# Grinder-1 Thumb-0



## tacoma_2002 (Jul 16, 2009)

Daily Lesson #1: Always use leather gloves while using a die grinder and cutoff wheel...

...while I was cutting a piece of steel for the shock mount with my die grinder...the grinder hopped and came straight down my thumb ..

I immediately dropped my ginder and grabbed my thumb, just knowing that some of it would be missing. I finally mustard up the courage to look at it, and as soon as I ungraspt it, it started bleeding like crazy.

I ran into the house, and rinsed it off with dial soap and water then with alcohol....I came to the conclusion that since the grinder had centered my thumb and gotten into my fingernail, I needed to ride down to the clinic and see if I needed stitches. Luckily, I knew the MD at the local clinic and she said she thought that we could get by without them. After another through washing and inspection by the nurse we found out that the grinder went to the BONE....not to mention the 1/16" gash my tumb and nail has in it...:aargh4:

30 minutes and a little glue later I was able to come home and finish my project...what a day...but hey...it could have been worse!


----------



## phreebsd (Dec 16, 2004)

Holay crap!! Pics or it never happened!!


----------



## Metal Man (Dec 17, 2008)

I now that feeling all to well. I've stopped a few cut off wheels with my fingers in the past.

The worst is when you have to dig the small pieces of grit off the wheel out of the wound :aargh4:


----------



## tacoma_2002 (Jul 16, 2009)

LOL...I figured that was coming....she says I can take the bandage off in a couple days (so the wound wont open back up) and I'll get pics....I would have taken them before I went to the clinic, but all you could see was blood....

I didn't want anyone ruining their PC with vomit


----------



## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

ouch.... been there once w/ a hedge trimmer  didnt quite go to the bone but... still went through the tip of my finger.


----------



## oldmanbrute (Apr 15, 2009)

OUCH! at least it doesn't bother your typing skills.....lol


----------



## Roushf150 (Dec 8, 2009)

Glad your ok, mine was with a table saw, I still can't feel the end of my thumb.


----------



## codyh (Mar 30, 2009)

When I was little I had a GENUIS idea of making an arrow for a bow I made and was cutting the knotch for the string with a dang machete, sliced my thumb open and hade to get ten stictches. I know I'm smart


----------



## derk (Nov 24, 2009)

Hate to hear that. A die grinder can be a handful at times for sure. I do automotive work for a living and even with using them everyday, everyonce in a while there's a slip up. I've had the cut off wheels grab my shirt and pull into my stomach before. Luckily it didnt go too deep. Hope your thumb heals up quick


----------



## Masher (Jan 16, 2009)

*That sucks, where's the pics of the carnage.*


----------



## bayou_boy_22 (Mar 13, 2009)

that sucks man. glad you are ok.


----------



## drtj (May 3, 2009)

I feel ur pain (almost). A few yrs ago I was using a table saw & cut off the very tip of my thumb.


----------



## 650Brute (Dec 18, 2008)

Glad you are okay! I been there once with a finger tip and a meat slicer....


----------



## rhelms (Sep 18, 2009)

never cut my finger too bad but did smash the heck out of it between a 16 lb sledge hammer and the edge of a trackhoe boom, cut/ripped my finger down to the bone and half way around ny finger. 
By the way I hope it wasn't your throttle thumb that might be tough.


----------



## phreebsd (Dec 16, 2004)

derk said:


> I've had the cut off wheels grab my shirt and pull into my stomach before.


that's exactly what i was telling andy!


----------



## 1bigforeman (Jun 23, 2009)

I was cutting the black piece on my brute for my snorkels. I was using a razor knife and it slipped off and I was pulling HARD! I did the same thing, dropped the knife and held my thumb. I ended up going to the hospital and I don't go for nothing. I cut the nail in half and split my thumb in 2. They stitched me back up and glued the nail back together which later came off. I told them to hurry because it was my day off and I had to get back home to get the brute together. In this pic you can see the scar.


