# More armchair milling for a while yet



## BobL (Aug 14, 2010)

Not having milled anything since May I was really looking forward to getting back to Oz in a couple of weeks time to take advantage of the remaining cool weather to get back to some milling. But today I mashed the tips of all 4 fingers on my left hand while closing a goods lift door at work. 6 fractures (black lines), two tendon detachments (T) and two spots where the mashed bones broke skin (S and 2S). The 2 fingers with the detached tendons have to be in splints for 6 weeks. 

This pic was taken just a minutes afterwards and while it doesn't look that bad - the fingers have now swollen up like hotdogs and boy do they throb right, even though the docs have put me on some serious pain killers.


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## WoodChuck'r (Aug 14, 2010)




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## houtworm (Aug 14, 2010)

poor boy


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## gemniii (Aug 14, 2010)

!!!!!!
Good luck - 
I had a fingertip broke off in a snowblower. Fingertips help when typing.


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## BIG JAKE (Aug 14, 2010)

Ouch-yeah the vibration from milling would be intolerable right now, but they'll feel much better in a few weeks.


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## smokinj (Aug 14, 2010)

The stihl anti-vibe gloves are worth it.


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## BobL (Aug 14, 2010)

yeah, this morning my whole hand is throbbing pretty badly and I can't bear the damaged fingers touching anything. One real bummer is this morning I'm supposed to clear out of my apartment as my lease runs out!

At least I can still type


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## Walt41 (Aug 14, 2010)

Bob, sorry to hear of your injury, while I am of little help in the milling section, I am good in the pain dept. Talk to your doctor and see if he has a formula for a topical pain reliever, on crush injuries like yours they work better than the "goofy pills" like loritab and oxy's. If you have no luck, see if there is a Pharmacy that does compounding near you and pay them a visit. Your hand and liver will thank you.


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## mtngun (Aug 14, 2010)

That hurts just to look at the picture. 

We'll miss your milling threads, but hope you are able to keep posting with the other hand.


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## Timberframed (Aug 14, 2010)

I know that pain trying to open a paint stuck window. At least you can still drink beer


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## huskyhank (Aug 14, 2010)

Wow Bob!

The pictures hurt to look at.
Heal up quick!


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## BobL (Aug 14, 2010)

Cheers guys. Being far away from family is awkward at time like these.

Thanks for the pain tip Walt. One thing I have found that seems to help are those cold packs - they seem to provide more relief than the pills.


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## Walt41 (Aug 14, 2010)

BobL said:


> Cheers guys. Being far away from family is awkward at time like these.
> 
> Thanks for the pain tip Walt. One thing I have found that seems to help are those cold packs - they seem to provide more relief than the pills.



Sounds like the swelling is a major part of the pain, hope you can get fixed up, let me know if you strike out on the topical, I can get a basic formula for you from the doc here on Monday.


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## betterbuilt (Aug 14, 2010)

Man that looks like it hurts. Get well soon.


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## belgian (Aug 14, 2010)

I really feel for you Bob, finger injuries like that hurt like [email protected], especially since you want to use them all the time.

I nicked one finger today on a freshly sharpened chain and it bothered me all day long preparing some saws for a GTG.

all the best to ya !


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## john taliaferro (Aug 14, 2010)

thoes fingers look perty bad. the worst bout that is having to sit and design a new mill . cause you can't do any thing else, well you can but its gonna hurt when you bump it. I was thinking bout you today ,splitting a 40 " oak down the middle so we could move it ,heavy sob . We I tried to free hand it and missed left a slever 2 in thick ,we had a 5 gal bucket of wedges pounded in all round a piece bout 12' long When a though struck me that a mill like yours wouldn't have missed , was bout 100 today.


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## olyman (Aug 14, 2010)

Walt41 said:


> Bob, sorry to hear of your injury, while I am of little help in the milling section, I am good in the pain dept. Talk to your doctor and see if he has a formula for a topical pain reliever, on crush injuries like yours they work better than the "goofy pills" like loritab and oxy's. If you have no luck, see if there is a Pharmacy that does compounding near you and pay them a visit. Your hand and liver will thank you.



after talking to a couple diff docs, after some trouble i was having--what you said aint no joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you can destroy your kidneys and liver in damn short order!!!!! bit smarter now, and i didnt know!!!


