Tired, in a hurry, don't do what I did - bad accident - end mill defeated finger.

[davidpbest]

This happened to me on Thursday night (two days ago) about midnight. Let this be a warning to others.

This was the setup - 3/4” end mill running at 1500 RPM. I had just squared off the end of the small stainless steel part, ready to do the same operation to the next part in the 8-part run. With the spindle still turning, I loosened the vise, reached around behind the cutter to remove the part (very stupid), and in a flash, my finger was grabbed by the clockwise-rotating end mill which pulled the finger through the 4mm slot between the side of the vise and the rotating end mill.



The result is shown below, taken in the ER about an hour later. If you're squimsh, DO NOT click on the photo. I lost a lot of blood and was pretty weak, thankfully my daughter was home and got me to the hospital pronto, not sure how I could have even called 911 alone. The end of my index finger was basically put through a meat grinder, and the last digit bone was crushed into pieces. The fingernail and tissue below it were badly severed and ultimately removed completely in the ER. Joints and tenons appear to be functioning, and nerve damage appears confined to the inner right side of that finger. Not clear what the longer term prognosis is, but I'm expecting the last digit on that finger will have to be amputated.

This was a stupid accident. I was tired, wanted to finish the job and got in a hurry. Lesson learned: turn off the machine before putting your hands anywhere close, and if tired or in a hurry, stop and come back tomorrow.

 

[jocat54]

David I am so sorry this happened to you. Hope you heal fast.
I did basically the same thing several years ago--except it was a wood router table.

 

[strantor]

Thanks for sharing. Powerful safety reminder.

 

[mikey]

We all get tired and distracted, at which point the alarm bells in the back of our heads start to go off. I've learned to listen to them but tomorrow is another day and I might not listen - thanks for reminding me to pay attention. I hope all goes well, David, and my wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

[Pmma-Granville]

At my workplace I rout out a lot of acrylic stuff, held down only by double sided tape! Sometimes it starts pulling off when the cutter gets blunt so I hold it down with my finger, won't be doing that anymore!!!
Hope it heals up well, specially if that's your main nose picking finger!!

 

[dieselshadow]

David, I'm very sorry man. A bad day in the shop shouldn't have such severe consequences. But this is a huge reminder that reality says otherwise. Please, don't get angry with yourself. This will only be fruitless. Sharing your mistake with us was a very constructive thing to do. I hope you recover quickly.

 

[core-oil]

Sorry to learn of your accident David, your sharing it with us was a brave thing to do,, It is easy to say "iwould not be so stupid", And go out to the shop and do something equally unfortunate, Many years ago I had my little finger caught up in a tool, Again due to be ing tired and letting my guard down, In my case it was a slotting machine I should have known better as in my home town many years ago a turner was killed by the self same style of machine, (Only larger) As the years roll on I am more and more aware of how my reflexes are much slower and tiredness comes on quicker,

So now I tend to play more on my smaller machine tools, You take care & I hope you heal soon.

 

[kvt]

Hope all heals up well. Thanks for sharing, I had the tip of one finger almost removed with a router bit while making custom Tung and Groove Planking for an old horse trailer years ago. It took a long time for things to settle down afterwards. But it reminded me to be more carful and take a break, parts can be replaced, and jobs can waite to be finished, other wise it may be even longer delay on completing the job.

 

[Bill Gruby]

Oh man, that looks awful. Thanks for posting the warning. I wish I could say it doesn't look that bad, but dammit it does. That will hurt even after it has healed. Bummer.

"Billy G"

 

[Eddyde]

David, sorry to see that happened to you. I empathize, I lost the end of my left ring finger 10 years ago, doing a similar thing, reaching behind rotating cutting tool... except it was an industrial panel saw withe a 14" blade... I was very lucky as it could have been much worse. I recommend finding the best hand surgeon in your area. The hospital I initially went to wanted to amputate the past the last knuckle but I listened to a friend and got a second opinion. They were able to graft tissue from my pinky to reconstruct the tip of my ring finger made a huge difference.
I hope you heal quickly and with little pain as possible.

Eddy