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Sawmilling accident

Started by Ga Mtn Man, November 01, 2012, 08:07:22 PM

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Ga Mtn Man

I started a pretty good size mobile job today sawing up some hand-hewn, 125 year old chestnut logs.  My off-bearers were a home builder and his cabinet guy. They are going to use the wood to make paneling for the log owners son's home office.  We were sawing the last log of the day, a 6' x 20" x 8" cant.  The builder guy was hand turning the cant and got his index finger caught between the log dog and the cant as he was flopping it over and letting it fall.  The log dog on the TK is beveled to a dull edge and it pinched the tip of his finger almost completely off.  The owner of the logs happened to be a retired doctor and was able to get him in to see a plastic surgeon.  I hope they were able to save his finger tip.

The point of this long ramble is that, as the sawyer, I can't help but feel responsible for this, although I don't know what I could have done to prevent it.  I feel terrible about this. :(  It was a lousy ending to an otherwise fine day of sawing.   
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

That's bad Paul.

I saw a guy loose a finger once on a PTO shaft. Had it jerked off at the knuckle.  He past slap out! Called EMS, got him to the hospital but he lost his finger.

Accidents happen no matter how careful you are.

Hope he's OK.
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Sawdust Lover

It's only normal to feel responsible for any accidents that happen around your mill. But it will happen and be thankful thats all it was. Always look at the bright side! But its also a reminder that insurance is very important to protect yourself as well.

Ga Mtn Man

Thanks guys.  Your support and advice is much appreciated.
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

thecfarm

More than OUCH. Hand that guy a cant dog or peavey next time. That is badddddd.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Magicman

Feeling bad and remorseful and feeling responsible are two completely different things.  Responsibility assumes liability.

Maybe it is time for you to think about having your customers sign a contract before beginning any and all jobs.  Sure, I know that contracts are legal mumbo jumbo stuff, but when I set my business up, my attorney highly recommended and approved of it.

Here is a LINK to a thread where I posted a copy of the contract that I use.  Notice that the last paragraph addresses injuries and when the customer is helping, he becomes a helper.

I do not mean to imply that I have all of or even any of the correct answers, this is just what I use.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

WDH

The exact same thing happened to my BIL who was helping me.  I had to take him to the emergency room.  Logs/cants will hurt you. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Solomon

I agree with MagicMan 100%.   Before I go into it full time Im going to have my attorney draw up a strict contract that covers all the bases.  One thing you might want to have on paper is not allowing more than two people other than your self within 100 feet of the mill, and absolutely no individual under 21.       



smiley_swinging_board
Time and Money,  If you have the one, you rarely have the other.

The Path to Salvation is narrow, and the path to damnnation is wide.

captain_crunch

Was helping Duane running his American mill and a dog came loose and went thru my little finger Nowbodys fault except my pinkie fer being in wrong place. JUST be careful Mills are not real forgiving
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

kderby

My last accident was at the very end of the day as well.  Fatigue and just one second while that weight (wide slab) was in motion, my help got his hand bruised.  It could have been this same story.

I have to be careful even if I am getting tired.  I have to be careful even if I don't know I am getting tired.

Thanks for the reminder. 

Let's be careful out there people!

Woodkiller

Paul, I am glad it was not worse. Hopefully he will save his finger tip. I have insurance but sill worry about having people around the mill.

Chuck White

I always stress to my helper, and remind myself when turning logs/cants by hand, DON'T GET YOUR BODY PARTS BETWEEN THE WOOD AND THE METAL!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

davch00

QuoteI always stress to my helper, and remind myself when turning logs/cants by hand, DON'T GET YOUR BODY PARTS BETWEEN THE WOOD AND THE METAL!
Very good advice. As someone who, and as well as anyone else that has spent  anytime in structural fabrication/welding knows you learn quick not to get body parts in between moving and fixed objects.

 

redbeard

I have modified my log dog it is sharp. I have several protective covers to protect the wood when needed. I give the same saftey speech everytime I instruct a new offbearer. Saftey is a big thing with me learned it from my day job blade breaks and hands near the hydralic features are very important. Thanks for sharing Tim these accident reports on milling are very important to share.
Whidbey Woodworks and Custom Milling  2019 Cooks AC 3662T High production band mill and a Hud-son 60 Diesel wide cut bandmill  JD 2240 50hp Tractor with 145 loader IR 1044 all terrain fork lift  Cooks sharp

Ga Mtn Man

The surgeon was able to re-attach the guys finger tip and says it should be ok.  Thanks for all the advise guys.
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

captain_crunch

Bandmills are Dangerious enough But circle mills have no mercey Worked around  Farm equip and spent 30+ years in woods so being watchfull is second nature to me but it only takes one second of carelesnes to bite you
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

francismilker

Awesome that the guy got to keep his finger!!!

I know bandmills are dangerous, but as others have mentioned, blade mills have no mercy.

