Hello room, my name is Johnny and I am a Tool Junky !!
I have been a lurker here for a very long time. I enjoy the topics that I am familiar with.
I will be 70 years old this summer and have been around wood and woodworking tools
since 1960 or so. After 21 years in the US Navy, I worked at Lockheed-Martin as a custom
woodworker and carpenter in the aerospace division. Both of my grandfathers and several
uncles were master craftsmen. My father was an accomplished woodcraftsman and metalsmith.
so I sort of inherited the "craftsman" genes, so to speak.
After 7 years with Lockheed-Martin, I opened my own business of handcrafted signs. mostly large
handcarved and handcrafted dimensional signs from 6" emblems to 20ft main entry signs for
private estates and golf courses.
after retirement from the sign world, I worked for Mr. Handyman renovating private homes. that was fun.
after 6 years of that, I took up messing with old wooden boats and that took up a lot of my spare time. (and $$.$$).
I recently moved to a new home and severely downsized my life and my "stuff". I went from a
2500sf climate controlled commercial shop in the country on 5 acres to a small home with a garage on a 1/4 acre
city lot and am having a really hard time adjusting to the decision I made. LOL I need MORE ROOM !!.
anyway, I bought another wood lathe and was playing with that. I do not make bowls. I like making
ornamental spindles and carving mallets and just making household things out of wood.
so this comes to why I want to make a post here on tool safety.
all of us have one thing in common - - - - TABLE SAWS !!! one of the most dangerous tools a person could own.
we have had kick-backs that bring a new awareness to just how fast a person can be hurt with these things.
I was very moved with the very similar experience of CapnCarl in his thread: "My saw flung a chunk of wood at me!"
we all must be aware of accident potential and just how fast they can happen to avoid being seriously hurt. (or worse).
On Sept. 3rd, I was cutting a piece of cherry wood on my table saw. about 2"x2"x6". not big wood, but heavy.
I don't know what happened, but, it somehow got wracked between the fence and the blade and it kicked back into my face.......
I have had many kickbacks before in my lifetime but they always hit the mid torso with little or no damage to the ole bod......
I usually stand off to the side of direct fire to avoid such injuries.
anyway, as luck would have it, it hit me flat sided and vertical right across the left side of my face with the force of a line drive from a major league slugger.
well . . . it dropped me half conscious to the ground right then and there !!! like having a #9 wood swung by Arnold Palmer
right across the left cheek and nose ...... dang it HURT !!!
anyway, I pulled off my tshirt and got the bleeding under control, staggered to the bathroom to check the damage - - - whoooooaaaaaa NOT GOOD !!!!
No bueno at ALL.
got my wallet, phone and a clean tshirt to take with me and dialed 911. it took quite awhile for the ambulance medic to get the
bleeding under control and the trauma surgeon in the ER put me to sleep right away to reset my broken nose
and sew it up (32 stitches) and then run me through the CT scanner. The scan showed I had a "slight" concussion
and fluid on the brain as well as several facial fractures, 4 loose teeth and a broken jaw. Spent the next 3 days in the ICU.
then the following that with 4 days in "elevated care" until the swelling went down and I was somewhat mobile on my own.
my left eye looked like an over ripe plum for a few days but is very okay now. all the swelling is gone and my vision (by the Grace of God) is back to “somewhat” normal.
4 weeks later, the plastic surgeon did his thing to repair the fractures with some screws and pins..... (another day and night in the hospital).
My wife was at work when this fiasco happened and I could not get in touch with her......
she came home and found the house unlocked, my car there and me gone....
then she saw huge puddle of blood at the table saw and panicked - she went to the neighbor -
he calmed her down and went to find me, he saw the table say, blood and me gone . . . . Then HE panicked . . .
He called the ER and found me, he took my wife to the hospital and all was okay once she knew I wasn't dead or missing a hand or two. (or worse).
I asked the nurse to snap me a few pics to document what NOT TO DO with a power tool !!!!
I can't find my safety glasses around the table saw - I can't remember if I even had them on or not.
I have a vague blurry memory of wrapping them up in my bloody tshirt but that was tossed at the ER.
my overall vision is slowly coming back to normal, but, I get headaches from too much glare from a computer screen or TV and floaters the size of a fishhook.
the fluid on the brain is gone and the concussion did not cause any permnt - permen - parmnt - premant - permanent drain bamage (LOL).
no matter how experienced you "think" you are with power tools, and how many safety parameters you have in place - - - accidents DO HAPPEN !!
so far, this little episode has cost over $87.000.00 and I have not seen the bills from the plastic surgeon yet.... thank GOD for INSURANCE !!!!
Looking forward to getting to know all of you !!!
