Brush with disaster!

[mailee]

I made a start on the oak cabinets today but had a disasterous mishap with the planer! Stupidly I was rushing and feeding the legths of oak through the blades on my Elu P/T. Without thinking I brushed some dust off the table with a sweep of my hand as two of my fingers went pass the guard straight into the spinning block! :shock: Initially I thought I had just hit the guard with my finger but as I jerked my hand back blood spattered across the workshop! Oh Dear! I didn't dare look to see what I had done. When I plucked up the courage to look I was amazed that I had got away with just cutting a flap on the end quite deep though. Here it is after it had stopped bleeding:

I have never liked those Euro guards on these machines now I think they are downright dangerous! Still I should have known better as I normally blow off any chippings. Well lesson learned and I WONT do that again. I consider myself very lucky and am normally a safe worker. Only the second accident in 20 years so not so bad. I did have the guard in place and low to the blade but nothing guarding the blade where the wood had been fed through, if it had been the pork chop guard this would not have happened.

 

[adidat]

that sounds nasty alan, quite lucky we now have round blocks enforced, so they push fingers out instead of pulling them in like square blocks. i like the idea of pork chops, why dont we use them?

adidat

 

[Shrubby]

Lucky escape Alan - hope it heals quickly!
Don't be too quick to blame the bridge guard they are considered the safest type. There are many other factors involved here
Matt

 

[Noel]

Never liked bridge guards and I too think they are dangerous, especially as it's design forces you to lift your hand/s over it. Much prefer the swing guard on US machines, far safer IMHO.
Glad to see injury wasn't too serious Mailee.

 

[mailee]

I have always thought that the pork chop guards are far safer than the euro guards Matt. With the pork chop type the instant the wood is removed the guard snaps back in place, with the euro guard the space where the wood has been remains open! I can't see whare this is supposed to be safer? That said it wads my own stupid fault for not paying attention and engaging my brain.

 

[No skills]

Lucky to have the end of the finger still there :shock: I had three finger tips looking similar to that for a while after they bounced off a round over bit in a small router, I couldnt look for a few seconds - made sure I got to the bathroom sink first

Hope it heals quick.

 

[Shrubby]

Alan
For flatting the bridge guard covers the whole cutterblock - the workpiece passes underneath. For edging the guard is retracted to allow the work passed against the fence to clear it (WIS17 has clear diagrams)
There are cultural reasons for differences in machinery safety - I'll stick with European standards
Matt

 

[Digit]

Likewise.

Roy.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Not as nasty as it could have been but still. Glad its not to bad.

 

[mailee]

Yes Matt but don't you find it very difficult to pass the timber under the guard while trying to keep it flat on the table and then move your hand over the guard? I much prefer the pork chop ones so much safer IMHO.

 

[devonwoody]

Sorry to hear of your mishap.

A woodwork machinery salesmen showed me his finger once, he had done the same thing, cleaning sawdust off the tablesaw that time.

Perhaps an additional machine is called for in the WS, something like a battery operated hair dryer/blower. Chinese blowers I am sure could be produced cheap enough, a good idea perhaps for an Ebay type entrepreneur, if the big boys go for it they could cost a lot. (thinking respirators, could be a lot cheaper than they are)

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Glad it wasn't worse than it is.

I've never used the bridge guard on a jointer but the swing away one on mine is too low to get my fingers under and always covers the knives that aren't being covered by the work. And there's nothing to adjust on it.

DW, I think you are suggesting a small air compressor which wouldn't be a major addition to a shop and with a bit of coiled hose and a blow gun, you'd be all set. you could hang the gun where it would be handy.

 

[bosshogg]

Unfortunately guards can give a false sense of security, along with any guard, due diligence must be the order of the day.
That being said it looks like you've had a lucky escape, this time, and hopefully others reading this, their minds will be suitably attuned. I hope it all heals for you, I've lived with a scar on one of my fingers most of my working life , I stress this only refers to me, due to crass stupidity and cockiness most likely...bosshogg

 

[studders]

It's amazing how easy it is to 'lose track' and do some very silly things. I used a hole saw yesterday to grind/burn out a hole, nearly ruined my hand drill doing it - that's not the silly bit though - having burnt my way through I undid the chuck and took out the hole saw, it was very, very hot, as I soon discovered. Got a nice blister for my lack of attention.

 

[Jacob]

Unfortunately guards can give a false sense of security, along with any guard, due diligence must be the order of the day....

I'm probably a bit light on the guards but I do use push sticks a lot. Just odds and ends, some pointed, some notched. If you make it a habit it starts to feel wrong without. They are quite versatile too and can speed up the job.
I don't like the plastic ones though - if they get caught they can shatter or get thrown, but wood ones just get bitten.

 

[bosshogg]

Unfortunately guards can give a false sense of security, along with any guard, due diligence must be the order of the day....

I'm probably a bit light on the guards but I do use push sticks a lot. Just odds and ends, some pointed, some notched. If you make it a habit it starts to feel wrong without. They are quite versatile too and can speed up the job.
I don't like the plastic ones though - if they get caught they can shatter or get thrown, but wood ones just get bitten.

This probably approaches the best type of system that can be applied. By using push sticks, even with guards, as the hands are well away from the action. Thanks for that one Jacob...bosshogg

 

[promhandicam]

Yes Matt but don't you find it very difficult to pass the timber under the guard while trying to keep it flat on the table and then move your hand over the guard? I much prefer the pork chop ones so much safer IMHO.

I think your problem Alan is that you only have a basic 'hobby' planer thicknesser which only has short infeed and outfeed tables. Now you are doing this full time, you either need to look at upgrading to one with longer tables or look at build table extensions - as has been documented on the other side :wink: Alternatively look at getting a dedicated jointer - if you have room - as these usually have longer tables than combined p/t's You could then use your elu just for thicknessing. With the timber properly supported then you wouldn't have to put so much pressure on the wood and it would make it much easier to transfer your hands from one side of the guard to the other.

 

[mailee]

I do have a dedicated Jointer Matt, that is the one with the pork chop guard, longer tables and the one I normally use, at the moment it is out of action hence the reason I was using the Elu as a planer. I would certainly like a bigger machine though...in time. :wink:

 

[dance]

There seems to be such a difference of opinion of whether the EU guard is better/safer than the US one.

Also with the EU one I've seen people advise to pass the work underneath the guard and lift hands over the top while other people recommend making retracting the guard so that it only covers the part of the cutter head which won't be covered my the stock. Confusing.

 

[Shrubby]

No need for confusion
google HSE Woodworking
Introduction to woodcutting machinery
Planer
Watch the video


Maybe there should be a link of some kind to the HSE pages on machinery saftey, it might redress the balance away from the dodgy practices picked up from Youtube and hobby websites
Matt