RIP Finger

[GeneralKayoss]

Not exactly arboricultural but this happened to me about 2 1/2 years ago. Using a table router with a 1/2" spiral bearing bit. I was cutting small rails off of a pattern out of 3/4" Starboard (a heavy dense marine plastic). They were roughly 12" long x 1" wide. A combination of things went wrong here, I accidently used the wrong spiral bit, I grabbed the one we usually use on acrylic, with less taper. My pattern also didn't have any knobs or handles on it and was only 1/2" plywood... you can see where this is going. Anyways, trimming a few pieces I noticed the bit was very grabby, wanting to get overly aggressive trying to snatch the part. I thought "I'll do one more and check this bit and make sure it's the right one" I was pretty sure it wasn't at that point already. It was the next one that got me. Guess I had a little too much meat left in one place and it grabbed the part and flung it, dragging my finger right into the bit. I had 15 years experience in a woodshop and using routers at this point - never get comfortable and let your guard down. Needless to say but I'm a lot bigger on safety now! Here were the results:

 

[farmguywithasaw]

Not a good post before breakfast

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Not a good post before breakfast

Or before dinner either...
A graphic warning would have been nice.

Did your fingernail grow back?

 

[GeneralKayoss]

Or before dinner either...
A graphic warning would have been nice.

Did your fingernail grow back?

Oh no, 10 days later I had to have it cut off again in surgery

They amputated basically the entire fingernail area.

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

This literally made my index finger physically hurt...

Sucks dude. Machines ain't nice to flesh.

 

[GeneralKayoss]

This literally made my index finger physically hurt...

Sucks dude. Machines ain't nice to flesh.

I mean, it did hurt pretty bad. The worst part of the entire ordeal was them trying to get it to stop bleeding. They had to resort to shoving cotton swabs coated in some sort of silver blood clotting stuff inside the tiny severed artery in my finger. That stuff burned the absolute **** out of me. It burned so bad it made the bones in my arm all the way up to my shoulder hurt. It's probably at about 80% today. I have to use my middle finger and thumb to pick up or grip small objects now lacking a fingertip, but it's still useful enough. It still has some stiffness to it all this time later.