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Author	Topic: Fingers and a gloved hand.
bill keitel Member Posts: 740 From: worthington mn. usa Registered: Nov 1999	posted 12-28-1999 21:10 This event gave me cause to pause and reflect , it occurred this afternoon. I was asked to help with this task and knew it was necessary. With a heavy shears I was able to cut the fingers off one at a time, each dropping in the waste recepticle. I felt a bit queasy, however I have done this before and knew I should focus on the job at hand, my own fingers being rather close to this situation. I was asked to help with this task because of my past work in prescription orthopedics, and prothetics. He is a friend of mine, ran into some very bad luck but is doing fine. He lost all the fingers on his left hand except his thumb (table saw). Each fall he stops in the store to have this work done on his left hand gloves and mittens. I modify them to fit his fingerless hand. I charge him a rather paultry amount and he will return to argue that I didn't charge enough, however he doesn't realize that I have reaped and profitted a great deal while working on his gloves each year. Seeing those fingers on the glove, fall into the waste basket is enough to keep me very vigilant. The point! When working around machinery that has the capacity to remove ones appendages, exercise caution and use good judgement. A kindly and cautionary note to all Guitar Forum readers. latcho drom bk IP: Logged
Jim Dwyer Member Posts: 17 From: Washington DC Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-04-2000 13:06 Thanks for the story. I recently bought a townhouse in DC that was built in 1911. It is in need of some repair that will cause me to fire up my saws. I will remember to keep my fingers out of the way. I couldn't imagine a life without making music. IP: Logged
Tim Mitchell unregistered	posted 01-04-2000 16:40 I went to school with a guy who loved to talk about guitars, music, ecetra, but he told me "he didnt play anymore" well, after I got to know him better I found out why, he had taked a chain saw to the inside of his right arm doing some yard work, leaving him unable to play. Always be careful using power equpiment. And dont spit into the wind IP: Logged
bill keitel Member Posts: 740 From: worthington mn. usa Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-11-2000 20:29 Not to belabor this macabre subject but: Last night we had friends over and I related the "fingers & the gloved hand" story. He is an emergency room doctor associated with the Mayo Clinic. We had the first big snow fall of the season and he had five people(over the course of 24 hrs.) in the emergency room with snowblower related amputations and maladies. The snow was a very wet and sticky consistancy, people couldn't resist the quick easy way to unclog the machine with a quick swipe of their hand. I live in a sparsely populated area but five people are still more than adequate. bk IP: Logged
Jim Dwyer Member Posts: 17 From: Washington DC Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-13-2000 11:51 My senior year in high school I attended 3 periods a day of woodshop. I wasn't much for acadamia at the time but was pretty good with my hands. Anyway our woodshop teacher literally beat a few things into us about working with power tools. The punishment for not listening or doing something seriously stupid was to get beat on the ass with a 1/2 inch dowl. He wouldn't warn you about it either. It was just done when you were out of harms way. The ultimate punishment of course was to lose a finger. I can't recall any lost fingers but do remember a few red butts. My neighbor did lift his lawn mower when it was still running. That was an interesting day. IP: Logged
bill keitel Member Posts: 740 From: worthington mn. usa Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-10-2001 16:00 Once again just like clockwork, fixin his fingerless gloves. Seems our species still hasn't the ability of regeneration. latcho drom IP: Logged
Mojo Member Posts: 48 From: Oregon, USA Registered: Nov 2000	posted 01-11-2001 03:02 latcho drom? IP: Logged
bill keitel Member Posts: 740 From: worthington mn. usa Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-11-2001 18:39 safe journey bk IP: Logged
Jeffrey Sipress Member Posts: 1335 From: Santa Barbara, CA Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-11-2001 19:50 I have been a machinist for nearly thirty years. And owned a woodworking shop for a while. Fortunately, I have had only minor incidents during the time I operated equipment, and I have now owned a metalcutting business (with employees to do the cutting) for about 13 years. So I made it here and have happy hands. Yes, I've heard plenty of stories of less fortunate (or just plain stupid) people, and am I ever glad that I was always careful. I've seen my work go to space, and save lives here on earth. But the most important thought in my mind at all times is: S A F E T Y. I can not emphasize that enough. Don't ever do anything without thinking about that FIRST. IP: Logged
bill keitel Member Posts: 740 From: worthington mn. usa Registered: Nov 1999	posted 09-18-2003 11:56 (My fingerless friend stopped by today) Wow, by using the search button I was able to find this four year old story! This post is for all I.G.S. guitarists that have come on board since 1999. bk IP: Logged
pickula Member Posts: 17 From: Edinburgh, Scotland Registered: Sep 2003	posted 09-18-2003 12:29 Good thread, timely reminder, thanks S IP: Logged
