A Sawmill Accident That I Could Have Prevented

Dodgy Loner · September 30, 2009, 11:30:01 AM

Well, it has now almost been two and a half weeks since the most serious sawmilling injury I've yet experienced. Actually, other than a motorcycle wreck 4 years ago, it's probably the most serious injury I've ever sustained. In retrospect, the accident would have been completely preventable had I simply given a little thought to where my hands were at the time. I hope this will help others avoid the same mistake in the future.

I was milling an average-sized oak log, maybe 18" in diameter and 12' long. A friend was helping me, so I was not working alone. The log was very straight and clear, so we decided to saw it for grade, which, of course, requires a lot of flipping to find the best faces once the log is squared. We whittled the log down to about an 8x8 or 9x9 cant, so we had already pulled quite a few boards off of the log. We decided to saw a board off of the face that was against the side supports. This would have required turning the cant 270^o against the side supports, or turning it backwards just 90^o. Since the cant was small enough for two people to handle by hand, we just flipped it backwards...right onto the tip of my left index finger

.

I had foolishly placed my hands directly over one of the bed beams, and my finger was no match for the nearly 400-lb oak cant. The blow cracked off the tip of my distal phalanx right under the nail, and the rest of the bone was split to the knuckle. Of course the flesh looked like ground beef, and my fingernail came right off. I immediately wrapped the carnage in my sweaty, dusty shirt and rushed to the house. My fiancé drove me to the E.R., as I tried to calm her down (shouldn't that have been the other way around? :

). I was pleased with the hospital staff. They could obviously tell I was in pain, and it took less than half an hour to see a nurse, who promptly numbed the throbbing digit. After cleaning it out, they scheduled an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon to work on the finger.

I was afraid I would lose the last joint of my finger (that's what the doctor at the E.R. predicted), but the surgeon just removed the end of the bone that was broken and smoothed over what was left. He sewed up what skin remained. My left index finger is now about 1/4" shorter than the right, but my finger nail should eventually grow back.

Looking back, the accident could have easily been prevented simply by making sure my hands were not over a bed rail as we flipped the cant. An even safer option would be to raise the side supports and flip the cants against them using the cant hook. The injury will take a while to fully heal (typing without an index finger is a pain in the @$$!), but it has certainly given me a little perspective as to how easily something can go wrong when working around mill. I know that I will try to be more attentive in the future!

Texas Ranger · September 30, 2009, 12:54:06 PM

I have had my share of "uh oh's" and pretty near all of them related to be being tired, and not paying attention.

Sprucegum · September 30, 2009, 02:15:20 PM

Glad you made it through only 1/4 inch shy. Be careful how you pick your nose now ??? :D

beenthere · September 30, 2009, 02:49:22 PM

Ouuch!! Smarts a bit just hearing about it.
Sorry to hear that, but glad it wasn't worse.

Where was that LogRite when ya needed it the most?

Wish you well on the recovery.

Dodgy Loner · September 30, 2009, 05:05:56 PM

That was actually the first time I used the new LogRite. The reason I turned the cant by hand instead of with the canthook was because the side supports were down. I figured it would save time to turn the cant once by hand instead of raising the side supports, turning it 3 times with the cant hook, and lowering the side supports again. I was very wrong :(. But you can bet that I will reconsider how I turn my cants in the future ;).

Warbird · September 30, 2009, 05:29:00 PM

Glad to hear it wasn't more serious, DL.

Raider Bill · September 30, 2009, 06:36:19 PM

There a lot of nerve endings in those finger tips. My friend John up on the hill sliced off the end of his finger last month right before my very eyes about half way down the nail while we were putting the back hoe on. He squeeled like a pig all the way to the ER. They didn't do anything but clean it and tell him to find a ortho guy to trim the bone down. Small town hospital.
Of course when you do something like that then for the next couple weeks you will keep hitting it against everything.

WDH · September 30, 2009, 07:36:04 PM

Aren't you left handed? Well, in any case, that is a real bummer. Nothing speaks like experience, and unfortunately, you experienced an unfortunate experience.

I should post a thread on "Things That I have Done to Hurt Myself". After I posted the first few pages, you could add yours there. Hopefully your list will remain quite small over time. Hopefully you will recover well.

ellmoe · September 30, 2009, 07:54:54 PM

Sorry to hear this, but glad it wasn't worse.

Mark

Ron Scott · September 30, 2009, 08:10:27 PM

Ouch!!

Dan_Shade · September 30, 2009, 08:13:00 PM

:( It's never a good thing when someone hurts themself.

