Carelessness is costly OR my most expensive project

[atgcpaul]

A few months ago I needed to replace the wooden foot pedal on my homemade
mobile base on my planer. I had a scrap of oak that was just the right length
and width. Its end needed to be cut just a little thinner. 5 minute job so I
grabbed by Irwin handsaw with the aggressive teeth. I have the same hackles
that stand on end when I'm about to do something stupid, but that night I didn't
listen to them.

Instead of putting the wood in my vise 10 feet away, I held it down with one
hand on some sawhorses. Anyway, I'm right handed but hammer and saw with
my left. I pulled the saw too far out of the end of the wood and the tip of the
saw grazed across the middle of my right index finger. It probably cut 1/8"
deep and only 1/2" long but man did it bleed. It also left a very jagged cut
that needed trimming. Long story short. Wife took me to ER and several
hours later I was home with 5 stitches.

2 weeks later I had to go see a doctor to have the stitches removed--
something I would do myself except in the discharge papers they say you can
lose your insurance if you don't follow-up with a physician. Big deal,
insurance will cover it.

So 2 weeks I get a bill for $450. Half for the ER, half for the doctor who took
3 minutes to remove the stitches. Since I'm on my wife's insurance I asked
her to check it out. Turns out her plan has a $500 deductible. So this
stupid little mobile base I cobbled together with scraps is now my most
expensive single project. The irony of all this is that when I started working
10 years ago, I was getting paid 7 times less than our salaries now. I went
to the ER twice at that time and it only cost me $70 for both visits and those
were more serious injuries.

Argh!!!

Paul

[Uncle Cracker]

That $500 deductible has another dimension you might not know about. It keeps your rates down. My policy has only a small co-pay amount, and now my premiums are up to a thousand a month. Next year, big deductible, lower premium, for sure.

[cgallery]

When I was younger I had a rider on my policy for full (no-deductable) ER care. Those were the days...

[BigguyZ]

HDHP- or High Deductible Health Plans- are becoming more and more popular. Most people don't use much for medical costs, so these plans lower premiums because it's designed to reduce trivial Dr visits. Some say it makes people not go to the Dr even when they should, but I think it's somewhere in the middle. Another aspect of a HDHP is that the consumer, or patient, is supposedly motivated to "shop around" for a provider that charges a reasonable rate. So if you have a non-critial issue, you can check to find out that an X-ray at Dr A is $150, while an X-ray at Dr B is $250.

My plan has a $2700 deductible, but my plan has a HRA, where I get $1000 a year towards my expenses. The HRA also rolls over each year, so I now have $2000 in my account before I spend a dime on my health costs. Preventative care is free- no copy no deductible. So my particular HDHP is really for the rare "big event" medically...

But I think it's a good point you make about safety and doing things right. Last project I did I was trying to finish something using a CA glue method. I was rushing, and ended up pouring waay too much CA on the work, which then drippped onto my hands. Not only did it glue my fingers together, but the heat from a large amount of CA glue curing burned me as well.

[Uncle Cracker]

Last project I did I was trying to finish something using a CA glue method. I was rushing, and ended up pouring waay too much CA on the work, which then drippped onto my hands. Not only did it glue my fingers together, but the heat from a large amount of CA glue curing burned me as well.

Try gluing your arse to a chair... DAMHIKT

[LCHIEN]

why were you sitting naked in a chair using CA glue?

Sounds like an accident waiting to happen any way you drip.

[Uncle Cracker]

Didn't say I was nekkid... Put down the glue tube on the chair where I was working, then forgot it was there, then sat in the chair. Glue tube exploded and soaked through my trousers. Do not try this at home...

[JimD]

I have a little piece of maple in my desk drawer to remind me of my last really stupid move. I was making speakers as a christmas present for my then teenage son (he turned 25 about a week ago). I was edging 3/4 plywood with maple so I could then round over the edges. I used biscuits to hold the edging to the plywood. When I cut the slots in the 3/4 x 3/4 edging, I would put the biscuit slot into it and then cut it to length so I was working with longer pieces of wood and could keep myself away from the cutter. Then I noticed I had cut the slots in the edging for a #10 biscuit and on the plywood the slots were for a #20. I did not have enough maple to redo it. I decided to recut the slots to the depth for the bigger biscuit but now I was working on little pieces some of which were only about 4 inches long. It went OK for the first couple then the blade grabed, jerked the wood sideways and my ring finger and little finger of my left hand touched the blade. Several stiches later I was fine (except my pride). Expensive speakers.

Not nearly as humorous as glue in the chair, however. Can't help laughing at that one. Sorry.

Jim