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Re: watch those fingers

Cabbott,
    I am so sorry to read of your accident. I read it with a certain shock
and horror. Yet I am glad you have taken the time to share the report with
us and have included the details leading up to this terrible accident.
Certain comments you mention seem to always be part of the chain of events
of "things going so well" that leads up to that brief instant where things
go wrong. We'll all do well to take note and check our shop techniques and
pace.
Cabbot, I was very glad to read that you were wearing protective eyeware. By
all means, keep wearing protective eyeware (and ear protection). As a caver,
my glasses tend to fog up on that hobby too. There are several types of
"anti-fog" glasses cleaning solutions or creams that can help with fogged
glasses or goggles. Check with eyeglass venders and safety supply businesses
for that. I also happen to be a wood worker and know that just cleaning fog
off glasses/goggles/face shields will not always be good enough as they have
fogged up on me while in the midst of making a cut with a power tool on!
Rapid fogging  is very common. You'll be much better off keeping the fog
from happening. Also, as a caver, I know about working in darkness. :-) I
have several 4' fluorescent lights in my shop ($10.00 each at most home
improvement stores/building supplies) but still have "dark areas" where I
need a little extra. Petzel (TM) and Princton Tech. (TM) makes several good,
affordable battery powered, focusing beam, elastic banded "head lights" that
will tilt and give great light anywhere you look. They're nice to have in
your car for emergencies. I wouldn't wear one while firing your coil. ;-)
They are very handy in the shop.
Many wood workers use push-sticks and feather boards to greatly help keep
hands away from bits and blades. These are much better than gloves for
protecting hands on those kinds of jobs. Most larger shop tools have blade
guards- now we know that those are better called "hand guards." Even so,
some offer only marginal safety, so use push-sticks and feather boards.
Another coiler mentioned not wearing any jewelry or a watch which is great
advice when working around any machinery and high voltage. Many machinist
and wood workers also don't wear long sleeve shirts or have anything around
their necks. You could imagine what could happen! Good ol' short sleeve work
shirts with pockets are great. And if you like wearing your hair long, fine
by me- but pin it up somehow. I know a guy who got his hair caught in a
drill! Since he didn't hurt himself it was funny watching him carefully
trying to unwrap his hair out of it!
Well Cabbot, I know that my suggestions are way too late to for your
accident (or maybe wouldn't have helped at all) and I'm so very sorry they
are, but I hope this information may be of some help to you and others. I
have read your postings with interest, and will continue to do so.
Safe coilin' to you, Cabbot, and the rest as well.
Don Kemper
>At 03:17 AM 10/14/98 -0700, you wrote:
 >i got so much done on my 15 kw tesla coil tonight!!!  i built the entire
>base cabinet, base/coil junction, and wired 100' of 4 awg to my breaker
>box.. all was going well... until about 11 pm when i decided (against my
>conscience) to go ahead and start on my primary coil mounts.  as i just
>finished the last cut of plexi, my left hand got sucked into the blade!!!
>(low light conditions, foggy safety glasses) . i lost my left pinki finger
>(half of it) and lasserated my ring man pretty bad.  after it was cut off i
>scrambled to find the cut off piece of finger, and there it lay atop of a
>2x4, three feet off the ground. (rather a forboding sequence of events). i
>just got back from the hospital they tried to re-attach the stump but it
was
>too ground up.  :-(  Now i am on pain killers but when i heal i cant wait
to
>fire my big bruiser coil up! (no pun intended!!)
>
<<<<snip>>>>
>Losing limbs in the name of tesla,
>--
>Cabbott Sanders
>Salem Oregon
>Website: http://members.aol-dot-com/cabbotttt
>Phone 503-390-8992
>Cel   503-930-9173
>"And things were going so good too!"