The Night Mail

[SM42]

At last. 

 

Beer 

 

Been a long day. Lots done, more tomorrow. 

Chariot goes on for service and MOT tomorrow. More painting to do  Sparkie coming, carpenter coming, plumber finishing heating installation, auctioneer coming to collect last of mum's stuff to move on and if there's time we might go to the pictures in the evening.

 

And a parcel due to arrive with some railway goodies that I have been waiting to come back in stock for a couple of months. 

 

Andy

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

 

 

Aha! 

 

I played the trump card upon her return

 

"Why didn't you empty the airing cupboard like I asked, ready for the plumber?"

 

"I thought he was coming tomorrow. 

Are you angry?"

 

"Yes"  I  lied " and you can put it all back in the cupboard"

 

This enabled me to get on with things ( painting) without interruption and more importantly has solicited cake as a peace offering. 

 

Andy,  quite enjoying the guilty silence and the cake. Normal service will no doubt be resumed tomorrow.

 

I am reliably informed, so I've been told, that it is not good to go to bed on a lie. I do not recall who told me this as my memory is not reliable, so I've been told.

 

What was the question again?

[Dave Hunt]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Please book your seats and refreshments for tomorrows details of the saga of the last 24 hours.

 

Just as I was starting to relax after the events of the last few weeks, along comes some joker with a nail biter!

 

This had better be good HH.

 

Dave

[Winslow Boy]

I know what HH has been up to. Just caught the end of tonites episode of the Repair Shop and who should I see but HH. He was positively gleaming. He'd been stuffed, sown back together and rehydrated. He looked absolutely spiffing.

 

So that's it folks you heard first here.

[Tony_S]

I haven’t done much today. I added another couple of heat and smoke detectors to the house alarm system. They work now but the physical installation is easy but pairing the devices with the existing ones just seemed awkward. I just kept repeating the procedure until it decided to work. Didn’t do anything different!

I finished off adding a DCC decoder to a small green loco which looks remarkably like the real one I posted a photo of recently. How a major manufacturer can make installing a six pin decoder difficult is beyond me. Fitting a decoder in the Bachmann Baldwin or Fairlie is easy. After struggling to get a decoder to fit (no suggestions in the instructions) I had to reassemble it. I liked the “unclip various parts “. Great, except they were glued at both ends. 
More straightforward was modifying our doorbell. I added a wireless remote to our existing ancient Friedland Chime. It worked well but consumed batteries. A CR2032 every 10 days seems a bit excessive so I removed the battery (like a 10p piece) and attached  an external battery holder with a couple of C size cells. They should last a while. The original doorbell still works but we can hear the wireless extensions in the garage or garden now. 
Tony

[PhilJ W]

This was on the 'Wacky Signs' thread but I'll just leave it here.

[Dave Hunt]

13 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

I know what HH has been up to. Just caught the end of tonites episode of the Repair Shop and who should I see but HH. He was positively gleaming. He'd been stuffed, sown back together and rehydrated. He looked absolutely spiffing.

 

So that's it folks you heard first here.

The last time I saw HH I told him to get stuffed........

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

2 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

This was on the 'Wacky Signs' thread but I'll just leave it here.

 

That's not a whacky sign, it's a masterpiece of common sense and clarity.

 

Dave 

[Happy Hippo]

48 minutes ago, SM42 said:

  Sparkie coming, carpenter coming, plumber finishing

Are you making a rather dodgy film?

[AndyID]

5 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

On Saturday an epic journey to the northeast begins, the destination being Eureka Springs in Arkansas, an attractive Victorian hot springs town that I know nothing about.

 

 

We're heading to Nampa with the trailer and stopping overnight at the hot springs in Cambridge. Appropriately the lady who took our booking is English 😀

[iL Dottore]

22 hours ago, polybear said:

…For a moment there I was worried you'd really, really p1ss a Bear off by saying they got oven chips with the Pizza.....

Well, of course they’ll get oven chips: they are cheap (very important) and cater to all kinds of dietary sensitivities...

17 hours ago, bbishop said:

..No offence Flavio (and HH), but that's when it's got boring.  Now what were the signs and symptoms, what obs did the crew take, was the AED deployed?  That's the interesting bit.

