# Ate the end of my finger off OOPS!



## jbander (Sep 12, 2011)

Well I routed the end of my finger off and it was done without the necessary thinking that should have preceded the effort. I started on the wrong side of the table , it is connected to my saw and I started on the side of the saw that your on when you saw a board , which was in my case the wrong feed side of the router.
I make pottery for a living and I need my hands for my work and I play guitar, I use the finger (middle right) to play the guitar with, I use a finger picking style playing the guitar. I went to the hand specialist and and he told me He could skin graph it or let it heal and both ways would take about 5 weeks. It was a completely open wound for those five weeks (it was the fingerprint part of the finger and some of its length) They took the finger nail off and clipped the tip of the the bone ,which was partially ground up and the router broke the bone also.
This was a bad mistake, I started to early in the day, before I was bright eyed. I thought it was the way to do this part that I was working on. It wasn't. I don't feel like the brightest bulb on the tree right now but I thought this might make someone prethink their moves before you do them. Think twice cut once. It is two months now and I am able to carefully use my hand. The guitar will take 5 months the specialist says and when I play the skin might not be able to take the strings and If thats the case they will then use a skin graph. I think in another month I will be able to throw pots. As you can see it stole a big part of my life from me and I hope this will make you think first.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Sorry for your loss but hopefully it will make someone else think more about what they are doing so it doesn't happen to them.


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## papawd (Jan 5, 2011)

Sorry to hear about Your accident, Hope everyone reads this and thinks a little more about what they are doing ,always think things through


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

I'm sorry to hear of your injury but thank you for sharing your story, Jon. Hopefully it'll make us all sharpen our safety skills a bit.

Jim


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

Oh, ouch!!

Sorry to hear this.


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## blindsniper (Aug 21, 2011)

Thanks fo sharing. A warning to us all to be safe


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## tt1106 (Apr 30, 2009)

It's like owning a Grizzly Bear. As soon as you stop respecting it's power and turn your back, it'll remind you of why you shouldn't of. Many of us have had close calls. Usually, when we're working too fast. I'm glad it wasn't worse. Take Care and don't worry, you'll adapt. Thank you for sharing, I'm sure it will help others.


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## LiLRdWgn (Dec 31, 2011)

jbander said:


> Well I routed the end of my finger off and it was done without the necessary thinking that should have preceded the effort. I started on the wrong side of the table , it is connected to my saw and I started on the side of the saw that your on when you saw a board , which was in my case the wrong feed side of the router.
> I make pottery for a living and I need my hands for my work and I play guitar, I use the finger (middle right) to play the guitar with, I use a finger picking style playing the guitar. I went to the hand specialist and and he told me He could skin graph it or let it heal and both ways would take about 5 weeks. It was a completely open wound for those five weeks (it was the fingerprint part of the finger and some of its length) They took the finger nail off and clipped the tip of the the bone ,which was partially ground up and the router broke the bone also.
> This was a bad mistake, I started to early in the day, before I was bright eyed. I thought it was the way to do this part that I was working on. It wasn't. I don't feel like the brightest bulb on the tree right now but I thought this might make someone prethink their moves before you do them. Think twice cut once. It is two months now and I am able to carefully use my hand. The guitar will take 5 months the specialist says and when I play the skin might not be able to take the strings and If thats the case they will then use a skin graph. I think in another month I will be able to throw pots. As you can see it stole a big part of my life from me and I hope this will make you think first.


OUCH !!! Been there done that. :wacko: Not the wrong way, but just a piece of wood too short and too big a gap between the bit and the fence. And it goes so FAST, ??? just what happened. I was lucky, just the nail and a few stitches. :stop: and think.


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## Bradleytavares (Feb 25, 2012)

Sorry to read your story and get well soon. Been there, done that! Wasn't happy with the results. For years I felt as if I was able to pick a lock with my Rt. hands index finger, WOAH! Took years to heal. That was 40 years ago and I still have 'em all, count 'em 1-10 and I'm real happy. Keep the chips flyin'


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## hilbilly (Dec 30, 2011)

*finger out of the game*

Sorry to hear about your mishap. My brother, who plays mandolin, did the same on his left hand. After 2 years, he has recovered and adjusted and his playing is as good as ever. Hand in there.
Hillbilly


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

SORRY
Just one more story. my brother was using the table saw  and he ran the blade right between two fingers and right into his hand about 3" long into his hand b/4 he pulled it back they put all the parts back into place but it took years b/4 he could use it like b/4.

That's why they call them shark saws :nhl_checking::no:
That's why I use the Golden Rule 6" min., I never but my hand any closer than 6" to the blade not even with a Grip it tool ,it can be so quick and takes years to fix it..  the same thing is true for the router table..

==

==


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Hi Jon,
Welcome to the Router Forums.

I'm very sorry to hear of your accident and hope you heal faster than the doctors say but they usually know what they are talking about.

I wish this didn't have to be your first post but we all thank you for making it. Hopefully you have saved someone else from the pain and loss you have gone through.

We had one guy at work they called routty because he had the bad habit of hanging his little finger over the right end of the board, he cut the end off that finger several times. *Some people never learn!!*

Thanks again for posting,
Mike


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## Ironman50 (Jun 5, 2012)

I learned a lot just by reading your story. Sorry for the accident. Thank you for sharing this. Once again, I’m reminded of the old adage - Safety first, safety first.
Hopefully, you are back to making pottery by now.


