The Danger of circular saws-GORE WARNING!

[Tiger]

Hate to own up to this but I spent Christmas Eve this year at the hospital removing fragments of dust out of my eye. I was using a circular saw and quick as a flash it spewed up dust and grit. I was wearing approved safety glasses but grit still managed to find itself in my eye. It hit with such force that the immediate reaction is to let go of the saw which I did for a brief second. I went to the doctor after numerous attempts at flushing out my eye failed, the doctor tried and got out most of the grit but said I would need to go to hospital where they completed the job. I don't know why saw manufacturers make saws that spew stuff right back at the operator but it is hazardous. By the way Alex'es theory about how this guy lost his finger correct? Also agree wholeheartedly with Wheelin, the two most dangerous tools are the bandsaw and circular saw, I have used every tool imaginable and these have given me the worst injuries.

[soundman]

That is a genuine horror show AAAAGH,

I have seen so many " builders" do "very intereristingthings" with circular saws, I do not know how so few of them end up with bits missing.

I think the chainsaw and the angle grinder end up statisticaly more dangerous that the circular saw and the band saw.

I know a bloke that almost severed his leg above the ankle with a 9" angle grinder.

And a bloke cut his own head off with a chainsaw out Fernygrove way a few years ago.

I think one of the problems is we under estimate the power in these tools.

A 9" angle grinder will be about 3HP, that is enough to push a small boat with a couple of blokes along at a decent clip...... an entry level lawn mower is about 3HP.

I think also they over estimate how fast there reflexes are and how strong they are.

Consider that an olympic cyclist can generate a peak of about 2PH for very short periods, using the combined strength of most of his muscles.
A circular saw spins at about 5000 RPM.... that is 83 revs per second.....times 50 teeth........it can take a couple of hundred bites out if you before your brain knows about it.

No respect that is the problem

cheers

[bsrlee]

Having stuck my finger into a router bit, I can assure you that time itself slows down and you can feel every bite

[chippy 71]

Having stuck my finger into a router bit, I can assure you that time itself slows down and you can feel every bite

I don't know, I stuck my finger under a drop saw a few years ago to see how it felt and I didn't feel anything for a few hours.
I didn't get much sleep for the next few nights though.

Colin.

[Tiger]

I think the chainsaw and the angle grinder end up statisticaly more dangerous that the circular saw and the band saw.

Chainsaws and angle grinders cause more damage and thus are reported more often whereas circular saw and bandsaw injuries tend to me less damaging and thus less reported. I've known guys that don't use any other power tools but a chainsaw and have done so for many years without any injuries. There is an element of bad luck when it comes to injuries, you can do everything right from a safety point of view and still get injured. Best bit of advice, don't use power tools when tired or have any alcohol in your system.

[Sawmaster]

Best bit of advice, don't use power tools when tired or have any alcohol in your system.

Guilty.

Christmas Eve 2007. After a bottle of red, I spotted a piece of outside guttering that needed a pop rivet. Up a ladder armed with a power drill and the pop rivet gun, in no time at all, I managed to drill a 3.2mm hole through the tip of my left forefinger.

[quercus]

That injured hand brings back flashbacks. I was ripping a piece of 90 x 45 down the middle with the end clamped to a workbench. I was holding my small 185 mm makita with my right hand, supporting the back of the timber with my left.The saw grabbed, and jumped 300mm back and into my hand before the guard had time to swing shut. I am told this is a pretty common scenario,

40 stitches later I was contemplating how I myself regularly induct younger staff into using power equipment, and the no. 1 rule is hold the saw / grinder etc with both hands.

Made me look really stupid. At least they learnt from my mistake.

While I was being stitched up for a previous injury, the doctor told me that hand held grinders were the worst culprit for hand injuries. Anything you are tempted to hold with one hand can be very dangerous.

[torgil]

How often is alkohol involved in theese accidents?
I know for one that I get a tad brighter and loads braver after a couple of beers.

[ant75s]

omg , memory's flooding back ...

One of my Grandfathers cut off his little & ring finger with a Bench mounted circular saw - my grandmother told his to sell it after he had his finger reattached

My mate did his little finger on a similar saw - his wife told him to sell it

My other Grandfather put 21 stichers in his thumb with a hand held circ - My grandmother told him to sell it - he gave the saw to me

It scares the " #$%@" every time I use it.