Regards,
John Smith
Central Florida
I have been a lurker here for a very long time. I enjoy the topics that I am familiar with.
I will be 70 years old this summer and have been around wood and woodworking tools
since 1960 or so. After 21 years in the US Navy, I worked at Lockheed-Martin as a custom
woodworker and carpenter in the aerospace division. Both of my grandfathers and several
uncles were master craftsmen. My father was an accomplished woodcraftsman and metalsmith.
so I sort of inherited the "craftsman" genes, so to speak.
After 7 years with Lockheed-Martin, I opened my own business of handcrafted signs. mostly large
handcarved and handcrafted dimensional signs from 6" emblems to 20ft main entry signs for
private estates and golf courses.
after retirement from the sign world, I worked for Mr. Handyman renovating private homes. that was fun.
after 6 years of that, I took up messing with old wooden boats and that took up a lot of my spare time. (and $$.$$).
I recently moved to a new home and severely downsized my life and my "stuff". I went from a
2500sf climate controlled commercial shop in the country on 5 acres to a small home with a garage on a 1/4 acre
city lot and am having a really hard time adjusting to the decision I made. LOL I need MORE ROOM !!.
anyway, I bought another wood lathe and was playing with that. I do not make bowls. I like making
ornamental spindles and carving mallets and just making household things out of wood.
so this comes to why I want to make a post here on tool safety.
all of us have one thing in common - - - - TABLE SAWS !!! one of the most dangerous tools a person could own.
we have had kick-backs that bring a new awareness to just how fast a person can be hurt with these things.
I was very moved with the very similar experience of CapnCarl in his thread: "My saw flung a chunk of wood at me!"
we all must be aware of accident potential and just how fast they can happen to avoid being seriously hurt. (or worse).
On Sept. 3rd, I was cutting a piece of cherry wood on my table saw. about 2"x2"x6". not big wood, but heavy.
I don't know what happened, but, it somehow got wracked between the fence and the blade and it kicked back into my face.......
I have had many kickbacks before in my lifetime but they always hit the mid torso with little or no damage to the ole bod......
I usually stand off to the side of direct fire to avoid such injuries.
anyway, as luck would have it, it hit me flat sided and vertical right across the left side of my face with the force of a line drive from a major league slugger.
well . . . it dropped me half conscious to the ground right then and there !!! like having a #9 wood swung by Arnold Palmer
right across the left cheek and nose ...... dang it HURT !!!
anyway, I pulled off my tshirt and got the bleeding under control, staggered to the bathroom to check the damage - - - whoooooaaaaaa NOT GOOD !!!!
No bueno at ALL.
got my wallet, phone and a clean tshirt to take with me and dialed 911. it took quite awhile for the ambulance medic to get the
bleeding under control and the trauma surgeon in the ER put me to sleep right away to reset my broken nose
and sew it up (32 stitches) and then run me through the CT scanner. The scan showed I had a "slight" concussion
and fluid on the brain as well as several facial fractures, 4 loose teeth and a broken jaw. Spent the next 3 days in the ICU.
then the following that with 4 days in "elevated care" until the swelling went down and I was somewhat mobile on my own.
my left eye looked like an over ripe plum for a few days but is very okay now. all the swelling is gone and my vision (by the Grace of God) is back to “somewhat” normal.
4 weeks later, the plastic surgeon did his thing to repair the fractures with some screws and pins..... (another day and night in the hospital).
My wife was at work when this fiasco happened and I could not get in touch with her......
she came home and found the house unlocked, my car there and me gone....
then she saw huge puddle of blood at the table saw and panicked - she went to the neighbor -
he calmed her down and went to find me, he saw the table say, blood and me gone . . . . Then HE panicked . . .
He called the ER and found me, he took my wife to the hospital and all was okay once she knew I wasn't dead or missing a hand or two. (or worse).
I asked the nurse to snap me a few pics to document what NOT TO DO with a power tool !!!!
I can't find my safety glasses around the table saw - I can't remember if I even had them on or not.
I have a vague blurry memory of wrapping them up in my bloody tshirt but that was tossed at the ER.
my overall vision is slowly coming back to normal, but, I get headaches from too much glare from a computer screen or TV and floaters the size of a fishhook.
the fluid on the brain is gone and the concussion did not cause any permnt - permen - parmnt - premant - permanent drain bamage (LOL).
no matter how experienced you "think" you are with power tools, and how many safety parameters you have in place - - - accidents DO HAPPEN !!
so far, this little episode has cost over $87.000.00 and I have not seen the bills from the plastic surgeon yet.... thank GOD for INSURANCE !!!!
Looking forward to getting to know all of you !!!
Regards,
John Smith
Central Florida
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