When you're tired - take a break.

[Steve Blackdog]

I didn't and spent the afternoon at the local hospital A&E.

I was having real trouble getting a book matched pair of spruce boards jointed with a hand plane on a shooting board to glue up for a guitar soundboard.

The more frustrated I got the worse it seemed to get. So I thought "sod this for a game of soldiers, I'll joint it on the router table". I ran the boards through a couple of times and my boards were getting narrower and narrower.

Anyway, I hadn't secured the cutter guard properly, my hand slipped and the next thing I knew my pinky finger was dripping with blood, doing a good impersonation of a minced sausage.

My accident isn't the end of the world. I still have my finger, but it will probably frighten small children. The annoying thing is that the injury was 100% predictable and 100% avoidable.

Lesson to all. When you get frustrated because you are making mistakes, stop. You make mistakes when you are tired. You also shove your digits into high speed power tool cutters!!

Keep your fingers safe - they are quite useful

 

[marcros]

Glad you are OK. A valuable reminder for us all

 

[morturn]

Thank you for sharing this, I hope you make a fully recovery. Certainly good advice and something to bear in mind when working with machinery.

 

[DiscoStu]

I hope your finger is ok and you're right about mistakes when tired.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Eric The Viking]

I always tell kids that routers and planers don't leave you with bits that can be stuck on again.

Really sorry to hear, and I'm glad you'll be "functional" again soon. You do get used to hand damage* over time, and there are even benefits - I usually escape emptying the dishwasher nowadays, as it's become too expensive. ;-)

Every cloud, etc.

E.

*Mine is mostly arthritis though.

 

[Racers]

Ouch! I hope it heals soon, don't forget to post a picture as it makes people more careful!

Pete

 

[Steve Blackdog]

Thanks for the nice comments folks. It must really sting if you get your legs blown off by a roadside bomb.

 

[ED65]

Sorry to hear of your accident, glad it wasn't worse.

 

[Bodgers]

Nasty. But do we get to see any pictures after you've been patched up?

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[Shrubby]

I hope your finger heals quickly!
A picture of the router table might be useful in helping people avoid a similar accident
Matt

 

[Steve Blackdog]

I hope your finger heals quickly!
A picture of the router table might be useful in helping people avoid a similar accident
Matt

The table has a Perspex cutter guard that sits right snug up to the work piece. It locks down in place making it impossible to touch the blade. I left it about 10-15mm above the work, leaving a finger sized gap to push my finger into.

There really is no way to avoid reaching the conclusion that my brain was so busy being furious at wasting £40 of book-matched alpine spruce, that my attention was elsewhere.

As Frank Zappa said "Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe."

 

[HowardM]

Ditto,
I took the nail off my left forefinger pulling flesh off at the same time, visible bone.
Routing chamfers on a box, brain disengaged, in the WRONG direction.!
Not tiredness, just working on autopilot.
Now, when switching ANY machine on, I THINK, is this going to bite me.?
The nail has grown back after 7 years, they said it probably wouldnt.
If it had been my mouse finger, I would be sleeping on the beach now.

Howard

 

[Tetsuaiga]

This has given me a good reminder of what can happen. I have been neglecting to use the pads or push sticks a little too often on my planer, probably not too smart.

Its a good thing its only your small finger, although i bet when you lose it you notice how much you actually use it.

 

[Steve Blackdog]

Ditto,
I took the nail off my left forefinger pulling flesh off at the same time, visible bone.
Routing chamfers on a box, brain disengaged, in the WRONG direction.!
Not tiredness, just working on autopilot.
Now, when switching ANY machine on, I THINK, is this going to bite me.?
The nail has grown back after 7 years, they said it probably wouldnt.
If it had been my mouse finger, I would be sleeping on the beach now.

Howard

is that a recent photo? - how long did it take to heal?