Well I would not be honest and would fell like I am hiding the truth if I did not tell my fellow beek friends or foe that last night I nearly cut off my thumb on a table saw. I am no rookie when it comes to power tools being that I was a roofing contractor for about ten years before I threw in the towel and decided I rather walk then be in a wheel chair. I am well aware that one should drop the blade to the depth of the material to prevent injury but out of shear laziness I left the blade all the way up and nearly cost me a digit. I may still lose it if it gets infected. I am very lucky that I still have tendon function but will likely have a numb thumb tor the rest of my life.
You may think I am an idiot and maybe I am but I hope this will make some of you a little more careful in your bee equipment making endeavors and keep all your fingers. I find this truly awkward for I just posted in twts post that I intended to keep all my fingers, eyes and other body parts in my bee equipment making endeavors this winter.
If you would like to see a pic I will post one when I get one.
P.S.
It hurts like hell.
Thank you for the reminder. I too tend to get lazy at times especially if I am having to set and reset things and I will occasionally do stuff that is not quite safe. So far I have been lucky. I am sorry to hear you got hurt. I will try to learn from your mistake.
Alfred
Sorry to hear that. I think all of us who work with power tools on a regular basis sometimes fudge the lines of safety, thanks for giving us a reminder by sharing. I hope you heal well!
Don't beat yourself up, we all do foolish things now and again, not deliberately of course. We can't be perfect 100% of the time, that's why pencils have erasers.
I cut my knee pretty badly a few years ago because I was in a hurry and not paying attention. That mistake set me back several days and I have a nasty scar for life.
I wish you a full recovery on your thumb.
...JP
Bee-nuts
I hope it works out for you. You're right that we need to be safety minded when working in our shops. Being in a hurry & shortcuts are just a quick way to the ER. a lathe tried to take one of my fingers once. I calipered the project without turning off the machine!
Doc's are great mechanics. They can do some impressive stuff. Heal up & slow down.
Im glad you didnt lose the digit. We used to have a thing called the Triton work bench here i n which you would mount a circular saw. If you stood on a foot plate, the blade lowered or raised, both to cut. I dont know how many hundreds of arms and hands and fingers were lost to this beast.
Youre right about roofing plumbers, lots of them ended up dead or in wheel chairs. Now we have scaffolding as compulsory when roof building and tiling, so its dropped off a bit.
Thanks beeks
I really felt and still feel like an idiot. It was out of shear stupidity, carelessness and rushing. I keep cringing when I think about it. I don't think I will ever forget the zing the saw made as my thumb ran across the blade and the bone came into contact with it. I did not feel the cut but rather a feeling like a chain saw kicking back. I instantly knew what happened and without looking at my hand made a fist with my thumb inside and at least knew it was still there. I turned of the saw, started cursing insulting comment after insulting comment toward myself as I ran out of the old barn jumped in my car, and rushed to the ER. I was scared to look at it for I figured it may be a goner. I seen a guy lose a finger on a job site once and knew it could simply happen.
I was in a hurry like I tend to get in for no real reason. I wanted to make a bottom board quick before I headed up north for a couple days because it and outer covers are the first things I figured I would make, then boxes. I just finished making some candy board feeders and well I can make a bottom board real quick too and see how it goes, right. Well not as fast as you can cut off your thumb folks. In the ER I figured this whole constructing my own equipment was not worth it anymore, for anything I might save I just lost and then some, but I am determined now to do this and not be beat by a stupid saw.
Anyway, Thanks for the pats on the back.
bee-nuts
Don't beat yourself up too much. Accidents happen. I am a contractor and use power tools everyday. About four years ago I too stuck my thumb into a table saw blade. Healed ok but I lost some of the feeling in it.
Good luck,
Steve
Well, I have'nt pulled the tablesaw trick, but, I don't care to remember how many brads and nails I have had to remove from various hands and feet. You're right. It boils down to being in a hurry, which is a violation of the first Carpenters Commandment. ("Thou shalt not use power tools while in a hurry"...or something like that)
speedy recovery.
Big Bear
First reaction to yur post OWWW!
Hope all goes well with recovery. I think of stories like this all the time when I'm in the shop. And I have had some close calls over the years. In a hurry, inattention while thinking about tthe next step.
Interestingly, I just put the guard/splitter back on one of my tablesaws a couple days ago!
Hope it heals well for you. Maybe a stupid mistake but you're sure in good company :roll:. Plenty of mistakes and cut fingers and more all over.