Bill

I must completely disagree with you,  Bill. Once you have scraped them off the pavement and brought them in that’s when it gets to be really interesting: what drugs do we use? What surgical procedures do we perform? What can we get away with? (Okay the last is a joke; but I have heard through the medical grapevine that some A&E doctors have pushed their luck by finding reasons not to give local anaesthesia when stitching up abusive drunks)

13 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Oh Andy you dared to give 'instructions' to the better half. Where do we send the flowers to?….

Actually, Winnie dear boy, it is perfectly possible to provide not just “recommendations“ to SWMBO, but also explicit instructions – providing you know how to do so diplomatically.

 

At one of my jobs, in a Biotech start-up reporting directly to the CEO - who was rather a temperamental woman – I learnt to be diplomatic very, very quickly. It was a skill set that I acquired which has served me very well in the “rest of the world“

 

There are two definitions of diplomacy that I have read which have stuck in my mind: the first is “the art of diplomacy is being able to talk a lot whilst actually saying nothing and revealing nothing“; the second is “the goal of diplomacy is to make the other person do what you want and have them believe that it is their own great idea!”

11 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

….If you have a weak stomach, it will be illustrated with one rather gory picture….

I doubt that I will be perturbed at all by any photographic evidence that you may be able to supply, HH. I’ve encountered plenty of things that the average layman would find upsetting/disturbing/repugnant. I even managed to face a full English which had both baked beans and a grilled tomato on the plate without barfing….🤣

Edited July 14, 2022 by iL Dottore

[jamie92208]

Like ID, I doubt that any such pictures from HH will put me off food.  I have also seen many and varied sights during my working life.  Whilst the girls were visiting there was discussion about things that put them off food.  I just told them that I had no idea what they were talking about as I'd never been put off food to my knowledge.

 

Jamie

[polybear]

7 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

I am reliably informed, so I've been told, that it is not good to go to bed on a lie. I do not recall who told me this as my memory is not reliable, so I've been told.

 

 

Oh, I'm not so sure - SM (a) got away with it, and (b) cake was given.  Sounds like a win-win to this Bear.

 

7 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Just as I was starting to relax after the events of the last few weeks, along comes some joker with a nail biter!

 

This had better be good HH.

 

Dave

 

Just wait - after all this build up a certain Bear is just waiting for it to be an ingrowing toenail or summink like that.....

Of course it could turn out to be a brass doorknob "experiment" that went disastrously wrong - a story which would no doubt confer legend status to Big H amongst the RMWeb fraternity.....

[SM42]

And so the day begins. 

 

I don't work this hard at work. I'll need to go back for a rest.

 

 

Andy

[SM42]

It appears that we won't be taking in  a film later. 

The cinema is closed for urgent repairs to the air con that keeps the projectors cool. 

 

That means I'll be found something to do round here. 

 

Andy

Edited July 14, 2022 by SM42

[Winslow Boy]

6 minutes ago, SM42 said:

It appears that we won't be taking in  a film later. 

The cinema is closed for urgent repairs to the air con that keeps the projectors cool. 

 

That means I'll be found something to do round here. 

 

Andy

 

Told you that you wouldn't get away with it. Someone up there is extracting there revenge for that 'slight of hand' you pulled. Its only going to get worse believe you me. Own up now, you'll feel better for it.

[Dave Hunt]

Morning All. Here I am, waiting with bated breath for the great HH revealation and.............??

 

In the meantime we have got chaps in laying a new floor in our hallway and corridor so I can get some entertainment watching them work.   

 

Dave

[jamie92208]

45 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Morning All. Here I am, waiting with bated breath for the great HH revealation and.............??

 

In the meantime we have got chaps in laying a new floor in our hallway and corridor so I can get some entertainment watching them work.   

 

Dave

Surely you should retire to the railway room and takecJill as your assistant.

 

Jamie

[Dave Hunt]

Unfortunately, Jamie, there are things that a higher authority has declared 'that need to be done'.........

Such is life 😤

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

OK you wisecracking bunch, time to sit down, pull up a sandbag sup on you beverage and scoff you cake of choice (or what you can scrounge).

 

The tale starts on Tuesday morning:

 

I woke up, got up, used the bathroom then got dressed.  I made tea for us both, did Wordle, had a skim through the on line tabloids and had breakfast. Then I unloaded the dishwasher and we went up the garden to remove the caging around the redcurrant bush so Nyda could pick the fruit from it.

 

I then went around the front to the garage and got out Pantmawr North's boards and erected them on the driveway. Today was a train day and.  Gordon was coming around at 10 am to help with any electrical issues that the final wire up I'd done the previous day, and then to get stuck into the scenery on the North end Board. 