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## Brmorgan (Aug 14, 2010)

Bob! WTF Man!! I thought we had a discussion about fingertip injuries and safety last weekend while you were here! 

Hope you heal up quickly. Ask a doc about getting a prescription for Keterolac. It's an anti-inflammatory, like Ibuprofen but MUCH stronger. You can only take it for a week or two or it'll eat your stomach up, but I found that strong painkillers like Codeine and Oxy didn't do much at all when I trimmed the ends off my fingers back a while (thought the morphine pills could make me forget all about any pain I might have been feeling!). The anti-inflammatories are where it's at.


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## mtngun (Aug 14, 2010)

A few Aussie beers should dull the pain. 

How did the Canadian beers compare, BobL ?


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## Leroy in Kansas (Aug 14, 2010)

Dam I hate it when that happens. More drugs, better living via pharmacology. Hope ya heal quickly.


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## jimdad07 (Aug 14, 2010)

Damn Bob!!! Those are some mean looking fingers. I have broken most of my fingers at one time in my life and a few bones in my hands from a lifestyle that changed dramatically when I met my boss (wife), and I tell you that there is nothing worse when you work with your hands and they are broken. Get well soon.
BTW: My father in law eats fresh ginger root every day and he says it has taken most of his arthritis pain away as well as the pain from his bad hip (the other is fake, replaced at 47), he's 53 now and he says that he has not felt so good since he was a kid. All the pain pills he was on didn't touch it he says, but that ginger root started working after just a couple of days, he no longer takes pain pills.


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## BobL (Aug 14, 2010)

Thanks for all the sympathy guys - tis much appreciated. I've stopped taking the painkillers because they've started making me feel nauseated and wobbly at the knees plus if I take them I can't drink. The pain is now not that bad so I've reverted to plain ice/cold packs and a beer or 3.


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## Brmorgan (Aug 15, 2010)

Bob - found you a car that might make it easier for you to drive over here:







Thinkin' I'd want something a little more "positive" than a V-belt.


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## gemniii (Aug 15, 2010)

Just say NO to tylenol!
My doc put me on 8 pills/day of codeine/tylenol mix.
I complained because of what I read about tylenol.
He said it's safe if you don't take more than 6 a day.
He switched me.


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## BobL (Aug 15, 2010)

Have been off the pain killers for 24 hours and feel much less zombie like than when I was taking them. I'm just applying ice/cold pack wrapped in a towel for about 20 minutes every hour and taking a couple of Advil every 4 hours. Can now type with all bar the middle finger although the ally splints going click-click-click on the key board is a bit irritating. I just hope those tendons reattach themselves.


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## RPM (Aug 16, 2010)

Bob are you still here or are you back home? My wife wants to go to Australia for a holiday and I'm thinking you could need an apprentice to help the milling move along throug the healing process...you know labour in exchange of knowledge. 

Heal up soon .... Vitamin I (1000mg) and Tylyenol + a couple of beers ....


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## Andrew96 (Aug 16, 2010)

I have to admit. I had to look up a 'goods lift door'. I was waiting to see if anyone asked..but you guys seem to understand how it all happened.
I feel for you Bobl. Many have smashed one finger here and there...even broken one up ...but a handful all at once...geez. Makes my mouth go funny just thinking about it. 
I know you might be tired of it already..but a 'goods lift door' is an elevator door? Was it an automated one you got your fingers stuck in? A big heavy manual one? Or do I have it wrong.


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## Can8ianTimber (Aug 16, 2010)

The question I always ask my wife as she is trying to crame pills down my throat is, "is it going to make me better or just make me feel better". If it is just going to make me feel better I will pass on the pills. Less drugs is always better in my book.