These things happen really quick....my brother went out to the backyard where a friend was blowing off fireworks (the mortar kind), and after being somewhat pressured to light some off, he picked up the tube and blew one off and the tube exploded and ended up blowing his thumb almost off. He's healing well but doesn't have feeling either and will need another surgery to replace a nerve.
Sorry about your accident. I'm usually pretty careful, but like almost everyone I'm most tempted to cut corners on eye protection. I need to do better, because accidents do happen.
The good news is you will almost certainly never cut yourself on a table saw again.
Speed is usually the main culprit in such accidents. Familiarity can also cause them. I know a guy who told me once that he could never get hurt in his shop because he's "been working with wood for nearly 20 years and know my equipment and shop like the back of my hand." I told him that accidents can happen any time you're not paying attention. He laughed and said, "Not to ME!" A few weeks later he somehow managed to run his thumb through the router. :shock: He still has most of it. I just didn't have the heart to bring up our previous conversation.
Sorry to hear about your injury, and hoping for a speedy recovery. :-D
Oh Bee-nuts, I"m so sorry! I wish you a speedy and full recovery!
I think you are awesome for sharing your story to remind all of us that those "annoying" safety rules, (like eye protection and blade guards) are actually important and meaningful. I'm sure your thoughtfulness is going to save somebody (maybe many) a potentially more serious mishap.
Thank you for the eye opener and I hope you feel better soon.
love,
ziffa
Oh man, sorry to hear about what happened bee-nuts. I hope you recover quickly and that everything comes out ok.
Get well soon Bee-Nuts! My only near finger loss occurred when I was building hive bodies as a teenager. Great reminder to work safely and to take the time to make jigs to keep your fingers away from the blade whenever possible.
Sorry to hear that bee-nuts. Makes my short thumb hurt all over again.
Now you get to make up stories as to what happened to it (when you come to grips that you have to live with it, might as well get some fun out of it). One of my favorites is going up to a little kid sucking their thumb, showing them mine and telling them it fell off from sucking on it too long when I was little.
Quote from: rast on November 12, 2009, 01:15:25 PM
Sorry to hear that bee-nuts. Makes my short thumb hurt all over again.
Now you get to make up stories as to what happened to it (when you come to grips that you have to live with it, might as well get some fun out of it). One of my favorites is going up to a little kid sucking their thumb, showing them mine and telling them it fell off from sucking on it too long when I was little.
I hope I never lose one, but being a woodworker all my life I've always planned that if I ever did I would cure it good with borax or something and make a key chain out of it. Then if anyone ever asked what happened to it I could just pull it out and say "Well, I've got it right here."
It's always good to have a plan.
I'm missing two from a farm accident. My left index finger is a nub and I have no middle finger. I did everything right and I still got hurt :'(... accidents happen. I've come to the conclussion that this is why God gave me some things in multiples, I can lose a few without to much hassle. ;)
All you ten fingered freaks miss out on the fun. :-D
I have a habit of pointing with my nub- I can ALWAYS tell when someone notices for the first time.
I can tell people what I really think in traffic without getting my butt whipped.
I can scratch my brain through my ear for little kids who haven't noticed yet.
My own kids think that anything and everything even remotely dangerous is how daddy lost his fingers.
I tell people I'm always armed, with a forty-five and a snub-nose .38 for backup.
I do appriciate the safety warning, but when life dumps a load of crap on you... Fertalize the garden :-D It ain't as bad as it seems.
Bee-nuts, I was back to work on the same piece of equipment in two days... DO NOT let it get to you. ;)
This just made me remember.
My Grandfather was missing the index finger on his right hand. When he was a kid he and his brother were chopping wood and he laid it on the block and dared him to chop if off. His brother thought that he would yank it away, and he thought his brother would miss on purpose. They both got a beating for playing when they were supposed to be working.
True story.
I had a thumb-saw incounter last summer. Only took of a big patch of skin off. Its a bad feeling, it happens so fast (duh). I was lucky and did not do too much damage, but it took about a month to heal and it is still numb on the end. I got off easy I know and I'm always more careful now.
I hope you get use of your thumb back....David
I would like to see a pic :evil: If no one else wants to see it you can pm it to me. I would like to show it too a kid that is starting to work with wood. Hope you heal up fast.
It would not be a bad idea to have a section in the forum for just that sort of thing. On and off the job safety issues.
