>I'm very sorry to hear of your accident, and glad it wasn't worse. I'm an Xray tech and have seen WAY too many of these images. I even had a guy once in the ER who admitted it was his second time !While I do not fear my table saw, I certainly have a tremendous respect for it. I had a summer job once where we built temporary horse stalls out of rough lumber. We had to rip it all down to size on a table saw. No guards of course. One of our favorite passtimes was taking scrap and dropping it on the spinning blade to see how far it would go. Stupid ??? Yes. They would fly 40 or 50 feet out into the field in the blink of an eye. Luckily none of us were ever hurt.
Heal up fast and thanks for the safety reminder. I just wish we did not have to get reminded this way.
>My guess is no. The SawStop folks say that their technology will stop the blade in 5 ms. I'm assuming that this holds true even if the blade is fully exposed, and my thought experiment is assuming a worst case scenario: that in that 5 ms time the blade continues to chew on human flesh from beginning to end.
If the blade is only slightly exposed, as in cutting thin plywood, if that impacted my calculations, it would only reduce the damage that I'm estimating.
>I'm sorry to hear of your accident, and glad that you mentioned it here. Especially the explanation of what happened, as that will help other people to understand and prevent accidents. The guys I work with seem to think I am a fanatic about safety, but I have seen too much to not be concerned about it. The idea is that if you follow unsafe habits sooner or later it will bite you. My father practiced unsafe habits on the table saw until he was 72 years old before it finally got even with him. Quite a few threads about safety on various tools have been written here and I would advise anyone who is starting out to do a search on safety and spend some time reading it. I am glad your injury was not worse, and hoping you heal quickly.
>Sorry to hear about the injury and loss of a digit. I hope you can make a fast recovery and get back on the horse. You've seen all the posts about about what went wrong, and I agree with them. Use push sticks, a fence, never plunge cut on a table saw, etc.
I've sometimes started the saw, put the wood on the table and then paused for a moment. Is this really the best way to make this cut? I usually figure if I have to pause to think about it I should turn the saw off and review my options. Hogging out waste is pretty easy with a plunge router, just go down in increments.
>In May of 2006 I had what I consider a close call. I was working on a big tannewitz saw in the machine room at school, and trimmed away half of my fingernail and the nailbed. It grazed the bone, too. But after two years, you'd never know it's happened. I consider myself lucky.
School dropped the ball on paperwork, and I took the hit on the medical expenses, to the tune of around $1200. No surgery, nothing had to be re-attached, just X-rays and a really good cleanup and bandaging job. They almost decided to file back the bone to close everything up (ew) but the doc got an 11th hour call from a hand specialist who said that nailbed will regenerate. This after a 6 hour wait for me while they tried to get a hold of the hand guy. Outrageous that a fancy band aid job cost me so much, but that's not the point.
I'm running a one man shop now, and the Sawstop was the first machine I bought. (Oneida Dust collector was the second, but that's another tirade)
The difference in cost between my Sawstop and the PM66 or 2000 is about the same as that medical bill: $1000-1200. And in my mind, the math works out just fine. If (god forbid) I ever need the safety features on that saw to work, the saw will have repaid the extra cost in spades.
And it's actually a better saw... they had to overbuild the thing to compensate for shock loading. So it's really a very smooth running saw, with a lot of little extras, like the riving knife, and pins on the front of the insert to try to keep it from blowing up out of the table if you run the blade up too high.
I tested this on my Dado insert the other day... wanted to see if those pins actually held the insert in the saw when I ran the stack up. Nothing holding the insert down, (which is dumb, and very unsafe, but plausible for someone less educated to do) and slowly raised the stack through the insert. It rattled a lot, which was nerve-wracking, but the insert stayed in the table.
Fit and finish are (in my opinion) equal or better than the competition, too.
Yes, it's a more expensive saw. But my god, why the hell not? It's like complaining about the additional cost of a motorcycle helmet. When you read about all of the missing fingers people have lost, who wouldn't pay $1200 to have their digits restored to OEM specs? The saw will pay for itself the first time it goes off.
I, too, have had the recreational woodworking store job. I'm familiar with the problems inherent in selling machinery like this to people who don't have the first clue. It's a tough thing. I wish table saw training was mandatory before purchase.
I dunno. It cost me more, but I'm happier and feel safer having the thing in my shop. Even if the only thing I choose to do with that finger is pick my nose, it's money well spent.
