The loss of a finger

Sadly i must inform you all that i am typing with one hand at moment. Amputated half of my left little finger on the edge planer on my Durden Pacemaker. I got rushed from Murray Bridge to Flinders Private hospital and the surgeon operated at 8.00pm.
He was unable to save half of the finger which was shreadded beyongd repair. But i had enough good skin for him to cover over it.
Feeling a bit sore and sorry for my self. I go back to see the specialist next Tuesday to get the stiches out and get assessed.

Not sure how i will go now for awhile but i will get back out the shed. unfortunately it was just one of those things that happens that could have been alot worse.

Sorry to hear about your situation. It just goes to show that you can never be too careful. Good luck getting back to it in a few weeks time.

Gidday Swiftden

Hope your recovery is swift n let us know when your back on track n enjoying your shed time.

I really do hope that 'just one of those things' dosent happen to me

REgards Lou

Ouch! Sad news swiftden, I hope you recover quickly.

Thanks for talking up and reminding us to keep being serious on the safety side of things.
A man less brave would have kept his mouth shut for fear of looking like a goose when he told people. Thumbs up to you, mate.

Edge planer......... ouch:eek: If I think about it too much I'll start feeling sick.

I'm glad is wasn't anything more serious (think of kickback on the thicknesser and a post ripping off the neter regions danglie bits :D ), and I hope you heal swiftly and beyond the doctors expectations.

Get well soon, and hope the planer doesn't suffer an injury when you get back to the shed!

Pretty unlucky or fairly lucky it wasn't worse, depends how you see it, anyhow here's to a swift recovery and a lesson for all here:eek:

That is really bad news. I honestly don't know what to say except I hope it doesn't diminish your love of woodworking.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. Makes my being hit in the guts with a kickback from the table saw look like a walk in the park.

OUCH!:(

Sorry to hear about your loss. I'm sure the Durden isn't too concerned. Workshop machinery is, unfortunately, rather lacking in comparison.

Still, there is a bright side: now you can freak out little kids as you pretend to make your whole finger disappear up one of your nostrils.

Get better soon!
GW

Best wishes mate on your recovery.

Owwwch! that is too bad and thanks for soberly reminding us to be careful in the shed.

I have some feel for what you are going through, 28 years ago I lost 5 mm off the top of my left hand ring finger using a toy 4" buzzer (which I still have). Couldn't play guitar properly for years afterwards (my son says I still can't play now).

Errr... my 2nd thought (after Ouch!), was "How?"

What did you do wrong, so that I can make sure not to do it?!

Or is it some attribute/facility particular to that specific piece of equipment?

I'm hoping to give a jointer a home after the Sydney show, and I read your post as having had your accident whilst jointing.

Speedy recovery!

Cheers,
Andrew

Sorry to hear of your accident, Swifden, we all feel for you. I know I shudder went I think of the potential damage lurking in machines like this.
Is the Pacemaker like the Junior Joiner, with the planer on the same shaft as the saw blade? Obviously this means they both turn at the same time (Duh!) and having owned 2 of these things I've always been paranoid about accidentally moving the planer guard aside and exposing the cutters, when pushing timber through the saw...a real design fault in my opinion. Is this what happened to you?
Its always given me shivers, so I have on both machines drilled a hole through the planer guard into the table and dropped in a safety pin to locate the guard. A bolt with a ground-off head has sufficed.
Hope you recover well, and return to the shed soon!:)

Cheers,

Sorry mate. I took off the tip of my middle finger with the jointer, cause I was tired and rushing about. Not good enough of an excuse, but...(shrug)

...another reason why I prefer hand tools. clumbsy bloke like me cops plenty of cuts, but never lost a finger from a handplane cut.

But sounds like you came off a lot worse for wear....at least it was a pinky and not a thumb or index finger.

Hope you feel better soon.