Table saw vs hand. Didn't end well.
Posted Mar 25, 2020, 1:38 AM UTC
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[also posted in r/orthopaedics and r/handsurgery}
This poor gent was about 70 and loved woodworking.
He still does. He just does it with seven fingers now
Also... carefully
Edit: clinical info for those curious: Middle finger was unfortunately beyond salvage, though much of the skin was useful for a filet flap. Thumb, sadly, was history. Trapezium obliterated, vessels were a disaster. Would have been great to save something to oppose to. Sadly, now it's just a two-fingered hook. Toe-to-thumb is something of an option, but primarily in a younger/non-smoker non-diabetic pt. Anastomosing diabetic/smoker vessels is torture and rarely works out very well.
Don't smoke, folks.
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He reached past the blade, with it waaay too high. Found this out in college the hard way, but I was a little bit further, and only lost some use to the thumb. Nasty enough.
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TIL - The term "filet flap"
Anyone want the rest of my chicken fingers? I'm no longer hungry.
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i just now fully realized what having an opposable thumb means...
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Evolution my dear Watson! Evolution!
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There has been on the market for a while now a table saw that can detect galvanic current in a limb and instantly stop. They’re expensive. When the system detects a finger or hand the blade crashes into a lump of lead beneath the table and is destroyed. The blade is expensive to replace. But on the other hand.....they could allow you to HAVE an other hand.
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Actually the blades are just as cheap as any other blade, because you can use any blade. It's the brake unit that's expensive. And even then its only $70. Totally worth it to save a finger, but a pricy mistake if you cut a board with a staple or nail in it as that will engage the brake too. Lol, that's what you get, mother, for always trying to use scrap wood you cheapskate!
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Yes I saw a blade destroyed because a guy cut some laminate, the laminate had an insulating foil membrane he wasn’t aware of.
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Well it didn't destroy the blade, it did lodge itself into the brake and never came out, we hung it on the wall. Good conversation peice
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It is the saw that is costing and arm and a leg up front (pun intended). They don't need to make it 2.5 times the cost of a good portable construction saw like a Dewalt. They are really ripping off the consumer as they would make a ton of money by making it more affordable for everyone who are not as adept at use of a table saw and would buy one of not for the outlandish cost up front.
The replacement cost is cheap because you pay for it up front! By a ton. So they aren't kidding anyone with their low cost replacement system advertising. How often are you really going to need to replace it in one's lifetime? I guarantee it is a rare replacement for most woodworkers . Don't get me wrong. It is worth the cost but only if you use a table saw quite frequently. I found my compound miter saw to be just so much easier to use and it saves time and fingers both!
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Sawstop patents will expire within the next year or three (August 2021 or April 2024). After that it will probably be included in all table saws.
I would not be surprised if it even became mandatory at that point.
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Should of been made mandatory sooner. Could you imagine if the inventor of seat belts patented and squeezed every dollar out of it?
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As a former carpenter, never use a table saw. Ever.
If you can't cut it with a circular saw or miter saw, you don't need to be cutting it.
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ignorant person here, why are table saws bad?
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Apart from the evidence showcased in the pic above, they have a real nasty habit of launching whatever your cutting out at high velocity if the blade gets into a bind (which is common), which can result in serious injury either to yourself or anyone nearby.
I had the left side of my face caved in by debris about the size of a coffee cup by a careless coworker about 5 years ago, and I'm still dealing with issues caused by that incident.
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That sucks. I hope you fare well, anonymous internet friend.
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a careless coworker
There is the main problem right there. Shitty that it happened to you, and fair for you not wanting to use them anymore but you could make that argument for any power tool out there.
Routers, bandsaws, drills, lathes, mills, jointers, etc. All tools used improperly can cause serious injury. Use these tools with the proper training, safety equipment, and attentiveness, and you will most likely be fine. That includes being attentive to those working around you.
Just my two cents.