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## rarefish383 (Aug 16, 2010)

OUCH. Glad to hear you're felling a little better. I have a story that might make you feel a lot better. I work for UPS, and we had this knucklehead that used to work for us. One day he was trying to close the back roll up door on a delivery truck. He got it down a little ways and put all eight fingers on top of one of the pannels and was pulling down. He got it far enough he got his foot up on the handle you normally pull down on. All of a sudden I heard him scream and looked up. What ever was holding the door on the inside broke ,and with all of his weight on the handle, the door slammed shut. All eight fingers were crushed between the pinch points, where the pannels close up when the door is closed. It slammed so fast and hard it locked, and I had to run around to the front of the truck and get the keys, and come back and set him free. Now, you have to picture 50 delivery trucks parked one fist width apart, with the mirrors folded in. I had to run down the "line up" till I found a gap big enough to climb in, and then slide across the seats till I got to the truck he was stuck to. All eight fingertips turned black, I thought he was going to loose them. He came to work the next night, because his attendence was so bad he was on probation, and was afraid he would get fired if he took off.

My wife says I should write a book about this guy, I'm a shop steward, and I've got enough stories about him I probabley could. Like the time he got bit by a Brown Recluse spider, but that's another story, Joe.


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## Ted J (Aug 16, 2010)

mtngun said:


> A few Aussie beers should dull the pain.
> 
> How did the Canadian beers compare, BobL ?



How is soaking his fingers in beer gonna help?   


Ted


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## Ted J (Aug 16, 2010)

RPM said:


> Bob are you still here or are you back home? My wife wants to go to Australia for a holiday and I'm thinking you could need an apprentice to help the milling move along throug the healing process...you know labour in exchange of knowledge.
> 
> Heal up soon .... Vitamin I (1000mg) and Tylyenol + a couple of beers ....



That's so nice, to offer your wife to help Bob out ...... ya know.... with the heat we've been having here..... does she want to come to Texas?

Ted


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## BobL (Aug 16, 2010)

mtngun said:


> A few Aussie beers should dull the pain.
> 
> How did the Canadian beers compare, BobL ?



1) I drink very very few Aussie beers.

Some things I like about beer in Calgary.
1) I'm quite partial to Canadian Unibroue Belgian Style beers and 6 packs o these are quite cheap
2) Access to some US DogFish Head and other strong style beers
3) Reasonable prices for Belgian Beer


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## RPM (Aug 16, 2010)

Ted J said:


> That's so nice, to offer your wife to help Bob out ...... ya know.... with the heat we've been having here..... does she want to come to Texas?
> 
> Ted



LOL .... excellent point and the airfare would be cheaper - I'll run it by her.


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## Brmorgan (Aug 17, 2010)

BobL said:


> 1) I drink very very few Aussie beers.
> 
> Some things I like about beer in Calgary.
> 1) I'm quite partial to Canadian Unibroue Belgian Style beers and 6 packs o these are quite cheap
> ...



Bob, I'm no beer connoisseur, as I believe we discussed when you were here, but how was that Rickard's that you had when we went out for dinner? A lot of my friends love the stuff, or Alexander Keith's or Sleeman Honey Brown.

LOL, never heard of the stuff before, but only in the US could you have a beer named DogFish Head and still have a marketable product on your hands!


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## gemniii (Aug 17, 2010)

BobL 
Just be very careful about any alcohol consumption w/ Tylenol or other pain relievers. They do not know the limits and are probably squashing any studies.

The US government had cracked down on science and had deemed a lot of stuff unfundable and unpublishable if it was not kind to big business.

Other than stomach rot I've not found anything against aspirin.


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## BobL (Aug 17, 2010)

gemniii said:


> BobL
> Just be very careful about any alcohol consumption w/ Tylenol or other pain relievers. They do not know the limits and are probably squashing any studies.



Apart from a few advil (Ibuprofen) I took on Sunday I've taken no serious pain killers since 3 pm Saturday. The side effects of taking alcohol with advil are said to be "a prolonged effect of the alcohol" - as far as I'm concerned that's a good thing in my case as I was not driving a car or operating heavy machinery and just stayed home and mainly slept most of the day away. 



