OT - Safety First, Revisited - Long post

[RET]

I hesitated to post this, but finally decided to do so in the hope that it will help someone avoid the error of my ways.


There is no good example like a bad one, and some of us get to provide those bad examples.


Last Sunday morning I was splitting firewood and had an accident. My last sledge hammer swing for at least the next ten weeks caused pieces of both the hammer and the wedge to fly off with surprising force and strike my right forearm and right lower abdomen. The impact spun me around and knocked me flat.


The long gash on my right forearm bled nicely, but far more interesting was the blood from the neatly punched hole in the waistband of my pants. A hole that was also in me. A hole that I could put my finger in...


Things got exciting after that.


Surgery was performed to remove the little chunk of metal that had penetrated over three inches deep and to inspect my normally internal organs to see what other damage might have been caused. They stuffed me back together like a Thanksgiving turkey, stapled up the four inch surgical wound, put ten neat stitches in my arm to match the three in the entry wound, and released me from the hospital on Tuesday evening.


While it certainly could have been worse (..cut artery and dead?.. colostomy?.. new career singing soprano?...), my injuries seem out of proportion to the cause. I look as if I was shot while losing a knife fight, but I am fine unless I sneeze, blow my nose, cough, or laugh.


Could this have been prevented? Was I doing something wrong? The tools were all in good condition. I routinely grind off any mushrooming. I have been splitting wood in this manner for over forty years and know others who do the same.


I thought that I was being careful enough. I have never had a malleable wedge spit bits off like that, nor spall a hammer. My guess is that the wedge was severely work hardened over the years.


Who knows? Stuff happens. Anyway, I am going to reconsider my wood splitting technique. Maybe a non metal sledge, Kevlar underwear or a hydraulic splitter....


Maybe I will also reconsider a lot of things that I have previously taken for granted.


The obvious moral of this story is that I certainly thought that that I had been careful enough, but I sure was wrong.


Be a lot more careful than I have been.


Bob

[Frank]

I an sure glad you are on the mend after such an accident. I use to split wood the same way and as you said never saw anything like that before. I don't burn split wood any more so I'm safe from that one. Get better and keep us posted !!

[G.T.]

Bob! Its hard to figure the odds on something like that! One in a million? It seems that those odds aren't to good when you are on the receiving end of a freak mishap like that....hope you mend fast, and can put this one behind you!

Best of luck from here on out.......till...later....G.T.

[John D.]

Wonder how many of us split wood the same way??? The wedges I have came from my GRANDFATHER's tool house - guess they'll be replaced and never used again.!!..


Thanks for the post, it is an "eye-opener"... Get well SOON!!!


Our thoughts and prayers...

[RET]

Those good thoughts and prayers are working. Thanks. I appreciate everyone's concern.


Best regards to all!


Bob