Well, campers, it's been a tough ten days or so. Wrote last week about taking a fall the previous Friday. Things took a turn for the worse the following Sunday. But, like most things in life, you do your best to make the best of them.
Given that, I've decided to become a song writer. With apologies to Buddy Holly and the Crickets, here's my first attempt
[Verse]
Sawin logs in the hot sun
I fought the saw and the saw won
I fought the saw and the saw won
I cut some wood cause I had some
I fought the saw and the saw won
I fought the saw and the saw won
[Chorus]
I left my shop and it feels so bad
I guess my sawin's done
She's the best saw that I ever had
I fought the saw and the saw won
I fought the saw and the saw won
[Pre-Chorus]
Cuttin' Lumber with a table saw
I fought the saw and the saw won
I fought the saw and the saw won
I sliced my thumb and I lost my fun
I fought the saw and the saw won
I fought the saw and the saw won
[Chorus]
I left my shop and it feels so bad
I guess my sawin's done
She's still the best thumb I've ever had
I fought the saw and the saw won
I fought the saw and the saw won
Whatcha' think? Pretty good huh?
So....There I was* Sunday afternoon (a week ago yesterday). Sarge's weekly tasking order complete. Mrs. J is down for a nap accompanied by six dogs (she and they were on the couch, the cats were claiming sole ownership of our bed). I decided to visit the workshop and having completed the preparatory sawing for MBD and The Rev's bookshelf restoration, had some cutoffs that I wanted to turn into a portable tool holder.
The holder plan I saw on the Tube of You required partial cross cuts through the 2x4's to create slots for chisels, screwdrivers and assorted other hand tools. I didn't have quite enough wood for his project, but I could try it out on a smaller scale version.
So...I got to work. Cut the rounded edges off (to make the finished product look seamless), then got to cutting the slots for the tools. Marked out the desired widths and heights, positioned the blade and the miter gauge. Fired up the saw and went to town. Got the first piece cut out for the chisels. Confident now in the process, I set up the second piece, and started making cuts.
Evidently, my hubris offended the Greek Gods, as on the final pass of the day (for shortly obvious reasons), the 2 x 4 piece caught the blade, twisted and brought my right hand which had been holding the piece to the miter gauge into the blade. As I felt that happening, I issued an emergency evacuation order for the hand, which, while promptly executed, was not completely successful.
My friendly finger (the one you show to express your feelings to friends and others by extending it alone) had it's fingernail partially, but cleanly, i.e. no damage to the quick, removed. The index finger had a tiny, non-bleeding scratch on the tip.
The thumb, however, took a bigger hit. I lost about a nickel sized chunk out of it. By that time, the evacuation order had reached the hand and it cleared the area. Saw went to off, I grabbed a rag out of the clean bin, put it over the thumb and tightly gripped it.
Went into the house and roused Mrs. J from her nap saying we needed to go visit Urgent Care. Suffice it to say that awakening, while it might have been the highlight of her day, wasn't the "High Point", if you get my drift.
Fortunately, there were no other patients there, so we went in almost immediately. The NP was one of my former students and his assistant was a former Army Medic. We got on well.
Right up to the point of the Lidocaine injection.
Holy Crap! That stung and burned. If he'd have asked classified questions, I might have answered them.
He did say that the Lidocaine shot was less bad than the Silver Nitrate he would use to cauterize the wound would have been without it. If true, well, I didn't want to chance it.
 |
| The black stuff is the silver nitrate tinting my skin. The center circle? That's non-skin covered flesh. Ouch! |
He said to leave the bandage on for two days, change it, repeat, and on the third cycle let it breathe for an hour, then run water over it, but don't scrub, then re-bandage.
Did all that, and about an hour after that re-bandaging, the new bandage is soaked in blood.
Urgent Care was closed, so off to the ER we go. Where we go through the whole process again. The Doctor, a very nice young lady, while administering the Lidocaine, calmly asked me about the capabilities of the F-15. I tried to resist, but she was very persuasive with the needle.
After the cleaning of the wound, which the clock on the wall said 15 minutes but, I know for a fact took several millennia, we're free to RTB.
So what have you learned, Dumass?