----------



## tacoma_2002 (Jul 16, 2009)

rhelms said:


> By the way I hope it wasn't your throttle thumb that might be tough.


 
It was .


----------



## Masher (Jan 16, 2009)

Well your thumb was on the wrong end of the eating.


----------



## Big D (Jun 23, 2009)

I really feel for you (all) and am glad that you're okay. But I'll be honest...I can't help but smile while reading all the stories. Guys all have the "it's not going to happen to me" attitude when handling tools. I guess I shouldn't laugh too hard, my problem is that I think about what could go wrong and I guess make it happen.


----------



## tacoma_2002 (Jul 16, 2009)

It actually looks pretty good today! At least the wound has closed up!


----------



## phreebsd (Dec 16, 2004)

nice lookin thumb!


----------



## Yesterday (Jan 2, 2009)

whoa!


----------



## oldmanbrute (Apr 15, 2009)

tacoma_2002 said:


> 30 minutes and a little glue later I was able to come home and finish my project...what a day...but hey...it could have been worse!


 

looks more like you could have used a dab of bondo......
glad your feeling better.


----------



## Masher (Jan 16, 2009)

Nice, at least it wasn't your johnny.


----------



## 1bigforeman (Jun 23, 2009)

LOL, we did the same thing but mine was further back! Look at my scar, you'll have the same....


----------



## ThaMule (Jan 26, 2010)

hmmmm......i usually hold on to grinders and cut off wheels pretty good and never thought about one being able to pop out of my hand. Just had them bounce up as I was holding them. Note taken...wear some gloves! 

One safety note from me. wear safety glasses when using brake cleaner. Was rebuilding a gorilla axle when the brake cleaner shot straight back in my eye.....Not fun!


----------



## tacoma_2002 (Jul 16, 2009)

ThaMule said:


> One safety note from me. wear safety glasses when using brake cleaner. Was rebuilding a gorilla axle when the brake cleaner shot straight back in my eye.....Not fun!


 
I've actually had this happen to me once when I worked at the Ford dealership....I was spraying the inside of something (I forget what it was now) with the little red straw on the cleaner....it shot right back into my eye!!!!

I flushed it for about 5 minutes with water, but the burning continued :aargh4:!


----------



## 1bigforeman (Jun 23, 2009)

For those of you that think it will never happen to you....I thought the same thing.


----------



## HondaGuy (Mar 2, 2010)

ThaMule said:


> One safety note from me. wear safety glasses when using brake cleaner. Was rebuilding a gorilla axle when the brake cleaner shot straight back in my eye.....Not fun!


Been there done that, man did that suck! lol Worst thing thats happened to me at work was I was pulling a cyl head off of a Chevy Colorado 3.5 5cyl, pulling on the cyl head bolt which is a 10mm allen head as hard as I could to get them to break loose (impact gun broke 2 sockets and 1 adapter trying to break them loose) when the socket snapped and my hand hit one of the camshaft bearing surfaces with me pulling as hard as I could. Cut me wide open about 1" long gash on the back of my hand, as soon as I looked at it and saw a bone I passed out lol.:bigeyes::dead1: And yes I am pretty much a wuss when it comes to seeing my own blood lol.


----------



## bump530 (Jan 5, 2009)

ive gotten carb cleaner in my eyes before , and i wear contacts...SUCKS. but carb cleaner will help clean a cut out..just burn like hell doin it lmfao.


----------



## Big D (Jun 23, 2009)

Speaking of getting hurt, anyone hear from LilBigTonka?


----------



## Offroadin89 (Oct 28, 2009)

ya brandons doin good. hes walkin now. hes gimpin a little bit. his wound is finnally closin up. were hangin out tomm and goin ridin sat. he aint gonna be able to ride hard but were gonna go cruise around.


----------



## lilbigtonka (Dec 30, 2008)

yeah im doing good im ready to get back at it. just got a nasty scar will post pics within the next few days. thanks for asking though big d


----------



## Big D (Jun 23, 2009)

Glad to hear you're up and about. Take 'er easy.
D


----------

