# Finger 1/16" shorter



## Steve Blackdog (Jan 19, 2010)

Boy, that was a close shave (pun intended).

Just a reminder to all that a grinding wheel grinds the end of you finger faster than your chisels. 

I was grinding down a machine screw and it caught and the tip of my finger brushed against the wheel! wow! my longish finger nail was worn to the underlying pink fleshy bit before I felt it. Had I been even more stupid my finger could have been dragged in and it would have been an inch shorter. 

I count myself very lucky to have this reminder to take care and concentrate at all times. 

I don't ask you to share my pain: rather to share my warning.

All the best.


Steve


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Steve Blackdog said:


> Boy, that was a close shave (pun intended).
> 
> Just a reminder to all that a grinding wheel grinds the end of you finger faster than your chisels.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing that incident with us, Steve.

we all need to be reminded every now and then that our toys are not toys.......


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

I have a neighbor we use to test these things. We call him Stubby. 

Seriously, glad your mishap was minor.


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## gav (Oct 12, 2009)

Similar thing happened to me with the belt sander a couple of months ago. Dragged my finger in and took off the top of my first knuckle ! 40 grit !
Lesson learnt, hold small objects for grinding/sanding with a pair of vice grips or in some kind of jig !


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## barking spider (Dec 26, 2010)

In my college years I worked in a machine shop and spent hours at sanding disks and grinding machines de-burring parts. I sanded my finger tips so often I thought about going into a life of crime since I had no fingerprints. 
I feel your pain.


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

I now (finally) consider myself an X Jackass. So many shop (and other) accidents that I could not even tell you all of them. I still have 10 fingers, but both thumbs have been torn-off and reinstalled (neither in woodworking), right index & middle finger lost last joints (lawn mower accident) both were reattached, right pinkie finger snapped-off by my own dog and reattached after dog spit it out, right middle finger - split main knuckle when one of my genius employees pulled on the workpiece (healed-up in about six months), left ring finger routed (very nasty) about 1/4" deep (it eventually filled-in), left index finger got caught in belt sander (makes me sick to remember this). People ask me if I consider myself accident-prone? Yeah, I guess I was a bit, back when I was careless. I could write an exhaustive study on what-not-to-do! *OPG3*


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## Steve Blackdog (Jan 19, 2010)

OPG3 said:


> I now (finally) consider myself an X Jackass. So many shop (and other) accidents that I could not even tell you all of them. I still have 10 fingers, but both thumbs have been torn-off and reinstalled (neither in woodworking), right index & middle finger lost last joints (lawn mower accident) both were reattached, right pinkie finger snapped-off by my own dog and reattached after dog spit it out, right middle finger - split main knuckle when one of my genius employees pulled on the workpiece (healed-up in about six months), left ring finger routed (very nasty) about 1/4" deep (it eventually filled-in), left index finger got caught in belt sander (makes me sick to remember this). People ask me if I consider myself accident-prone? Yeah, I guess I was a bit, back when I was careless. I could write an exhaustive study on what-not-to-do! *OPG3*



Blimey 'eck, OPG3, remind me not to stand next to you in a fight


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