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My father, after 40 years of woodworking, cut off the tips of his ring and middle fingers on his left hand. He should be fine after some minor surgery (going in right about now) but they will not be reattached. He managed to get everything above the joints, so it's nothing real major. However, as an up-and-coming luthier, I feel my situation is more sensitive. While my father certainly needs his fingers, he is not a professional musician. I am.

I realize my options are to suck it up and take my chances, or stop building, but that's not what I'm here for. I'm interested to hear any stories you have about the subject and gather some public information about woodworking safety and the music community. What approximate percentage of woodworkers have accidents leaving them with permanent damage? Besides the obvious (although it can't hurt to restate), what do you all do to improve shop safety? I'd like this to be an open discussion. GO!

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Captainate

Stay alert
Know how to operate the machine you are about to use
wear safety glasses
wear ear protection
wear respirator
Don't rush
If you get that "this doesn't feel right" feeling... it probably isn't right. Stop and think it over.
Pay attention and focused at the task at hand

I'd bet the vast majority of accidents are because one of the above was not followed. I've done it too. It's hard to stay vigilant, but we have to try.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I remember reading an interview with Chet Atkins - he wanted to do woodworking as a hobby, but he realized he needed his fingers to earn a living.

Same with Billy Gibbons - he quit riding dirtbikes on trails so he could keep on playing.

I played, but not for a living. So I played with machinery and earned a good living. Still got all my fingers, too. Guess I was lucky.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

35 years into carpentry.
I am more careful than ever with tools.
Before you turn on any machine,
check it out,
make sure it's ok to turn on,
and watch your fingers.
A couple of seconds is all it takes.

Don't work with power equipment when you are:

• Tired
• Distracted
• Angry
• Sick

And

• Don't get complacent, even when you are doing something you've done a thousand times, perhaps especially then!
• ALWAYS know where your hands are in relation to the blades and cutters
• Develop a plan for each process
• Use jigs and fixtures to mitigate dangerous operations
• Pay attention, and go slow
• If it doesn't feel safe, it probably isn't...

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Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

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Table saw, I assume? It's always the table saw.

I don't play music for a living, but I love it, and would rather not build than lose any fingers (very useful for other things too )
No major injuries so far. Plenty of small cuts and scratches (more often from the wood than a blade...), and one pretty deep cut in my pointer finger early on in my woodworking (a few years ago), but nothing that couldn't heal up just fine on its own.

But I buy neck blanks, fingerboard blanks, bindings, etc. rather than sawing from lumberyard wood or processing logs myself, so I'm putting more money into it to avoid needing all the big scary power tools.

Of the hand tools, it seems chisels are the most common cause of major injuries. So my #1 rule of hand tools is... don't put your fingers in the path of a blade. It will slip eventually.

Band saw actually. He's not out of surgery yet so I haven't heard exactly how it happened from him. It's just a crazy reminder that even experienced woodworkers have accidents/make mistakes.

Thanks for all the tips!

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Captainate

You have to be careful with that bandsaw because it seems so harmless. Don't ask me how I know...
I'm lucky I guess to have only lost any sensation on my thumb after 8 stitches. I didn't have enough fear. Wish I could play like Chet though.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

I think that these two are the most important for avoiding injury. I picked these two because they really work together. Especially while you're new, you need to plan each cut with each piece of equipment thinking not only about where your hands are but where they might be in case of an accident.

For carving and chisels, always be mindful of where the tool will go when it slips because it will.

Some examples:

When re-sawing on a bandsaw, I pull the piece instead of push it for the last 6" so my hand isn't pushing from behind.

When ripping on a table saw, I stand to the left of the blade, not directly behind, use a push handle that also applies downward pressure and a push stick to hold the piece against the fence. Never let the side pressure stick get much past the cutting teeth of the blade.

Routing curved pieces with a template following bit on a router table are the scariest in my book. Especially when starting or turning a corner, the grain can suck and fling the piece somewhere you don't want. This is a scenario where you want to have handles attached to the workpiece such that if something does get flung, your hands will be far enough away that they won't get flung into the tool.

After a while you start thinking that way all the time. My day job happens to find me in operating rooms watching surgeons operate on brains. I was in one time with a very good guy who was removing a pretty simple tumor that had also found its way into the skull so he was using the medical version of a pencil grinder to grind off the bone that might have cancer in it. As I was watching I though - wow, that's really bad technique. One slip and his thumb is toast ....30 seconds later bam - The bit sliped and went right in to his thumb. Lucky for him, it hit his thumbnail and didn't go through. Was still a big deal though as they had to change a bunch of components since the sterile field was violated.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Some words and phrases I noticed here.

"take my chances"
"I got lucky"
"Lucky"
"Lucky"
"Lucky"

Yes, actual accidents do happen, but my "accident" and 100% of the people I know who've had shop injuries were a bad case of the stupids, the not thinkings, the not paying attentions, or the working tireds.

Most shop injuries are avoidable. Plan and think through each activity before you even turn the machine on. Where are your hands? Where will they go? What will happen if something goes wrong?

You can't ensure your safety, but you can sure improve your chances.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Most Bandsaw accidents happen after the cut and involve reaching for cut-offs while the blade is still turning. Keep the blade guard/guides as low as possible and leave the cut-offs on the table until the blade is completely stopped.