My .02
Ed, I couldn't feel worse for you. That really sucks. But blessings on your house for sharing the experiences in here.
>Doing commercial carpentry, my coworker and I were the only guys in a ballet studio. He was ripping some 1x6" cedar down to 1" wide strips w/o a push stick. I was across the room. He stuck his rt hand index finger into the blade up to the first knuckle. This was at about 7:45 a.m. I provided first aid because I was trained, was there, and he needed me. Seriously, my knees were still a bit wobbley by 10a.m.
You've got to believe, I still approach table saws cautiously whenever I use them.
When I read this, I never expected it to be so bad. Sorry that you had to experience the pain you did. I had a "bad" tablesaw accident a few years back. I say "bad", because compare to yours, it seems like nothing.
I had a kickback that actually slammed the wood against my thumb and split the nail. I literally first almost passed out from the pain, and then almost threw up from the nausea. When I regained my composure (probably 30 seconds later, but felt like an hour), I walked into the living room and calmly told my wife to get me some Tylenol. I knew everything I had done wrong, and was thankful to have gotten away so lightly.
Heal well, and read a lot before you step back into the shop.
>After over 35 years in the shop and being called Mr.Safety by co-workers, I did have a bad meeting with a tablesaw blade. I was cutting narrow groves in red oak for a bath vanity. The blade was not set to come through the work. I had 3 fingers hooked over the fence to keep my hand away from the blade. I was using my thumb and forefinget to push the work through. I hit what I believe to be a section that was twisted internally and when cut it released the tension and the groove closed on the blade creating kickback in a very violent manner. My thumb hit the blade right at the first joint.
The bones were shattered and connecting tissue was badly mangled. I quickly wrapped the thumb and headed for the hospital. Immediate micro surgery saved the thumb with added wires in it etc. At least I have a thumb thats permanently at a 30 degree angle to aid in gripping. Even years later it is still very sensitive to pressure and cold. There is no sensation in the tip so picking up objects or gripping is a real challenge. Following the surgery I had a large splint on that thumb for weeks. It was nearly impossible to get clothes on and going to the mens room was a whole new engineering experience. The damage was on my dominant hand of course. Trying to use a urinal left handed gave me a whole new respect for Lefties. Lesson learned: Never ever let your hands near the blade. I blame this one on long experience and complacency and being distracted for an instant. I consider myself fortunate that the damage was not more extensive and that I found an excellent surgeon quickly.
>i nip two left hand fingers on a radial arm saw. it takes less than a fraction of a second.the doc s firt coment was your lucky to have your fingers. it was only the end of 2 fingers and the side of one nail on the first finger. that is enough to loose,not to mention 1 year of work because of it. infection was the cause of being off so long. if your 100% safe it still not enough. we all need to remember this when around machines or power tools
>I am scared to death of my table saw and router and, well, anything with a motor. I recall one of my first jobs being in the mail room feeding stakc of letters through a folding machine. While not woodworking, you'll appreciate my horror as I saw my necktie lapping the soft rubber rollers of the machine.
I baaaaaccckkkeeedd away slooooowwwwwwllllyy. Never again to wear a tie or other loose clothing in the area.
I think about this and what almost happened every time I'm in my shop now.
>A few years back in Syracuse, NY, a local contractor/handyman came by our house to do some repairs for us. I went out back where he was working and noticed he was using a table saw with no guards of any kind.
I asked him "Hey, I notice you don't have any guards on that. Why's that?
His answer was "Aww, professionals don't use those things. Too much hassle."
>I am always saddened to hear of someone getting hurt while woodworking. We're always at some risk of eye or hand injury, and it pays to be extra cautious.
I have to relate my late father's story, which spans forty-five years. Dad really enjoyed all kinds of woodworking, and he was always making something in his shop. In 1957, he was making a nice hi-fi cabinet out of walnut plywood and solids, and he was pushing a thin piece of walnut through the table saw when his hand slipped and he put a nice clean saw kerf in his index finger, almost up to the first joint - I saw the x-ray. That injury was treated and he suffered no long-term effects, except for some numbness in the finger. Sometime in the 1990s, he was using the very same table saw, when something slipped through the insert into the interior of the saw, and he reached in to get it before the saw came to a stop. The belt caught his hand and pulled the same finger into the blade. This time, the back of the finger was mangled almost up to the knuckle. A very good hand surgeon did his best to repair the finger, but Dad lost the ability to flex that finger. The cautionary part of this tale is that Dad was an opthalmologist, who did eye surgery ever week for forty years or so. His livelihood didn't depend on woodworking at all, but it was placed at risk when he didn't use the utmost care with power tools. He never had an eye injury while woodworking, to my knowledge.