I've learned to not use my dominant hand.
I've learned to be very careful where I swing my hand. Hitting something...Hurts.
I've learned that typing with one hand wrapped in bandages takes four times as long to write and twice as long to proofread and correct. (So, no snarky misspelling comments, Beans.)
I've learned to use new and improved wood gripping techniques and I've finished the project with them.
I also managed to finish the tool holder project.
So I've got that going for me.
But, just so I don't irritate the ghost of Buddy Holly.
Peace out, y'all
*Standard juvat intro
Was your saw a SawStop? Given what a table saw can do, you were lucky! I am very glad you are gonna be OK.
ReplyDeleteStB,
DeleteUnfortunately no. Sawstop would be nice, but...Paying attention is less expensive.
Yes, I was and Thanks.
juvat
They are very expensive. Using some skullsweat isn't. juvat's a CB (C stands for cheap, guess the other one) and is supposed to be a noted brainiac (being a pilot) so...
DeleteStB,
DeleteI wondered what brought on the question. I suspect it was "Saw went to off". Probably should have just said "Left hand turned off the saw". Sorry about that. Although I'm not sure if the SawStop would stop fast enough, don't know that it wouldn't have either.
Beans,
DeleteNot Cheap, Frugal. But, if Sarge gives me a big enough raise....
juvat
Whoa juvat! That's a wake-up call certainly, good thing only a chunk and not the top half of the thumb. Hmmmm........medications administered to a pilot........what is the airspeed velocity of a fully ladened F-15X? :)
ReplyDeleteNylon,
DeleteYep, on both.
Not positive on the last. However, not as fast as things went south last weekend.
juvat
Ouch! Glad you only lost small pieces and not an entire digit! Like StB, I'm curious if you have the SawStop. Man, I'm cringing just thinking about the damage you took.
ReplyDelete- Barry
Barry,
DeleteMe too, just going to have to be more careful. Given the fact that the thumb still stings quite a bit, I'm unlikely to be as stupid (regarding saws anyhow) for quite a while in the future.
Thanks
juvat
Stories like yours makes everything want to crawl up inside me and hide.
ReplyDeleteGood that it wasn't worse. With your opening I was expecting you to say that you would be unable to hitch-hike anymore.
Joe
ReplyDeleteSecond verse perhaps?
;-)
juvat
Oh OWIE!!!
ReplyDelete~BarbaCat
BBC,
DeleteNot exactly the words I used, but basically the same meaning!
juvat
Juvat, gutsy move to go right back to the horse that threw you, remount and complete the project. Good man! Hope the healing moves along quickly!
ReplyDeleteCletus
Cletus,
DeleteLearned that in Korea on my first tour. Came within a wingspan of a head on mid-air. Rattled me quite a bit. My flight commander after hearing about it, went to the day's schedule, wiped off two names and wrote his and mine on it. We went out and flew the same mission over again. Multiple head on passes until I got pissed off and stopped flinching. Debrief started with a beer. I got scared a multitude of times in future rides, but learned you got to get up, dust yourself off, and get back in the saddle. Oh...We also talked about what I'd done wrong.
Which I did with my self vis a vis the table saw. Not to say it can't or won't happen again, but I'm a tad bit wiser.
Thanks
juvat
We picked up some hunks of lead at Tchepone one sunny afternoon. Got to go back the next morning. Best remedy!
DeleteLtFuzz,
DeleteBack in the saddle and ride! Yep!
juvat
Ouch!
ReplyDeleteSarge,
DeleteNot exactly the words I used, but conveyed the same thoughts.
juvat
That brings back some unpleasant memories.
ReplyDeleteAn unthinking second with a table mounted router got the tip of my left hand salute finger chewed on.
I was rubbing that area the entire time I read of your experience.
My table saw experience was cutting a piece that really was too small to go between the fence and the blade, and the piece launched like a fighter leaving a flight deck. The piece lifted the nail of my right thumb, and then bounced off my face shield into the overhead with enough force to punch a hole in the thin walled 4" PVC vent pipe I was using for dust collection.
I'm thankful you escaped with a minor injury only.
Please don't discover the way I did that banging the extended finger tip on the turn signal stalk is so painful that I had to pull over and literally cry.