> The US government had cracked down on science and had deemed a lot of stuff unfundable and unpublishable if it was not kind to big business.
> Other than stomach rot I've not found anything against aspirin.



I heard that too.

I still can't believe I crushed 4 fingers at 3 pm on Friday and I took no more killer painkillers from 3 pm Saturday and just managed the pain with ice packs and a few advil on Sunday an one ice pack on Monday an nothing today. I put this down to putting ice on the injury within 30 seconds of it happening an and keeping on using ice for 8 hours thereafter.

Ice - is there nothing it cannot do?


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## BobL (Aug 17, 2010)

The incident has now been officially reported to OHS so I can now say what happened. My coworker and I had been waiting all week for a tank of liquid Argon to come in - the suppliers kept saying it had been delivered - but we could not find it anywhere.

Mid-friday afternoon the tank was located in another building about 250 yards away so we went over to get it. The full tank weighs 600 lbs and is quite wide and on a wheeled trolley. On the way over we check doorways and ramps to work out which is the safest way to go. The trolley has a brake but we just wanted to be safe because if the tank gets rolling on its own it is very dangerous.

We picked up the trolley and rolled it towards the regular passenger elevators and then we remember that gas tanks are not permitted to travel in passenger elevator but must be moved via freight elevators. We wheel the tank down the hallway to the freight elevator and inside the elevator. My friend is at the back of the elevator and I was near the door. The lift is very wide and the doors are of the type that close vertically by pulling on thick webbing straps. The inner steel mesh door closes from the top all the way down, and outer door (consisting of two pieces of thick steel plate) closes by pulling the top down halfway while the bottom half of the door comes up to meet it. The outer door will closes automatically when the elevator starts to move if the inner door is closed So I reached up and grab the strap I thought was for the inner door and gave it a good hoike. Unfortunately I had grabbed the one for the outer door and did not see the bottom half of the door coming up to meet the top and the fingers on my left got whammied. Luckily the strap got caught up in the gap other wise I may have mashed them even more and may even have trapped them in between the doors.

At first there was not that much pain (eg not even as much as when I dropped a 2" steel pipe on my big toe last year) but then it started weeping blood around the nails and the fingers looked pretty mashed so I packed plastic bags of ice around my hand and went to local hospital emergency.


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## TraditionalTool (Aug 17, 2010)

BobL said:


> The incident has now been officially reported to OHS so I can now say what happened. My coworker and I had been waiting all week for a tank of liquid Argon to come in - the suppliers kept saying it had been delivered - but we could not find it anywhere.
> 
> Mid-friday afternoon the tank was located in another building about 250 yards away so we went over to get it. The full tank weighs 600 lbs and is quite wide and on a wheeled trolley. On the way over we check doorways and ramps to work out which is the safest way to go. The trolley has a brake but we just wanted to be safe because If the tank gets rolling on its own it is very dangerous.
> 
> ...


Geez Bob, I hate to read these kinda stories. Hope you get better soon!


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## BobL (Aug 17, 2010)

TraditionalTool said:


> Geez Bob, I hate to read these kinda stories. Hope you get better soon!


Thanks TT.



Brmorgan said:


> Bob, I'm no beer connoisseur, as I believe we discussed when you were here, but how was that Rickard's that you had when we went out for dinner? A lot of my friends love the stuff, or Alexander Keith's or Sleeman Honey Brown.


Yep - they are all good, especially the Keith's.



> LOL, never heard of the stuff before, but only in the US could you have a beer named DogFish Head and still have a marketable product on your hands!


DFH is pretty impressive in my book. Their 18% World Wide Stout is pretty nice as was the 23%.


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## Ted J (Aug 17, 2010)

I thought the outer doors weren't supposed to even close at all until the inner cage door was down? Sounds like a bad design or something...

Hope you get to feeling better.
You might want to try Aleve/naproxen sodium, it's supposed to be less irritating on the stomach, from what I've heard.


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## BobL (Aug 17, 2010)

Ted J said:


> I thought the outer doors weren't supposed to even close at all until the inner cage door was down? Sounds like a bad design or something...



