# A Safety Message



## chuckgray (Aug 2, 2015)

Many of you are probably familiar with Stumpy Nubs and have seen this video of his hand injury. For those that haven't, it's a sobering reminder of how quickly an accident can happen to even a very experienced person. In this case, I believe the cause was simply using a tool that is way too dangerous (my opinion). This thing actually looks dangerous. If you have a weak stomach be warned that some of the pictures of Stumpy's hand are quite graphic. My thanks to Stumpy for sharing his experience.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

The still is enough for me.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Interesting video. I have one of the burr type discs for a grinder and you still need a damn good grip on it too. I never gave much thought about the risks of using the chain saw chain disc but after watching him you would want to make sure that the side you are grinding with is pulling the tool away from you and not pushing it towards you. That would mean have it tilted to the right. Even knowing what he did wrong I think I'll stick with the type I have.


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## Wildwood (Aug 14, 2010)

Having recently nicked the tip of a finger on a surface planer, this video is "too close to the bone" for me!


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## Biagio (Mar 2, 2013)

@chuckgray,
Thanks for posting. Those chain disks look like a great idea for rapid stock removal, but that is the double edge of the sword- they remove everything else equally efficiently. Fortunately they are incredibly expensive here, so I have not had the urge to try one. After seeing the video, I will not get the urge.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

No worse than the birth of my two kids.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

"In this case, I believe the cause was simply using a tool that is way too dangerous (my opinion). "

That proves what my commanding officer said, "accidents don't happen, they are caused"
And it was so when I lost the tip of my right index finger back in 2000, doing a stupid thing on the jointer.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Very close to home, 10 years ago I put 31 stitches into the same hand. Everything still works, but I was extremely blessed it wasn't worse.

I am very grateful he has the intestinal fortitude to share his accident, we sometimes get far to comfortable working with sharp, spinning things. It's a good reminder at how fast bad things can happen.

I especially liked the comments about how hard it was to operate his cell phone to call for help. Something that might be worth remembering!


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## anndel (Aug 18, 2019)

Ouch, speedy recovery Stumpy Nubs.


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## roxanne562001 (Feb 5, 2012)

Wow things can sure happen very fast.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

I can honestly say that other than a tablesaw kickback, yeah I knew what I was doing was wrong but I was in a hurry, I've been fortunate. I think it may be a bit scary to see how many times we've been so close and yet lucky and didn't realize it. As a reminder I have that piece of wood prominently mounted in the shop for all to see. Not pride but rather a strong reminder. Although no bodily injury it did hit the wallet. I needed to replace the cartridge on the table saw as well as get the Forrest 70 tooth plywood blade repaired. There's no such thing as a free lunch here. Stuff happens for sure.


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## HoweA (Jul 31, 2013)

Thanks to Stumpy and Chuckgray for taking the time to forward tho painful....


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

That disk works exactly like the nose of a chain saw blade...if one were to use the nose of a chain saw to cut into a tree, they had better be prepared...! ! !

Think of how many times a drill has been pulled out of your hand when the bit jammed. The grinder has more torque and just cannot be held by the hand operating the switch. The barrel is too big to grip properly and holding the switch reduces that hands ability to hold the tool.

Disaster waiting to happen...

I would never use such a blade...it's bad enough with a grinding or cutting disk...

I'm glad Stumpy is alright and thanks to @chuckgray for posting...a great reminder to be conscious of the direction of spin, regardless of the tool...


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## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Ken was telling me about this video last night. Like Tom said: The still is enough for me. I won't be watching that video. My emotions wouldn't be able to take it.... nope nope nope :no::no::no:


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

My thoughts are, he was using it wrong, and he wasn't afraid of it.


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## 1fizgig (Feb 11, 2018)

It's always important for us to be vigilant, and so easy to become complacent when familiar with a tool.

Stay safe out there people. I know I'll be reviewing safety stuff before operating my new contractor table saw, probably even make a safety checklist so I can remind myself of what to be wary of.

I rather like my appendages, and let's face it, we need them to create more beautiful work.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Like Barb said, "Nope, nope, nope!" Any thought of getting one has been squelched.
Bouquets to Stumpy for making that video; reliving the accident must have been traumatic in itself.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Knothead47 said:


> No worse than the birth of my two kids.


John, that's kind of a stretch.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

1fizgig said:


> It's always important for us to be vigilant, and so easy to become complacent when familiar with a tool.
> 
> Stay safe out there people. I know I'll be reviewing safety stuff before operating my new contractor table saw, probably even make a safety checklist so I can remind myself of what to be wary of.
> 
> I rather like my appendages, and let's face it, we need them to create more beautiful work.