 

Before Gordon arrived, I identified a crossing nose feed was wired in back to front, but it was a simple fix as all the wires had been led back to the rear top of the board.  It worked:  The signals worked, the crossover worked in unison, but the single turnout had a derailing issue.  I immediately saw the problem which was  the diverging stockrail was not well supported and had closed the gauge up.  when the switch rail moved the stock rail followed it. This can be cured by replacing the plastic slide chair, with a bit of copper paxolin board and a dab with the soldering iron.

 

When Gordon arrived we gave the track and cassettes some rigorous testing (playing) and after a mug of tea,made great inroads on the  second fix of scenic work involving newspaper strips and PVA glue.

 

Fast forward from Gordon leaving to me having finished my lunch, and I then returned to look at carrying out more scenic work, and decided that I needed to start making the lintels and pilasters for the tops of the bridges that masked the cassette tables from the scenic boards.

 

I then set up the table saw.  To do the thin strip required needed the blade guard removed, as it will not allow the fence to move that close to the blade. So I  started to cut making sure that fingers were well clear by using not one, but two push sticks.

 

Right at the end of the cut, there was a BANG, and my left hand was flicked over onto the top of the blade.

 

I stopped the machine and looked at the damage. 

 

My index and third fingers were both  cut along their length and the nail of the third finger had ceased to exist and the index nail as split in two.  If there had been a breeze, they would have been flapping.  Fortunately I didn't.  The years of military first aid training kicked in.  The danger had been eliminated, I had assessed that the injury was quite serious, but no bits were missing.  I grabbed some clean tissue (not the best choice but it was to hand, and covered the wound.  Elevated it  by putting my left palm onto my right shoulder and went into the house for a clean dishcloth which a wrapped around the hand.

 

There was no pain, which I put down to the adrenaline rush that probably occurred, and called Nyda, told her that I'd cut myself and needed to go to hospital.

 

I then went back outside, did the most important thing which was lift the locos off the boards and locked them in the garage and then got into the car.

 

On the drive to PRH, I started to relax was waiting for the pain to kick in, and also the possibility of the onset of shock.  But both appeared absent.

 

I stood in a queue to book in at the A&E Dept of PRH at about 1420, and then waited nearly two hours to see the triage nurse.  (So much for the 'golden hour')  Once seen and a temporary dressing  and sling applied, I was only to wait another few minutes before going through for treatment.

 

The temporary dressing were removed (by me) and it was obvious that some form of reconstructive surgery would be necessary.  A call to the orthopaedic team instigated a request for an X ray to check for bone damage, and once the X ray had been taken, it was time to properly sterilise the wound.  This meant putting  the two fingers in a bowl of that brown iodine based sterilizing fluid.  I was told that I only needed to do this for as long as I could stand as it would probably hurt, but apart from a slight tingling I kept the hand in for about 30 minutes.  whilst this was going on, I got an anti tetanus jab.

 

After the X rays had been seen I was diagnosed with two open fractures.  The junior ortho doc had called the senior registrar who wanted me admitted for surgery the following day.

 

This was what the ortho team were looking at:

 

 

Amid all the carnage there was a young lady going around with a tea trolley offering tea, coffee and other sustenance.  I opted for a cup of tea and asked what shed had to offer in the sticky bun department:

 

'Would you like a finger of cake?' she asked.

'I'll take any spare fingers you have'  I replied holding up my hand.

 

She looked  absolutely mortified:  The nursing team burst out laughing.

 

After another temporary dressing was put on, I was moved to a sitting area and waited for a bed.

 

In the meantime, they inserted a canula, as I'd been told that they wanted to get me on a large antibiotic load as the worst thing about the open fractures was the risk of an infection setting in, and the sooner I was able to fight that the better. The first set of antibiotics were injected by syringe over a period of about 5 minutes.  I was then connected to a drip for the second intravenous antibiotic, and once this had gone in another different antibiotic was coupled up to top of the concoction.

 

I finally got a bed in Ward 8  which is the head throat and chest ward, at just before midnight.  

 

I was nil by mouth from midnight so a quick swig of water for some hydration was all I got.

 

Sleep was intermittent, still no pain, just tingling, but it was not an ortho ward, the chap in the next bay was having serious issues with his breathing and swallowing so there was a lot of activity to help him during the night.

