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

davidpbest said:
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.

View attachment 227352

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.

View attachment 227353
Click to expand...
Thank you for the reminder. really appreciated.
I hope you mend well.
 
So sorry to see that, but thansks for sharing and hoping it'll help others to be wary and careful. I had my foot go 'round between the chain and sprocket of a a conveyor belt at a rock quarry I worked at in highschool 30-ish years ago with similar results to my big toe (VERY fortunately that's all it got)... I've had the utmost respect for the "intake" side of rotating machinery ever since. The ER surgeon put the bits back together into a toe-ish shape and even stuck the nail bed back in for good measure saying it's unlikely it'd take hold. It did but doesn't grow quite right and I lose it about every other ski season. Toe hurts in cold weather, especially so if I stub it, but as someone else said above it was a good decision to try to save it. I still think often about how much worse it could have been.
 
Hi Bellinghamster; good memories of Bellingham, used to spend summers with my much loved (now departed) Grammy there. Cornwall park, etc.
Mark S.
 
I too have to be added to the "Dumb Boy's Club" I was milling a piece of Aluminum using my Drill Press. After getting the first piece finished I realized I was far to short for the project. Taking another piece of material double or more in length I thought, Now, if I could just take a couple cuts with my table saw, I would make it much easier for the make shift drill press milling idea. Well The first couple of cuts worked great, but the third not so good. The blade caught the metal and sent it flying, and in my impulse to catch or hold the material that was no longer there, my finger came down on the saw bladeHarveys Finger 3.jpg

This is the fingers at Emergency March 29, 2017.

If you care to see progress as of today April 14th go to this link.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kl2YLyKjkDff94wLySlq7IPnRZI9vR8IfQ/view?usp=sharing

It is healing nicely. It will be a few weeks before I get back to having anything that looks like a normal finger.
 
Harris Creek Central said:
I too have to be added to the "Dumb Boy's Club" I was milling a piece of Aluminum using my Drill Press. After getting the first piece finished I realized I was far to short for the project. Taking another piece of material double or more in length I thought, Now, if I could just take a couple cuts with my table saw, I would make it much easier for the make shift drill press milling idea. Well The first couple of cuts worked great, but the third not so good. The blade caught the metal and sent it flying, and in my impulse to catch or hold the material that was no longer there, my finger came down on the saw bladeView attachment 231487

This is the fingers at Emergency March 29, 2017.

If you care to see progress as of today April 14th go to this link.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kl2YLyKjkDff94wLySlq7IPnRZI9vR8IfQ/view?usp=sharing

It is healing nicely. It will be a few weeks before I get back to having anything that looks like a normal finger.
Click to expand...

As a teenager, forty-some stitches, thanks to table saw blade. Aside from one thumb being 1/8" shorter than the other, I survived intact. I also developed a healthy respect for a table saw.
 
davidpbest said:
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.

View attachment 227352

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.

View attachment 227353
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear you might loose that finger .
I almost lost a finger in the lathe .
I had one of those long slender chips it was about 1/8 to 3/16 wide and five feet long . I did the same thing in a hurry and reached to move it off of the
Carriage hand wheel with my left hand . So I could crank the carriage back with my right hand .
That chip cought on the running chuck and in a split second it sucked 5 or 6 feet of 1/8 straight tool steel chip through my hand . Almost lost my index finger
 
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