[TheForge] Tongs & power hammer - a safety issue?

[theforge@mailman.qth.net]

Andy Vida wrote:

>	Well, I cannot say i agree with this or the implications.
>	I've known many top-drawer machinists and cabinet makers
>	who have NEVER injured themself even after 30 or more years
>	of working with such dangerous machinery and who do not use
>	any special safety devices.  I'm not one of them and I have
>	the multitude of scars and a couple amputated finger tips
>	to prove it.
>
My point is, in a sense, it doesn't matter whether it is an amputated 
finger, or a splinter picked up while sanding a board, a metal splinter 
or a hot piece of scale down the boot, people don't intend to do any of 
them.  You think to yourself that a splinter is different because your 
balancing your vigilance  with the probable dangers.   The trap is that 
so many accidents occur because the danger wasn't obvious to us until 
afterward.  

>	When I was a cabinet maker in college I never knew a single
>	worker that used the guard and with two exceptions I never
>	saw any serious injuries.  We use push sticks and by some
>	miracle therefore fail to cut ourselves.  
>
Nowdays I leave the guard on unless I have a reason not to.  
Unfortuneately, my big industrial saw doesn't have a guard.  The night I 
screwed my hand up, I was using a push stick as well.  I regularily work 
through the night, so wasn't feeling especially tired.  Still don't know 
exactly how it happened, the blade kicked my hand back to my chest.  Not 
a lot of pain, just felt like I had been hit with a board.  I remember 
thinking, damn am I lucky, I could have really hurt myself.  Turned my 
hand over and the next thought was, damn this isn't going to be easy to 
fix.  It was the first injury I had that would stay with me for life.   
As best I recall, I reached around to grab the board on the exit ( 
didn't have an insert that was a clearance fit, so push stick  would 
lift the back  of the board for last  inch or so of cut)   when the 
blade kicked back and  my hand followed the board backwards through the 
blade.   Dr on call was a researcher and did an experimental surgery, 
replacing my finger joint with a toe joint.  Works pretty good and beats 
amputation, though my jointless toe tends flutter when I swim.   Now I 
don't use dangerous tools after 10pm, but haing said that, I will 
probably put my eye out with a soldering iron now.     The point is no 
one is perfectly vigilant, a lot of people are lucky some are unlucky, 
but  if you have the opportunity  to  improve  your "luck" look at it.  
I know a lot of people have added belt guards to their  Little Giants, 
as well  as a saftey cable for the spring, with a cage even sometimes.


Charles