Ahh . . . . you said it . . . . . but the very last thing I want to involve my self with now that I'm heading back to Oz on Saturday is lawyers.



> Hope you get to feeling better.
> You might want to try Aleve/naproxen sodium, it's supposed to be less irritating on the stomach, from what I've heard.



Thanks Ted the ice packs and beer are doing fine.

Cheers


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## WesternSaw (Aug 17, 2010)

*Hi Bob*

Man, sorry to hear about your fingers,that hurts just reading about it! Hope your recovery is not that long, and all heals up to what it once was!
Best of Luck!
Lawrence


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## BobL (Aug 18, 2010)

Thanks Guys,
Here are some pic of the deadly doors.


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## TraditionalTool (Aug 18, 2010)

BobL said:


>


I bet you are much more careful next time...with these jaws of death! :monkey:


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## BobL (Aug 18, 2010)

TraditionalTool said:


> I bet you are much more careful next time...with these jaws of death! :monkey:



I have walked past several such elevators in the last few days and have to say I winced when I have done this


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## phred45 (Aug 18, 2010)

So sorry to hear about your injury. That looks really bad. Hope yours heals better than mine from last year. It's still gets stiff and swells after I work. Got my middle finger crushed by dog jaws when one of my dogs got hung in a fence and panicked, she layed around herself like an alligator and got me several times before I got her loose.

If you weren't so far away I'd come and help you move.
Think of the positive side, you'll have all kinds of time for new inventions.
Get better soon!!!


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## BobL (Aug 21, 2010)

phred45 said:


> So sorry to hear about your injury. That looks really bad. Hope yours heals better than mine from last year. It's still gets stiff and swells after I work. Got my middle finger crushed by dog jaws when one of my dogs got hung in a fence and panicked, she layed around herself like an alligator and got me several times before I got her loose.
> 
> If you weren't so far away I'd come and help you move.
> Think of the positive side, you'll have all kinds of time for new inventions.
> Get better soon!!!


 
Cheers phred. 

The stitches came out thursday and pain has gone - it's now just the irritation of wearing the splints and bandages for the next 6 weeks.

I'm waiting at the airport flying back back to Oz in with my fingers in new plastic splints. Will have to prolong the agony of not being able to mill for at least another 10 weeks while the tendons reattach. It has been a fun trip up until the fingers got mashed. 

Good news is I'm definitely coming back next year for s short visit.

OK - just got called - next post will be back in Oz.


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## phred45 (Aug 21, 2010)

Hi Bobl,
Hope you had a good flight. At least you have kept your spirits up. I crinche at the thought of your hand. Did that mashine not have safety buttons or lasers? Some of the ones I used had a button and a lever, you had to use simultaniously and one had a laser that would keep it from shutting when anything was still in the opening. The real fun starts when you have to retrain those tendons and muscles to do your bidding. I used a soft rubberball for my finger (only one) to exercise. Makes you realize how much you take them for granted.

Glad you injoyed the trip otherwise and are planning to come back. Never made it to Australia when I was younger and now I have too many kritters to take care of to travel.


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## Daninvan (Aug 22, 2010)

Bob,

Sorry to hear that you left Canada with such an unpleasant souvenir. Hope you heal up quickly and I am looking forward to hearing about your milling once you are back 'en forme'.

Cheers,

Dan


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## BIG JAKE (Aug 22, 2010)

BobL said:


> Cheers phred.
> 
> The stitches came out thursday and pain has gone - it's now just the irritation of wearing the splints and bandages for the next 6 weeks.
> 
> ...



Well Bob, then we'll be expecting some new designs-with drawings and pics! opcorn:


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## john taliaferro (Aug 22, 2010)

Bob ,must be in the air temp. I could not find the au bar so i ordered a mill from baileys and a bar end for and old 20" bar . Unraping i found the bar end and gonna get it done first. Grabed up a 2 lb dead blow hammer and a short punch. well they dont look nothing like yours but its a pita to pee. you should be HOME soon ?


