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I almost amputated my thumb.. (Warning: Mild Gore!)

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  • I almost amputated my thumb.. (Warning: Mild Gore!)

    TL;DR - Fucked up my thumb on a table saw.. Pics at bottom:

    A while back I purchased a new table saw, and a few weeks ago I finally took the time to get it all tuned and square, and to modify my wooden stand for the height of the new saw.

    I spent much of the day getting the blade parallel to the miter slots, adjusting the blade bevel stops at 90 and 45 degrees, lining up the riving knife with the blade kerf, and ensuring the fence was parallel..

    I finished late, around 8PM, and figured i would go ahead and cut the 2x4's to height for the stand.. No problem, a few quick cross cuts with the miter gauge. Then decided, I wanted to resaw a little off the face of one of the 2x4's, for what I don't know..

    I was in a poor position, working on the ground, in poor light, and since I had not yet made a sacrificial face for the fence, to make the cut the safer way, I just flipped the fence to the left side to run it through that way. This required the blade to be pretty high, and prevented use of the blade guard.

    I rarely make cuts with the fence on the left side, so am not really used to the motion. I was working in an awkward position, on the ground, I was tired and hot, etc.. Plenty of reasons I should not have attempted any further use that night.

    Never-the-less, I proceeded. I had my left hand holding the board to the fence, pushing it through with my right hand. I got to the point where I needed to switch to using the push stick, and grabbed it, put it on the board and while watching the stick closely, resumed feeding the board. Only, I had forgotten to move my left hand to the other side of the blade, to catch the out feed. Instead, I left it holding the board to the fence, but since I was effectively working 'backwards' to usual, instead of letting the board slide, I moved my hand with the board, and let he fence slide through my fingers, and fed my thumb right into the blade.

    As soon as I realized my error I yanked my left hand away, but had already been cut. I only looked briefly, but saw a lot of missing flesh, and a flap hanging.. I thought for sure I cut the whole end off my thumb. I immediately wrapped it in a clean shop towel, held pressure to stop the bleeding, and let Lea know we needed to go to the ER asap.

    Fortunately, I didn't hit the bone nor ligaments, and was 'lucky' in that most of the damage is limited to the fleshy part of the thumb pad. They could not 'close' or suture in any way, instead referred me to Plastic Surgeon for possible skin graft.

    After a consulting a him, and another hand surgeon, I chose not to do the graft. It will take a little longer to heal, but should heal 'better' as far as nerve sensation and all.

    Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures from the night of. Although I could no longer feel it after they did a nerve block, I still couldn't make myself look at it.

    So the first pics are from 2 days later, when they unwrapped it for the first time at the Plastic Surgeon's office.. The skin is all shriveled because of the type of dressing the ER used. The scabbed over pics are from today, 3 weeks later.. I can bend and move my thumb fine, and can put some pressure on the wound, but mostly cannot use it yet. Tying my shoes is a PITA.. lol
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Chili; 08-31-2019, 12:26 PM.

  • #2
    More Pics..

    I pulled that hair out after taking the second pic.. lol
    Attached Files

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    • #3
      And the current..

      The stuff on the table saw is my shredded flesh..
      Attached Files

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      • #4
        I have a Sawstop table and I'm still afraid of doing that.
        Originally posted by Broncojohnny
        Would you like your reparations in 5.56mm or 7.62mm?

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        • #5
          Table saws are no fucking joke. What kind saw did you get? We need a woodworking thread.

          Comment


          • #6
            I notched the tip of my ring finger when I was about 10 while making a project for school.
            Last edited by Tx Redneck; 08-31-2019, 08:21 PM.

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            • #7
              Dang bro.

              Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
              2015 F250 Platinum

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              • #8
                Amateur!!

                Granted, it sucks to take any amount of flesh off a digit but I did more damage with a 66 Ranchero, a jack handle and the driveway. haha

                Nice beard though.. I look homeless when I grow mine out,

                Last edited by homealone; 08-31-2019, 03:50 PM.