>I can, wholly, sympathise with the table saw accident. My own nemesis was the jointer/planer. I have been wood working for a number of years but years doesn't negate stupidity. I had changed blades on my jointer/planer and had not yet re-installed the guard. I was attempting to smooth out the edge of a very thin board holding the board against the fence with my left hand. The blades caught the edge of the board and pulled my little finger, ring finger and middle finger into the whirling blades. One instant and I no longer have to worry about trimming the nails of three of my, now stubby, fingers. Always be vigilant, always try to use the guards and always use pusher sticks. If the job can't be done with the guard in place then be extremely careful.
>Hi my name is Bill and I am a power saw survivor-
Hmmm. When you are in the down side of 60 you begin to think of yourself being semi -- wait - fully bullet proof after all having survived a stint in USMC a 5 year job as a high line lineman and 20 years as a state trooper. And way too many life threathing events situations --
So with credentials as a senior citizen survivor what machine dare challenge my body parts.
On a non- eventual day while ripping a series 15 foot 6x6s on my handy dandy (now departed) Craftsman table saw - Man got to do what you got to do to use available lumber -right?
This operation required ripping and than flipping the wood over and ripping the opposite side to complete the cut.
After about 11 of these pieces which again involved lifting those heavy sucker over and back to do the second cut----- I was getting tired and decided to just lift it back over -after all turning off saws was for sissys -- and wasn't I indeed stronger than a bull ---ok ---not smarter but stronger..
Anyway as I lifted the last piece (Its always seems that the last and the first piece that causes conflicts in my life -hey we are talking safety here---
As I was lifting the wood it caught the blade and flew back striking me above my eye and without graphic details any modeling career was ended.-- and was momentarily awarded a peep preview of Jesus.
If this message has any implied or actual message it is that some where out there in all power equipment is a kryptonite unguided missle or swirling blade waiting to do a do over on your body parts -- and that nature makes no allowance for ignorance.
>I have you all beat. I was ripping s thin slat and the wood got caught and pulled my hand into the blade. I was left with one finger hanging by a thread, two not much better. I had a good hand surgeon available and he put the fingers back on and after some hand rehab, I now have complete use of that hand, In fact, the injured hand now has more stregnth then the uninjued hand. Only thing is while they were putting the hand back together, on the surgery table, I had a heart attack. After by-pass surgery, a pace maker/De Fib, I am doing great.
>>...swirling blade waiting to do a do over on your body parts
When I was in 4th grade I sat next to a boy who had three fingers on one hand and two on the other. He and gone into his dad's shop and "played" with the table saw. That made an impression on me.
When my boys were young I'd take them into my shop and show them the saws. See this saw? It seems quiet and peaceful right now, doesn't it? But it is just waiting. Waiting patiently for someone to come and turn it on. It is hungry, very hungry. Do you know what it eats? I feed it wood, but what it really wants is fingers. It sits quietly day after day, through the night, waiting, waiting, for someone with fingers to come. It knows it can rip off your fingers and eat them before you can even blink. Don't get near it unless you have more fingers than you need. Don't even think of trying to figure out how to turn it on. Don't let it have your fingers.
May sound a bit graphic, but they stayed out of the shop. My kids didn't run in the street either after my vivid description of [omitted here for delicate dispositions].
>Sounds like your guardian angel was taking care of you...painfully, but you're still here. If they put a defib in, you could have not been so close to medical care otherwise.
Honor those scars doupbly and reach back and pat that guardian in thanks.
>The middle finger on my right hand has only 3/4 of a nail, a scar half way to the second joint and a numb spot. You can't see where the ring and little finger were stitched up anymore. Tablesaw. Freehand plunge cut. Dumb thing to do. As lacking in compassion as it may sound, most tablesaw injuries are caused by doing something wrong. It only took one dumb move in 35 years of using machinery to leave a permanent mark. I got off easy. I have all my fingers, 100% function and can still play my woodwind instruments. I no longer do anything on any machine without asking myself where my hands will end up in relation to the cutter - and the workpiece - if anything breaks or slips, and own more pushsticks, featherboards & etc., as well as side shields for my glasses and a full face shield.