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## packattack (Mar 6, 2012)

Sorry about your accident. Been reading these posts lately about fingers getting chewed up by power tools. I have started making a conscious effort to think about what I am doing and what could go wrong everytime I set up for a cut because of these stories. Sad to say it is at someone else's expense but I do believe they are making me a safer woodworker. Hope you heal fast...


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

jbander said:


> This was a bad mistake, I started to early in the day, before I was bright eyed...... It is two months now and I am able to carefully use my hand. The guitar will take 5 months the specialist says and when I play the skin might not be able to take the strings and If thats the case they will then use a skin graph. I think in another month I will be able to throw pots. As you can see it stole a big part of my life from me and I hope this will make you think first.


Hi Jon

I did a similar thing on a 10HP pin router a number of years back, routed away part of the bone in the right thumb, and broke the bone. I also chewed-up the fingernail badly. It was pretty much my own fault - in my case working late, under deadline pressure, the phone was ringing off the hook, cellphone, too........ Despite reconstructive surgery (and it is fascinating watching a surgeon actually work on your hand whilst you can't feel it, well not much) I'm left with only partial sensation of touch in the tip of the finger and boy does it ache in very cold weather. I was back at work within a week of the accident, but didn't get back to 70% usage for about 4 to 5 months. I'm glad I don't play guitar because that would be shot. It still makes typing a bit awkward for me. What I learned from the accident was not to work tired, to put on the ear defenders, turn off the distractions when I'm doing a complex bit and most of all concentrate on the job at hand and put the rest on hold. 

I hope you get full usage back and that you'll take something positive away from this

Regards

Phil


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## chuck key (Feb 3, 2012)

Sorry to hear about your accident.
I hope you recover quickly and can get back to doing the things you love.


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## hilbilly (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks for the update. Glad things appear to be going well. My brother is gaining experience with his playing and is doing well. Hang in there.
Hillbilly


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## Tagwatts (Apr 11, 2012)

I also would like to offer my sympathy to you. I am a Safety Director where I work. I see foolish things on a regular basis that cause accidents. It is now noted in our line of work that man creates 78% of his own accidents, 20% come from faulty equipment, 2% are what is known as acts of God. 
The perfect mathamatical equation to insure an accident is Man + Machine + Envionment = disaster. Remove either of the first two and very little bad ever happens.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Tagwatts1 said:


> The perfect mathamatical equation to insure an accident is Man + Machine + Envionment = disaster. Remove either of the first two and very little bad ever happens.


Which is presumably all the manufacturers have moved over to CNCs........


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

like you, i am also a guitar player. 

i used to be one of those people who would do things in a way i now realize as risky and say, "i'll be careful; it won't happen to me". then one day 6 months ago, i nicked the end of my left thumb on my table saw. i am NO LONGER one of those people.

amazingly, it was just the fleshy part near the end. so i know all too well how quickly and easily it can happen, and how much worse it could have been. i hope it will be a very long time before the horror of the experience wears off, because that will keep me careful.

my thoughts and prayers are with you.


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## Bill7255 (Dec 23, 2012)

Sorry about your injury. Since I have been in the workshop more and more, the best advice you gave is what I now do. I think before I start a set up if my fingers/hand will be away and if using the saw or router table if the part will be secure through the process and not be able to kick.


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## Tagwatts (Apr 11, 2012)

I hate to beat a dead horse. Earlier I posted concerning Safety. I have thought about these accidents that I keep reading about concerning the use of power tools. I think I have a great suggestion for all who may involved with power tools. This comes from OIlFIELD SAFETY, but I think it will apply and could save many accidents. We call it a JSA or Job Safety Analysis. I have a form to use, it is applicable to most all types of work. This outlines the task to do, the hazards involved and how to mitigate the risks at hand. This also includes a list of all safety protection need. I know many of you will think this is a waste of time. Let me testity to you, this one simple act, (that may take ten minutes of your time) will save accidents and hurt. No one does any type work for me without filling a JSA out daily and more often if the task should change. Again, I apologize for the soap box approach here, but SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT. Thanks for reading may this save you from a accident.


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Frank, I personally do not think you are beating a "dead horse". One can never be too safety conscious when it comes to focus and working at an energetic time of the day. I don't remember where, but I read that around 2:00 is a common time for people to have car accidents (due to sleepiness) and workshop accidents (also due to sleepiness). Sure enough, if I eat lunch around 12:00-12:30; I find myself getting sleepy around 2:00. I am diabetic and have also noticed that if my blood sugar gets too low, I get really sloppy by comparison - a sloppiness that I fear could cause an accident. 
There are a lot of woodworkers that "cannot count above 8 or 9" for similar reasons!
Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


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## DHB (Dec 30, 2012)

Sorry to read about your accident Jon, but as a new member, and about to start using my router a fair bit, the article has given me a timely reminder about safety. Hopefully by now you are on the road to a full recovery.


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## gwizz (Mar 3, 2012)

GLAD to hear you didn't loss a whole part of you finger, we all do it, get over confident, think Oh this is tight but I'll just take it easy and we all get bit once in a while, only bad enough to wake us up if we are lucky. Our fingers can not hold onto the energy of 1 1/2 HP transited through a sharp tool bit when it grabs a little piece of something. As some one used as a signature on this forum " your only one decision away from Stupid " and I would add that stupid hurts.

Glad your Ok - I recently spent 3 weeks nursing a smashed thumb - able to work now but in the proses of loosing the nail ( being stupid )


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