Boatworks Today Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Fall is coming and that generally means more shop time for most of us. Just wanted to share a nearly catastrophic incident I just had as a reminder to all that power tools demand 100% of your focus!It's the end of the day, I'm tired and my mind was not where it should have been when cutting some small wedges on the bandsaw. Generally I consider the BS to be fairly safe, however today I got a little too lax and was heavily distracted by the amount of flies buzzing around the lights in my shop. I just had the building sprayed an hour ago and I was dreaming of the piles of dead flies I'd be sweeping up in the morning :-)Right then, my finger touched a brand new 3/4" Woodslicer running full steam. As soon as I felt and heard the nick I immediately pulled back, braced myself for what I was going to see and LUCKILY a minor nick to my fingernail is all I had.. My ego took most of the damage :-/I know better than this. It was a foolish, careless mistake that never should have happened. I consider myself extremely lucky as it could have been so much worse.So, as a reminder to us all, if you're distracted, tired, etc and your head is not 100% on the task at hand, don't be running your tools!I'm going home for a beer and clean out my shorts... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thanks. Words of caution are always welcome. Glad you are still whole and only slightly damaged!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Glad you are okay - thanks for sharing. It's important that we are reminded from time to time about safety and concentration. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Glad to hear you're ok. I usually keep my thumb nail about 3/16" long for playing guitar. I hit my thumb nail on the bandsaw blade and cut it. No blood, but close call the pucker and instant panic isn't fun. ABCs of woodworking, Always Be Cautious. Thanks for sharing. Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thanks for sharing. It seems that the machines that we are most comfortable using are the ones that jump up and bite us. I'm glad your bite wasn't more severe. In my case, it will be the jointer that gets me. I use it every day and it's repetition after repetition. I find my mind wanders when I'm using it. NOT A GOOD THING! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted September 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 I think the thing that freaks me out the most is that the gullet ion that blade is almost as deep as my finger is wide. Dumb chance that I hit the tooth and not get caught in the gullet. That would have been goodbye finger :-/... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 Between you and Brandon, it's a bad day on the forums! Glad both of you guys are ok! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted September 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 Between you and Brandon, it's a bad day on the forums! Glad both of you guys are ok!no doubt.. I have a bathroom fan that takes about 20 sec to actually start running.. That thing is getting pulled tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 BW, I'm sorry you had the hard reminder but very glad it didn't end worse. We both had bad days that could have bee much worse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 The bandsaw...the easiest machine to get complacent with. Seems so harmless until there's a hot dog on the floor. Glad your hot dog bone is still attached to the Andy bone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 I always tell new guys that butcher shops use bandsaws to cut up meat and bone ! Glad you didn't get a serious injury. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks for sharing! These reminders will (hopefully) help prevent a much worse incident from happening. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 Glad you are ok Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 ==>The bandsaw...the easiest machine to get complacent with.+1 You know when it gets really dangerous?? The second you turn it off... I can't tell you how many times I hit the off/brake while reaching around the blade to clear a small off-cut... It's like an OCD thing -- for some reason, I like the table clear at the end of an operation... Don't know why, but just do... Got to be OCD.... Even braked, it takes time to spin down -- all silently... Funny, I never try that with a table saw, chop saw or just about any other tool... Just the bandsaw... Go figure... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 I'm afraid something like this could eventually happen to me, because I use my bandsaw a lot and I feel so confident about it. That's why I made a habit of holding a pencil with eraser in my left hand when doing small cuts, and use it as a push stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Every time I make a cut, I think "you're picking up a rattlesnake". It's still easy for the mind to wander. Glad you're ok. Make a picture of the image you showed us and tape it to your band saw. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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