Shopsmith Forums

While I was fighting with my jointer yesterday I incurred a very painful splinter. I was handling the Baltic Birch plywood sled bottom on the tablesaw and turning it over. It slipped and I was stabbed in the side of the thumb with a splinter from the baltic birch. I immediately stopped what I was doing and went to the house to clean and remove the splinter. I ave gotten splinters before but never one like this. It was unbelievably painful and caused my thumb from the first knuckle to the tip to tingle and become somwhat numb. I had the wife get me one of her very sharp scalpels and I sliced my thumb open so that I could remove the splinter. The pain from the splinter was so severe that slicing it with the scalpel barely even phased me. Now I didn't have to lay the thumb open mind you just had to slice deeply enough to gain access to the wood to grab it wit the tweezers and remove. That was successful and once removed I washed and cleaned the wound thoroughly. Then applied Hydrogen Peroxide and then some Neosporin and a bandaid. Last night I soaked the thumb in Epsom Salt and hot water per the wifes advice. This morning the thumb seems to be a little better pain wise but is still pretty painful. There doesn't seem to be any signs of abscessing or infection so I think I am good with that. But I am worried that I may have damaged a nerve as the thumb pad and tip seem to still be somewhat numb and tingly.

Anybody ever get a splinter this severe before and did you have any ongoing problems because of it. To say that yesterday was a complete fail would be understating my level of accomplishment. Some days you just should stay out of the shop I think.

I haven't had any that hurt that bad yet. Hopefully it wont happen. I have had a few that went too deep and I couldn't recover them, so I had to wait for them to get a bit infected so they could be squeezed out rather than dug out.
Now you need to take care of it so it doesn't get infected.

I am thankful this did not become a medical issue.

I think the type of wood has something to do with how badly a splitter hurts. I experienced similar pain from splitters from a piece of rough cut purple heart. These resulted in significant swelling and some infection.

SWMBO insists that when working on purple heart again that I wear gloves.:rolleyes:

Considering what you put through that thumb yesterday(pun intended). I would be concerned if it was NOT sore and tingly today(and a few more days). Especially if swelling is present.

Nerve damage usually results in total numbness.

If yer 'feeling' it, that be a good sign!;)

Glad everything came out ok. Thinking back to high school (thats really thinking back a bit. ) there was an experiment where you and a partner would touch a sharp nail around the hand and find nerve points, then repeat around the back and see that nerve endings are distant. The point being, our finger pads are exceptionally sensitive with nerve endings exceptionally close together. You found one!:D
Your self treatment seems to be appropriate. Now just make sure that the area does not become infected. Tenderness and swelling at the site of injury is normal, but watch for any sign of infection moving past the joint, further up into the hand. That would necessitate a doctors visit.
Best to you, and get back to making sawdust soon.

Thank you all for the good advice. I worked out in the shop again today but i only did some major cleaning and reorganizing to make things more efficient when I do get back to making sawdust again. It doesn't seem as though that will be happening until next weekend at the earliest. The thumb is very sore and if I bend it outwards away from the palm it really is very painful. I suffered through it today and will continue to just tough it out. It looks good today other than some minor swelling and the pain there doesn't seem to be any infection setting in. I will continue with my current course of treatment and keep an eye on it for any signs of change or infection and will head directly to the Doc if I see anything out of the norm.

I'm a newbie to woodworking but I wonder if anyone uses gloves when they're messing around with their Shopsmith?

QUICK EDIT: Did a cursory google search and saw horror stories of people getting their gloved hand snatched into jointers and such...anyone else have a similar experience or story to tell?

jalisciense wrote:I'm a newbie to woodworking but I wonder why if anyone uses gloves when they're messing around with their Shopsmith?

Gloves are used when handling boards and plywood, (also gluing) but just before a woodworking machine is turned on - they are best removed for safety.

I had a miter saw grab my glove and pull my little and ring finger into the blade. The power was off and the blade was spinning down when it happened. I have rather short little fingers compared to the others so the glove was an unnoticed hazard. I was lucky, lost some skin but that was it. I had an interesting cut across the nail of my ring finger finger nail. I was actually cutting branches down to the city's specified length for pickup curbside and using an old miter saw. It went curb side too afterwards. I will never wear gloves around equipment again.
Bill