WARNING! USE A SPLITTER - Minor this time

[hpetty]

Okay, I know to always use a splitter.

I have a Delta pop-up on my Unisaw and an MJ splitter on my Christmas list, but sometimes you just forget to pop it back up. I had been cutting some 1/4" grooves with the splitter down and just needed to shave 1/16" off the edge of my completed door for my router table project. Forgot to pop-up the splitter, now I have some fresh red decorative accents on my shop floor. Oh yeah and a completely ruined door panel, not to mention three very blue fingers on my hand. But no trip to the ER. Just a memory of the look of panic when my wife saw me standing at the back door dripping blood.

I am usually very shop safety conscious.. just slipped up. Luckily the cost was not permanent. The ruined door panel will go on the wall beside the table saw as a reminder.

THINK SAFETY!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

 

[cskipper]

Glad you didn't get more injured! Thanks for the safety reminder.

Merry Christmas

 

[DaveO]

Hugh, I am really sorry to hear about your mishap. But at least your still typing, that's a good thing. For educational purposes, could you explain how it happened. I can't envision how your hand could have gotten close to the blade. This is asuming the the door panel is for the main router enclosure in your new table. Again, I am very glad it was nothing worse, maybe we all can learn something at your expense.

Merry Christmas, Dave

 

[Monty]

Probably got cut by the wood flying out of his hands, or by the impact of the wood on his arm/belly/chest/face/whatever it hit.

Coincidentally, I just happened to post a page about kickback on my little website just last night. I had a kickback with a panel about a year or so ago, and I stumbled across those old pics and figured I would share them. Here is the link to that page. I posted that page because I'm not sure many people know how and why a kickback can happen - I know I didn't until it happened to me!

Thanks for sharing -- it's a good reminder as we head off to our shops during the upcoming NCWW blackout. :-? Hope you recover quickly.

 

[SteveColes]

Okay, I know to always use a splitter. ......

Sorry about your mishap. I've been lucky so far. Just some embedded wood in the dry wall and one case when I was working with the garage door open, a nasty dent in my my wife's car (again)

Just a memory of the look of panic when my wife saw me standing at the back door dripping blood. .......

Right now in my house, coming in dripping blood seems to make my wife reassured. She has decided that if I'm dripping blood, there probably isn't internal injuries or broken bones

 

[hpetty]

Insomniac hit it about right. I was basically "shaving" the edge off one side of the door frame when it kicked back. Although my left hand wasn't anywhere near the blade it was between the door I was cutting and my newly dented garage door. Tore the cabinet door apart and put a nice circular cut through the panel (maybe now I'll use plexiglass. My hands impact with the flying wood left a small 1/2 inch cut on my left ring finger and turned three of my fingers a nice shade of blue. No permanent damage, but I can honestly say it is the worst injury I've had in over 25 years of woodworking. (Assuming you don't count the times I have had to go to church on Sunday to confess my abuse of the English language after making a mistake in the shop.)


Merry Christmas!

 

[DavidF]

confess my abuse of the English language


Merry Christmas!

Insomniac abuses the English and their language the whole time:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Sorry to hear about the accident - no splitter on my saw:eusa_whis

 

[dave_the_woodworker]

Sorry to hear about your accident. Kickback is a scary thing. I've been pretty lucky over a lot of years of woodworking (knock on wood:!: ) About the only machine-related 'blood letting' experience I've had is when I cut through a small knot in a piece of pine and part of the knot (a very sharp part) hit me in the chin. There is NO WAY I could have avoided it. Had it decided to go for my eye and I had not been wearing safety glasses, I have no doubt half my eyesight would be gone.

Now, whenever my 'sixth sense' tells me something I'm about to do is not a good idea I shut everything down and go upstairs...

 

[Ozzie-x]

I'm glad everyone survived their ordeals with all apendages intact. You can't be too safe. Most of my mishaps have usually been due to dull blades, improper adjustment, or doing something stupid. Like some of the guys, I've launched sheet goods several times (with no blood letting), and every time I cut sheets, I cringe and exercise more caution. The sheet only has to bind or cock enough for the teeth to catch to cause launch conditions. Like Dave said, let your 6th sense be your guide. If you're doing something and it's scary, stop and do it a different way. Case-in-point: raised panels on the table saw! This used to scare the crap out of me and for good reason. I've since seen several nice jigs and sleds to help solve that horror, but my solution is called "shaper" (which is another tool that demands respect).

Now back to the stupid part.... My only serious blood letting many years ago was due to stupid, trying to saw too small of a piece on the table saw and it got me. Sawed up through my index finger past the nail, lots of blood and pain. It healed back with only a scar to show for it, but it taught me a valuable lesson. Always saw small pieces on the bandsaw.
My Best
Randy O.

 

[Ken Massingale]

Thanks for the reminder, Hugh. Glad it wasn't worse.
I caught myself ripping yesterday without having put the MJ Splitter back on.
Ken

 

[cpowell]

Thanks for the post. I was working on a modified "Norm's router table" plan yesterday so I was going from dado to combo blade back and forth, splitter in and out,...I finally stopped using the splitter altogether. Bad plan.

I'll keep this in mind when I resume today. It happens so fast!