Ouch...

[OPJ]

When you were at Frenchay, I don't suppose your plastic surgeon was a Mr. Mercer, by any chance? I was in there nearly four years ago [non-woodwork related, thankfully! :wink:] and totally agree with your thoughts on the staff. I was in for three-days and could've sworn that at least a couple of the nurses were on 48-hour shifts! :shock:

 

[Degas]

After seeing a few of these threads ive decided that i wont be making a router table and all my routing will be done cutter down as , presumably, the original designers intended.

I'd thought about making my own router table or mounting my new router under my TS but, after reading this thread, I'll only use a table if it's one specifically designed for tha job and is fitted with a guard and fence.

David

 

[Richard Findley]

Thanks for that little video Wizer. I now feel ill!!!

I've normally got a strong stomach when it comes to gore but this made me rather quesey.... in fact I couldn't finish watching it!! SWMBO said it's probably a bit close to home!!!


Degas, don't be put off of router tables, just make sure you have a full understanding of how they work, how to use them and the consequences of your actions whilst using it. The biggest problem is that anyone can go and buy a router (or any other dangerous machine for that matter) with out any training or certifacation and go ahead and use it. In industry you have to be (or should be any way!!!) trained to wotk any machinery that you use.

All the best Jeremy,

Richard

 

[Woodmagnet]

:shock: Oooh! i bet that made your eyes water Jeremy, hope
you heal quickly mate. :wink:
Tom, i saw the episode on Discovery Health a couple
of weeks ago about the surgeon, the doc who treated
him was more nervous than the patient, he was
terrified in case he messed up.

 

[Mailman14]

I saw the thread yesterday, but the pooter went **** up, and I couldn't be bothered arguing with it at 10 at night...Sorry.

Now, I've seen your pics, assumed Wizer's done something similar, and have to say, being the Q.C. AND H&S rep at work, I have always tried to be careful with my tools - i.e. spinning sharp bits are a no-no for fleshy parts I'm attached to.

BUT

I was using my hand-held router a few weeks back, and had a silly moment myself

Having routed something (I forget what), I took the router off the table (releasing the deadman switch) and moved the router to my right hand side (I'm a leftie), BUT it was still moving, and the movement caused a 'wobble' - so much so that it decided to say hello to my workshop shirt (used to keep dust in the garage etc). One hole later, and a "pineapple, that was close!" I decided to wear a tighter outer layer, and move the router away from my till it had stopped spinning... It still sends shivers up my legs thinking of the damage I could do to myself, with any powered, or, unpowered tools.

Hope you get the use of your hand back soon - your typing's not been affected has it? :roll:

 

[xy mosian]

This has been a timely reminder for all of us.
As for training. Does anyone know of readily available training, i.e. the web, for such machines?

xy

 

[ste_5150]

As for training. Does anyone know of readily available training, i.e. the web, for such machines?

That's a good idea. I'm just starting to use a router for the first time, but I'm all for not learning lessons the hard way! Anyone found anything outlining the basic "silly person's guide"sort of stuff?

 

[wizer]

I guess this thing doesn't exist because it's so dangerous! Who here would put them self forward the job of teaching people not to mangle their hands in machinery? I wonder what the public liability cost would be? This is probably why almost all the short woodworking courses do not include power tool use.

 

[dicktimber]

Bloody hell mate!!!!
Hope you are healing up ok?
I dare not show the wife I will be banned from the work shop!
Mike

 

[OPJ]

I guess this thing doesn't exist because it's so dangerous! Who here would put them self forward the job of teaching people not to mangle their hands in machinery? I wonder what the public liability cost would be? This is probably why almost all the short woodworking courses do not include power tool use.

It may also have something to do with why all the full-time courses are so ruddy expensive! :shock:

Maybe it's worth looking in to... Running a furniture making business on the one hand, with a one-to-one tuition in basic wood machining on the other... :-k :wink:

 

[Digit]

Who here would put them self forward the job of teaching people not to mangle their hands in machinery?

