Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
arw01
>I managed to put it through one of my knuckles again. Paring a bit of waste from a dovetail, while I held the pin board in my hand. The end pin and the side of the board cracked off freeing the chisel with considerable momentum.
Going to buy a set of kevlar gloves!
Alan
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
Gilbert Mitchell
>If your anything like me you thought to your self I should put this in the vise---- nah
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
ThomD
>Either way that's not smart. either don't work with your skin downforce of the edge or use a stop to limit the tool movement. Your right that chisels are pretty dangerous with fairly unlimited geometry, so be careful.
unfortunately
Gary B in Central NY
>I've seen my share of serious accidents, on table saws, jointers, and the like...the one that shocked me the most was seeing a guy put a 3/4 blue marples right through the palm of his hand....amazingly though it went clear through, he did no serious damage to his hand. I couldn't even believe that was possible, and from that day on, I'm very wary of how I wield my chisels....
Ouch!
jimreed@tallahassee
>Hope it was not too bad. I always use a mallet--that way there is no free hand.
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
Frank D. in Montreal
>Sorry,
I always say "ouch" in French! Glad you didn't lose a finger. When you take chances an accident WILL happen (DAMHIKT).
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
Edward in Vancouver
>The radio... By now I should be smart enough to turn it off when it irritates or distracts me, and when I'm irritated or distracted...
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
Pete Ducklow
>I always leave a little bloodstain somewhere on my projects as kind of a signature.
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
Reds
>Year 2075. This is obviously one of Pete Ducklow's pieces as evidenced by the blood stain on this drawer front.
authenticated by DNA analysis!
VTAndy4
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
GolfSteve in Calgary
>Hi Alan. Sorry to hear about your accident. I've had a few of those myself. The worst of them happened at one of Rob's courses where I sliced myself good with a marking gauge. I was tired and rushing and got careless.
Forget the kevlar gloves and train yourself not to put your hands in harm's way.
A few years ago it seemed like I was always cutting myself (particularly when carving). Now I can't remember the last time I had anything more than a slight slice...the difference is, I think, experience. I no longer put my hands in harms way.
Rounding over the sharp edges on the sides of my chisels also removed a lot of cuts caused by gripping the chisel when paring dovetails.
Sorry you got bit! Been there!
Derek
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
Dave Anderson Chester, NH
>My sympathies Alan. I put a 3/8" Marples Blue chip through my middle finger and into the ring finger at Christmas time 3 years ago. The "stuff" really hit the fan when we got home from having me stiched up and Sue found me back down in the shop repairing the piece that the chisel had broken through. Her verbal assult on my ancestry, intelligence,etc was truly memorable.
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
dave caudill
>I was in a WW class at the Center for Funiture Craftsmanship in Maine a few years ago and there was this older gentleman who had retired the Friday before in our class. His kids had given it to him as a retirement gift. He was a salesman and the nicest of guys and had so many good jokes. Anyways he bled daily. It became pretty apparent and quickly he hadn't spent a lot of time in the shop. Had he doen so he probably would have bled himself out long before retirment came. Every day he had a new cut or two and hence a new bandaid or two. He was a trooper though. But my friend and I sure got a good laugh or two out of it. No serious harm but alls I could think of was a death by a thousand cuts.
Dave
Re: authenticated by DNA analysis!
Pete Ducklow
>You guys are real funny! You won't be laughing when my bloodsoaked birdhouses are fetching big money in 2075!
Re: Most dangerous tool in my shop! 1/2 chisel!
Dave OH
>"I managed to put it through one of my knuckles again"
Sounds to me like the chisel is running in second place!
Dave
Hand anatomy
wilbur
>Actually, there is a spot on your palm between the middle and ring fingers where a chisel would miss the palmar digital nerves and arteries. Also, if that chisel went through the hand in an orientation where the edge of the chisel was parallel to the fingers, the chisel would tend to slip between the arteries and nerves, rather than cutting them.
Old circus acts would take advantage of this for the "Watch me pound a nail through my hand" stunt. Not that I would recommend anyone try this themselves.
Finally I can apply what I learned in med school to this forum!
Medical people always scare me
Bill Houghton, foggy mornings in Sebastopol, CA
>casually talking about this sort of thing that I don't even want to THINK about. I guess we need you though.