mondo Member Posts: 880 From: Summit, NJ Registered: Aug 2002	posted 09-18-2003 12:38 Thanks for this. We just moved into a new house in which the kitchen has two sinks and corresponding "insinkerators". Everytime I consider pushing something into them with my hand and flipping the switch, I shiver. So far I was only able to visualize Fang, from "The Munsters".(ok, sam's Fang too) Your comments have added a more realistic and meaningful dimension of caution to my response. IP: Logged
Adrian Freed Member Posts: 2360 From: Berkeley, CA, USA Registered: Oct 2000	posted 09-18-2003 13:30 Removing that "modern convenience" was the first thing I did renovating my kitchen. The ecological alternative is composting and/or chickens. Apart from being dangerous those things break down often. A compromise might be to install one of these: They cost 79cents. IP: Logged
Craig Member Posts: 34 From: St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada Registered: May 2003	posted 09-19-2003 07:07 When I read the title of this thread I was reminded of Ted Hawkins, so while I'm here can someone tell me why the hell he wore a glove on his fretting hand? It's driving me nuts , I can't figure it out. There's probably an obvious reason but I've yet to come across it... IP: Logged
Paul Norman Member Posts: 1601 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Aug 2003	posted 09-19-2003 07:51 Lutherie is a strange occupation. I value my fingers so much but I spend a lot of time working with power equipment. My rule is to always know where my fingers are. No matter how rare or expensive the wood, I can always get another piece. I think most power tool accidents happen when concentration moves too much to the workpiece or the tool. IP: Logged
3dimension Member Posts: 88 From: Registered: Jun 2003	posted 09-19-2003 08:09 This subject is on my mind daily teaching sculpture. While we use power tools frequently for working in wood and metal and I agree "you can't be too careful," one of the most dangerous tools and the one that I have seen numerous accidents with.. is the lowly underestimated human-powered exacto knife and box cutter (with snap blades). Think twice when using these things..and yes they can change your guitar technique. And while we are on the subject..put your goggles on unless you want to add "Blind..so and so" to your blues moniker. 3D IP: Logged
Adrian Freed Member Posts: 2360 From: Berkeley, CA, USA Registered: Oct 2000	posted 09-19-2003 08:23 yep, the Stanley knife is the only thing I have every damaged my fingers with. IP: Logged
Adrian Freed Member Posts: 2360 From: Berkeley, CA, USA Registered: Oct 2000	posted 09-19-2003 10:14 Wow that's a great device. The detection part is easy, stopping the blade that fast is quite something. I notice that whatever stops it is destroyed and you simply replace a cartridge. Also interesting that 3000 table saw injuries/year resulted in amputations. IP: Logged
bill keitel Member Posts: 740 From: worthington mn. usa Registered: Nov 1999	posted 09-19-2003 11:11 THE ABOVE INFORMATION BROUGHT TO YOU BY; THE INTERNATIONAL GUITARS SEMINARS COUNCIL ON SAFETY. motto: Work safely, play like crazy! IP: Logged
Clay Greene Member Posts: 119 From: san rafael, ca. usa Registered: Aug 2002	posted 09-19-2003 12:37 After getting knicked on a piece of machinery I learned (almost the hard way)that I don't do any wood working after smoking weed. IP: Logged
3dimension Member Posts: 88 From: Registered: Jun 2003	posted 09-19-2003 12:49 cool saw...hmmm..would like to read outside reviews.. IP: Logged
drDAve Member Posts: 739 From: Lake Oswego Registered: Sep 2000	posted 09-19-2003 14:34 All this safety talk.... Keep it to yourselves boys, a good portion of my paying customers are people injured by power tools!!! In all seriousness, I see lots of this type of thing and somewhat counterintuitively usually professionals in a trade as opposed to amateurs...familiarity seems to lead to carelessness at times. IP: Logged
Paul Norman Member Posts: 1601 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Aug 2003	posted 09-19-2003 15:55 The sad thing about the Sawstop is that they had to resort to making their own saws because the major manufacturors wouldn't buy into the idea. It would raise the price of a saw by about $100.00. Big deal! I would cheerfully pay that much. The Sawstop folks are good people. They have pledged to make the patent available to anyone who wants to use the device. A patent is a strange legal animal that doesn't give one exclusive rights to manufacture the item; it gives one the right to refuse others from making the device. IP: Logged
bill keitel Member Posts: 740 From: worthington mn. usa Registered: Nov 1999	posted 08-30-2004 12:01 Crap! I've just returned from the emergency room.. I've just used up one of my nine lives. I am typing this with everything but a right thumb. not to worry... I use an electric knife in my business to cut thru various weights of leather. I've been using it for 30 years and it had never attacked me before. At 3,000 rpms its not for the faint of heart. I explained to the doctor that the piece of flesh missing, is where my the flat side of my thumb pick is supposed to go. I also explained that my thumb and the rest of me have a chance to do a special performance for a state governor in three weeks and that we'd both like to attend. I've been patched and mended and sent home. There will be no "delta string snaps" at this house for a while. IP: Logged
