Finish nailer and my poor thumb

[SoulWinner]

I was working on a strip mall for a freind. I was sealing in the A/C plenums, framing in the wall there and building doors and frames for the doors to the A/C unit. One day while building door frames I was using a little finish nailer and I went to nail the corner of the outer trim. I was holding the trim so that the two pieces would line up nice and I fired. The nail for some reason went into the wood about 1/4 inch then made a 90 degree turn straight up through the very middle of my thumb print and out through my thumb nail. It hurt so bad!!! I hopped around for a few seconds, then I went back to work.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

Ouweee! What a man SW, not letting something like that slow you down.

 

[DJ]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

My thumb hurts just thinking about it.<br /><br />OUCH!!!!!!

 

[Pascal]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

Thats kinda like hittin your thumb with a framing hammer

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

I frame with a 28oz Estwing. I have never hit myself with it, but on this project I handed it to the guy I was helping out with this project. Five minutes later he almost denuded his index finger with it. I was returned my bloody hammer and he went and got his 22oz, after having his mangled finger bandaged to the point where that hand was pretty much useless. I hate to say this, but I laughed so hard I got a cramp in my side.....

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

I feel your pain SW. When I was just out of high school I went to work in a shoe factory and sewed my thumb, nail and all, to a shoe vamp. We had to take half the machine apart and bring it to the ER all attached to my thumb.<br /><br />I think the throbbing afterward hurt the worst.

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

I was building something, a stereo rack I think, a few years ago, and was using a screwgun to screw two panels together. I was holding the stuff together with one hand and lining up the screwgun with the other. Nice, fast, strong dewalt screwgun. I pulled the trigger, screw went in, missed the board and went clean through my finger. Talk about pain. On top of that as a reaction I pulled my hand away as fast as I could, not thinking, which ripped the coarse-thread screw right back out. Was a bloody mess, and that little hole hurt more than just about anything else I can think of right now... It hurts just remembering it....

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

My story is like Steves. I was drilling through a piece of plastic while holding it in my hand. When the bit had almost made it through it turned into a s crew and twisted through the plastic and right through my finger. A 5/16 bit makes a whooping hole in a finger. Reaction for me was to switch directions but luckily it didn't work. My B-I-L had to twist it back out for me.

 

[outboardguy]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

I was pressing a ball joint out and back into a Volkswagen front end trailing arm.I managed to get the old ball joint out with no problem. I then proceeded to press the new one in. I had the trailing arm resting on two of the press blocks.One under the part that the joint was to be pressed into, and one on the other end.Well I was holding my hand around the other end as I started pressing. The arm quickly slipped and pinned my middle finger under an indirect 10 tons of force.I almost pulled,but was aware enough to let the valve loose.When I pulled my finger out it was about 1/4 inch thick and quickly proceeded to blow up to an inch thick.It reminded me of the cartoons. Luckily nothing was broke and all healed well.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

LadyFish, Steve, Ken and Outboardguy, you all have me beat. Dang people, be careful with your hands, or they might not love you anymore

 

[Mr.Ladyfish]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

Back in my younger (& stupider) days I used to do most of my own mechanic work. One time I was changing the u-joints in my truck. I was using a socket and a 3 lb. hammer to drive the old one out of the yoke. I was at the peak of my swing when my thumb slipped and covered the top of the socket. When the hammer hit it sort of exploded the opposite side of my thumb. Went to the ER where a not so nice nurse held my arm in her arm pit and proceeded to scrub the dirt and grease out of the wound with a pot scrubber type sponge. I thought I was going to pass out. Later at home when the pain meds wore off and the throbbing started I had another brilliant idea. I fired up a "crooked" smoke (remember I said younger & stupider). One thing that stuff does is intensify the senses. Only time I couldn't wait to straighten up.

 

[gspig]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

Finger injuries have to be one of the most painful. I mashed my right index finger in a spot welding machine. Popped the tip segment like a grape and pulled off the finger nail. Looks almost normal now, but man that hurt for a while. Last month, I was drilling holes to mount gunwhale pads on my boat. I was clamping the pad to the boat with my left hand and drilling with my right. Drill bit went through the fiberglass and into the index finger on my left hand. Made a nice 1/8" hole, didn't go to the bone and didn't bleed much. Still is sensitive.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

The worste things about injuring either your thumb or index finger that it totally cripples you hand, and then doing things like buttoning a shirt or zipping up your fly become dang near impossible. A few weeks ago that friend of mine who hit his finger with my framer, slamed the tip of his index finger in the door of our land cruiser. I was walking ahead of him going into the Ace hardware store, and I hear him freaking out. I look back and he is like a cat in trap, just tripping out trying to get the door open. It flattened the end of his finger and I was rollong around in the parking lot laughing my self to death.

 

[DJ]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

Why do people think its funny when someone else gets hurt?

 

[Pascal]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

A guy I worked with was removing a disc brake caliper piston using compressed air. He did not keep his fingers out of the way when the piston exited the caliper bore. <br /><br />It only got his little finger - at the base of the nail. He had an xray and it was a clean break like an extra joint there - could move it around and every thing. <br /><br />It took for ever for it to heal to.

 

[JamesCoste]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

Originally posted by DJ:<br /> Why do people think its funny when someone else gets hurt?

I only think it is funny if the person injured is laughing as well. Actually, to be totally honest, I probably think it is funny whether or not he/she is laughing, but only laugh aloud if they are too. Of course this depends on the severity of the injury.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

Wasn't it Steve Martin who said, "Comedy is not funny!" For the record, though, IMHO if SW hits himself with a hammer, it's funny; if he's injured by an equipment malfunction, it's not funny until he says it's funny.<br /><br />My dad took up wood working when he retired, but he didn't need a table saw, not when he had a perfectly good skilsaw and an old dinette table that he could mount it upside down on. When he reached across the blade and cut the tips off his first & third fingers, that was funny! Especially to hear it told by my niece Brittnye, his granddaughter who was five years old at the time and whom he was baby sitting. And later, when the one fingertip they tried to reattach (despite his protests: "I didn't need the dang thang anyway") didn't survive, and he refused to pay the bill for the effort, it was really funny. And now, whenever we take pictures, somebody reminds him to make a fist, it's still funny. To get an idea of what I mean, hold up your hand palm facing you, and imagine what it would look like if your 1st & 3rd fingers were the same length as your pinkie! He has to be carefull of how he holds his left hand while driving, so as not to incite anyone to road rage; now THAT'S funny!

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

Ever since I was little I just thought it was hilarious to see someone get hurt. I don't know why, but it's funney to me. This one time when I was in highschool this heavey girl was coasting along slowly on her bike, when all of the sudden, the bike flipped over forward in slow motion, and planted the girl on her face. I was laughing so hard I couldn't stand up......I have no idea why. My brother is the same way.

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

When I was 18 (4 years back) I had my 30 hp Mariner tilted up, and as I was changing the water pump I lifted the motor enough to release it from the locked position and my ring finger got caught between the motor mount and the engine itself, I broke the finger, ripped the nail off, bone sticking out and everything.<br /><br />That was a painful night, the doctors said I was very lucky, I had just enough skin holding the tip on for them to sew it back on.<br /><br />After a few days I went outside and looked at the engine, there was skin and blood all around the outboard motor clamp <br /><br />-John

 

[Throbbin Rods]

Re: Finish nailer and my poor thumb

When I was building my garage I was up on the deck Nailing the rafters to the ridge pole with my air nailer. I had on some leather gloves and bang - a nail goers right through my leather glove at the middle finger tip. I really didn't want to take it off and look but I did. Somehow, it only left a dent in the very tip of my finger. Whew - close one