 

I got up about 0600 and got myself sorted out in the bathroom, although I decided that trying to shave was going to be a complete waste of time.

 

Since I was nbm at this stage I did a pinch test and I was getting quite dehydrated.  One of the nursing staff saw me up and about and came over to carry out my obs, which were now to be every half hour.  I mentioned the dehydration and I was put on the drip, which I mentioned in an earlier message.

 

I saw the  anaesthetist followed by the orthopaedic consultant at about 0830.

 

At this stage in the proceedings, it's probably worth taking a step back and outline what others were doing once they knew what was going to happen to me.

 

I had sent Nyda home after she'd delivered me to PRH.  A&E was packed, a lot of those there because the had not been able to get GP appointments, so after a few days of this were turning up in desperation.  I told here to carry on as normal and to go to her Ranger meeting and I'd make my own way home:  Obviously this was before I knew I was in for an extended stay.

 

Morgan was going to go over after work and put PN away in the garage, but once he knew I was staying in, we had a quick chat on the phone and he prepped an overnight bag and dropped it into me whilst I was in A&E.  So I was well organised.

 

Back to the chase.

 

I had intelligent discussions with both the anaesthetist and the consultant. 

 

I did consider having the work  done under a local as this was possible, but decided that due to the potential length of the surgery, and me probably interrupting procedures with 'What's that, why are you doing it that way? So that's what it looks like', or worse, 'I wouldn't do it that way', I opted for the general which would keep me quiet for the duration.

 

The consultant explained that there main aim was to get the wounds cleaned up,  making sure any bone fragments were removed and then closing things up as best they could.  Although they were pretty sure that the index finger would repair, the 3rd finger was probably going to be shortened slightly so thy could fold over the skin around to replace the finger nail, the remains of which were not going to survive. 

 

And that is what happened and although I was slated for discharge at about 1330.

 

There was then a long wait:  In the meantime I'd discussed with the ward sister my post op treatment and care.  I was supposed to get my dressing changed and the woulds inspected next Monday, but since I'm away in Pembrokeshire, I asked if I could change the dressings myself:  If there was an issue with the wound, I could pop into the hospital at Haverfordwest to get it checked out.  This was agreed and I was given a dressing kit off the ward, as well as yet another course of antibiotics.  I also received a pack of painkillers, although all I'm still getting is the tingles (which is good as it shows there is still feeling down there).   After that I'm to report to the fracture clinic on 27th of this month for a further inspection and to get the stitches removed.

 

I finally walked into the discharge lounge until 1635.

 

A call home and I was collected at 1650.

 

This was the state of play last night:

 

 

So, what went wrong?

 

When you work with tools, despite all the mitigating safety factor you account for, there is still and element of risk. The tool, be it a lathe, a power tool or even a simple spanner, you have to be sensible and ultimately lucky.  To keep safe you have to be lucky all the time.  The tool, inert and quite safe until you interact with it has only got to be lucky once!

 

I had plenty of time in hospital to evaluate what went wrong and whether it was a careless mistake on my part or whether I has carried out everything in my power to prevent it happening: Or if it was my fault, how could I prevent such a thing happening again?

 

Well it happened,so something must have been wrong or I made a mistake.  I've come to the conclusion that it was a minor error on my part, BUT I did carry out a lot of risk mitigation which probably saved my fingers from getting chopped off.

 

In an ideal world you have a specific tool for each job so a commercial workshop will have an array of machines all set up to do a particular task.  As a result, the guarding of the whirly bits can be very precise.  In the home workshop, you do not have that luxury, so you have to compromise.

 

My particular situation gives me a number of table saws, of differing size and capability.  I try to work on the principle of the smaller the workpiece, the smaller the saw.

 

So I wanted to rip a large piece of timber into thin strip(s) in order to get them down to a size where I could carry out further cutting on a more appropriate sized machine.

 

So the saw that caused the injury was my large,primary table saw.  In common parlance it would be regarded as a site saw, free standing with a 10 inch dia blade that is adjustable both in height, and up to 45 degrees from the vertical.  It is fitted with a very large plastic blade guard that is attached to the riving knife. (A riving knife sits behind the blade and hold the timber apart once it has been cut to prevent  the timer kicking back.)  The blade guard being large prevents the operator from moving the guide fence of the machine close to the blade for thin cuts, so you have to remove the guard.

 

I was making a cut to make 10 mm strip, so the procedure I adopted was to remove the blade guard and set the blade height to just above the timber to be cut.

I then set the fence distance using a rule and then adjust the fence so that its  far end lines up at approximately blade centre.   This allows the strip to be held away from the blade only by the riving knife at the far end of the blade, which enable the timber to move with less friction and also allows it to bow away slightly which makes for a safer recovery.

 

Because there is not much space between the blade and the fence to guide the timber you need to use a push stick.  These I tend to make to measure.  In this case I made two.  This was because I would have to start the cut using my hands to feed the timber, and then transfer to the stick(s) when the timber was nearly cut through.  I use the second stick to hold the timber against the fence whilst  I transfer from using my hand to using the primary stick to push the timber through between blade and fence.  Holding the timber against the fence during the transfer prevents the timber moving and creating an annoying wave in the timber or even a taper.

 

I then carried out a check cut and then adjusted the fence inwards by about half a millimetre: checked again and then got the timber for the strip cutting proper.

 

And this is where I made the mistake!

 

I ran the cut through to the point at which I needed the push sticks and picked them up so they were in the wrong hands.

 

As I reached the end of the cut, the stick in my left hand dropped into the gap between the blade and the saw bed:  It twisted, caught the blade and flipped over pulling my my hand into the blade.

 

The NVR stop switch is on the lhs of the saw,and I would have needed to reach down with my right hand to switch off. 

 

Very fortunately I identified that getting power tools off in a hurry can be problematic so I had made a footswitch that you plug the machine into before connecting it to the mains.  Where an NVR is fitted, you depress the footswitch and then switch on the machine, to switch off, you take your foot off the pedal.  This means you don't have to take your hands from the workpiece.

 

This saved valuable seconds in getting the machine off.

 

In hindsight I could have prevented this accident by clearly identifying the push sticks before starting the cut.

 

The mitigating factors that prevented more serious injury (possible amputation) was the correct blade height setting prior to the cut and the additional power control through the footswitch.  I just needed to step away rather than lean forward which could have made  everthing more catastrophic.

 

Could I do more?

 

Yes, I am aware of the need to prevent timber dropping through the blade slot.  The slot is wide because of the angle adjustment.  for my little Proxxon saw I made a zero clearance blade slot by removing the existing slot cover from the bed and replacing it with a solid piece of timber. The machine was the switched on and the blade slowly  move up so it cut through the timber. The drawback being it has to be removed and the original replaced to make angles cuts.

 

So, once I'm able I will make a zero clearance plate for the big saw, and then design some form of attachment to the fence that creates a much lower fence face when doing thin strip cuts.

 

No sympathy is required from this saga, but I would like you all to go away having learned a lesson at my expense.  I've been using power tools for the best part of 50 years without incident until Tuesday. As I noted earlier, the tool only has to be lucky once.

 

Here end the lesson.

 

(Because my latest parcel from RoS has arrived and  my hands are really tired after spending about 90 minutes trying to type this out.)

 

Still no pain though!

 

PS.  I mentioned spanner safety as  I once chipped a tooth dropping a spanner into my face whilst changing a car exhaust!

Edited July 14, 2022 by Happy Hippo
removing garbage spelling and inserting punctuation

[rockershovel]

13 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

At the end of the day I can't change the past I shouldn't dwell so much on it. If I had gone to CSM I wouldn't have Swmbo and the boys 

I think the main thing I would say about CSM is that it equipped me to deal with the radical changes that ensued. Where, now is the NCB? The great national adventure of North Sea Oil has come and largely gone, its benefits mostly squandered. But I still have people phoning me to work for them ....

[TheQ]

14 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

At the end of the day I can't change the past I shouldn't dwell so much on it. If I had gone to CSM I wouldn't have Swmbo and the boys 

I knew Company Sergeant Majors were bad, But...

[Northmoor]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

OK you wisecracking bunch, time to sit down, pull up a sandbag sup on you beverage and scoff you cake of choice (or what you can scrounge).

 

The tale starts on Tuesday morning:

 

I woke up, got up, used the bathroom then got dressed.  I made tea for us both, did Wordle, had a skim through the on line tabloids and had breakfast. Then I unloaded the dishwasher and we went up the garden to remove the caging around the redcurrant bush so Nyda could pick the fruit from it.

 

I then went around the front to the garage and got out Pantmawr North's boards and erected them on the driveway. Today was a train day and.  Gordon was coming around at 10 am to help with any electrical issues that the final wire up I'd done the previous day, and then to get stuck into the scenery on the North end Board. 

