Has there been a gory accident thread yet?

[Pete Howlett]

If so I wouldn't want to read it but my guess would be the table saw as the number 1 culprit. Without divulging the details can we establish if this summation by me is true or no?

 

[wizer]

nope, try again:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... p?t=24237&

 

[Vormulac]

I know Tony ran a nice neat dado through his hand a while back and I think fairly recently someone tried to rout and ogee profile into their finger - lurker? (I'm probably remembering that incorrectly).
That's quite gory enough without pondering the 'what ifs' I think!

I'm not aware of any forum members who have come to very serious (by which I mean life-threatening) grief at the hands of their tools, but I'm sure some of the longer serving members will correct me!

ETA: There we go, it was Wizer's accident I was thinking of, not Lurker.

 

[lurker]

How very dare you sir!!
Given my profesion, such insinuations are highly damaging to my reputaion.
You will be hearing from my lawyers!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I've never been so insulted in my life )being confused with that accident prone sod in kent). :wink: :wink:

 

[Pete Howlett]

My right thumb is 3mm shorter than my left - the two nibles a tables saw has had at it and the plastic surgery mean I have no feeling at the tip. This makes handling screws and other small pieces very difficult. It's also very hard in my work since a lot of it is 'feel' and with no sensation at the crucial point in my working hand I am having to learn how to 'measure' with my left.

Suffice it to say, I have decommisioned the wretched thing- don't know why I got it in the first place when I actually have no straight cuts to make. It is now a fret slotting saw. fully guarded where the very fine blade pokes above a small slit in a false table by 2mm. At least this machine tends to throw away from its edge anything advancing towards it...

Now the knife throwing spindle moulder is a different beast altogether and much more lethal. Thank goodness for Whitehill blocks!

 

[woodbloke]

I know Tony ran a nice neat dado through his hand a while back and I think fairly recently someone tried to rout and ogee profile into their finger - lurker? (I'm probably remembering that incorrectly).
That's quite gory enough without pondering the 'what ifs' I think!

I'm not aware of any forum members who have come to very serious (by which I mean life-threatening) grief at the hands of their tools, but I'm sure some of the longer serving members will correct me!

ETA: There we go, it was Wizer's accident I was thinking of, not Lurker.

From time to time the odd accident gets reported on the forum and sometimes the appropriate pics get posted (including links to some 'Murrican sites where there have been some real beauties :shock: iIrc) but as V says, no one on UKW as far as I know has had a really bad one. I think on here that we're all so mindful of what could happen that as soon as anyone regales any sort of bad practice that they've done or about to do, they get jumped on - Rob

 

[Vormulac]

Lurker, I alopogise most crumbly, I never meant to cast nasturtiums and I say sorry from the very heart of my bottom.

:lol:

 

[Derek Willis.]

I had a chap coming to me to learn a few basics in the workshop, he loved using the bandsaw, so went out and bought one very full of himself, never came back for any more instruction, his wife phoned to say he had had a small accident with it and cut his hand.
I met him in town some six months later, I hear you've got a bandsaw for sale says I, I'll never touch another piece of wood again says he, apparantly he was unable to do a thing for five months, having cut all the tendons in his hand, rather messy I would have thought.

 

[big soft moose]

we had a cdt teacher at school who was short 2 fingers as a result of bandsaw mishaps - irronically both occured while he was demonstrating safe practice to a class

the worst ive done personally was to snap a 3/8 bowl gouge with the lathe spinning at 3000rpm and ram the broken end into my palm - hurt like twittery but no stitches or anything were required.

ive also had a couple of chainsaw related mishaps in the field - one time when a dead branch fell out of the tree i was felling and hit me on the head - fortunately i was saved from serious harm by my hardhat, and another ocassion in which a tree did the old rocking chair thing and whacked me on the bicep - no feeling in my right hand for about a week and still a little residual loss of feeling inmy little finger.

 

[MatthewKing]

nope, try again:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... p?t=24237&

OUCH! my fingers hurt just looking at the picture in that thread, I hope you're suitably recovered now?

ive also had a couple of chainsaw related mishaps in the field - one time when a dead branch fell out of the tree i was felling and hit me on the head - fortunately i was saved from serious harm by my hardhat, and another ocassion in which a tree did the old rocking chair thing and whacked me on the bicep - no feeling in my right hand for about a week and still a little residual loss of feeling inmy little finger.

