Almost Pulled a Rod Kirby today!

[leehljp]

Almost pulled a Rod with my thumb. But with a router bit. To start off, I already had a "short" thumb with 1/2 in removed some 32 years ago. Today, I was using a 30° chamfer bit trimming a very light edge on a 1 in by 1/2 in by 12 inch long support brace. I was not trying to make a full diagonal but 1/4 in high chamfer. I was pushing the small piece with my hand and pushing it firmly against the back fence. Well my thumb slipped off the end and into the rotating blade. It took about 1/4 in of the soft tip of the thumb. There is a piece of meat about 3/8 X 1/2 well into the flesh just gone.

A COMEDY of MISCOMMUNICATIONS:
I went to the local clinic of the (Toyota) hospital and they sent me to emergency part. The difficulties began when the nurse and doctor looked at the thumb and knew something was wrong other than the missing piece. I had to explain two different times to the nurse and doctor that the original short thumb happened 32 years ago - in a different accident.

The doctor examined and then said there was not enough (any) skin for stitches so I would have to go to a plastic surgeon in the morning. As he was setting up an appointment, I asked him to delay the appointment to mid morning at least.

I have an appointment at 8:30 AM for an injection in the knee at another hospital 30 miles away. The doctor just looked at me and kinda shook his head! He was already a little irritated with me as I kept telling him what to do - just wrap it good and put some non-stick bandage on the tip and give me a shot.

Well, he gave me an IV drip instead.

We also miscommunicated on another front. He had to document what happened so I told him. He asked me what a "router" was. I described it and so did LOML. It did not make sense to him - so he looked it up. Only he found "router" as in network routers, and asked how that could cut my thumb so bad!

And I know of another problem coming tomorrow. They (Japanese Doctors) like to check every day for a week in situations like this, and then depending, every 3 to 4 days. Well, I have a "Can't miss" organization meeting in Osaka on Thursday and Friday of this week. I don't know HOW this is going to work out. Either way, I am going to have some folks mad at me!

And today was the first good day since before my knee problems began that I could stand OK - and work OK, - and it wasn't raining - or I didn't have a dozen people or so to meet. I am working on some book cases that I started 3 years ago. Every 6 months or so - little by little I am building them - now delayed again!

[leehljp]

Forgot to mention, when I got home from the hospital, I had an hour of daylight left. I put a rubber glove over my bandaged hand, got my hold down/push stick and finished that portion of the book cases. I had 4 of the support braces that are chamfered. I should have used that to begin with!

[Uncle Cracker]

Glad the result wasn't worse, Hank... This is testimony to why I use jointer hold-downs on the router table, and usually featherboards as well. I just don't trust that danged thing...

[pierhogunn2]

shudder...

guys, keep your digits intact

[cabinetman]

Hank - Sorry to hear about your mishap. It's gonna hurt like the dickens the next day. DAMHIKT...but I'll tell ya anyway. I had a kitchen that was a laminate face with vertical stripes of polished copper seamed right next to polished brass.

The stripes ran from the top of the upper cabinet down to the top of the upper door, across the edge and down the face, under the bottom edge, and then doing the same for the base cabinets including drawers and all, like a waterfall.

The stripes were randomly placed across the width of the cabinets (about every 2' - 3'). The copper was 2" wide and the brass was 1" wide. So, on a typical door face there would be on the left, mica laminate, then the two metals, and then mica laminate.

Well, there was a lot of jointing (seaming) to do to make every edge fit tight. I set up my router table as a jointer using a 3/4" straight bit protruding about 1/4" above the table. On the outfeed side I had laminated a piece of mica 1/32" thick, as that what was being routed off.

This was one long repetitious project. Like you, my hand slipped off the face of the strip and my left thumb ran right over the top of the router bit. It took out a good size chunk, but left the section hanging by a thread of skin. So, I untwisted the section and it fit right back into the hole like a puzzle. I cleaned off the blood as best as I could, wrapped it up, and said to myself "It's got to heal".

About 2 hours later the pain was so great I had to go to the ER, and they sent me to a hand surgeon that sewed the section back in. Best thing about going to the doctor was gettin' the happy pills. That was about 28 years ago, and everytime I think about it I swear my thumb starts throbbing.

So, I hope you heal up OK and it hurts less if you keep it elevated.
.

[herb fellows]

I DON'T feel your pain, and I'm glad for that.! Ouch! Been there, done that, but 'only' with an exacto knife. Yours, I imagine, was a bit more painful. Keep it as well cushioned as possible so you don't feel it every time you bump it into something, which will happen no matter how careful you are. Feel better!

[RodKirby]

What can I say? I know the feeling Definitely the happy pills are magic.

Hope you're all back to normal soon.

[Norm in Fujino]

That don't sound good, Hank! I hate the word r o u t e r. It's pronounced differently in the US and Japan, and means different things in both languages. I can't remember the difference in a single language anymore, not to mention two.

Best wishes for healing on the thumb (and knee, of course-- at least those two are different: oyayubi versus hiza. --not to mention "elbow" (hiji)!

[jackellis]

Hank,

Sorry to hear about your accident. I have a "honey do" project that will require dressing the edges of some 4"x4" pieces of wood for a towel bar and I've been thinking about a jig that will keep my hands away from the bit.

[Turaj]

Hank, sorry to hear about your mishap. Wish you a speedy recovery (although you are already back in the shop). Just another reminder to all of us of the potential dangers in the shop. Please work safely.

[Richard in Smithville]

Take it easy and just worry about getting better Hank.

[Ed62]

Hank, I just know that hurts. Hope you get your happy pills, and the healing goes quickly.

Ed

[cwsmith]

Hank,

Very sorry for your accident and hope that you mend quickly and am not in too much pain.

I just returned after being away for a few days and the first think I read is of your mishap and it made me wince. I was just at the router table last night, working with some small 2 x 3 pieces. Since this was a scrap project my first thoughts were to just place them against the fence and push them over the bit... then on second thoughts (second thoughts are most always good, I think) I decided to set up the three feather boards.

Reading your notice to the forum, is a great reminder to all of us. I look at so many of the members here as the great veterans of woodworking and at my late age, but young years with working wood, I wonder how long I will go without getting bitten.

Very sorry for your mishap and hope you heal quickly,

CWS

[L. D. Jeffries]

OUCH! Hope u get back to normal soon. Accidents are funny in a way. Years ago I got a couple of curved scapels from a medic friend to use for detailed carving. Sitting at the bench I absent mindly wiped the blade on my pant leg. About 5 minutes later I wondered why my leg felt warm and wet! D*** things were so sharp I never even felt it cut my jeans AND my leg. That was a lesson.

[JR]

And here I was, thinking you had cleaned up your shop! How wrong could I be?

JR