Thanks for the reminder - we can never be too carefull

[rgum]

Thankyou T.B.

I use my Mkta 9/4 all the time. Rarely do I get kick back. But by golly you got me thinking about how I handle the bugger. Gotta stay alert I say. Thankyou for the reminder.

Makita drop saw got me recently. 1'st accident in 15 yrs. All better now. 5 stitches fell out. Wouldn't know it.

Hope their hand heals well. Kind of you for helping them.

[jameswilliams]

HI, I was working one day and it was late at night... i was using a skill saw and cut the end of my index finger off... just shows you how you should be well rested doing work.
sorry no pics..

[andrey vm]

No! No! No!
I never saw by table сircular saw. The God has forgotten to provide the additional parts for man

[jimmcelwaine]

Best bit of advice, don't use power tools when tired or have any alcohol in your system.

i love it how they have pictures in the manuals (that you never read)
with a picture of a glass of wine and some pills with you router saw angle grinder ect next to it with a huge cross though it

[justinmcf]

these stories crack me up, i must say they have giggling like a school boy.

but i see the serious side to every story too, every story has a lot of pain, downtime and healing which can take weeks and even months.

i have been butchering wood for 18 years now, when i started my apprenticeship in northern ireland, we did'nt have electric on 99% of the building sites we worked on, so we cut and nailed every piece of material by hand. i have not so fond memories of ripping hardwood beams 10 metres long with a blue handled sandvik saw, this was the early nineties believe it or not.

the worst accidents i ever had, were with these bloody saws, a brand new hand saw would buckle if you hit a nasty knot and usually my left thumb and index finger would take the brunt of this. i have cut to the bone many a time, when you are working in very cold conditions and wind chill around minus 20, it seems to multiply the pain 10 times more, same when you would hit your thumb instead of the 3, 4 and even 6 inch nails.
i sure dont miss those 6 inch nails.

moving to gods country in 1997 was great, every construction site had electric, and that began my expensive collection of power tools, sometimes i wish i was a painter or cleaner, because i have so many power tools.

i now have a very healthy respect for all my power tools, every time i lift a planer, electric drill, or circular saw, the first thing i think is, i dont like hospital food, so be careful!

i have worked with some amazing tradesmen all over the world, and the injuries i have seen send a shiver up my spine, 9 inch grinders with a timber cutting blade do not mix, this particular carpenter has a scar from his ankle to his groin to prove that point.

a drunken cabinet maker resting his elbow/ arm on a spindle moulder, ended up amputated from the elbow down, and still a brilliant carpenter!

these a just a few stories i could talk about, reading everybodies stories makes me more aware of what dangerous tools i am using, hopefully this story will make people think twice before using tools in an unprofessional manner.

the big no-no's for me are.....no booze when i have that leather pouch on, no working after 8.00 pm. i have done this in the past and fatigue is not something anyone can control after 14 hours solid work.
no timber cutting blades in any size of grinder, whether it is a 4 inch or 9 inch grinder.

no hands behind the circular saw, i never do this, if i need to support the material i am cutting, i set up a support with spare timber. the saw will always kick back because it does not have a riving knife, the number of carpenters i have worked with, that have made this stupid and painful mistake is unbelieveable!

when drilling through steel, very slow speed, lots of oil/lube, when i send the young fella to the trailer for the drill, i say, "get me the wrist breaker please".
i worked with a carpenter who broke both wrists driling steel, could'nt work for 2 months.

i am sorry if this story is too long, i don't normally ramble on. this is a subject i feel strongly about.
i have never had a smart accident, every one of them has been stupid. luckily, mine have never been serious, maybe someone reading this can prevent themselves having a serious accident in the future.

cheers, justin.

[Mr_T]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post - what a place to start...

I have been building garage cabinets by ripping MDF with a jigsaw, clamps and a straight edge (you have to start somewhere). The project is going quite well.
I was considering upgrading to a circular saw until I read this thread. I think I will stick with my jigsaw.

The reason for my post: looking at circular saws at bunnings, some of the Bosch models have tags on them that say "ideal for overhead work due to light weight 3.8 Kg"

Unbelievably bad advice, don't you think?

cheers
MR T