger into it. You were lucky you didn't loose a finger or fingers.
If you feel that you absolutely have to wear gloves, the blue nitrile surgeons gloves are stronger than latex gloves but probably not strong enough to pull your finger into a blade. Please note and emphasise the word probably. They won't offer as much protection as a heavier glove, but they won't pose as great of a risk.
I'm surprised that no one mentioned your wedding ring. A surgeon friend of mine, and a woodwhacker with a shop I wish I could afford, told me of the dangers of a ring. It would seem that a ring being so tight to the finger is of little danger of being grabbed by a machine tool. Unfortunately, it can get grabbed and when it does the results are truly horrific. The ring _strips_ the flesh off the bone - it's called degloving - and there's nothing that can be done to repair the damage. The finger has to be amputated. None of that quick trip to the ER and a few stitches time to go home stuff. For that reason you should always remove any rings. Another trick I read about in a magazine - not sure how you would test to see if it actually works - is to cut a notch on either side of the ring so that there's only a thin strip holding the ring together. The idea being that the thin strip of metal would give and the ring would be yanked off saving your finger. I have my doubts about the effectiveness. It's also harder to explain to the wife why you lost your wedding ring instead of saying you left it in the shop/garage and returning with it a couple minutes later. So just take the ring off when whacking.
Let's put it this way ... your reported experience has done nothing to shake my faith in the time honored conventional wisdom that wearing gloves while operating shop machinery is a bad practice.
I will continue to wear them while handling material, but not while operating machinery.
Of course, the main lesson to be learned here is not to get your fingers that close to the moving blade in the first place. Most of the books say that when cutting anything less than 3 inches wide, use a push stick. I observe this rule most of the time, and when I don't I am extra careful of where all body parts (both hands) are in relation to the moving blade at all times. One tiny moment of distraction can cost you a finger and/or a $1,000 or more trip to the emergency room.
Of course, the main lesson to be learned here is not to get your fingers that close to a moving blade in the first place. Most of the books will tell you not to push any board less than three inches wide through the saw without a push stick. Most of the time I observe this rule. When I don't, I do use extra care to know where both hands are at all times. One instant of not paying attention can lead to a lost finger or 2, and a $1,000 or more trip to the emergency room. robo hippy
Lose the gloves when machining -- period. For moving and stacking wood, that's one thing. When going near small, whirly bits -- gloves are a bad idea. As you were told before and as you have now found out first-hand. Why continue along the same path that injured you in the first place? What do you think the fingerless gloves would do for you?
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough
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So let me see if I get this . . . I think you are all saying DONT wear the gloves?
Its nice to get such a definitive answer to this thanks people. This has kept me out of the workshop all weekend darn. So I will try and enjoy my 39th Birthday Today. Enjoy the pics Leaon.
You mentioned that you thumb slammed down on to the table. By any chance was that at the side of the blade? It looks like the glove thumb may have caught between the side of the blade and the opening in the insert and unfortunately a blade tooth did the actual cutting. Just guessing there. Had the tooth come in contact first I think the leather would have simply been cut and not gotten caught up. That said however had the teeth hit the glove first you probably would not have been able to stop moving quick enough to keep your thumb out of the blade. You were incredibly lucky.
BTY What kind of saw are you using?
Good luck with your recovery and for the next several months rethink your methods along with keeping gloves out of the mix.
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