OOOooouuuccchhhh!!!!

Cyfiawnder · Post by **Cyfiawnder** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 2:54 am

Well today is the first day in 4 days that my hand has been not hurting enough to type a short message. On friday I learned the hard way that; Razor blade + Metal Lathe + Bamboo = 15 stitches in your right hand... You you guessed it. i was trying to work on a section of bamboo when my Medulabadidea thought it would be a good idea to use a 4" industrial razor as a chissel... Well to make a long story short, the razor caught on the wood "of course" and spun around in my hand "of course" and now my hand looks like I had an argument with a Quesinart. 8 stitches on my right thumb, 2 stitches on the tip of my index finger, 2 stitches on the tip of my middle finger and 2 stitches on the side of the knuckle closest to my finger nail also on my middle finger... What have I learned from this little exerscise in stupidity? Novicane needles in the tips of your fingers hurt more than the cuts the are supposed to numb, and Razor blades do not make good chissels... and it is far better to cut you arm, than your hand

Goodnight

amar · Post by **amar** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 2:57 am

ooouuch....hope the pain will get better soon....you dummy.

trisha · Post by **trisha** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 4:33 am

Yow!!! Don't they do glue down your way? Sympathies.

John S · Post by **John S** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 4:52 am

Oooooh I felt that.
TMI

I've done small amounts of self-mutilation whilst engaged in the using of sharp tools, but this sounds really nasty.

Good luck with the recovery.

John S

talasiga · Post by **talasiga** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 4:55 am

I am sorry to hear about blood on bamboo. Amongst Hindus bamboo has both divine and malefic connotations. The appollonian cowherd god Krishna, the lover of soul, plays a bamboo flute. On the other hand some (like my ma) will not grow bamboo near the house for fear of evil spirits that it may attract within its grove.

I would tend to see your accident in the best light,
as a crucible for spiritual cleansing,
a little sacrifice before your rising as a bamboo master.

May the Spirit heal well.
Rest well.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 5:18 am

Yup, instrument making CAN be a cruel mistress who requires a blood sacrifice from time to time...

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 5:43 am

*shudder* nasty, wishing you a quick heal!

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 5:59 am

I can sympathize. A few years ago, while removing plaster from a ceiling, I ripped open my left index finger with the scraper I was using. I was home alone and both our cars were being used so I had to walk 1.5 miles to the emergency room. That earned me 5 stitches. One week later I was back to playing guitar for a flamenco dance class. I just put a bandaid over the stitches and ignored the pain. Stupid, eh?
Take it easy (like I didn't) and be careful out there!
Mike

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 6:12 am

You're very lucky there was no tendon damage.

I will again remind all reading this, of something I read years ago in a Fine Woodworking magazine article reporting a study on hand injuries.

They found that in most instances, just before the accident occurred, the injured woodworker had an intuition, a gut feeling that what they were doing might be dangerous. When I was 12 years old, I severed the extensor tendon in my left index finger, which remains disfigured 39 years later. Just before that happened, I had the thought, "I maybe could hurt myself using a knife this way." I've taught myself to recognize such thoughts and change whatever I'm doing immediately.

Best wishes,
Jerry

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 6:48 am

Jerry Freeman wrote:You're very lucky there was no tendon damage.

I will again remind all reading this, of something I read years ago in a Fine Woodworking magazine article reporting a study on hand injuries.

They found that in most instances, just before the accident occurred, the injured woodworker had an intuition, a gut feeling that what they were doing might be dangerous. When I was 12 years old, I severed the extensor tendon in my left index finger, which remains disfigured 39 years later. Just before that happened, I had the thought, "I maybe could hurt myself using a knife this way." I've taught myself to recognize such thoughts and change whatever I'm doing immediately.

Best wishes,
Jerry

I had no premonition but then I'm pretty dense when it comes to intuition stuff. My first inkling that I was, or would be, injured was pain in my finger and blood dripping on the floor. I hate getting blood on the floor.
Mike

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 7:01 am

I've had plenty of injuries before which there was no mental warning. However, I've developed a habit of figuring out what happened whenever I hurt myself, however slightly.

It's been many years, knock on wood, since I cut myself badly. For several years after I stopped cutting myself, though, I would often bang up my right hand when a tool I was using slipped or went further than I expected, and my hand hit an edge of the workpiece itself.

I didn't expect that to begin with, but having noted that it happens, I've added it to my database of things that can happen. Nowadays, I often notice I'm doing something in a way that I could hurt myself by banging my right hand into the workpiece. When I notice, then I change what I'm doing. It happens only rarely now. In other words, the intuition of danger isn't necessarily inborn, and it's worth cultivating.

When I got my first carpentry job, the boss gave me some work to do on a table saw. I asked him if there was anything I needed to know about using it safely. He said, "Are you afraid of it?" I said yes. He said, "You'll be fine."

That was about as stupid as anything could be. I'm very lucky I still have 10 fingers after that job. Generalized fear doesn't help at all. What helps is knowing specifically what's dangerous or of unknown danger and heeding the thought that something might not be safe by changing to a practice that's known to be safe.

Best wishes,
Jerry

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:02 am

Oh man, that's a drag, Cyf! Get better soon!

bozemanhc · Post by **bozemanhc** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:30 am

This gives new meaning to Dale's "Bloody Hand Whistle Plans"

SirNick · Post by **SirNick** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:49 am

OUCH! You shouldn't handle sharp objects after your 4th adult beverage! Hope you heal up soon. Will you be able to play anytime soon?

CHIFF FIPPLE · Post by **CHIFF FIPPLE** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:01 am

Ouch thats nasty...........

but as Jerry says when yer hear a wee voice saying thats nae the way ta use a tool stop.

Its saves heaps on bandaids

Chiff and Fipple Forums

OOOooouuuccchhhh!!!!

OOOooouuuccchhhh!!!!

Well Wishes