Ouch!
#11
So last Friday morning I was trimming out a slider on a split entry when things went bad. I had it basically done and weather tight on Wednesday before the rain. Thursday I finished up the retaining wall cap and stairs up to grade but was short one riser and didn't want to work late anyway. Friday would be a real short day.

I had only installed some shims and the 1 x 6 extension jambs when I noticed I had already been there an hour. Let's wrap this project up! The casing was going right in a corner so I had to either cut the existing base or cope the casing to it. Rather than going to the truck for the Fein multi-tool, I choose the latter. With the casing in a Workmate, I used my trusty Makita 5007 circular saw and with the blade up, I made the vertical cut and an acceptable cope of the top profile. Then OUCH! A scrap of wood had lodged itself in the guard and as I was in the process of setting it down on the floor the blade caught my jeans. In an instant I had opened up my leg with a tool I totally respect and have used literally, tens of thousands of times over many decades.

At the E.R., the Doc said it was mostly superficial and he'd have me on my way in no time. A few shots of Lidocaine, seven stitches, and thirty-five minutes later I was indeed on my way home. The cut was only about 3-1/2" long, but it was over 1/2" wide. That made it look much worse than it actually was. It just doesn't seem appropriate to use words like "lucky" to describe an injury like this, however I do realize how much worse it could have been.

The pain has mostly subsided. I'm still limping but I can almost walk it off. Tomorrow I have six pieces of casing and a riser to install. Short day?
Sign at N.E. Vocational School Cabinetmaking Shop 1976, "Free knowledge given daily... Bring your own container"
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#12
Yes, I would agree with a short day in that case.

Hope things heal up well. I have heard talk of circular saws doing as you describe but I have never seen the guard stick for any reason myself. I hope I can always say that.
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#13
Sounds like a combination of good and bad luck at the same time. Good that it wasn't worse, and bad that it happened at all. One of those "chit happens" moments. Just shows that no matter how safety conscious you are, injuries still occur. Take the short day, maybe even two.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#14
Geez, that could have been really serious. Glad you are OK.

Gary
I've only had one...in dog beers.

"You can see the stars and still not see the light"
The Eagles: Already Gone
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#15
I have worked with framers who always secured the guard in the full open position.  They were always aware of the blade and of course set the saw up-side-down.
Getting the guard wedged open is not uncommon to me.  But I have been lucky enough to notice before an accident happened.

Glad your good luck kept the accident from being worse.
"I tried being reasonable..........I didn't like it." Clint Eastwood
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#16
Sorry about your accident. I hope that you heal fully and quickly.

Thanks for the details about the accident. I learned something today.
"the most important safety feature on any tool is the one between your ears." - Ken Vick

A wish for you all:  May you keep buying green bananas.
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#17
BTDT. Luckily, I ripped a slot in my folding table/saw horse. The saw was a wormdrive Mag 77.
Uhoh
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#18
As you can see by my WN name I too made a bad decision. Got new BS and was cutting the crate up to manageable pieces on the TS. Got sloppy and the rest is history. 
Uhoh
Uhoh

Jim
Jim
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#19
Heal quickly. Don’t do that again.
Gary

Please don’t quote the trolls.
Liberty, Freedom and Individual Responsibility
Say what you'll do and do what you say.
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#20
Even when you do everything right life can toss you a curve.  Happy to hear it wasn't worse.
The last time my father really helped me work on my place the guard had an issue and he cut off the fingerprint part of this thumb. 
They took part of his upper arm to make a patch.  I don't think he touched the switch on a worm drive after that
Phydeaux said "Loving your enemy and doing good for those that hurt you does not preclude killing them if they make that necessary."


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women have trouble understanding Trump's MAGA theme because they had so little involvement in making America great the first time around.

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