Official Luthiers Forum!

Can I join the club for the foolishly injured? Spent the night in the ER last night, with my usually understanding wife being quite upset with me after I chopped off part of my fingertip on the jointer. You know that inner voice that we all have that we are supposed to listen to? Well, after working a very long week, I was trying to finish up a job doing some resaw/radius/taper work on some fingerboards and was way too tired. I was so close to being done, I decided to push it and well...
I implore you all...listen to what your head has to say!

Craig
CT Holden Luthiery and Supplies

Craig that is GREAT advise! Seems everytime I have ever hurt my self OR hurt a guitar was when i was tired and pushing it.
Hope you mend fast..

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Hey Craig,
Good advice. I can't count the times I told myself to quit while I was ahead only to push on and suffer the consequences. I hope your injury isn't too serious, and I hope you heal quickly.

I once spent over a year off work due to an injury. We were framing our house & my wife & kids wanted to stop for lunch. So... I slapped the ladder against the wall & dashed up to put in half a dozen nails to finish the work in that area of the sheeting.
A day in the local hospital & a flight to Vancouver for sugery were the result of my haste. Fun times.
Accident stats are clear in pointing out that most serious work related injuries happen in the sleepy period after a big lunch & when the worker is overtired. Rushing to finish a job is another serious culprit.
Craig... I trimmed a bit off the tip of a finger on my jointer last year, so I sympathise! The minor physical hurt was nothing compared to the embarssment.
Hope you finger heels like new.
Hope it wasn't your chording hand!

Ouch!!! I hope you have a speedy recovery. We all have to pay stupidity fees, I know that I sure have. I smashed the side of my left thumb (while pushing myself too hard to make a delivery commitment) so badly that there was nothing left to stich up. After 10 years it's still sensitive.
I hope your recovery is quick, with no lasting effects other than being a little wiser.
Thanks for shareing we need to be periodically reminded to be careful in the shop.

Al

Thanks for the reminder Craig, i hope your fingers mend fast, it is so easy to get hurt when tired or working in a hurry when surrounded by all those power tools...

Take good care friend

Serge

I wish you a speedy recovery bro....can't tell you how many times I've heard about jointer injuries.
My nemesis was the tablesaw....

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Craig, The previous owner of my old Kalamazoo 6 inch Jointer lost a fingertip up to the first knuckle on it. It is probably one of the more dangerous tools in the shop. Second only to shapers I'd bet.

George's doctor, xrayed his finger, and sewed up the stub using the flap of skin which retained his fingerprint. Ouch!

Glad your's was minor. I had a weird thing happen today. As I readied to saw leaning over I got major dizzy. It happened a second time. I flipped off the lights, locked the door and headed to the house, remembering this thread.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

I gues that' s why i didn't go to the shop today, i was really tired by a long hard week at work, it felt like i would not have done anything good in there. i'll wait till i feel more at ease.

Man I hope your finger heals up ok I just hurt my finger this week with the plane..also late at night should have quit and went to sleep I will try to heed this thread ....I keep bumping my finger and refreshing the pain just like new

Zac

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

Welcome to the club , I was once told that scars ad character , well I have been told I am a character LOL. One of the ugliest accidents for me had a belt sander invloved.
    Welcome to the scar of the month club.
John Hall
PS my leg has the Nike brand on it.

Heal fast and well Craig.

Shane

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Canada

Craig, of all the formidable foes in the shop, it's the jointer that scares the daylights out of me. They are so useful, but so easy to misuse....
I hope you mend quickly, and I second the hope that it wasn't a chording finger.

Steve

P.S.--Bruce, your post actually worried me a bit. You ok?

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Ouch, hopefully it wasn't too serious
Those can hurt pretty bad too!

Lets us know if you are ok

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

[QUOTE=Bruce Dickey]
Glad your's was minor. I had a weird thing happen today. As I readied to saw leaning over I got major dizzy. It happened a second time. I flipped off the lights, locked the door and headed to the house, remembering this thread.[/QUOTE]

Bruce, I'm glad you used your common sense. Wish I did...hurts more today than when it happened. But seriously, if that happens to you again, you should go in for an exam. Maybe you're just coming down with something.

I was embarassed when I did it, but my wife encouraged me to post as a reminder to all. While it's nice to know I'm not the only one now, these accidents are unfortunate for all. On a good note, did manage to get the blood out of my jeans, though. My sister told me I've got to stop working my fingers to the bone.
Craig

Yeah Bruce, it was a wise thing to do to get out alive. Now, i hope you'll go and see a doc, just in case which would be the next wise thing to do, we do need you here and feeling well would be a plus.

Serge

By the way...Brock and Lance, I know I'm not supposed to advertise any sales in the threads, but you gotta give me this one.
For a limited time, as there are only a limited number available, buy a jig and get a free finger (we always say we need an extra hand, how about a finger?)
Hey, you gotta to "hand" it to me!
I think the meds are getting to me.
Craig

Yeah Craig, i'll buy a jig from you, as long as you don't use the KFC line : Finger lickin' good , to sell it to me

When I read a thread like this it always makes me wince with compassion and understanding. All of us have had something happen to them at sometime and often it is a result of being tired or something like that or just a moment of carelessness that we have paid for. When I work with shop tool that can present a danger I always remember my 7th grade wood teacher. The first thing he did was to demonstrate how quickly and easy it was for these tools to cause serious injuries. He taught us to make wooden fingers or holders so we could maneuver wood and use the tools in a safe manner. If something happens it’s easy to replace a piece of wood. I don’t remember the teacher’s name but I will always remember the wooden fingers getting sawn right off and to protect myself at all times.

Philip

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aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

I have one of my guitars with red blood spots inside. I didn't scrap them off, they still remember me how far fingers have to be kept away from routers. Wish you a prompt and complete healing Craig, listen to that voice in a future, you need them all (10).
Luigi

Craig, Thanks for sharing. Shop safety is something that can't be repeated enough.

I hope you have a speedy recovery.

Craig, not only have you joined the club of hurt luthiers, you may have earned the right to be our leader. I hope things heal properly and quickly.

John

I think I posted this in the tablesaw injury thread a while back, but I think it bears repeating. I think these push sticks and blocks ought to come stock with saws and jointers.



These can't be used in every possible scenario, but if you get in the habit of using them whenever you can, you get more conscious of where your hands are in relation to the cutting blade, even when you're not using the push blocks.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR