How many fingers do you have?

[Wongo]

OK boys and girls don’t get too excited. I want you to take this one seriously (if possible).

How many COMPLETE fingers do you have?

[hexbaz]

I'd like to meet the people with ten fingers - do they also have thumbs? ;)

[echnidna]

8 good fingers
1 finger missing part of 1 side
1 mangled thumb from tractor accident followed by cut on saw bench (which improved the mess made by the tractor)

[jackiew]

I voted 10 but strictly speaking I only have 9.95 ish as I had an accident with a cheese slice about 20 years ago ( caused by a rash attempt to use it to slice bits off of a raw cabbage rather than look for a knife :o ).

The result was an amazing amount of blood, one keeled over jackie ( you DON'T want me as your only available helper if you are bleeding profusely!!!) , and ultimately one thumb minus a corner and no feeling left in the healed end. It took an incredibly long time to heal up, couldn't get my motorcycle gloves over it which meant going to work on the bus, which meant getting up at sparrow fart for weeks and weeks :(.

I now avoid cheese slices and thoroughly don't recommend chopping off even tiny bits of your fingers.

[bitingmidge]

I've got 'em all!!

I do have a couple of serious scars on the ball of both hands (one from a broken snap-blade mid cut) and 14 stitches still visible across the knuckle of my left thumb after making a slight misjudgement while: (this is absolutely serious)- demonstrating the dangers of using a knife sharpener incorrectly to a bunch of four new employees.

As far as I know none of them was injured in their time with us, so the demonstration must have been quite effective.

P

[Ivan in Oz]

I voted 10 but strictly speaking I only have 9.95 ish.

I'm in the same boat.
Soon after getting back here after a lay-off ['poota went toes up]
I submitted something about wearing safety glasses and ear protection.

Within an Hour I'd run my Left 'Peter Pointer' into the table saw :eek: :eek: :(

Held onto it not knowing what damage had been done, blood enough for an amputation. took a slice out between;
and including, the nail, and edge of the PINKY.

Count.........1 2 3 4..... 9.95

[Wood Borer]

I counted my thumbs as fingers and came up with 10. I didn't study or take much interest in that topic of biology. :o

- Wood Borer

[AlexS]

Luckily, I still have all my digits, but have a few scars from early days - an oilstone slipped while I was sharpening a chisel & I almost removed the end pad from my left ring finger.

At the WW school I went to, 10 students, most of whom hadn't used any of the large range of power tools & machines available. By the end of the year, there was only one entry in the blood book...from a hand saw .

[craigb]

I still have 10 (o.k. 8 fingers & 2 thumbs for the pedants :D ) and I REALLY would like to keep it that way. :D

[silentC]

I consider myself very lucky to still have all my bits.

The closest I've come was when I tried to split my left thumb up the middle with a chisel about 16 years ago. I now have a permanently cloven left thumb nail as a constant reminder of which way to point a chisel. I have more scars from the glazing days than anything else but nothing serious.

[simon c]

It's interesting that we assume 10 as the limit - the number of people who are born polydactyl (more than 5 digits) is of the order of 1 in 1000. The extra digit is normally surgically removed at birth.

[Driver]

Still have all of mine (a couple of them currently crossed!)

I was very lucky about 18 months ago. Using my Triton in cross-cut mode to cut a mitre. I was holding the work against the mitre fence when the saw baulked and the workpiece kicked upwards. My right index finger slammed into the aluminium rail. That finger is now more sausage-like than hitherto. It stopped aching about 6 months ago but the bone is cracked.

The really stupid part of this episode is that, without moving my feet, I could have picked up a clamp and secured the work properly.

A lesson learned - fortunately without too much damage.

Col

[DanP]

Try as I might, I can't seem to get rid of the things. I have had run ins with chisels (scary sharp, didn't even feel it) dog food cans, very sharp boning knife and an angle grinder. The first three I put down to acts of stupidity of my own making, the last was somone elses stupidity.

My old foreman used to use 14" cut off saw disc till they were too small for the drop saw, then put them in the 9" grinder. then into the 5" grinder. The 5" was slightly too small for the discs so he removed the guard. I refused to use it.

He thought it really funny to swap it with the grinder I was using whilst welding. I had the helmet on and didn't see that it had been swapped. I normally rest my thumb on the back of the blade guard when using a small grinder. I think you get the picture. One 3mm kerf straight down the end of my thumb, one 5" angle grinder thrown across the factory at the foreman.

Dan.

[Zed]

even got me appendix and tonsils. some loverly scars however.

[Cliff Rogers]

G'day.

Nine & a third, it's wasn't woodwork or even a work/tool related.

I was climbing on a tankstand at school with wet sandshoes on....
Slip, rip, lost a knuckle & a heap of flesh so the doc chopped off another knuckle as well. :eek:

[Robert WA]

PROTEST

This poll is unfair to Tasmanians.

[E. maculata]

Known as the phalanges of the hand I have 28, collectively they form 8 fingers & 2 opposable thumbs.....they're the items my dogs are insanely jealous of.
All this despite repetitive attempts at amateur self amputation with various machines ;) .

Bruce C.

[journeyman Mick]

Still got all of mine, no bad accidents, nothing. I'm not lucky, I'm careful! The thought of losing any parts still sends shivers down my spine (literally). The possibility is always in the back of my mind when I work so I always approach each job looking for the possible risks.
Bruce, have you seen that Garry Larsen cartoon where the dog scientists (in lab coats and nerd glasses) are studying door handles to try to work out how to open them? :D

Mick the cautious

[bill_h]

Eight and a half

I had a job that I had to get out.......a head cold and was full of Sudafed...oops....lost top 3/4 of ring and pinky of right hand on a Woodfast buzzer 15 or so years ago.

The only place it slows me up is lifting a heavy toolbox/suitcase or a sheet of 8 by 4

It has had its lighter moments though.

I'm involved in basketball and nothing delights me more than asking a newcomer (usually an eight to ten year old kid) to "give me three and a half!!

People often ask if it hurt

I explain that when it happened, I went into shock and then, in the hospital, they give you drugs and stuff to help.

I also describe the Occupational Therapy sessions and the gorgeous nurse I had. I remember one session went something like:

Me - Will I be able to play the piano after therapy?
GN - Of course
Me - Excellent, I couldn't do it before!!

Seriously though what a whinger, there are people missing lots more bits than me

Bill

[craigb]

Eight and a half

IMe - Will I be able to play the piano after therapy?
GN - Of course
Me - Excellent, I couldn't do it before!!

Bill

Boom Boom

My dog's got no nose
Really. How does it smell ?
Terrible
etc

:D :D

[Tonyz]

My left hand is missingfirst nuckle on pinky, pointer is down to 2nd nuckle middle is sealed stiff on first nuckle. Happened on a edge bander about 4 years ago. Bl....y thing wasnt working well;; boss, foreman and next in line all out. Was told to spend last hour of day on this and if got something through better than nothing. "If it jamms hit this button.... stops everything. BULL S...

it jammed hit button everything stopped put hand in to remove edging tripped cut off blade lever that WAS still working bit into little finger hit weddind band and flipped hand over and did the rest. Business had tp spend $k10 on safety.

Best fun I have is when around small kids hold remains of my pointer up to nose and ask the kids to help me as its stuck up me snoze, then scream bl....y murder when it comes out 'minus' rest. Think Ive cured 10 from picking noses :D

[E. maculata]

Sure have, there's a joke in our house that if the dogs had thumbs, we'd be redundant.
really happened 3 yrs ago, , walked back to car from picking 4 yr old up from pre-school we spotted Reggie(our alpha male border collie) sitting in drivers seat of car, prompted serious Q from me to 4 yr old daughter "Why can't dogs drive cars?" straight faced answer "cause they haven't got licences , gee your dumb dad!". :rolleyes:

Bruce C.

[Tankstand]

Thanking the lord I've still got all of them. Tried ripping off a thumb once but it survived!

[John Saxton]

All 10 hand digits still there but risk losing 'em at times when the fight over the Visa occurs 'round woodshow time mainly :rolleyes:

Cheers :)

[Ian007]

all of them and i want to keep it that way if i can.

but i did take a large chunk of flesh out of the end of my left thumb with an axe about 9 yrs ago flesh grew back but theres no feeling in that area now

Around the time i got into wood working in a more serious manner i used to see a triton demonstrater at bunnings and a few other hardware stores, he only had about 5 1/2 fingers for both hands.(inludes thumbs)
i always thought that it wasnt a real clever piece of managment, having this bloke who looks like a walking accident site trying to get people to buy tools that can cut your fingers off.
funny that! dont you think?

Cheers Ian :)

[Kev Y.]

PROTEST

This poll is unfair to Tasmanians.


The poll was for FINGERS .. NOT HEADS

and just for the record. I have 8 puls 2

[DarrylF]

Still got all 10, but they're all damaged one way or another. The scars have scars of their own. All relatively minor injuries thankfully - just lots of them.

The thumb I spiked with a chisel 8 weeks back is recovering. Nicked the bone, and partially severed a tendon. It has normal movement range now - but it used to be double jointed (which my daughter loved :)) and now that don't work. Doc tells me it should be OK again in another 6 weeks or so.

[bob w]

Still got all ten but have had to count them from time to time to make sure.
Closest encounter was with a 9"angle grinder while cutting custom orb on a roof job. I was having trouble changing the cutting disc as the grinder was rocking around on the ground. My offsider came to my assistance by putting his foot on it. You guessed it straight on the go button with me hanging onto the spanners. Lost a lot of flesh but can still count to ten without removing my boots. By the way someone had definately unplugged the cord. Now I do it myself.
Regards
Bob :p

[Gumpy]

In the wood machining trade there was an old saying. You could always tell a good and experienced wood machinist by how many fingers were missing.

I must be a bad wood machinist because I have all of my fingers but them a bit more time spent on the shaper and who knows how many I would have now.

Daniel

[luc]

ive got all mine still,but like most of the other replys i've had some close calls .
first one while cutting a piece of wood on the dropsaw it got jambed while cutting it and threw it back badly fracturing my left thumb and narrowly missing my face.
second one happen last year just before knock off time i was cutting down a 100mm piece of lamiwood down to 30mm in width and 2.0m in length with a potable circular saw it got jambed kicked back and it ended up slicing and fracturing the tip of my left finger next to the thumb not bad for 27 years in the trade

[Kris.Parker1]

8 fingers plus 2 thumbs. Still all there; however, not too straight!

[ribot]

Got all ten but I shaved a little off my left thumb on a buzzer and cut a little off my right thumb on a table saw when a piece of Red gum unexpectedly fell apart.

Nothing serious but both had to be bandaged for a fair while

[Iain]

All of them.....so far.tomorrow at the TS could change all that.
Daughter is safe with forefinger generally implanted up right nostril :(

[Wood Butcher]

Technically ten but two are 5mm shorter than should be. When I first started working in the family business I tried to cut corners one day and didn,t put the guard back on the TS. I have tried to remember (ha,ha) but I still could not tell you exactly what happened. Grooved thumb and pointer on LH through the bone and when they were stitched up the doc just pushed the remaining bits together.

[Woodlice]

Yup, Im a "pedant", 8 + 2 here.

I have some wicked scars too, some from chisels, none from machinery and a few more from playing with swords.

J!

[ozwinner]

All of them.....so far.tomorrow at the TS could change all that.
Daughter is safe with forefinger generally implanted up right nostril :(
Yours or hers??

Al :confused:

[Studley 2436]

I almost lost one finger at five years of age. Whole family was out in the shed watching Dad cutting on his table saw (cost him 27 pounds when a tradie got 4 and 3 a week) kids were taking the offcuts out when the blade stopped but to win little sister and brother were taking the bits out just before it stopped so I went for the offcut just a little bit sooner so I could finally get a piece out index finger was nipped by the saw I have a scar now that is 3/4 of the way across the first join.Very lucky to still have 8 and 2.

My kids know well and truly not to come in the shed unless I say so and don't touch anything without asking first

Stevo

[Ashore]

I Still have all mine 8 that is but as a marine engineer knew a few with less most common was for people to put thier fingers under diesel fuel injectors to see if they were operating when testing , they inject oil into your finger tips and there is usually no saving them
My father an old time carpenter did loose a bit of skin when he used an electric plane for the first time felt underneath to check the cut depht before the blades had stopped

[goodwoody]

11? :confused:

[Iain]

Number 11 is what......................no, I won't, it's Sunday, I shall keep it clean.
Off to horse show http://gprime.net/board/images/smilies/horse.gif

[Bruce Micheal]

Still have all my fingers and toes?
From my early forestry days, using chainsaws with no PPE, I have a couple of big scars on my knees. Big suckers they are, didn't feel it, but felt sh@##t house when I seen the damage!