I have trained many people through the years in the shop. Safety always makes up the first lesson......and the second.......and the third and so on. One thing I do that I believe has helped me keep all of mine after 35 years is to think through all of the possibilities of what could go wrong before I make a particular cut. I make my students do this. They have to tell me what it is that could happen before they start an operation. I won't let them start unless they have thought of everything that I can think of. Some people are a bit on the cocky side. For them a healthy dose of fear is a good thing. I make them stand on the out feed side of a table saw while I slide a piece of wood into the blade so they can see what a good kickback looks like. This usually makes an impression that brings them down to earth. They have to visualize what it would be like if they were standing on the receiving end of this piece of wood when it happened. I make them explain to me exactly what they think would happen to their body and where. I know this may sound a bid gruff but I'll bet someone who has lost a finger or two wouldn't think so.

I also think that one's chances of an accident quite possibly go up over time, not down. This is because of complacency and lower reaction time as one ages. It's important to increase one's vigilance over time, not the other way around.

Tough love - the best teacher.

In all my years as a tool and die maker, the old guys were the toughest and had the most fingers.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Okay, I admit it. After 30 years as a professional carpenter I introduced my left index finger to my table saw. I've cut thousands of board feet on that saw and for one brief moment I lost respect for it's power. I was doing a plunge cut and decided to reach over the blade to hold the piece down as I pushed it though, you guessed it, the piece kicked and pulled my hand with it. I didn't cut it all of the way off but I did cut both arteries, the tendon and all nerves. My Surgeon did all he could do. I do have some movement and feeling however my guitar playing days are over, that's 40 years worth of playing.

After all of those years on the saw I felt as tho I could do anything, and I'm sure I did far more dangerous cuts that that one. That's when it happens, too comfortable and a loss of respect for the tool.

Okay, so I can't play but I can build, and build I will, just with more respect for my tools.

Scott

Preach it, brother!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Filippo right on.
What I meant though is it only takes a few seconds to look at the blade,
router bit, fingers, then turn it on when all is clear.
Drill press, I agree.
Don't leave the chuck key in it!
Several months ago I was drilling a 1/4" piece of brass,
shaped sort of like bat wings,
had it cranked in a drill press vice,
and used some rapid cut bits (mistake!)
that pulled the piece out of the vice and it was spinning around like a sawblade.
I was lucky,
but go figure........
These threads are a good way to reinforce shop safety.

I always make sure the floor around my work space is clear. Have nothing that can get knocked off of your work surface that will distract you from what you are doing. When ever I am doing something that needs extra safety measures I always ask myself, "are you feeling lucky?" The answer should always be NO.
Keep your tools sharp, and your wits sharper!

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I'll add no loose clothing or unsecured long hair to the list. This can mean more than just fingertips--a girl just two weeks ago was killed in a shop accident in New Haven after her hair got caught in a lathe.

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Evan McCartney

I just talked to Dad, who is mentally fine but dealing with severe pain. He'll be in a painful recovery process for the next six weeks. Serious stuff.



Filippo, he said he doesn't even remember how it happened. The strangest thing is that he cut beginning from his left middle finger, straight across the ring finger, and halfway through the pinky. If you can imagine this angle, it is nearly unfathomable how he managed to make that cut on a bandsaw. As one of the most experienced woodworkers I've ever met, it's hard to think even he had no memory of how control was lost.

He even went so far to say he remembered having a premonition that morning. Not that he knew it would happen, but a bad feeling about the shop. Unfortunately, he works for a company, and didn't have the option of not working that day. I'm not religious, or spiritual, but I think that says something about one's own responsibility in this equation. If you don't feel good about working, and have the option, DON'T DO IT.

I agree that it all comes down to complacency. It's so easy to forget that even after years of accident-free work, something will catch you off guard and potentially injure you. I've done it, and I've only been a woodworker for a few years. But I have the advantage of having someone very close to me be seriously hurt. I'll never get overconfident or lose respect for my tools. Ever. And the day I do, is the last day I set foot in the shop.

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Captainate

I use Tai Chi lessons from years ago every time I use a saw. Weight placement is key, but to me the safe technique involves understanding whitch of our bodies many complex hinges will be in use for the cut. In Tai Chi we are taught to maintain balance and create power with the hips, the elbow maintains a constant distance from the hip and moves with it. For your body weight it is all down one foot, the other foot turns the hip, which turns the torso.

Maybe that makes some sense to some one, but the bottom line is the elbow and shoulder are not the source of forward movement.

It is tough in pro shops to heed the creepy feeling, but as many said, if something feels wrong, check it out. As a foreman in the shops I was in, I always felt it important to have a morning meeting every day and really ask, "how are you today". If I felt something was out I would organize the day differently. Get the person on some basic stuff in the morning, cleaning, sanding, and see how they are at lunch.
Many good safety links may be found here:
http://www.woodshopteachers.org/safety
I wish your father and speedy and complete recovery,
Rob

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http://shastaguitar.com/
http://www.kalimbakit.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/comfyfootgr ... ature=mhee
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Quite a few years ago, I was ripping a piece of 6/4 oak that turned out to be case hardened. The kerf pinched on the back of the blade, and it was all I could do to keep the board from coming back at me while trying to shut the saw off. The next week, I bought a set of "board buddies"- anti-kickback wheels for my fence. They only rotate clockwise, and keep the wood tight to the fence. Use a push stick, and you don't need to put your fingers near the blade.
I also learned that using a full face shield while ripping is a must.

Alex

The Board Buddies are available from http://www.busybeetools.com/products/BO ... 7DSAW.html

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker