Am I now a proper woodworker?

[Penny]

Some say that you're not a proper woodworker until you've had a workshop injury. Well then, I'm a proper woodworker!

I thought I'd try making a bowl from a 3/4 piece of timber. I attached the faceplate and mounted the timber. I set the tool rest and checked the clearance. All was good. I set the speed at 400rpm. And I set the roughing gouge to work.

Now I don't know how, but I managed to get my pinky finger of my right hand (I'm left handed) between the tool rest and the rotating timber. Ouchy! on the knuckle side I ended up with a large chunk of missing skin from the wood. On the inside over the 1st joint I had a deep, very bloody cut. Very bloody. Fortunately there was plenty of wood shavings and sawdust on the floor to absorb the blood.

I took myself off to the local A&E and there it was X-Rayed. No breaks. Plastics were called to take a look as I couldn't bend my finger. Oh dear. It looks like a torn tendon. So that's me going in for surgery on Sunday morning to fix it up. I may have a cast for 6 weeks. Not exactly conducive to woodworking.

So at least I can claim to being a proper woodworker now!

 

[Adam9453]

Sorry to hear that Penny, its an odd saying that to be a proper woodworker, you need to have made a mistake/had an accident but its one I've heard many times.

Hope the OP goes well and that you recover quickly.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

Sorry to hear of your injury.

You may consider yourself to be a proper woodworker but using a roughing gouge on bowl work does not make you a proper turner.

I suggest you do a bit of research before you revisit the lathe and potentially injure yourself again

Regards Mick

 

[Jacob]

Accidents do happen but they aren't rites of passage or heroic wounds picked up in the war against wood. They almost always down to someone doing something in what you might call a "misinformed" way (not wishing to rub it in!).

If you do it twice it's time to consider another craft.

 

[bugbear]

Some say that you're not a proper woodworker until you've had a workshop injury. Well then, I'm a proper woodworker!

Roy Underhill is a really proper woodworker - he's always cutting himself!

BugBear

 

[NazNomad]

Oscar Pistorius used to be a wizard on the pole-lathe until .... Well, you know the rest.

 

[HappyHacker]

Sorry to hear about your injury, not fun.

I cannot comment on the truth of saying relating to being a proper woodworker but they also say that it is necessary to fall of a horse a few times in order to become a good rider. I can confirm that is false. Having won prizes for my many falls (both for number and entertainment value of falls) while learning to ride (as an adult) I found that:

1 - I did not bounce as well as I did as a child
2 - It hurts
3 - My riding did not improve as a result
4 - It hurts - did I already say that?

I suspect the same applies to woodworking where despite self harming with sharp objects on many occasions over a 50 year period I do not think I am a yet proper woodworker.

 

[n0legs]

:lol: Yes you're a proper woodworker now.
Sorry to hear you've got a proper injury though and I hope you heal soon.

 

[beganasatree]

Hi Penny,
Sorry to hear about your mishap I hope that it all goes well on Sunday,and welcome to the club.I had a mishap 5 or 6 years ago I cut the top of my finger off.Penny I have just noticed your location are you a member of the Broxburn club ??

Peter.

 

[Lons]

Hope it heals quickly Penny.

i trust you didn't damage your lathe though :wink:

 

[Alexam]

Sorry to hear about your accident Penny. Get well soon, you little woodworker.

 

[Penny]

Hi Penny,
Sorry to hear about your mishap I hope that it all goes well on Sunday,and welcome to the club.I had a mishap 5 or 6 years ago I cut the top of my finger off.Penny I have just noticed your location are you a member of the Broxburn club ??

Peter.

Yes - that's where I did my mischief! Oh, and I was recently made the First Aid manager....

 

[Terry - Somerset]

A minor car accident (scratched bumper, broken mirror etc) every few years can come as a wake up call that cars are dangerous things and we should never get complacent.

Playing in the workshop is a bit like that - trying to be disciplined about waiting for the blade to stop on the bandsaw before removing the cut wood, securing work properly before drilling, switching on the extractor before sanding etc.

Hopefully you will be back up and running quickly - and will simply look back at it as a learning experience (albeit painful) which will make you more wary of danger in the future. This is not intended to be self righteous- I have made all these mistakes and more!

Terry

 

[Graham Orm]

Get well soon.

 

[Benchwayze]

Accidents do happen but they aren't rites of passage or heroic wounds picked up in the war against wood. They almost always down to someone doing something in what you might call a "misinformed" way (not wishing to rub it in!).

If you do it twice it's time to consider another craft.

+1
Since my little escapade with my guillotine mitre-trimmer, I am so, so careful. 8)

Hope you get the right treatment and get ye well soon.


J

 

[Trigs]

Ouch, hope it heals ok. Since I started reading and posting on this forum I've become a lot more safety conscious. I remember ripping 8x4 sheets of 18mm ply on my own on a very unstable site saw which was totally unsuitable for the purpose. I've learned that cutting safety corners to save a few minutes is not a good thing. Not saying that's what you did as accidents do happen even with the best intentions of staying safe.

 

[Penny]

I'm just waiting to be taken down to theatre for a general anaesthetic and for the surgeon to sew my tendon together. Got a drip in my arm because I've been nil by mouth since 10pm last night and I'm a bit dehydrated.

A couple of points, If I may. I was using a roughing gouge because that's what I was taught to use for the early stages of rough turning a piece of timber, and for taking the bark off.

I was being careful, but clearly not careful enough. I have no idea how my finger ended up where it did.

It's bloody sore

 

[Rhossydd]

If I may. I was using a roughing gouge because that's what I was taught to use for the early stages of rough turning a piece of timber, and for taking the bark off.

Not sure who taught you that, but it's bad practice for bowl/cross grain work.
They're properly called spindle roughing gouges for roughing down spindle work held between centres.

Hope the op's gone well and it all heals quickly.

 

[Penny]

OK, so it could have been much worse. No turning for a couple of weeks though! They did keep me in hospital for a couple of nights though.

 

[Alexam]

Owwwww poor pinkey!