An essay on the value of push sticks

jimthej · Post by **jimthej** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:21 pm

[IMG]http://gallery.me.com/jimthej#100025

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:54 pm

Ouch!

I'm sure glad that push stick is naturally red.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:25 am

Holy Cow, Jim!! Would you mind telling us how that happened? How is your hand/wrist?:eek:

P.S. We only got the second photo. Looks like the first one ended up with the [IMG] missing from the link's address.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:46 am

I thought all push sticks looked like that and that was the reason people used them. Seriously glad you had a push stick and I bet you are too.

Frankly I'm too embarrassed to post pictures of the wounds my push sticks, push blocks and other safety equipment carry that saved my bacon. Anyone that doesn't use these safety items is foolish and an accident waiting to happen. Push sticks and safety equipment all came from experience of accidents don't become another accident. USE THEM!

I had a friend feed his push stick to his SS, no big deal but what happened next was. Apparently a piece big enough got cut/broken off and sucked into his DC3300. The piece actually took out his DC fan blades. What a mess a new push stick and a rebuild of the his DC 3300, but he was fine and able to work on his DC3300 to fix it. Something he wouldn't have been able to do had not been using the push stick in the first place.
Ed

tom_k/mo · Post by **tom_k/mo** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:28 pm

Jim, glad it was just the push-stick and not your fingers... Makes me remember when I was in Shop class in high school oh-so many years ago. We had a teacher that had lost a digit on a finger to a jointer years before. He did an exercise each year after that with all the students in his classes where we had to calculate the number of blade irons on a jointer drum, the speed of the motor, diameters of the pulleys and final RPM of the jointer drum. We then had to multiply that by the number of irons on the drum, and figure out how many cutting passes were made per second, and then divided by the human reaction time, to show the students HOW MANY TIMES they would be cut before their brain even realized they were being cut and could tell the hand to retract. It was a frightening number, and always helped make the students act a little more responsibly around the equipment.

drl · Post by **drl** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:56 pm

Tom,
Your shop teacher taught an invaluable lesson to his classes. That should be an excerise performed in every woodworking, metalworking and even home ec (mixers, blenders, etc.) class taught. That stated with a jointer with perhaps 3 cutting edges and multiply that by a blade with 50 plus teeth and I would think using push sticks and guards would be a no brainer. Thanks for sharing his perspective.

Jim-Very glad you are OK. A good reminder.
Regards,
Dwight

ryanbp01 · Post by **ryanbp01** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:16 pm

Jim-

Don't feel bad. I have a push stick that looks the same way. Better to have a hunk out of the push stick than a hunk out of your hand! When I replaced my push stick I kept the thinner one around. I have found it is easier to push and control thinner stock with it than with a wider one.

BPR

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 5:52 pm

Jim,

I did a number like that on a push stick one night. I now have a large supply of every type of push stick and blaock I can find. Never would I want to run out of them. I hope you are okay. fjimp

john · Post by **john** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 11:52 am

Yep, been there, done that!:o

John