 

Before Gordon arrived, I identified a crossing nose feed was wired in back to front, but it was a simple fix as all the wires had been led back to the rear top of the board.  It worked:  The signals worked, the crossover worked in unison, but the single turnout had a derailing issue.  I immediately saw the problem which was  the diverging stockrail was not well supported and had closed the gauge up.  when the switch rail moved the stock rail followed it. This can be cured by replacing the plastic slide chair, with a bit of copper paxolin board and a dab with the soldering iron.

 

When Gordon arrived we gave the track and cassettes some rigorous testing (playing) and after a mug of tea,made great inroads on the  second fix of scenic work involving newspaper strips and PVA glue.

 

Fast forward from Gordon leaving to me having finished my lunch, and I then returned to look at carrying out more scenic work, and decided that I needed to start making the lintels and pilasters for the tops of the bridges that masked the cassette tables from the scenic boards.

 

I then set up the table saw.  To do the thin strip required needed the blade guard removed, as it will not allow the fence to move that close to the blade. So I  started to cut making sure that fingers were well clear by using not one, but two push sticks.

 

Right at the end of the cut, there was a BANG, and my left hand was flicked over onto the top of the blade.

 

I stopped the machine and looked at the damage. 

 

My index and third fingers were both  cut along their length and the nail of the third finger had ceased to exist and the index nail as split in two.  If there had been a breeze, they would have been flapping.  Fortunately I didn't.  The years of military first aid training kicked in.  The danger had been eliminated, I had assessed that the injury was quite serious, but no bits were missing.  I grabbed some clean tissue (not the best choice but it was to hand, and covered the wound.  Elevated it  by putting my left palm onto my right shoulder and went into the house for a clean dishcloth which a wrapped around the hand.

 

There was no pain, which I put down to the adrenaline rush that probably occurred, and called Nyda, told her that I'd cut myself and needed to go to hospital.

 

I then went back outside, did the most important thing which was lift the locos off the boards and locked them in the garage and then got into the car.

 

On the drive to PRH, I started to relax was waiting for the pain to kick in, and also the possibility of the onset of shock.  But both appeared absent.

 

I stood in a queue to book in at the A&E Dept of PRH at about 1420, and then waited nearly two hours to see the triage nurse.  (So much for the 'golden hour')  Once seen and a temporary dressing  and sling applied, I was only to wait another few minutes before going through for treatment.

 

The temporary dressing were removed (by me) and it was obvious that some form of reconstructive surgery would be necessary.  A call to the orthopaedic team instigated a request for an X ray to check for bone damage, and once the X ray had been taken, it was time to properly sterilise the wound.  This meant putting  the two fingers in a bowl of that brown iodine based sterilizing fluid.  I was told that I only needed to do this for as long as I could stand as it would probably hurt, but apart from a slight tingling I kept the hand in for about 30 minutes.  whilst this was going on, I got an anti tetanus jab.

 

After the X rays had been seen I was diagnosed with two open fractures.  The junior ortho doc had called the senior registrar who wanted me admitted for surgery the following day.

 

This was what the ortho team were looking at:

 

 

Amid all the carnage there was a young lady going around with a tea trolley offering tea, coffee and other sustenance.  I opted for a cup of tea and asked what shed had to offer in the sticky bun department:

 

'Would you like a finger of cake?' she asked.

'I'll take any spare fingers you have'  I replied holding up my hand.

 

She looked  absolutely mortified:  The nursing team burst out laughing.

 

After another temporary dressing was put on, I was moved to a sitting area and waited for a bed.

 

In the meantime, they inserted a canula, as I'd been told that they wanted to get me on a large antibiotic load as the worst thing about the open fractures was the risk of an infection setting in, and the sooner I was able to fight that the better. The first set of antibiotics were injected by syringe over a period of about 5 minutes.  I was then connected to a drip for the second intravenous antibiotic, and once this had gone in another different antibiotic was coupled up to top of the concoction.

 

I finally got a bed in Ward 8  which is the head throat and chest ward, at just before midnight.  

 

I was nil by mouth from midnight so a quick swig of water for some hydration was all I got.

 

Sleep was intermittent, still no pain, just tingling, but it was not an ortho ward, the chap in the next bay was having serious issues with his breathing and swallowing so there was a lot of activity to help him during the night.