Not trying to make it sound like work --- but we get alot of safety messages at work on things some people may never think of as being at risk. And some tend to maybe be a bit graphic for the forum.
A guy just died from an electrical accident in TN. (August) when he jumped off a fork lift after hitting a power line and perhaps returned to try and fight the fire. Very graphic!!! I'm not into the graphic but it will sure make you think!
Another accident here in my home town. A piece of equipment, involved in the 2 million pound generator move to NC, hit the overpass and landed on a 27 year old guys truck and crushed him. Who would have ever thought. They were actually traveling in opposites directions.
My thoughts and prayers to both families.
Not trying to hi-jack this thread--- we just take so many things for granted. GOOD LUCK Bee Nuts to a speedy recovery.
Sorry to hear of your injury and wish you the best in recovery.
I am looking into buying a table saw. Have any of you seen the new saws that run an electric current through the blade. In the event a piece of flesh contacts the blade it instantly stops the blade, thus preventing the loss of digits seems like a brilliant idea
Keith
Quote from: Irwin on November 13, 2009, 10:51:25 AM
I would like to see a pic :evil: If no one else wants to see it you can pm it to me. I would like to show it too a kid that is starting to work with wood. Hope you heal up fast.
I will put a couple pics on photo bucket or something when my girlfriend takes the digital camera to work where she can hook it up and emails them to me. Or I guess I can take some next time I take the wound dressing off with my digital cam. I dont want to put them on here so nobody has to see something they would rather not. Ill let you know when there published to the web.
Im doin ok and doc said stitches will be out in ten days. Gonna be off work for a bit and collect short term disability. Maybe I should get that bottom board made while I got the time, LOL!! Just kidding but maybe.
Sometimes you just gotta wonder if it's worth making your own equipment... :-\
Quote from: lenape13 on November 14, 2009, 08:37:28 AM
Sometimes you just gotta wonder if it's worth making your own equipment... :-\
You got that right!! I was at Menard the day I cut my thumb and I can hardly make a box cheaper then I can buy it (and thats with the cheapest grade of lumber). If you screw up on one cut you just lost your savings. If you figure you gas, time, and labor you are definatley taking a loss. However I think it is more of a pride issue knowing that you made it all. I think though if you live in an area like I do you can approach lumber yards and buy short pieces that they end up with cheap enough to make it worth it. However again if you figure all the time dealing with the lumber yards making trips once a month to get a few boards, gas, labor you are better off buying precut equiment and assembling it. If you can find a lumber sourse for free and already have the tools it will be worth it. That is off course untill you cut off a digit.
I am still going to do it out of shear determination to prove that I can and safely. I have talked to one lumber yard and they wanted to much for there scrap. But I am going to talk to them again and a couple others and see what happens. If I can get short board 20" plus for $1 or less thats $4 a box. Menards wants 5.59 for a 1 x 12 x 72". Thats four short sides or 3 long sides. And full of knots. Hardly worth it. If you can make a box 9 1/2 in you will save money but then you need special frames made which will make it pointless.
I think If you are going to make ur own boxes you should go with mediums. You will save more on boxes but lose saving on frames but save your back. You can save real money on bottom boards, top covers, inner covers (untill you cut your thumb off). Thats why I figure I will make bottom board, top covers (covered with roofers valley metal), and inner covers, them worry about boxes. You can make b- boards, T- covers and inner cover out of scrap more or less.
P.S. If you cut of a digit cut off a thumb cause you can still type, somewhat, lol. It actually the worst to cut off from what I have been told. Will post pics soon, I promise.
thank for all your support,
bee-nuts
I just want to add that many things in life are not worth it if you do the math. Raking your yard is not worth it if you can pay someone 10 dollars an hour and work more hours at work. But most of us do it so we can be at home and save money enen though the math does not work. You can find many examples of this one way or another.
And, I also want to say if you do things right you can make your equipment safely but you will need to take the time to do it safely like unplugging the power when you make adjustments when you handle the blade or put you fingers near them. Waste of time: only until you cut off a finger. Just pretend your shop teacher is standing over your shoulder. And remember when your children are watching that they will do what you do.
Here are some pics I took today at my sisters house. Not real good quality. I will have some better ones later.
http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu144/mofrapy/ (http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu144/mofrapy/)
Nice job on the stitches. Color looks good, too. Now, just stay away from the business end of power tools and you'll be okay... :shock:
Quote from: lenape13 on November 15, 2009, 08:00:10 PM
Nice job on the stitches. Color looks good, too. Now, just stay away from the business end of power tools and you'll be okay... :shock:
Cant do that. Im guna show that saw whos boss soon.
