need to keep dh away from power tools!

[KirstenB]

My poor husband. I took the girls to church this morning, and he wasn't home when we returned. At first I thought he'd gone to the store. Then I looked in the garage and saw blood,and thought oh no!!

Long story short, he cut about an inch off his middle finger using the table saw. He drove himself to the ER. After I got the kids in the house, I called his cel, and he said he was there waiting for a hand surgeon. Poor guy---he's home asleep now. They obviously gave him some pain meds, but I hope they really work well.

 

[SCHBR'smom]

Best wishes for you DH and you. My DH has cut off the tip of his thumb on the table saw and my DFIL has cut off a little more than that. My DH has had more injuries than I care to recount from tools, but he's still an expert with them. All in the line of duty, I guess.

I hope your DH heals quickly!

 

[minkydog]

Holy cow! so I take it that re-attaching the finger isn't going to happen? Poor baby. That's gotta hurt.

 

[lisajl]

My Dh is re-doing our bathroom and I have had visions of him doing some serious damage to himself!

I hope your DH recovers quickly and has lots of pain meds.

Lisa

 

[KirstenB]

Thanks guys! Minkydog, no they didn't reattach. I know nothing about medical stuff, but I guess they couldn't. I know this isn't funny, but dh's father has had similar injuries over the years, and dh always teases him. I asked dh if he was going to keep his hand out of sight everytime we visit his parents!

 

[Imzadi]

OUCH!!!! Sorry about your DH. It is these kind of stories which is exactly why I stayed away any kind of saws, even though I need certain "simple" repairs around the house.

It's a little late for your DH, but, if he does plan to continue to make & cut stuff, tell him to get this tool, the Fein MultiMaster (or cheaper clone out now, which I got.) Also, while I was at some House & Decorating trade show years ago, I saw a demo of a Occilating table saw that would not cut through the hot dogs, (used in place of fingers) on this saw, but were cut in half on regular saws at the demo. The guy said he sold many of that type of saw to high schools who have shop classes and it has saved many kids fingers. That's what convinced me to get this little handheld saw.

Regular saws like jigsaws or saber saws just vibrate too much for me. Not only was it scary to use, they vibrated too much while cutting wood, for me to cut a clean, straight line. also, the vibrating made me feel I wouldn't be able to control the saw well enough and it would jump off the board, and I may accidentally cut off a finger. Table saws completely scare me.

Several days ago, I bought the generic version of the Fein MultiMaster tool. I've been watching the infomercial over & over. It uses the same kind of saw that cuts off plaster casts after one has broken an arm or leg. So it's designed not to cut through skin & bones. It's also not supposed to vibrate like crazy while cutting.

Well, if it really does what it says it claims, and I can save so much money over hiring a carpenter to just cut 6" off some shelves and other projects, it's worth the price. But, doing a Google search a few weeks ago, I found the cheaper versions came out, as Fein's patent for their $400 original version ran out. Dremel now makes a $100 Multi-Max version and I bought the $35 version from Harbor Freight just called the "Multifunction Tool."

I did some test cuts on a scrap piece of wood and couldn't believe how straight & easy a cut I was able to do, with no vibrations. And I'm a female. I am seriously loving this tool. I cut most of the shelves I wanted down and drilled & assembling them and putting the shortened bookcase finally where I have been dreaming of putting the unit. It needed to be an exact size to fit a small cubby area.

Now, I've been seriously rethinking some renovations I have wanted to do. Originally, I had to come up with workarounds that wouldn't quite do, because they would involve too much sawing to get custom pieces to fit. Now I can do them!

Youtube: Multimaster demo

Here's a pic of the board I cut. The middle board shows the clean straight line I cut at the top. The pencil line on the back board was my only guide used for cutting. The little board at the bottom is the cut off excess.

 

[KirstenB]

Imzadi, dh agrees with you--he has the Dremel of what you're describing. He said that's a great tool.

He said he was trying to cut a dado (sp?) and apparently the blade for that application is pretty wide. Also he was cutting through red oak, and I think the board kicked back on him a bit. Anyway, he's being pretty philosophical. Apparently whatever they shot him up with is still working!

 

[Imzadi]

Also he was cutting through red oak, and I think the board kicked back on him a bit. Anyway, he's being pretty philosophical. Apparently whatever they shot him up with is still working!

Ah, I was just coming to add, don't show him the tool I was talking about today. That would be like pouring salt into the finger. But, I guess, the drugs took the pain off.

I haven't used the tool enough to know if it works on hardwood, like oak. I would think not as well as on the soft pine shelf I cut through. I agree, the table saw was probably the better option.

 

[JR6ooo4]

the Fein MultiMaster is a fine handyman's tool. but there is no replacement of the table saw, miter saw etc... in real framing jobs. for speed and accuracy.

But fingers should be nowhere near the blades of either. A push stick is the first thing we were taught to use in shop class. That and safety glasses!

I have broken a few bones and had over a hundred various stitches.... but I can not imagine clipping an inch off of anything on me!!!!

One reason I always have my cell on my, when working. Who knows what stupid thing I will do.

Hoping he recovers quickly. Could they re-attach it?
Mikeeee

 

[JCJRSmith]

Sorry to hear about your husband. Just thinking about that hurts. And it happens SO FAST.

I have been a woodworker for years, and still the tools scare the hell out of me. Recently a friend in Australia, who has been a wood worker for longer than I have been alive, cut off the tip of his right thumb on the tablesaw. Recently I got smacked good and hard on the fingers by a piece of madly spinning wood that cut loose on the lathe.

If your husband gets back into it, maybe he might consider one of these:

http://www.sawstop.com/

One of the most amazing inventions for a tablesaw, but they ain't cheap.

 

[KirstenB]

A final irony in all of this, please indulge me. Guess what the hand surgeon's hobby is...wait for it....woodworking! Dh truly couldn't believe that.

In all these years, this is his first injury. He's ahem...usually very safety conscious.

JCRJSmith...dh says his finger was the sawstop! This sounds like a good idea for a Father's Day gift.

Mikee, I didn't want to be gross but he was working out in front of our garage, and our lot is heavily wooded. So...the finger tip is gone, lost somewhere, no hope of re-attaching. The men in his family will probably view this as some type of initiation to the club....a badge of honor if you will.

 

[SandrA9810]

My grandfather nearly chopped his thumb off triming a tree in the backyard... I want to say after that trim it died too. And he eventually had to cut the whole thing down.

My aunt also worked at a whole sale company that cut foam for seat cushions and stuff like that. Well the guys were really far behind on a huge order and my aunt decided to do some of the cutting for them on the weekend. Well on the horizontal band saw, she was cutting the skin off the top of the foam, and managed to cut off the padding on her thumb. They attatched it back to help the skin underneath heal/grow and eventually the cut piece fell off. So now her thumb is flat at the tip rather than being round. And that was one fo the few weekends I decided to go with her into the office, and no one else was there either.

 

[KirstenB]

I am KirstenB's daughter I know my dad he was definitely wearing safety glasses he is not that stupid

 

[LisaNJ25]

Ouch.. I hope he feels better soon. My step dad cut 3 of his off in the basement when I was younger. I will never forget them coming to house to pick up the fingers to put them on ice.

 

[KirstenB]

Sorry for that last comment. Dd is a pre-teen and very loyal to her dad. It looks like her sentence structure could use some help too.