A beekeepers confession

bee-nuts · November 12, 2009, 12:43:26 AM

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.

alfred · November 12, 2009, 12:57:45 AM

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

bberry · November 12, 2009, 01:13:50 AM

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!

JP · November 12, 2009, 01:19:29 AM

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

Hemlock · November 12, 2009, 01:21:27 AM

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.

mick · November 12, 2009, 02:19:46 AM

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.

bee-nuts · November 12, 2009, 03:52:47 AM

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

asprince · 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

bigbearomaha · November 12, 2009, 08:20:00 AM

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

PeeVee · November 12, 2009, 08:58:23 AM

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!

Scadsobees · November 12, 2009, 09:06:45 AM

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.

David LaFerney · November 12, 2009, 09:12:09 AM

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.

lenape13 · November 12, 2009, 09:25:00 AM

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

ziffabeek · November 12, 2009, 09:46:11 AM

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

vermmy35 · November 12, 2009, 11:17:05 AM

Oh man, sorry to hear about what happened bee-nuts. I hope you recover quickly and that everything comes out ok.

Hethen57 · November 12, 2009, 01:01:40 PM

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.

rast · 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.

David LaFerney · November 12, 2009, 06:33:39 PM

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.

cow pollinater · November 12, 2009, 07:19:46 PM

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. ;)

David LaFerney · November 12, 2009, 07:20:59 PM

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.

A beekeepers confession

bigbearomaha