Those pictures bring back memories. Saws don't cut meat very well they tear or rip. Mine had to be stitched and glued.
Looking good!
Steve
OUCH :'(
Quote from: asprince on November 15, 2009, 08:40:31 PM
Those pictures bring back memories. Saws don't cut meat very well they tear or rip. Mine had to be stitched and glued.
Looking good!
Steve
Au contraire, mon frere,
Saw blades cut meat very well. just not in the appetizing thin slices we like to get at the deli.
Big Bear
Hope it heals up the thumb is the worest one to lose because we use so much. My grandfather actually did the same thing a little earlier this year. He was suppost to have me around just for supervision while i was building my equipment. He decided to help me out and it ended in a trip to the ER a nasty picture from my aunt after the tip had been reattached. But all is well with him now but it just goes to show you anything can happen while woodworking even seasoned woodworkers. A good reminder too about push sticks they don't cost near as much as a trip to the ER when you cut one up. Hope all goes well with the healing process.
Hey BN you were just so lucky that you didn't lose the thumb.. go out and buy yourself a lottery ticket
Mick
Quote from: SlickMick on November 17, 2009, 04:03:27 PM
Hey BN you were just so lucky that you didn't lose the thumb.. go out and buy yourself a lottery ticket
Mick
I Dont really believe in luck but I do believe in stupidity and thats why it happened. If I bought a winning lottery ticket I would lose it. You are right though, I could just as easily cut it right off.
Well my thumb is healing up real fast now. It seemed like it did nothing for two weeks but its healing from inside out. Our body is an amazing thing. I got all my hives wrapped up with help from a friend and now just hope they have enough food for winter. Ive already been in the wood shop and used the drill press and chop saw. My friend used the table saw and I have to say it kinda gives me the creeps.
bee-nuts
For my power tools, my wife bought me a kit from Rocklers one year. An aluminum push stick with a magnetic handle, a couple of push pads and a couple of adjustable feather-boards. I actually use them on my router table, table saws and joiner. It will improve your confidence and believe it or not, your accuracy.
It takes guts to admit these kinds of accidents. I'm glad you did, you will likely save someone an injury in the next 10 years because of this. Thank you.
I used the table saw today and made that bottom board. Blade is still nice and sharp!
I almost walked away but figured I better get over it before I catch a table saw phobia.
bee-nuts
We all make sacrifices for our bees, Bee-nuts, and sometimes it hurts. (especially fingers!)
Lone
Hate to tell you, but you'll never quite get over it. I lost my fingers twelve years ago this Thanksgiving to a big feed grinder... I was back at work on the same machine within a few days and it never really bothered me. But... BUT... A few days ago I was shredding brush and my grinder plugged up. Everything was off and as safe as I could make it and it STILL took everything I had to stick my hand up there to clean it out. :-\
Quote from: Hemlock on November 12, 2009, 01:21:27 AM
Bee-nuts
Doc's are great mechanics. They can do some impressive stuff. Heal up & slow down.
Modern medicine has come a long way hasn't it ? I cut my left hand almost completely off in 1988 in a cement truck. After five operations you'd hardly know now. I have most of my use of it but it'll never be the way it was before. Hope you mend up quickly Bee-nuts.
Bee-Nuts,
Glad to hear your thumbs healing up.
SH
I have a question for all you folks out there who have a similar injury. My thumb is completely numb and the doc says it will probably stay like that. It seems to function fine but I'm not sure I will be able to hold stuff right. Will I get used to it and be able to do most stuff or will it just be in the way now. Im wondering if it will even be worth having the darn thing. I know this question can not be answered with certainty but if you had a similar situation I would like to know how it turned out after you got used to it.
Thanks
bee-nuts
Quote from: asprince on November 12, 2009, 07:09:23 AM
Don't beat yourself up too much. Accidents happen. I am a contractor and use power tools everyday. About four years ago I too stuck my thumb into a table saw blade. Healed ok but I lost some of the feeling in it.
Good luck,
Steve
Mine was very numb for awhile. It will get better over time. Mine is still has no feeling on a portion of my thumb but it no longer bothers me.