BluYanqui Member Posts: 737 From: Manchester,NH. Registered: Sep 2002	posted 08-30-2004 16:21 Another wild animal to watch out for around the house........the lawn mower. Now I am not going to relate a tale of sticking my hands under the lawn mower to remove some blockage. The situation actually appeared safe at the time. I had shut the mower off and wanted to adjust the height of the blades (damned Tennessee grass grows overnight I swear). I would grab the adjuster by each wheel and correct the setting while lifting the mower up to ease the movement. But on the third wheel I reached out blindly while adjusting the wheel and grabbed the muffler. I feel it my duty to inform you good ladies and gents that it only takes the lawn mower a minute or less to get the temperature of the muffler up to a point where it can render a second degree burn to all four fingers of your left hand in less than a second. So let the word go out across the land....lawn mwers have developed multiple lines of attack against us and we need to be more vigilant........B.Ryan IP: Logged
25truckee New Member Posts: 1 From: harlem,ny 10026 Registered: Jan 2005	posted 01-17-2005 08:13 thought i would relay a recent personal story. i have been a carpenter for 20 years, trained by my dad from a youngster. last year i finally bought my own fixer-up and while i was installing the hardwood, cut my left hand on a table saw. this happened a couple days before new years 2005. thankfully, by the slimmist of margins, my index and middle fingers remaimed attached to my hand. i cut through tendons and exposed the knuckle joint on the middle finger, and cut halfway through one of the bones on the index while severing a tendon on that finger as well. this was my first accident on a jobsite and i am having trouble dealing with the ramificaions. always considering myself a careful and safe worker, i have now become a statistic. i am anxious to get back to work and while i am not afraid of the tools, i am afraid of having another accident. there are other dangers around the jobsite besides the tools. my personal worste fear is of falling. oh yeah, i just want to mention that i did not have a guard on the saw. that is just one factor in the anatomy of this accident. of course i will close that barn door now. i feel guilt and stupidity and embarassment for this mistake i made. that is the real problem that i am having. it was not really an accident, but a grievous mistake. i got the stitches out a couple days ago and they left the splint off my index to start using it. the problem is that it is not much use. i can barely make an "a-ok" sign. and the index was the lesser injured finger. i told the doc who did the surgery that i was going to be playing guitar by feb. as it is i don't even get the splint taken off the middle finger until feb 2nd. i have a long rehab ahead of me. i could have easily lost the fingers. i have images of my wife and i looking around my workshop for my digits. also, the path of the blade ran right down the tops of both fingers but just off to the side of midline so i didn't sever any crucial tendons or ligiments. just a couple of auxillary tendons and a ligiment. the doc says that most table saw injuries are worse than they appear. mine wasn't as bad as it appeared. he called me "extrordinarily lucky". one last interesting point. several times i was asked if i was right or left handed by different medical personnel. i always said righty but that i play guitar. just to let the doctors know that i need all my fingers equally. (how did jerry do it?) i don't know if any of you will find interest in this story but it helps me to share these thoughts on my long road to recovery. IP: Logged
GotDemBlues Member Posts: 1232 From: Cave Creek, AZ, USA Registered: Mar 2003	posted 01-17-2005 14:05 Nothing horrible to report here, other then I've been doing a lot of work on the table saw lately, and this thread was timely for me. Nothing like a reminder. That saw stop thing is amazing. Other then that...Careful, careful, careful, and PAY ATTENTION. Think twice. Watch where your fingers are going. When I was in high school (MANY years ago) I happened to witness a guy with long hair get it caught in a drill press. Certainly got my attention, and is something I never forgot, even now some 30 years later. BluYanqui, I had a similar experience. I used to own a Kubota tractor with the exhaust coming out of the engine vertically, right next to the drivers seat. Perfectly positioned to grab as you were getting off. I hate to admit it, but gabbing it was so easy to do, I actually did it several times. I have since sold it, and replaced it with a newer model, where the exhaust is underneath. Thanks Bill GDB IP: Logged
bill keitel Member Posts: 740 From: worthington mn. usa Registered: Nov 1999	posted 01-17-2005 18:11 Updates since 1999; My fingerless friend stopped in again less than a week ago. We did the same sewing procedure, nothing regenerates... From an earlier post regarding an auger accident (can't remember the title) that gentleman (a dancer) is doing fine with a prosethetic leg (from the knee down). my own update- my thumb is a bit numb.. occasionally.. but you can hardly even see where the $500.00 portion was cut from my digit. Work Safely, play like crazy! brought to you by; I.G.S. Council on Work Place Safety. [This message has been edited by bill keitel (edited 01-17-2005).] IP: Logged
dogbite Member Posts: 1319 From: mpls,mn,usa Registered: May 2004	posted 01-18-2005 12:49 good and scary posts. I have had so many jobs getting through college. lots of factory work; fifty ton punch presses, etc. I survived. one job was an orderly in surgery. I saw a lot of people who made inattentive mistakes. the results were gruesome. on the lighter side. I couldnt help but want to read in this thread of the guy who had his hands damaged. the doctor who fixed him up saying you'll be playing guitar in no time. and the patient replying cool I never played guitar before; I cant sing either, should I cut my throat? or something like that. am I a bad person? IP: Logged

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