Woodturning Tip #247

Vaughn McMillan

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Just a tip to you turners:

When you have a piece of burl with lots of voids in it spinning on the lathe, don't put your thumb on it to feel how smooth your cut just was. After your thumb gets caught in a hole in the burl, the tool rest acts as a nice chopping block. :doh:

I was fortunate in that I only caught the edge of my thumb, and peeled back about a 1" long by 1/2" wide flap of skin, almost to the bone. Got it cleaned up and bandaged enough to finish the piece on the lathe, but I had to add a wrapped paper towel to the Band-Aid to contain the bleeding. If I'm lucky, the skin will be able to stay. Otherwise, I'll have a trench of flesh to grow back. :rolleyes:

No pics, because I didn't feel like getting blood on the camera. ;) Pics of the finished piece (worth the pain) in a few days. :thumb:
 
Please, no pics. Yikes! I hope you're taking many drugs, painkillers, antibiotics, stuff like that.! ;)...

No drugs necessary for now. It doesn't hurt too bad, and unless something gets infected, I'll leave the antibiotics alone. (It's greased up pretty well with Neosporin, and I'll be keeping it clean.)

[Spoken in my best Monty Python voice]

Just a mere flesh wound...

holygrail017.jpg
 
that left side of yur noggen is gonna get tired talking to the right side.. yu try using gloves in adrill press now yu stick your thumb in a hole like a dutch boy but onlu do it in spinny piece????? when yu gonna wake up vaughn:):huh::rofl:
 
...Did you get any blood on the turning????

Nah, but got a little on my hollowing rig. Heck, Michael James bled worse than that on my Ci1 a few weeks ago in Albuquerque. (He didn't realize how sharp those carbide cutters can be.)

I just got done changing the bandage for the first time...it looks like the cut's gonna grow back together just fine.
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Also, it's probably no more than about 3/4" long. Things look bigger when they're bleeding, I guess. :rolleyes:

And Mike, I'm also glad it wasn't worse. As usual, it was one of those moments of not thinking that can get us all. Hopefully others can learn from my mistake.
 
I'm holding my thumb and thinking "ouch" :eek:

Geez take it easy eh?

Oh, I hope you did not drip any blood on the lathe, it will rust the ways FAST..... or so I hear..... :rolleyes: :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Glad all it ok with you - I was just thinking this morning about turning a pc of buckeye I have sitting out on my day off. If I do I will be shutting it off frequently to check it..............
 
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