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sweet merciful crap
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Plenty of risk. As shown above, it can mangle you quite easily as the blade must be (most of the time) a little exposed when cutting material, and you pass your arms around it to push things, often hanging your chest above. Also people don’t think much of it, but even kick back can be deadly. They are however quite versatile
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How painful would this be for the patient? When I cut my palm and had to get 4 stitches I didn’t feel any pain. Would it be like that or would they feel intense pain?
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Adrenaline probably takes care of a lot of the pain, but I assume it would hurt like a motherfucker when that wore off.
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Another beautiful advertisement for SawStop and push sticks!
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What’s the purpose of the x-day? Can part of the hand be saved?
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The xray helps in planning reconstruction and is part of the equation in deciding what can be salvaged and what cannot
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Sometimes, but you just don't know till you get a picture.
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Without an x-ray, you have no prop you can point to and say "well, that's your problem right there."
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Which one won?
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"Handburger meat".
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I was going to say that!
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Won half the battle but not the war
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I thought almost cutting my index finger off with a chop saw was bad but this. Will they have to amputate the hand?
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What is a first responder supposed to do on this? Wrap the hand up in bandaid?
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Cover it with a napkin so they don’t have to look at it while they drive homie to the hospital
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They usually apply a tourniquet, but a heavy pressure dressing is a good idea. Don't just drape something over it. Apply pressure. For 10 minutes.
Tourniquets, if applied at all, should be applied with good technique - as low as possible, not over a joint.
If you put a tourniquet high up on the arm, you threaten a lot more than just the injured part.
And you limit the surgeon's allowed "tourniquet time" in the surgery.
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Why the 10 Minutes? Is that the time it takes for the blood to clod up?
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Pretty much. It takes 5 to 10 minutes of constant pressure for the pressure to work in slowing down bleeding. Hardly anybody ever does this correctly.
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Well, that's good to know for future reference 👍
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(I'm not a doc. I'm not even a med student) where do you even begin fixing this, and to what extent can his function and his hand be restored?
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Is the saw okay?
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Just put some ice on it
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I'm a first year medical student, which basically means a useless piece of garbage, hence the question: Why did they xray that? To look for broken bones?
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More like, to look AT broken bones. We know there will be some. We want to know which they are and where they're broken, and how.
To aid in planning reconstruction. Where the bone is cut and how it is cut matters.
Fixing bones is not a one size fits all. You don't just need to know IF it's broken. Also in what pattern. And where.
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Oh i see thx m8
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I fought the saw and the saw won.
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use a fucking PUSH STICK!!!
Or get a saw stop
Yeah, I've dabbled in woodworking and if I ever buy a table saw I 100% plan on buying saw stop brand. More expensive but completely worth it.
Incidentally, hand surgery is pretty expensive too.
A push stick is pretty inexpensive too and so is common sense. I see most accidents occur because people are in too much of a hurry or try to do precision cuts on a table saw. If I had a construction team using a table saw all of the time there would be no hesitation as they are 2.5 times the cost of a decent Dewalt saw.
My chop saw has taken away most of the need for my table saw at home except for larger cuts on bulky panels which are not requiring your hands anywhere near the blade. Common sense goes a long way. Older guys need to realize that their ability to control a piece of wood and their strength is not anywhere like it was when they were younger too. If you can afford a stop saw and need it then definitely buy it over a regular table saw. Otherwise consider a compound miter saw and you will be happy you invested in one. Much safer and easier to handle.
There is no expense too much if it involves your safety
What I wonder: how did me manage to seemingly cut the hand from back to front?!
Slipped and landed palm on blade.
They could have slipped while pushing or was helping guide a large piece of material which can sometimes be a two man job. Things some guys do to cut corners also cut hands off.
I could see this if he was cutting and pushing from the edge of the board. As bone hit the blade it would alter the orientation of the rest of the hand motion. I too was misguided by the pinkie finger looking like a thumb. It makes more sense when you read the note on it.
Short answer? Bad technique and physics!
Read that in my boss's voice.