The Circular Saw Incident

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[steviewonder]

It takes a lot of courage to self-publish stories like these. I salute you.

[robraymond]

I watch at least one of these stories every month to keep them in my mind every time I pick up a tool that could remove one of my digits.

[lawrencelunsford]

Thanks for sharing your story. We've all been tired, in a hurry, or just simply lost focus on what we were doing. Will be praying for your recovery.

[chrisCM]

I am a “wood shop” teacher. I showed this to 268 of Jacksonville Florida’s finest youth prior to their safety test on a circular saw. I would love to do a zoom call with you and my kids! If it helps, I had several students say they wanted a beard like yours!

[beninchesapeake]

I commend you for not hiding and telling your story. I started working with wood at a very young age and fortunately I have never chopped anything off. I have watched a lot of people telling about how they got injured and there are many commonalities to the stories. One of the most frequent is "I was in a hurry". Being IN A HURRY has caused a lot of injuries to some very experienced woodworkers. Thanks again for your story.

[TheSuperBrick]

Hey man, I was a part of the McKinney’s wood-shop class you talked too around a month ago. I wanted to thank you for sharing your story and taking everyone’s questions, and I’m happy to know your fingers are recovered now. Thanks again man!

[padmadk]

Sorry to hear that, I'm always super cautious when using power tools especially angle grinders. People make fun of me when I use safety glasses in combination with a face shield. It really turns my stomach when I see reckless people on a construction site using power tools. I hope you have recovered well and I hope someone will learn something from this video.

[danf]

Really appreciate all you workshop guys that show and detail your accidents. We all have screwups. Takes a brave person to show them to the world. Really helps keep me safe to remember what can and DOES happen in a fraction of a second. Thanks for the video!

[timheywood]

I've been a workshop joiner for over 40 years and have seen all the accidents. I noticed that when I was driving these people to hospital say with an amputated hand, there was always a euphoria phase where they would get high on the enormous amount of adrenaline flowing. Didn't last too long though before the pain kicked in followed by the shaking

[MarcraM]

Thanks for your video man, took a lot of courage - hope you are doing ok! For anyone watching this, a couple important tips - ALWAYS keep 2 hands on a circular saw, never operate one handed. Clamp down guides, speed squares as much as possible! Never position yourself directly behind the saw. if you do all this you'll be fine.

[TheMrmoc]

I bought a circular saw out of spite today because the one that my home depot rents out doesn't come with a blade. They don't rent blades either or sell them separately, so the only way to get a blade was to buy the entire thing. I'm a Doctor. I have 0 training in power tools. I do a few things around the house but I know my limits. Naturally, the first few things that came to mind was to think about how many different ways I could hurt myself with this machine, and that's how I found your video. Hope you're all healed up now. All the best and be safe!!

[kp]

Thanks for sharing and using your experience to help others. You have a great attitude about it. We all make mistakes, all the time. Hope your recovery has gone well.

[slatsgrobneck]

Thanks for sharing - I am sure your experience will help us all remember how dangerous things can quickly get. Thanks man!

[JkCanvas]

Thank you for sharing your story and being honest. Glad you are not giving up.

[jb]

Sharing these situations is of great importance. . As a newbie I mangled two fingers reaching across my tablesaw! I count myself as blessed that it wasn’t worse. . I spoke to a Dr. And he said the vast majority of woodworking accidents he has treated are NOT inexperienced newbies, to the contrary, most often it is those that have many years of experience.
Complacency and trying to “hurry” are the most common~

[priscillarodriguez]

I'm sorry about your injury. I hope things are better. Thank you for posting.

[MakewithJake]

That's a bummer man, the speed square trick has always made me a little nervous, but I certainly did it anyway.
Thanks for sharing with the world.

[randsipe]

Oh man that’s bad, but I can relate. I think I’ve been seriously to minor injured by almost every tool in my shop. So welcome to the club. My latest injury was table saw kick back related. I stupidly removed the riving knife in order to use a thin kerf blade. The saw launched a 2 x 4 x10” piece of timber at me slicing deep into my wrist, forearm and chest. There was blood everywhere and my wife rushed me to the ER. It took 10 stitches and I still bear the scares. Lesson learned the hard way. You’re not alone. But here’s a story. My boat builder grandfather sawed off his middle finger like you. The thing that bugged him most was winter gloves with that floppy finger. So every year my sainted aunt would knit him a pair of gloves with one short middle finger. I tell all my fingerless carpenter friends that story because like my grandfather you’ll be ok with only a minor inconvenience in the long run. Just don’t do it again.

[Kingofcasamere]

Gruesome injury, so sorry this happened to you. But you are turning a negative into a positive by educating so many other woodworkers to focus like a laser when working with dangerous tools. You’re probably saving a lot of other fingers in the process. God bless you, my friend.

[Yossi]

Thanks for sharing your story. I hope you recover well.