I'm glad to hear it wasn't any worse.

thecfarm · September 30, 2009, 08:54:10 PM

I bet you saw it coming too.All accidents can be prevented,if you could turn back time. ;D We all do things we should not do.But at the time,just before the oh oh factor sets in,it was a great idea. :

Jeff · September 30, 2009, 08:55:45 PM

Quote from: Dan_Shade on September 30, 2009, 08:13:00 PM
:( It's never a good thing when someone hurts themself.

I'm glad to hear it wasn't any worse.

I read that twice thinking you were saying

"I'm glad to hear it wasn't me" :D

fishpharmer · September 30, 2009, 10:49:30 PM

DL, glad your gonna be okay. Made me think of one of a favorite quotes.......

Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment. ~Rita Mae Brown

I got one of them shorter fingers too.....from a mean critter..biscuit jointer.

Banjo picker · September 30, 2009, 11:23:30 PM

Sorry to hear about the finger there DL ...I cracked a bone in my hand last winter, and every time I turned around so to speak i was bumping that sucker on something...It will take a while to get over...Tim

Ernie · September 30, 2009, 11:33:45 PM

Glad you'll be OK. I've got one fore finger with a partially fused knuckle from trying to pull a stray bit of straw from the cross auger on an old combine I had years ago. The auger and the straw won. The wheat sample was all clean except for that one bit of straw and all the blood of course :(

Weekend_Sawyer · October 01, 2009, 07:50:32 AM

As I was reading this thread I found myself holding my index finger, having simpathy pain.
When I was a kid we had an old go kart without an engine. It had a roll cage sort of around it and 2 of us would push 1 guy around for a while then switch. A 2 boy powered go kart! A pice of the roll cage had come loose, the sheet metal screw was still in it and by buddy tried to slap it back down inplace. right where my finger was, the screw went through the tip of my finger splitting the nail and making me do a rain-dance 8) Mom said I howled all the way to the doctor who removed the nail and bandaged me up. The tip of my finger looks kind of like, well a butt.

Chuck White · October 01, 2009, 09:35:20 AM

Well DL I can only imagine how that must have felt!

I tried to see if my finger would fit between an oak cant (about 8x10x8) and one of the bed rails one time!
There ain't much room in-between!

Boy, that sucker hurt for a long time, all I ended up with was a small blood blister under the corner of my fingernail!
Now, if I turn a cant by hand, you can pretty-well bet that my fingers are "between" the bed rails!

I wish you a speedy recovery!

Dodgy Loner · October 01, 2009, 03:16:58 PM

Well Chuck, on one hand, I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one to try that stunt, but on the other hand, I'm sorry to hear you had to go through that as well. I sawed four pine logs earlier this week and I did all the turning with my LogRite this time around!

Texas Ranger · October 01, 2009, 03:34:25 PM

Danny, all of us could add a page or twelve on "Things That I Have Done to Hurt Myself", but, being a 'little' older than you, I think I can out 'ouch' ya. Shoot, I can count on one hand a half dozen or so 'ouches", on that one hand. Some of the newer ones cover up some of the older ones.

Tom · October 01, 2009, 05:57:46 PM

Dodgy,
At least you didn't set yourself up for ridicule.
When I lost the end of my middle finger in a tablesaw a few years ago, I look through drugged eyes(as I was no longer feeling any pain) and asked, "will I be able to play the guitar?"

He looked at me as if he had been waiting for that stright line all of his life and asked, "I don't know, could you play one before?"

We all broke up real bad, especially me. Drugs are wonderful! :D

Raider Bill · October 01, 2009, 06:02:25 PM

Well Tom I have to ask do / did you play guitar?

Tom · October 01, 2009, 08:30:02 PM

Yep, I did. Now I don't, but not because of that finger. ;D

DUPUYTREN'S DISEASE

James P. · October 16, 2009, 09:09:21 AM

Dodgy, make those same kind of errors more frequently than I like too. Its good you had someone around to help you. I once turned a oak cant off the head blocks instead of bring it forward onto the roll table. rolled it right over and pinched my hand between cant and inside edge of roller table( between carriage and roll table). Literally had to take a minute to figure how to roll it back off. One handed and not hurt my hand any further. I try to see the possibility of accident before I make it happen. Sometimes common sense is lacking. reading your post is just a reminder to stay on my toes. better to take the long road if the short ones washed out. everyone be safe. I cringe at witnessing accident. then I turn into fearless helper.

Raider Bill · October 16, 2009, 09:15:43 AM

Quote from: Tom on October 01, 2009, 08:30:02 PM
Yep, I did. Now I don't, but not because of that finger. ;D

DUPUYTREN'S DISEASE

Well now another great find on the foresrty forum! I've got this on my left hand. It's pulling my little finger down and has a knot forming. I never knew what it was so now I do!

Thanks Tom!