Steve
I am a firm believer in rehabilitation If you put the work in, it will get better. I twisted a pinky and ring finger almost completely off and could not close my hand for better than a year. I did find a rehab nurse that showed me things to do that would put the flex back in my hand. It took more than a year or two before I could manipulate nails to hammer strikes and I had to take all my change at the store with my good hand. My original doctor wanted to cut off the two bad digits so the others would close independently, and I am glad I found the rehabilitative nurse We spent 1/2 a year in a cast with rubber bands holding my hand closed every night and a lot of back and forth work but now I almost don't notice the problem but its been ten+ years ago now. Things always get better as our thoughts and attitudes get better.
P.S. I put my signature on my profile a few days ago before I had read this thread, as a reminder two myself not to get in a hurry during the winter work season and did not intend it to relate so well here. Have a great day John
It will take a few years but you'll be fine. The key is getting your mind used to what your body can and cannot do... not so much feeling but actual ability.
I had phantom pains for quite a while that were downright spooky. When my forehead itched i could reach up and give it an imaginary scratch with an imaginary finger and the itching stopped. Once I was holding a nail between my stump of an index finger and my thumb and I missed with the hammer and struck where my finger would have been if I still had it... My hand ached and swelled up just as if I had struck it with a hammer. Lots of weird stuff like that until my brain adjusted. Now most all is well and I don't even miss them. sometimes if I'm exhausted I'll still be a little clumsy but that's about all.
The key is to ignore it. The faster you get back to life as ussual the faster your brain will adjust. :)
Thank you guys for the replies. The doc said it was up to me if I wanted to return to work or not. I decided to go for it. I called the boss and told him I wanted to come back but that there were a few things I would not be able to do for a while. So anyway Ill be back at it but I know it will take a while before I don't have to baby it. I'll have you know though that I have never been so dam scared in my life. I ruptured a disk in my back, tore tendons in both knees, shattered a finger bone, fractured a jaw.......... but when it came time to possably say goodbye to my thumb I was scared as heck. I have never been so paranoid about infection ever before. It is also very ebarasing and humiliating to admit I did it. Im sure to catch heck at work for a while.
Anyway, I have decided to still make my equipment. I am going to be very careful and take my good old time. Nothing is so important to warrant rushing an losing any body parts or a trip to the E.R. From the looks of it after insurance my bill is about 1200.00 and then all my doctor visits. My short term disability is only 67% so I lost 32% of my wages while off work as well. All in all I will probably never save enough money making my own equipment to pay it off but dont care, after all I'm bee-nuts. Oh, as long as my thumb is numb I have a place to build up immunity to stings without much pain now.
Sorry to hear. Hope it heals up well and quickly.
This is one more story that makes me want to get a http://www.sawstop.com (http://www.sawstop.com) saw. I did recently get a nice aftermarket blade guard that will greatly increase the safety of my table saw.
Quote from: Keith13 on November 13, 2009, 04:54:24 PM
Sorry to hear of your injury and wish you the best in recovery.
I am looking into buying a table saw. Have any of you seen the new saws that run an electric current through the blade. In the event a piece of flesh contacts the blade it instantly stops the blade, thus preventing the loss of digits seems like a brilliant idea
Keith
Keith
Those saws are the real deal. At the beginning lots of people bashed them... probably because they were mad that they did not invent it. Anyway, the inventor is making the best saws out there even if it did not have the amazing safety device. Go to their website and you will see some videos of how it works. I don't have one but will someday. I use the table saw enough that at least the contractors version is warranted. http://www.sawstop.com (http://www.sawstop.com)
Quote from: mgmoore7 on December 20, 2009, 09:51:57 PM
Sorry to hear. Hope it heals up well and quickly.
This is one more story that makes me want to get a http://www.sawstop.com (http://www.sawstop.com) saw. I did recently get a nice aftermarket blade guard that will greatly increase the safety of my table saw.
I met the guy's that invented that before it hit the market when the were looking for Investor's they had a both at a logging conference I went too I think they were still in collage. I wish I had the money back then to invest.
I wish I had one
My thumb is getting better every day. I was just thinking about getting back to work on my bottom boards. Its gunna take a lot of bottom boards, top covers, and inner covers to pay for my ER bill. After insurance it looks like I owe about 1200 bucks. I also lost 33 percent of my income for a month. Oh, and cant forger all my follow up visits.
feeling will come back in about 6 mo.cut left middle and one next to it while using dado blade last year working on bottom boards.cut middle almost plum off.but doc fixed me up.
there is an old saying we have in aviation-there are those that have and those that will.it looks like the same may be said in beekeeping. good luck bill