Lots of things like that going on in Axemen on channel 5, interesting series and extremely dangerous job!

 

[lurker]

Vormulac, consider yourself forgiven :wink:

BSM, I once fell out of a tree (20ft) with a chain saw running in my hand :shock: Was totally unhurt.
The branch I'd just cut away dragged me with it.
Never been up a tree since, without a harness.

Strangely I've always been able to climb quite high up trees but I've a hopeless head for heights on a ladder.

 

[wizer]

I hope you're suitably recovered now?

Thanks, it was pretty scary and, as someone else said recently, I realised how something like this could have turned my life upside down. Makes you think.

Finger's 95% back to normal. I have almost complete movement and slightly less feeling. It does cause some problems, for example if I pick up a saucepan from the stove I don't immediately feel if it's hot until it burns and I drop it! Not a biggie, I have programmed myself to use a cloth every time.

 

[Peter T]

A few years ago I had a dentist who was a big woodworking fan. He was always telling about me about the stuff he had made, usually while I had a mouthful of dental equipment!

Then one time I went for a routine appointment and he was away for "medical reasons". Eventually he was replaced by another dentist.

Some time later I saw him while out shopping. Turns out he had cut off the thumb and index finger of his right hand with his table saw. He was right handed so that meant he couldn't be a dentist anymore.

Hope he had good insurance!!

 

[Lord Nibbo]

I know a chap that worked in a builders merchants who cut off half of two fingers, then later in another accident shortened the said two fingers to just stumps. :lol:

 

[Cowboy _Builder]

I have half my thumb missing on my right hand,caused by an accident on site ......the biggest problem i have is when thumbing a lift people want to drop me off half way home. :wink:

 

[gasman]

I apologise for this story but it has its humerous side.... The hospital I work at has a 'trauma' list every day of the week running for 12 hours . There is often a power-tool-related accident of some sort waiting for surgery. One day a bloke came in with 2 fingers missing of one hand and half his foot missing. He had been driving home, wondering how he was going to cut his hedge as his hedge trimmer was broken, when he drove past a man cutting his hedge with a Flymo - he was holding it up vertically to the hedge - you get the picture? So he went home and did the same, fell off the ladder whilst holding the Flymo and removed said digits. A few eyebrows were raised and the usual medical humour kicked in. That night there was another admission similar to the first - a man with several digits missing from a 'lawnmower accident' - it turns out he was the man who the first bloke had seen cutting his hedge as well. There were one or two people struggling to maintain a straight face....

 

[gasman]

to answer your original question, whilst a table saw is probably the commonest machine to cause woodworking injury, the hand is usually salvagable even if a few digits are missing - however, not so true of a spindle moulder - whilst injuries are rare, they usually require amputation. Another interesting thing is that each tendon, nerve or artery which is cut takes 30-60 minutes to repair each by a plastic surgeon - you have at least 20 tendons, 10 nerves and several arteries in each hand - the maths are not very complicated when a few of them are cut!
Check out http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/machines.htm

 

[Pete W]

Meant to post this story a couple of weeks ago when it turned up in my morning paper. Put me right off my cornflakes!

Man cuts off arm

 

[CWatters]

Slightly OT: My worst was from a model aircraft prop. Blunt Carbon fiber blades at 15,000 rpm. Could almost work out the pitch of the blades by the parallel cuts down my leg.

I met a model flyer with one arm once. He used to hold his plane between his legs while swinging/flicking the prop with his remaining hand. One false move and off with his...

 

[Digit]

I've never been so insulted in my life

You're not very old I take it? :lol:

I Mangled two fingers on my right hand, including the loss of the top of the index finger.
Flesh from further up my arm was grafted across the cut end and I left hospital with, 'you'll never regain feeling in that digit, you'll be back here in a few months asking as to remove it', ringing in my ears.
I won't print my reply, but three months later full feeling did return.
Is this unusual does anyone know?

Roy.