Both of my errors were a lot of years ago and my PTP (Power Tool Paranoia) has faded only a tiny bit.
Neat reworking of the song, and yes I know the tune.
JiP,
DeleteI've used that song line several times in response to "What'd you do to your hand?" When I reply with it, it's somewhat scary that the vast majority follow up with "Oh, Table saw, Right?"
juvat
I got the shivers just reading about what you did to yourself... and that was before the picture of your thumb.
ReplyDeleteRob,
DeleteSorry, Taking it prevented at least one unbandage/rebandage adventure, when I was getting shuffled from on Medic to another. And I pulled up the webpage at each of the four offices I went to this morning. Having it meant we could talk strategy without me bleeding all over things.
juvat
Smart move... I'll keep that in mind (if I'm able) after my next bad day.
DeleteRob,
DeleteYeah, I felt better about it when the Nurse in the Wound Care unit told me they used their cell (office cell) to take pictures and put them in the patient's file, so they could compare and measure progress. I'd already been doing it for a couple of days before I got to that unit. Great minds think alike....Or something
juvat
That picture made me shiver. Years ago I managed to mangle the tip of my right ring finger with a hedge trimmer. Wife was nine months pg. A few days later we were at the maternity ward. While she was having a contraction, without thinking, I held her hand with my right hand. That was a mistake.
ReplyDeleteHope you heal without complications.
WSF,
DeleteI've had several "without thinking, I ....with my right hand". Knowing the strength of women in labor and how much my healthy hand hurt in the grasp of my beloved...You have my sympathy, My Friend.
Thanks
juvat
One of the very neat things about the ShopSmith system is the miter gauge/slidy thing that you brace your wood upon has a trigger-activated clamp on it, like this thingymabobber: https://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/swd_mitergauge.htm
ReplyDeleteAnd found on fleabay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/275747342683?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-213727-13078-0&mkcid=2&itemid=275747342683&targetid=4580840333842800&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=603247655&mkgroupid=1235852063340218&rlsatarget=pla-4580840333842800&abcId=9316139&merchantid=51291&msclkid=37dbd23891a11572bf8eb6e2c695c13d
The clamp, which pushes down on the wood, can adjust in and out for various widths of wood.
Dunno if it would work in your saw as the bottom slidey thing that engages the slidy track for the miter gauge may be too wide, but I am sure you can find something like it for whatever brand of saw you have out there in Heat Index 5000 land.
Really, it should be a cheap upgrade one way or another and Mrs. Juvat will approve it as fingers and thumbs are rather required to cook for Mrs. Juvat.
Glad you didn't have to have a reattachment, which is what I worried about when I read the song.
And no twitting you on bad spelling until healing begins. Just glad you are alive and smart-arsed enough to make a joke out of it.
Any landing you can walk away from, right?
And make fun of you for discovering table saws love fingers? Nah, not till you recover. Then the heckling will begin. I think the same rules apply to pilots who screw up, no ribbing until healing is finished?
DeleteBeans (First), that miter gauge looks exactly like mine. Gonna do a bit of research and may end up with the grip from eBay. (Shopsmith is out of stock. Thanks.
Deletejuvat
Beans,
DeleteI think the rule is "No ribbing (or alternatively giving sH*t) until arrival at the bar. At that point all mercy is put on hold.
juvat
Well, there you go. If you can get into the bar, you're alive and thus a target.
DeleteI'll buy the first digital round. Just give 'em my number.
DeleteLtFuzz,
DeleteI'll probably have to buy the second round. It takes a bit right now to get my wallet out of my pocket.
juvat
OUCH!!! Warning taken.
ReplyDeleteI believe that ADM Rickover, the Gawd of the Nuclear Navy admonished "Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't livelong enough to make them all yourself."
My table saw will henceforth be viewed as a hungry tiger ready to leap and bite, rather than a docile beaver content to nibble wood only at desired locations.
Super kudos for getting back on the saw what bit ya, and finishing the project. That is dedication to mission accomplishment, regardless of the casualties taken.
JB
JB,
DeleteI'm generally in agreement with the Admiral's position. Pretty sure I used up quite a bit of Luck and other things (O2, adrenaline, heart beats etc.).