 

I got up about 0600 and got myself sorted out in the bathroom, although I decided that trying to shave was going to be a complete waste of time.

 

Since I was nbm at this stage I did a pinch test and I was getting quite dehydrated.  One of the nursing staff saw me up and about and came over to carry out my obs, which were now to be every half hour.  I mentioned the dehydration and I was put on the drip, which I mentioned in an earlier message.

 

I saw the  anaesthetist followed by the orthopaedic consultant at about 0830.

 

At this stage in the proceedings, it's probably worth taking a step back and outline what others were doing once they knew what was going to happen to me.

 

I had sent Nyda home after she'd delivered me to PRH.  A&E was packed, a lot of those there because the had not been able to get GP appointments, so after a few days of this were turning up in desperation.  I told here to carry on as normal and to go to her Ranger meeting and I'd make my own way home:  Obviously this was before I knew I was in for an extended stay.

 

Morgan was going to go over after work and put PN away in the garage, but once he knew I was staying in, we had a quick chat on the phone and he prepped an overnight bag and dropped it into me whilst I was in A&E.  So I was well organised.

 

Back to the chase.

 

I had intelligent discussions with both the anaesthetist and the consultant. 

 

I did consider having the work  done under a local as this was possible, but decided that due to the potential length of the surgery, and me probably interrupting procedures with 'What's that, why are you doing it that way? So that's what it looks like', or worse, 'I wouldn't do it that way', I opted for the general which would keep me quiet for the duration.

 

The consultant explained that there main aim was to get the wounds cleaned up,  making sure any bone fragments were removed and then closing things up as best they could.  Although they were pretty sure that the index finger would repair, the 3rd finger was probably going to be shortened slightly so thy could fold over the skin around to replace the finger nail, the remains of which were not going to survive. 

 

And that is what happened and although I was slated for discharge at about 1330.

 

There was then a long wait:  In the meantime I'd discussed with the ward sister my post op treatment and care.  I was supposed to get my dressing changed and the woulds inspected next Monday, but since I'm away in Pembrokeshire, I asked if I could change the dressings myself:  If there was an issue with the wound, I could pop into the hospital at Haverfordwest to get it checked out.  This was agreed and I was given a dressing kit off the ward, as well as yet another course of antibiotics.  I also received a pack of painkillers, although all I'm still getting is the tingles (which is good as it shows there is still feeling down there).   After that I'm to report to the fracture clinic on 27th of this month for a further inspection and to get the stitches removed.

 

I finally walked into the discharge lounge until 1635.

 

A call home and I was collected at 1650.

 

This was the state of play last night:

 

 

So, what went wrong?

 

When you work with tools, despite all the mitigating safety factor you account for, there is still and element of risk. The tool, be it a lathe, a power tool or even a simple spanner, you have to be sensible and ultimately lucky.  To keep safe you have to be lucky all the time.  The tool, inert and quite safe until you interact with it has only got to be lucky once!

 

I had plenty of time in hospital to evaluate what went wrong and whether it was a careless mistake on my part or whether I has carried out everything in my power to prevent it happening: Or if it was my fault, how could I prevent such a thing happening again?

 

Well it happened,so something must have been wrong or I made a mistake.  I've come to the conclusion that it was a minor error on my part, BUT I did carry out a lot of risk mitigation which probably saved my fingers from getting chopped off.

 

In an ideal world you have a specific tool for each job so a commercial workshop will have an array of machines all set up to do a particular task.  As a result, the guarding of the whirly bits can be very precise.  In the home workshop, you do not have that luxury, so you have to compromise.

 

My particular situation gives me a number of table saws, of differing size and capability.  I try to work on the principle of the smaller the workpiece, the smaller the saw.

 

So I wanted to rip a large piece of timber into thin strip(s) in order to get them down to a size where I could carry out further cutting on a more appropriate sized machine.

 

So the saw that caused the injury was my large,primary table saw.  In common parlance it would be regarded as a site saw, free standing with a 10 inch dia blade that is adjustable both in height, and up to 45 degrees from the vertical.  It is fitted with a very large plastic blade guard that is attached to the riving knife. (A riving knife sits behind the blade and hold the timber apart once it has been cut to prevent  the timer kicking back.)  The blade guard being large prevents the operator from moving the guide fence of the machine close to the blade for thin cuts, so you have to remove the guard.

 

I was making a cut to make 10 mm strip, so the procedure I adopted was to remove the blade guard and set the blade height to just above the timber to be cut.