Being from non-logging country, I've never seen a circular mill in motion.  Those I look at on youtube scare the fire out of me.  Looks like a lot of moving machinery and places for parts to fly without any guards or shields.  As well, looks like one split second of miscalculation could cause a man to get sucked in and buy the farm. 
"whatsoever thy hands finds to do; do it with thy might" Ecc. 9:10

WM LT-10supergo, MF-271 w/FEL, Honda 500 Foreman, Husq 550, Stihl 026, and lots of baling wire!

clww

This sounds similar to a self-induced accident I had like three years ago, where I cut off the tip of my little finger, I was splitting some big wood on the splitter. I'd finished busting one piece in half, and would flip it off the base so I could work on the remaining half. I grabbed it at the top and flipped it down and away from the splitter. My finger got caught between the piece and another full-sized piece laying just to the right side. When the two ends came together, my finger was in there, and the tip came off like it was sheared with scissors! At first, I think I've only smashed it really hard, so I'm stomping around, clenching it, and saying.....things. It's January, so I'm wearing leather work gloves. It kept throbbing BAD, so I take the glove partially off to have a look. When I see the blood below my wrist I stopped and put the glove back on, and wrapped the whole hand in a towel. In the end, they reattached the tip, many stitches. I've had nerve damage since it healed and can't feel anything, although when it gets cold, that tip gets really cold. Like all the way through the bone. And it itched, which means it's healing, for most of a year.
Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
18-Wheeler Driver

Magicman

A very similar thing happened to a friend of mine splitting Hurricane Karina firewood in my back yard.  We turned his glove inside out but what was inside of it was just meat an bone.  Nothing that even resembled the end of his finger.  They sewed what was left of the finger together, but he can not point very far with that finger anymore, because it is too short.   :o
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Okrafarmer

We had some people splitting wood for us, a dad and his two kids who were both over 18. They used their own wood splitter. Thankfully, it wasn't remotely our fault, but I still felt real bad it happened. They pinched the boy's finger between the firewood and the blunt push-plate. Not sure if it broke or not, but he recovered. Could have been worse. I have bashed my fingers quite a few times messing with firewood. Never too bad, yet.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Meadows Miller

Gday

You will always Loose Abit Of Bark in this game  ;) Pinch and Crush Injury's  are the most common another thing I do not wear gloves as you loose your dexterity ask the tip of my middle finger it didnt like it and neither did I  :o :) ;) :D

Anything with a saw can and will bite you hard Circs are no more dangerous than any other style of mill  its how whoever operates it that can make any mill bloody dangerous :) :) ::)

Regards Chris
4TH Generation Timbergetter

Okrafarmer

Bandmills can't throw a 5 lb. solid chunk of blade 100 feet away if the blade shatters. Also the band mill only has about 30" or so of blade exposed, and it is not real easy to get against it. You certainly can't bump your whole body against it and be instantly killed, as you could with a circle mill, where the entire blade is exposed. If you do cut a hand or finger off with the band mill, the thin kerf and fine teeth provide a much better chance of reattachment than the meat mill that is a circle blade. Band mills also are not nearly so capable of launching small objects, like chunks of wood, through the air at high speeds.

Having said that, circle mills can be extremely safe as long as everyone does what they are supposed to do and stays where they are supposed to stay.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

dboyt

It's when someone grabs a chain saw and starts hacking away on a stub that I worry.  People are naturally cautious around big machines and don't think about what the little ones can do.  I read that there were roughly 28,000 chain saw accidents in 1999, and that, on the average, over 100 stitches were required.  I have a friend with over 300 stitches in his leg from a saw accident.  Chaps, steel toe boots and logger's helmets.  Every time.

I've worked around an old Belsaw circle mill, and never care to do so again.  A swing blade, on the other hand, I could see getting one of those.  For now, the band mill suits me fine.
Norwood MX34 Pro portable sawmill, 8N Ford, Lewis Winch

sandhills

Any given line of work has it's dangers, I've farmed my whole life and seen many times the "odd" ways things can come undone, my friends and I bought the Belsaw and yes just looking at it is scary, but no more so than looking at 15 belts and chains on the side of my combine running at high speed (old JD 6600).  My boss at the salebarn shouldn't even have his right hand much less the fingers and that was blunt force from two pieces of round 1 3/4" pipe, no sharp edges whatsoever, amazing what a helicopter ride and ten hours of surgery will accomplish  :-\.

Okrafarmer

Farming is in the same ballpark of danger, as forestry. Forestry may be measurably more dangerous, but farming is quite dangerous too. One of my three worst injuries was sustained while farming, one while doing tree work, and one was a home injury.  :-\

A lot of fatalities, maimings, and loss-time injuries are sustained each year on the farms. Like forestry, safety equipment and practices have cut down on these casualties over the years, but it is still highly dangerous.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Dodgy Loner

My left index finger is 1/4" shorter than the right after getting it smashed between an oak cant and the bed of the mill a few years back. Lesson learned, keep flesh out of the way of wood and metal.

I was lucky the surgeon was able to save the nail and the most of my fingertip. The ER doc thought he would have to take it off at the knuckle.
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

JohnM

Quote from: Okrafarmer on November 04, 2012, 11:12:11 PM
They pinched the boy's finger between the firewood and the blunt push-plate.

My father did exactly the same thing only he 'peeled' everything (flesh and nail) off down to the first knuckle.  Only thing left was the little pointy bone.  My mother came home to find him with a giant ball of bloody paper towel wadded around his hand.  :D  Went to the hospital and they just 'clipped' off the bit of bone and sewed it up (over?).  He always complained how cold that finger tip/snub would get.

Be careful out there.  ;)

JM
Lucas 830 w/ slabber; Kubota L3710; Wallenstein logging winch; Split-fire splitter; Stihl 036; Jonsered 2150

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