Cuts, gouges and Scrapes, Oh My

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Confessions of the woodworker.......... or any construction worker.

99% of all injuries in our line of work are small, but annoying. Nothing pisses you off more than to blood stain a piece you are finishing. Why? because you get cut so often that a lot of the times you do not even notice that are are cut. That, and all the tiny arterioles in the hands lend itself to leaking blood on your work before realizing that you even cut yourself.

The most common cuts I get are edges that are sharp and you brush by them, screws sticking out on an existing piece/area, tool edges cutting or poking you, or in my case sharpening a tool. The latter seems to be more common now I am old, thin skinned and well, not being more careful.

The last thing I find as an annoying thing is safety shields on tools that are not properly de-edged so you are working on maintenance and you get cut by some poor QC sheetmetal shroud. One thing in particular are where elec hookups occur on dishwasher, ovens, stove etc, the sheetmetal is just stamped with a nice razor edge. Oh, and another is being left handed causes risks right handers never have to contend with.
 
Last edited:

creasman

Jim
Staff member
Corporate Member
I still remember one of the first splinters I ever got. My dad was a carpenter and his first aid kit consisted of a sharp pocket knife, a bottle of mercurochrome, and bandaids for the big stuff. He took out the splinter, dabbed on a bit of the antiseptic and told me to get used to these if I planned to do this kind of work. All in a day's work.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Oka

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
Blood on a project is not a problem. I look at it as DNA samples for my descendants to confirm they were actually related to the original maker (me). ;) After 51 years of doing this, I don't recall ever building a piece where I didn't leave a DNA sample.
 

Jim M.

Woody
Corporate Member
Between work and woodworking I'm usually one big open wound! Not only that, my wife likes white bed linens so going to bed bloody in not an option. I carry paper surgical tape in my pocket, truck, bunker gear, tool box and workshop, it's faster than a band-aid and is amazing at sealing a wound. Before bed I add a dab of Bacitracin on the cut, cover with paper tape and it closes pretty well overnight. A day or two of this and no more bloody marks everywhere.

20210324_202819.jpg20210324_203936.jpg
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Well, for me superglue is my friend

Clean the wound, get it to stop bleeding then super glue the cut closed and then a bandage. Really help with the smaller cuts. BTW the last time I needed stitches I cut right through my level 4 gloves. Thanks Mike and all the other contributor lessons and pointers- for teaching me how to get a blade scalpel sharp, I learned well ..... :eek: :D
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
I agree, it is frustrating when a poor tool edge cuts you, aggravating when it is there for "safety". I keep a wire wheel on one of my grinders to de-burr things. The finger holes in my new TS riving knife were sharp enough to cut. I usually get cut more with sheet metal work as I can't stand working in gloves.

Super glue works, but there are slightly less aggressive products that work too. What I hate is when it is in some place that always wil get stretched, like the web on your thumb. I have noticed, a dab of antibiotic ointment does make cuts heal much faster. I use generic.

I bet it is a lot more of a problem with those taking blood thinners.
 

ScottM

Scott
Staff member
Corporate Member
Tell me....once ended up with 8 stiches from replacing a water line on a dishwasher. Dang sheet metal. On the positive side while I was at the ER getting stitched up my neighbor finished the dishwasher for me.
 

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
I still remember one of the first splinters I ever got. My dad was a carpenter and his first aid kit consisted of a sharp pocket knife, a bottle of mercurochrome, and bandaids for the big stuff. He took out the splinter, dabbed on a bit of the antiseptic and told me to get used to these if I planned to do this kind of work. All in a day's work.
Was it something like "Suck it up kid!?" LOL
 

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
Tell me....once ended up with 8 stiches from replacing a water line on a dishwasher. Dang sheet metal. On the positive side while I was at the ER getting stitched up my neighbor finished the dishwasher for me.
good planning? LOL
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
I still have the first splinter I ever got. I was 16 and working at a car wash. I reached up on a top shelf to get a tool and the shelf had a long pine splinter that went into my middle finger on left hand. It broke off deep under my skin and I never was able to get it out. It is still in there and moves around under the skin from time to time.
 

Premier Sponsor

Our Sponsors

LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS

Top