Eh! Me! I'm currently giving lessons to a lady on the practical use of a router and a table.
I hope she doesn't read this forum!

Roy.

 

[ColG]

Can't really feel anything in the fingers but the plastics people did one hell of a job. Lost the middle of the tip of my index finger but they pulled the tip down and got it to knit together - even have a nail that grows.

Other tip is make sure you massage the scars with vitamin E oil.

Col[/img]

 

[Mailman14]

A bit of warning there please ColG! Nearly lost me tea...

How the heck did you manage those then?

 

[Peter T]

Complete coincidence I just cam across this

http://finewoodworking.taunton.com/item ... n-tablesaw

Something similar happened to a dentist I used to see.

He was a nice guy, and a good dentist, and when i went for a checkup we always spent time talking woodwork projects. Being a dentist he made more money than me so he had lots of fancy power tools.

Anyway, I went for a checkup and another dentist was standing in for the regular guy. They explained that the regular guy was "Off sick". The same stand-in was there for the next couple of checkups.

So about a year after the original dentist had gone missing I bumped into him in PC World. We chatted and I asked him why he hadn't been at work. He held up his right hand and the thumb and fore-finger were missing!!!

He explained that he had been ripping some timber on his shiny new table saw when his wife had come into the workshop to tell him dinner was ready. He had carried on pushing the wood through the saw with his hand while he turned to acknowledge the summons. Next thing he knew, no thumb and finger, and no career.

Mind how you go............

 

[FatFreddysCat]

I didnt have a fence on but was using the table freehand with a pin. The disc i was routing kicked, and i pushed it back into the bit...it then caught on the bit and spun my left hand into and through the bit.

........Fundamentally I still think the router is one of the safer in the shop (when used correctly), and the table is safer and more accurate when used correctly than freehand.

Hand routers are safer when used as hand routers, i.e. with BOTH hands on them. As soon as you use a hand router inverted in a table it is in effect a spindle moulder. Your hands are free of the router and free to enter the cutter as you found out. On a spindle moulder one uses a ring fence and bonnet guard - the equivalent on a router table should be something like a lead-in pin and an acrylic guard over the top of the cutter. Both are easy to implement, although with proper templating and reduction of the width of scrap to be cut, to 1/3 of the thickness of the cutter, the pin is superfluous in my experience

Hope the wounds heal well, although you may have to accept some loss of movement and feeling in the affected fingers on a permanent basis depending on how deep the lacerations were

 

[Anonymous]

Hand routers are safer when used as hand routers, i.e. with BOTH hands on them.

Absolute rubbish!!!

No power tool with a fast spinning blade or cutter is completely safe to use.

Many have been injured with hand-held routers.

 

[Digit]

It doesn't have to be spinning to be dangerous either Tony. Think chisel!

Roy.

 

[TheTiddles]

What's even more concerning is the number of people who mow the lawn without boots on, I've lost count of the number of case reports I've seen of people having to loose their foot or even an entire leg after a nice rusty blade covered in pathogens has mangled a foot

Aidan

 

[orangetlh]

Hand routers are safer when used as hand routers, i.e. with BOTH hands on them.

Absolute rubbish!!!

No power tool with a fast spinning blade or cutter is completely safe to use.

Many have been injured with hand-held routers.

He doesnt say its safe he states its safer. I totally agree with his comment. Holding a router by hand means both hands should be on the tool and not near the cutter. Inverting the router means both hands are free to come into contact with the blade. Plus there are added kickback issues if the timber isnt fed onto the cutter correctly or in the right direction.

 

[marcus]

xy wrote:

As for training. Does anyone know of readily available training, i.e. the web, for such machines?

If you want to learn to use a router well and safely you could do a lot worse than check out IBTC's three day course:

http://www.ibtc.co.uk/courses/#furniture-&-woodworking

Ian is a great woodworker and great teacher, and you would learn loads I'm sure. Only danger is that you might end up tempted to drop everything and do the boatbuilding or furniture courses which are a little more of a commitment....

Cheers

Marcus