Thanks
juvat
There is something to be said for table saw sleds, where you can clamp the workpiece down. The extra time clamping and unclamping is offset by the safety.
ReplyDeleteWisconsin has some of best Heavy Rescue Trucks on Earth, because we have some of the best farmers. When you become very good at something, is quite often when you get sloppy. A friend of mine tried to clear a bogged down manure spreader, without shutting the tractor off. All of a sudden, her hands felt like they had been smacked with a bat, the spreader was at full speed, and the pitchfork was 300 feet downfield.
But it had worked the last ten times she had done it that way.
StB,
DeleteA table saw sled (remodel) is on my to do list. There's a youtube video about an updated crosscut sled that looks interesting. Think I'm going to try that one.
I thought about a SawStop, till I saw the price of the reloads. Thank you, no. Neat idea, but I'm not a faaaaaaaabulously wealthy type.
ReplyDeleteThought about you and your CLL runs today when I was driving my stick F150 through rush hour in Austin. I was hoping I'd get extra points in life, or a few dollars off my insurance. I guess I'll just settle for three weeks off my life expectancy.... Very little boredom, Loads and LOADS of Terror. If everyone drove a clutch, I bet those backups wouldn't be so caterpillar-y.....
STxAR,
DeleteNeither am I, but I am frugal. Can't see $4G for a table saw. I'll just try to be a heckuva lot more careful. And, I could be mistaken, but the time elapsed between the board and my finger, didn't seem long enough to have saved me. Again, I could be wrong, but I think I'd still be using my refined table saw procedures even on a SawStop. I'm pretty sure if I went to a SawStop demo, I wouldn't see someone stick their finger in the blade to prove it's capability. So...
Yeah, Austin (and a lot of other TX Cities, including the 'Burg) are gaining population by leaps and bounds. I don't know about other TX cities, but the two mentioned above seem to be of the less desirable political bend. Just sayin' YMMV.
But on the other hand, if you are leaving, your suggestions should start one of two ways. 1) When I lived in (name your state), we did that this way, blah, blah, blah. (AKA I've stopped listening) or 2) We tried that in (name your state), it didn't work because....My response? Welcome to Texas, Friend!
Unfortunately, it seems to be more of #1 than #2.
juvat
I suspect putting on those bandages over your thumb and finger is quite uncomfortable. A tip. Invert the bandage over a tube that your digit and bandage will fit in. Then move your digit into the tube as you pull the bandage down, unrolling it off the tube. No tugging or pushing needed. I discovered this after a fingertip was pinched in a heavy oak door being slammed shut (split open like a grape - the ER doc said there was no need to x-ray it, he could see the bone was cracked). Made getting the bandage over the protruding ends of six or so stitches much less painful.
ReplyDeleteDon,
DeleteThanks for the tip (no pun intended). I'll pick one up next trip into town. Which may be a while. In the midst of all this folderol, the battery in my truck died. I had just purchased a new one and was waiting for the following morning when the temperature wasn't the same as the surface of the sun to install. Unfortunately, that's when this adventure started.
You ever tried lifting and inserting a truck battery with your non-dominant hand only? Just ain't happening. So, Mrs. J has graciously offered the use of her car (unofficially named "The Clown Car" as it looks like one of those vehicles in a circus where the vehicle pulls up in front of the audience and a dozen or so clowns pile out. She's even got a red clown nose for me to wear when driving. So you can see why I'm a tad reticent about driving it) for trips to town.
Getting fingers caught in a door? BTDT. No fun at all. My incident included the friendly finger, and the bandage required that to be extended and in a sling to keep them above my heart. Got a lot of stares and glares. But was good for my sense of humor.
Again thanks for the tip.
juvat
Glad to help, juvat. A caution - no one actually sells a tube for that specific purpose. Wander through the Dollar Store, a hardware store, or the grocery store looking for something that meets the specs (adapt, improvise, overcome [as a chem student, I used a large test tube]). Not having thought of it or tried it, sliding the bandage on off a solid object (like a screwdriver handle) might work as well. My finger? Either the middle or the next large one. The young ER nurse at the desk asked to see my wound, so I pulled a large bloody wrapping of toilet paper off. She turned pale and seemed undecided whether to faint or be sick as I calmly answered her questions while dripping blood on her desk.