I then set the fence distance using a rule and then adjust the fence so that its  far end lines up at approximately blade centre.   This allows the strip to be held away from the blade only by the riving knife at the far end of the blade, which enable the timber to move with less friction and also allows it to bow away slightly which makes for a safer recovery.

 

Because there is not much space between the blade and the fence to guide the timber you need to use a push stick.  These I tend to make to measure.  In this case I made two.  This was because I would have to start the cut using my hands to feed the timber, and then transfer to the stick(s) when the timber was nearly cut through.  I use the second stick to hold the timber against the fence whilst  I transfer from using my hand to using the primary stick to push the timber through between blade and fence.  Holding the timber against the fence during the transfer prevents the timber moving and creating an annoying wave in the timber or even a taper.

 

I then carried out a check cut and then adjusted the fence inwards by about half a millimetre: checked again and then got the timber for the strip cutting proper.

 

And this is where I made the mistake!

 

I ran the cut through to the point at which I needed the push sticks and picked them up so they were in the wrong hands.

 

As I reached the end of the cut, the stick in my left hand dropped into the gap between the blade and the saw bed:  It twisted, caught the blade and flipped over pulling my my hand into the blade.

 

The NVR stop switch is on the lhs of the saw,and I would have needed to reach down with my right hand to switch off. 

 

Very fortunately I identified that getting power tools off in a hurry can be problematic so I had made a footswitch that you plug the machine into before connecting it to the mains.  Where an NVR is fitted, you depress the footswitch and then switch on the machine, to switch off, you take your foot off the pedal.  This means you don't have to take your hands from the workpiece.

 

This saved valuable seconds in getting the machine off.

 

In hindsight I could have prevented this accident by clearly identifying the push sticks before starting the cut.

 

The mitigating factors that prevented more serious injury (possible amputation) was the correct blade height setting prior to the cut and the additional power control through the footswitch.  I just needed to step away rather than lean forward which could have made  everthing more catastrophic.

 

Could I do more?

 

Yes, I am aware of the need to prevent timber dropping through the blade slot.  The slot is wide because of the angle adjustment.  for my little Proxxon saw I made a zero clearance blade slot by removing the existing slot cover from the bed and replacing it with a solid piece of timber. The machine was the switched on and the blade slowly  move up so it cut through the timber. The drawback being it has to be removed and the original replaced to make angles cuts.

 

So, once I'm able I will make a zero clearance plate for the big saw, and then design some form of attachment to the fence that creates a much lower fence face when doing thin strip cuts.

 

No sympathy is required from this saga, but I would like you all to go away having learned a lesson at my expense.  I've been using power tools for the best part of 50 years without incident until Tuesday. As I noted earlier, the tool only has to be lucky once.

 

Here end the lesson.

 

(Because my latest parcel from RoS has arrived and  my hands are really tired after spending about 90 minutes trying to type this out.)

 

Still no pain though!

 

PS.  I mentioned spanner safety as  I once chipped a tooth dropping a spanner into my face whilst changing a car exhaust!

Glad to hear you're as well as can be expected, @Happy Hippo.  This is a very similar injury to what my Dad gave himself about 45 years ago, when in the gathering gloom, the mower was repeatedly clogging and he reached underneath to clear it, without first waiting for the blade to stop spinning.....  Coincidentally he ended up being treated in Haverfordwest (Withybush) hospital as we lived ten miles away.  Hope you enjoy your break down in the Bottom Left Hand Corner of Wales.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Northmoor
typo

[Dave Hunt]

Look on the bright side, HH, at least it isn't your Penderyn drinking hand.

In all seriousness, though, you were a lucky old pachyderm not to have suffered a more serious injury and knowing how careful and thoughtful you are about using tools it is an object lesson for all of us.

If you want any help with the layout or anything else for that matter, give me a ring.

 

Dave

[jamie92208]

@Happy Hippo, thanks for the long explanation, that I read without problems whilst eating my lunch. As DH has said you have been very lucky.  I wish you well in your recovery down in the south west corner.  As Dave has mentioned if you do need any help with lifting a Penderyn bottle I would be glad to help reduce the weight.

 

Whilst down in the SW corner have you ever been to the museum at Pembroke Dock where they are trying yo preserve a Sunderland that sank. I enjoyed my visit.

 

Jamie

Edited July 14, 2022 by jamie92208