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                • #9
                  I guess Leah isn't getting a thumb in the butt anytime soon. Glad you didnt lose it.
                  Originally posted by Marisa
                  we women are all irrational and emotional and insane...some just hide it better than others.

                  truth.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by red89notch View Post
                    I guess Leah isn't getting a thumb in the butt anytime soon. Glad you didnt lose it.
                    Whats wrong with his right thumb?
                    Originally posted by Silverback
                    Look all you want, she can't find anyone else who treats her as bad as I do, and I keep her self esteem so low, she wouldn't think twice about going anywhere else.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by homealone View Post
                      Amateur!!

                      Granted, it sucks to take any amount of flesh off a digit but I did more damage with a 66 Ranchero, a jack handle and the driveway. haha

                      Nice beard though.. I look homeless when I grow mine out,

                      They wouldn’t let him leave the hospital until I showed up.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by homealone View Post
                        Amateur!!

                        Granted, it sucks to take any amount of flesh off a digit but I did more damage with a 66 Ranchero, a jack handle and the driveway. haha

                        Nice beard though.. I look homeless when I grow mine out,

                        How’d you do that?

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Samhain View Post
                          I have a Sawstop table and I'm still afraid of doing that.
                          I'm going to start renting some shop space soon, and WILL be buying a Sawstop Cabinet Saw at that point. The skin-graft was going to cost $1,300 out of pocket, because that is what was left on my out of pocket max, so even this injury 'could' have cost me as much as that.

                          I figure that preventing losing a finger (and getting a really nice saw) is worth the ~$3 grand I'll spend.

                          Originally posted by jw33 View Post
                          Table saws are no fucking joke. What kind saw did you get? We need a woodworking thread.
                          The saw that did it was this, though I returned it about a week after the accident. I still have, and have been using a cheap Ryobi 10" saw, one of the $100 ones, for the last 10 years or so. But only for rough cutting stuff (panel wood / sheets) for the most part.

                          Not only due to the accident, but because I never could get the blade perfectly parallel to the miter slots. The amount of adjust-ability in the saw was just not enough. The margin was small, a little over a 16th of an inch, front to back, to the right. Prior to the accident I was considering keeping it, regardless, because for now that would probably be sufficient precision and I could always adjust the fence to the right a bit.

                          This was actually one of the reasons I had made the decision to move the fence to the left side, because the the angle of the blade vs the squared fence would pinch the piece with the fence on the right, risking kickback or worse. At least that was my thinking. The problem I identified was correct, but my solution was not.
                          Last edited by Chili; 08-31-2019, 08:23 PM.

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                          • #14
                            This is very humbling to post, by the way, because it was ultimately 100% my fault, and stupid.. Though if it makes anyone think twice before sidestepping safety procedures, it's worth the egg on my face.

                            I was wearing ear and eye protection. And as most surely know, it's generally unsafe to wear gloves.

                            I will be using blade-guards whenever possible going forward, and will only use sleds / jigs for non-through cuts. Fortunately I should have the space and time to build all of that, once I have a shop space.

                            ETA: I also think I got mild PTSD from this. haha! Every night for the last several I have been reliving it just as I'm falling asleep, jolting me awake! It fucking sucks!!
                            Last edited by Chili; 08-31-2019, 08:23 PM.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by red89notch View Post
                              I guess Leah isn't getting a thumb in the butt anytime soon. Glad you didnt lose it.
                              Originally posted by Rick Modena View Post
                              Whats wrong with his right thumb?
                              Lmao!

                              Originally posted by homealone View Post
                              Amateur!!

                              Granted, it sucks to take any amount of flesh off a digit but I did more damage with a 66 Ranchero, a jack handle and the driveway. haha

                              Nice beard though.. I look homeless when I grow mine out,

                              Can't see your pic, but yeah, the beard's getting pretty long but I'm trying to keep it somewhat presentable. I haven't cut the length in around 3 months, and it was already several inches long then.

                              Lea's ambivalent; she requires I maintain facial hair, but at the length of my choosing. haha

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