First priority is getting a Grripper, or however they spell it. Using it will greatly reduce your risks of injury. I have two so I can walk longer pieces through the blade with greater support. Pix shows the model with the outrigger being used on a jointer. Mine are without that add on. FYI, you adjust the "feet" before the cut so they miss the blade. That setup step makes you think through what you're about to do.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

sreilly said:


> I can honestly say that other than a tablesaw kickback,


I've said it before, do not stand in line with the saw blade when using your table saw. Then if there is kickback, it will go past you. Learned that in my 10th grade shop class, that was the first year we got to use the saw. I have never had a kickback, but I still stay out of line of the saw blade anyway. I was 14 then, and am turning 79 next month. Look at youtube videos on woodworking. A lot of those guys call themselves professional woodworkers, and yet they stand in line with their saw blade anyway. Always be scared of your power tools, it will make you more careful.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

DesertRatTom said:


> The still is enough for me.



......Same here....


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

DesertRatTom said:


> John, that's kind of a stretch.


What was stretching?


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

jw2170 said:


> ......Same here....


Actually, it looked far worse before it was cleaned up. Before cleaning you couldn't tell how bad it was, except one awful mess.


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## jj777746 (Jan 17, 2015)

Charles,the worst power tool accident I ever had was with an angle grinder with cup type wire brush installed.Real glad I wasn't using the chainsaw 'blade' that time.James jj777746


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## sonnywiehe (Mar 4, 2011)

Good video link provided. I appreciate Stumpy sharing this mishap. However, the message was flawed.

The cause of this accident was the fact that Stumpy erroneously worked the blade down into the bottom area of the dish of the seat. Once he allowed the blade to collide into an adjacent material plane (at a near right angle) the breaking action on the rotational thrust, exacerbated by the aggressive speed and power of the motor, was well beyond the capacity of his grip (simple physics) to overcome. Grinder then became the flesh eating projectile as described.

This condition can happen with erroneously working a chisel down into a bowl on a lathe. There are wood turning videos covering this type of danger and are well worth reviewing. Very dangerous kickback condition that, obviously, should be avoided. Sorry folks, it's not the tools fault in this case. It was user error. Maybe Stumpy could blame it on the tool if it failed (like a links broke and the disc flew off and into his body). But it didn't. He simply failed to maintain control over a powerful tool.

My suggestion is for him to make a follow up video and show the accident portion of the video in slow motion so that users (including STumpy) can be aware of exactly what happened...and why. That would make the video a learning experience rather than just another woodworking horror story. Hate to say it, but it's not fair to characterize tool design as inherently unsafe when user error is root cause of an accident. Another example of this flawed mentality is demonizing all pit bulls as inherently viscous attack animals. Sure they can be made to act that way if you abuse their nature--same as was done with this tool. Like any tool, the rotary chainsaw grinder blade has its place in woodworking utility and when used correctly, works phenomenally. I have one and have no intention of throwing it in the trash as this video suggests. Table saws are also very dangerous and accidents happen on them every day. Mainly because most folks do not appreciate the power involved or understand the nature of wood that is brought to the machine. Does that mean we should throw them in the metal scrap bin or all buy Sawstop technology? In my opinion both are absurd propositions.

I will add here that when I use this type of chain saw rotary blade I use it on a variable speed FEIN angle grinder. It an expensive grinder. But gives much more control and an additional factor of safety when using this tool with different discs and with different materials. Most folks buy the cheapest grinder out there which is almost invariably an on/off proposition-- at full bore. They expect these pieces of junk to be the "do all" for every rotational grinding situation. Big mistake. Stumpy made it as soon as he loaded that blade on his piece of junk and also failed to change his angle of tool attack when confronted with a change in material profile.

Woodworking is a rewarding, but dangerous occupation. Be safe every chance you take. Put the odds in your favor by truly learn from the mistakes of others every chance you can get.

Cheers!
Sonny


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## Roger Leclercq (Jan 28, 2009)

2006 week after retiring making custom molding while ripping off the final pieces after doing about 12 6' pieces had 2 18" pieces left on the last one as i reached for the push stick it fell on the floor. i stooped to pick it up and my foot slipped and ran my thumb through the spinning blade. Luckaly did not sever it 1/8" x 3/8" deep kerf emergency room stitched it up and said it didn't hit bone "WRONG" about a year in a half later while building a shed had a framing nailer hit a knot and nailed a knuckle same hand. This time they Xrayed and it showed a big chunk of bone missing from the thumb. It happens fast. I try to live by the quote "Power tools are out to get you when you think you are smarter than them or complacent they will get you"


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

thomas1389 said:


> What was stretching?


Nothing serious. It was just a tasteless giving birth pun. I occasionally devolve to that level. :wink:


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## chuckgray (Aug 2, 2015)

sonnywiehe said:


> "However, the message was flawed."
> 
> I stand by my opinion that the tool is dangerous.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

chuckgray said:


> [I stand by my opinion that the tool is dangerous.


Of course it is dangerous. ANY power tool is dangerous. My opinion was it was operator error that caused it, because he was using it improperly. Personally, to operate the tool the way he did in his video would scare the living Hell out of me, and I would not do it.


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## dbur (Apr 10, 2010)

Get kevlar glove liners.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

dbur said:


> Get kevlar glove liners.


Personally, my happiness does not depend on acquiring that particular tool. The corollary to that is that my _future_ happiness (and well being ) is best served by _not _acquiring it.


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