Neighbour's circular saw accident

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Re No 5, I knew a guy back in the 80's who was working in a timber yard cutting fencing timber on a big wadkin with a 2ft blade, as they were on piecework speed was of the essence so when he was put on changing dimensions he didnt turn the saw off first just left it running & adjusted the fence. Result was he passed his hand across the arc of the blade & in a nanosecond it removed his third & fourth fingers & lower half of his hand too. There was nothing to sew back on as all the bits were sprayed across the workshop. He got a big payout but kept quiet about the whizz he was snorting up his nose to keep himself awake.
 
I would find a chainsaw very handy for cutting wood blanks, but after briefly borrowing one and looking at how much of the chain is exposed flying round I decided I could never feel comfortable using one.

But yes, I believe the two main causes of accidents are lack of understanding what you are using, and being in a hurry to get the job done.

I use a chainsaw quite often. I never feel entirely comfortable using it either, which is probably why I still have all my limbs.
Cheers
Richard
 
"a fool and his fingers are soon parted"

now the NHS should send him a "being a pineapple" bill for re-attaching them - I'll bet the value of the procedure and rehab would be many thousands.
 
Saw this Dewalt radial arm saw on eBay, head looked a bit wonky
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18472231...,osub=osub,crd=crd,segname=segname,chnl=mkcid
Description says “The switch on saw bench is broken so you have to switch on/off at the wall plug.
The bracket holding the motor to the sliding rail has cracked so I strengthened it using heavy duty cable ties...still works”

I have attached a photo, looks like three cable ties, and they are heavy duty!

So we have a 12 inch blade and motor rotating at say 3800rpm mounted at about head height on a sliding arm, held in place with cable ties and no easy means to turn it off. Frightening.
 

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Description says “The switch on saw bench is broken so you have to switch on/off at the wall plug.
The bracket holding the motor to the sliding rail has cracked so I strengthened it using heavy duty cable ties...still works”

'st on a bike!

Part of me feels obliged to win that purely to decommission it and save someone from a trip to A&E...
 
Description says “The switch on saw bench is broken so you have to switch on/off at the wall plug.
The bracket holding the motor to the sliding rail has cracked so I strengthened it using heavy duty cable ties...still works”

I have attached a photo, looks like three cable ties, and they are heavy duty!

So we have a 12 inch blade and motor rotating at say 3800rpm mounted at about head height on a sliding arm, held in place with cable ties and no easy means to turn it off. Frightening.

I've seen worse..

I haven't really. That 'thing' needs killing with fire. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I was selling that.
 
I... I... I'm not sure how many push sticks you'd need to use that safely. 50? The seller should be done for advertising it as including a table never mind the rest.
 
After reading a thread on here about tablesaw accidents due to not using a guard I thought I'd watch a little refresher video on YouTube.
this one popped up. You do have to wonder about posting stuff like this.
I knew all those safety features were unnecessary.
 
I would add RAS to the list. Above mitre and on a par with table saw. My DW1251 tends to want to jump out at me and is probably the hardest tool to control.. I dont use it much these day since got a mitre saw and a cheap TS, but used to do housings by the dozen and tenons. Prefer to do them by hand these days.
 
Very sobering thread. I'd like to add grinding wheels to the list of things that can suddenly be full of hot buzzy anger. Had a wheel burst, still don't know why. It was quite new and well faced and balanced. In the process of sharpening several drills turned away to pick up next one when my goggles were gone, the type that look like a diving face mask with elastic round your head. Bits of wheel all over the workshop but not a scratch on me. If I'd been facing it I think it might of killed me. Sat very quiet for a long time. I have used a wheel since but do most of my sharpening by hand now.
They say they tend to go when new. Seems a major design flaw as reports always say they explode everywhere. The blades of angle grinders can do the same and they have even less guarding.
 
After reading a thread on here about tablesaw accidents due to not using a guard I thought I'd watch a little refresher video on YouTube.
this one popped up. You do have to wonder about posting stuff like this.
Its had 4m views, and he gets paid for the adverts.
One thing I've never really understood about an angle grinder is that it does not have a trigger switch like circ saw or drill.
Now a chainsaw that has on permanently... he must like being chased round the garden. I'm going to have nightmares tonight. better stop reading this and go to bed
 
Its had 4m views, and he gets paid for the adverts.
One thing I've never really understood about an angle grinder is that it does not have a trigger switch like circ saw or drill.
Now a chainsaw that has on permanently... he must like being chased round the garden. I'm going to have nightmares tonight. better stop reading this and go to bed
Some do. The removing of the guard is the start of so many accidents, yet is so very common
 
Its had 4m views, and he gets paid for the adverts.
One thing I've never really understood about an angle grinder is that it does not have a trigger switch like circ saw or drill.
Now a chainsaw that has on permanently... he must like being chased round the garden. I'm going to have nightmares tonight. better stop reading this and go to bed

The larger 9'' versions tend to have a trigger switch but I agree with you. they all should have one even the little ones.
 
but some tools have a bigger safety margin than others... a table saw, the blade stays in the same place, a chainsaw it doesn’t... add to that the fact that chainsaws are used up trees or ladders and on unknown material and you can see why they are more dangerous than a table saw with guard, riving knife, push sticks and a known clean piece of wood!
Very good thinking, but with the table saw it is more likely to be the user who gets injured but the guy with a chainsaw could easily injure anybody nearby. The chainsaw does make a table saw blade guard seem daft in that you can have a lot more exposed blade on a chainsaw and also be waving it around,as you say potentially less control.
 
Some do. The removing of the guard is the start of so many accidents, yet is so very common
Even with guarding and features like a chain brake, chainsaws are incredibly unforgiving.
20+ years ago I used to buy firewood from various one or two man businesses, and I hit on a chap selling some good stuff so I asked for two more loads. Weeks went by and he hadn't delivered, but when he eventually turned up he apologised but his workmate was out of action after losing most of his arm. Don't ask how he managed it, but he was carrying his chainsaw - engine running and presumably no chain brake engaged - down a steep bank when he lost his footing. You can guess the rest. It was only the swift action of an ex-Army driver of a timber wagon that saved him bleeding to death apparently.
The accident below happened about 5 miles from me. Even the experts sometimes have fatal accidents.

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/news-...a/2008/june/chainsaw-death-accidental-inquest
 

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