Wake-up call

[ryannmphs]

Well, I've been wrestling with the descison to post this or not, but here it goes. I had a moment of stupidity in the shop on Tuesday night and now I am paying for it. There may be no turning, or even shop time, for me for the next couple of weeks.

My moment of stupidity came when turning a bowl (yeah, I know not a pen, but we know when accidents happen). From what I remember (amazing how the brain blocks memories), I had a small catch while turning turning the bottem inside of the bowl. While repositioning the gouge for another run at it and getting in too much of a hurry, I had another, major catch, that got my thumb between the gouge and the tool rest.[:0] I have fracture on the tip of my thumb and some major brusing, so all in all, not too bad, but enough to make stop and think.

If your the type that likes to look at photos of accidents here's a link to my photos (sorry for the quality, the camera was still on the macro setting)

Be safe,
Ryan

 

[Gary Max]

Ryan ---hate to see that you got hurt. Pics look real painful I hope you went to the doctor. I would hate to see the #'s on how many folks get hurt turning every year.
Hope your hand gets well fast.

 

[woodpens]

That sure looks like it hurts, Ryan. You did the right thing sharing it with us. The more exposure we get to such accidents, the more focused we are likely to be when we are in a similar situation. I hope it heals soon so you can finish that bowl! Thanks for letting us know about it.

 

[ryannmphs]

Gary,
Yes, I went to the doc, even went to the ER due to the pain level that I was in. Even completely numbed from 2 hours on ice the pain was more than I could handle. Yes, I confirmed the last bone in the thumb is fractured at the tip. The crack is going length wise in the thumb so it could take 3 or more months to completly heal [B)]

Ryan

 

[micah]

Sorry to hear about your accident Ryan!
I feal you pain brother! I had a Jacobs Chuck come loose. It got caught while drilling a blank a couple weeks ago and come loose while backing it out. Pretty weird situation...all I remember is the initial contact with it up against my head.[B)]
Micah

 

[alamocdc]

Ryan, sorry about the accident and I'm glad it wasn't worse... it easiliy could have been. Get better quick and remember the lesson.

 

[dfurlano]

I jammed my thumb playing basketball once and fractured the bone like Ryan. Man, I thought I was going to pass out from the pain.

Hope it feels better soon.

 

[Ron Mc]

Ryan,
Take care of your thumb and please be sure to not turn again until you are ready!

 

[low_48]

YOUCH!!!!!!! That's some interesting colors. Can any of you resin hounds match that? Could be a winner with the medical set. I also wonder if we can have a "Show us your injury" posts. We've done pics of ourselves, pics of our dogs, now posts of our injuries,..........

Hope this might take some of the edge off the pain Ryan. Laughing doesn't hurt the thumb does it? I bet you will now be able to count how many times the opposing thumb is used during a single day.[]

 

[Randy_]

There was a post/thread recently on Saw Mill Creek(I think) about injuring a fingernail. The idea advanced by several posters was that drilling a small hole in the nail would releive the pressure and the pain and prevent the loss of the nail. Just the thought of doing that makes my spine crawl; but there were enough favorable responses that there must be something to it. Check it out if you like.

http://tinyurl.com/cehby

 

[TomServo]

I had a similar experience with my left-hand middle finger (and I'm a lefty) - my friend and I were playing with a .25 model airplane engine, going full tilt... my finger got in the way of the blade (like 25000 RPM) and stopped it quite effectively and suddenly.. That was almost 10 years ago, and I still have a scar. Destroyed the fingernail and it hurt for a month. Didn't go to the doctor - don't much like them sorts ;p

 

[terry q]

Ryan

I have a thumb that looks remarkably like yours. I did mine between a natural edge bowl and the tool rest. Luckily the lathe was spinning down. I don't know about you but it made me say bad words.

Terry

 

[PenWorks]

Sorry to hear Ryan, did not look at the pics, I will take your & everbody's word for it. I figure it would be bad carma to look. Hope you heal up quick.

 

[ryannmphs]

Randy,
Both the ER doc and my company doc said the drilling of the nail would not be needed. In fact the company doc said since the broken bone would be directly under where they would drill, he did not recomend it, unless I was in great pain. Well, it's been a few days and I still have times where there is intense pain, but it quickly subsides.

Thanks for all the kind words.

Ryan

 

[Dario]

Ryan,

Thank God you are okay. It is a good reminder to all of us.

Randy is right about drilling as well as your doctors. It is only needed if you are in severe pain to relieve the pressure caused by the forming hematoma underneath the nail. Of course you don't need it now [].

BTW, my mother-in-law did a lot of "drilling" as an ER doctor (now retired). She simply uses a sterile needle...NOT a drill!!! LOL [}]

 

[mschem]

I once managed to get a fingertip pinched between a trailer tongue and the ball on the hitch. Nothing broken, but the swelling under the nail was painful and not pretty. Went to the doc who says the standard way to relieve the pressure is drilling... but he had "an old Army trick" that was quicker and less painful. He takes a paperclip, unbends it, and gets it very hot over a lighter. Then just burned a little hole through the nail in no time flat. Quick and relatively painless. I've since used the trick myself on a few occasions.

 

[JimGo]

Ryan,
Sorry to hear about this. I hope you have a speedy and complete recovery!

 

[pssherman]

Those pictures remind me of the time when I built our house. For the first two weeks, not a day went by that I didn't draw blood with my hammer. Lost several finger nails and had a very difficult time hoding nails for awhile. BTW, the house is the largest woodworking project I ever worked on.

In time, your thumb will heal and the pain goes away, but not the memory of it. Sorry that you were injured, maybe your post will alert others to the dangers of woodworking and prevent other injuries.

Paul in AR

 

[HuskyDriver]

Originally posted by Randy_
<br />There was a post/thread recently on Saw Mill Creek(I think) about injuring a fingernail. The idea advanced by several posters was that drilling a small hole in the nail would releive the pressure and the pain and prevent the loss of the nail. Just the thought of doing that makes my spine crawl; but there were enough favorable responses that there must be something to it. Check it out if you like.

Link here shortly, I hope.

Heating a straightened paper clip to red hot and just touching it to the nail enough to press it thru and relive the pressure does the trick alot faster than drilling. Had a nurse do it to me once and it didn't hurt a bit. The instant relief of pain from the pressure was wonderful

 

[gerryr]

When I was in college, I was building something in the basement and hit my left thumb with a hammer. That baby swelled up like a balloon. The dog hid under the stairs. My stepdad thought I had cut off my foot or something. I mistakingly went to the college infirmary. They put my thumb on a table and drilled a hole in the nail. I thought I was going to die right then, but when drill did it's job, blood literally spurted out and the relief was instant. It isn't something I recommend.

 

[Johnathan]

It's stories like this that scare the crap out of me. Being new to this I've had a lot of people tell me that woodturning was not a good idea due to the fact that I'm an opera singer and pianist. My mentor told me that I'd be fine and that some day my students might have a nickname for me like stubby! I sure hope not, for now, I'm sticking with pens.

 

[C_Ludwigsen]

Johnathan, I am a pianist and singer/songwriter as well. I can't imagine ever stopping my woodturning. Its just a good reminder to always be careful.

Ryan, hope you are doin' good today, my friend. Just think, this gives you some spare time to work on some web stuff and to scheme about yout next creative pen - like maybe one with captured rings??? []

Chuck (I know when your thumb heals you are gonna smack me for that one)

 

[woodwish]

Ouch!

So now I'm worried that someone will think that using a sterile needle or hot paper clip to drill a hole is all part of the drill conspiracy. "Finally got a full set of bits and now you tell me that I need a paper clip AND a lighter also?" []