DeleteDon,
DeleteThanks for the update. I shall endeavor to improvise.
juvat
A turkey baster (minus the bulb) or the "in the corner plastic vaacum cleaner nozzle back end might be about the right size.
DeleteDon,
DeleteThanks, that'll be MUCH easier to find.
juvat
Woof, glad it wasn't worse, and that a lesson was learned that didn't cause permanent damage to anything other than the ego... Stay safe, and thanks for the honest report, but I would expect nothing less from an Aviator. That's what we do. Own up to our mistakes so maybe somebody else doesn't do the same thing.
ReplyDeleteOld NFO,
DeleteYep, mission debriefs could be brutal, and generally speaking, rank had no place in them. You could call the Wing King our on his screwups as long as you ended it with "...,Sir!"
Thanks
juvat
Oooo, putting pressure on that to stop the bleeding would absolutely not be fun!!! And, yes, lidocaine shots do hurt, but not as much as stitches, or silver nitrate for sure...and you can get one of the tube-y things to scoot the gauze wrap over either from the UV Clinic, or from Walgreens/CVS/local pharmacy store--look in the first aid aisle.
ReplyDeleteYou got me beat...I have just spent this last beautiful weekend sleeping as a side effect of the meds I was given on Friday to treat some labyrinthitis, otherwise known as an inner ear infection...not fun. Went to bed Thursday night and when I lay down I was promptly clinging to the bed as everything was spinning like crazy!! Last time I had that happen I was 45 years younger and a large number of Tom Collin's were involved!! No alcohol in the past year+ (I lead an exciting life) and when I got up Friday morning I was staggering all over. Took me 3 hours before things calmed down enough to be safe enough to drive, got to UV, went to get the meds, and went home. Took the meds and promptly was zonked right out. Slept all day Saturday, but didn't take any Sunday, as I was feeling better. Still a bit careful about bending over, so will have to see how work goes tomorrow...
Long handled pushers thingys near any rotating metal disc objects....table saws, jig saws, band saws, manure spreaders--esp when used to dispense firewood, hay balers, snowblowers, lawn mowers...and eye protection!!
Cool tool storage project tho'
Suz
Suz,
DeleteNo, the first ride into town wasn't much fun. But the NP said that was the right thing to do. Thank you USAF Survival School!
Gonna go look for that bandage thingy later today.
Having been through the spinning chair training for flying with vertigo, I feel your pain. Difficult to fly when your brain is telling you the plane is spinning and flipping end over end. Had it happen once at night out over the ocean, high overcast, no moon= no horizon. Scared the bejesus out of me. So, my sympathies and hope you feel better quickly.
Trust me on the utility of pushers, To quote a line from another song I' m thinking of rewriting "...I'm a believer".
Thanks,
Again, Hope you feel better ASAP.
juvat
I've known two people who chopped off part of a digit with table saws. The loyal daughter-in-law who cleaned up afterwards said that it looked like a crime scene out of CSI-Something.
ReplyDeleteI hope you heal with minimal scarring.
CM,
DeleteStrangely enough when I went back in the woodshop the next day, I only found a few drops of blood. I too was thinking it would look like a slaughterhouse or something. Just lucky (at least in that aspect anyhow) I guess.
Thanks.
juvat
Sorry about your accident. Machines always win! I pulled my right thumbnail out whilst installing a radio in my MGA in 1973. The nail is still scarred. I was using an electric drill and plumber's tape (the metal perforated strips), on my back under the dash. Happens fast, right? I still maintain that electricity and tools shouldn't be combined. Hammers, screwdrivers and coping saws - that's the ticket!
ReplyDeleteHad a canopy to canopy "pass by" about five feet or so, with little or no airspeed left, after some ACM. All four of us decided not to mention it.
LtFuzz,
DeleteThat ride described above was instructive. My flight commander kept it up until I lead turned on him. I guess that was the lesson, as well as "Never take counsel of your fears."
Not sure I agree on the Electricity/Tools comment, but I'm leaning more to it now.
juvat