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## BobL (Aug 23, 2010)

john taliaferro said:


> Bob ,must be in the air temp. I could not find the au bar so i ordered a mill from baileys and a bar end for and old 20" bar . Unraping i found the bar end and gonna get it done first. Grabed up a 2 lb dead blow hammer and a short punch. well they dont look nothing like yours but its a pita to pee. you should be HOME soon ?



Hi John, I had to double red your pot. "Au" is the chemical symbol for gold so you had me confused for a second or two.

Yep I know what you mean about trying to pee. Especially when the zipper needs two hands to get it down. I admit I have have been wearing elastic waist band trousers since the event.

Yeah just got back to Oz about 2 hours ago. I missed the Sydney/Perth connection, fortunately only had a two hour additional wait. Door to door it was a 33 hour trip, not the worst I've had especially as I had 3 seats to myself on the SF-Sydney leg and got the best sleep on a plane I have ever had.


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## Behemoth Jim (Aug 23, 2010)

Well, I hope you heal faster than you expect. I've never got my hand that bad, but my arm one time, and my leg a different time, so I know injuries can really throw you off your groove. Within a few weeks you'll be finding ways to improvise and do various things you can;t figure out how to do right now.

I have used those same kind of elevator doors myself, but never got caught in them! I think somebody showed me how they worked and "knowing is half the battle-- G.I.Joe!"

One of my two worst injuries happened when I was interning in Australia (Victoria) I hit a cow while riding a motorbike- broke my leg!


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## BobL (Oct 21, 2010)

*Hand update*

It's 9 weeks since this incident and though it might be time for an update.

This is what my hand looks like now.





In some ways it's much better than it looks. 
I will lose the finger nails on all 3 of the bigger fingers. 
The ring finger looks bad (was shortened by 3/16" by a planer 30 odd years ago) mainly because the nail is very close to coming off so I have been keeping a band aid on it (hence the whitish color). That finger has the most strength probably because no knuckles were crushed on that finger so - it's the one I can still close right down to my palm

The middle finger is the stiffest and weakest. It was the finger that had the top knuckle more crushed that the others and had bones poking through the side of the finger.

Here's how much of a fist I can make with my left hand before pain starts to set in.




This makes it hard to hold anything heavy or apply any grip, for example I still can't open a bottle of soda or wine with my left hand.


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## mtngun (Oct 21, 2010)

Bob, that hurts just looking at the pics. Ouch.

We sure miss your milling and chain sharpening threads.


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## jimdad07 (Oct 21, 2010)

Still not pretty, Bob, but I am glad to hear and see you are mending well. Looking forward to seeing your new mill in action.


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## BobL (Oct 1, 2011)

*Just when I was getting ready to go milling again . . . . .*

I have had another accident . . . and this is one to laugh and cry about at the same time.

Early Saturday morning around 2 am I get a really bad attack of night cramps in my lower left leg. I get these every now an then but this time the cramps are bad enough to pull a muscle - I even heard it crack! And on top of that the cramp continues. . . . . plus just for fun I also have a flu!

In agony I awaken SWMBO and she stretches my foot and massages my lower leg but it does not seem to help. 

In sweating and nauseating agony, I manage to stand up leaning against the bedroom wall and apply the optimum forward pressure on my foot. I stand like this for a few minutes to hold the cramp and then I need to pee.

Still sweating and feeling really sick with the shakes at this stage I hobble/shuffle my way in the dark to the toilet and tripped over the large dog we are dog sitting, and fall head first through an old glass paneled door in our hallway.





The buckled section of metal cross bar circled in red is where the bridge of my nose hit the door and stopped my head going right through the door and probably saved me from any really serious injury.

SWMBO, who also has a bad flu, hearing the sound of breaking glass, feeling nauseous, on hands and knees crawls over to me and when she sees my laying in the door way with bits of glass sticking out of my head. She thinks, "I know first aid I can help", but standing up and helping me out of the doorway and probably seeing all the blood she feels nauseous and like she will pass out so she has to sit down on the floor. I lay amongst the glass for a minute or 2 and now needing to pee even more I crawl into the bathroom about 2 yards away and mange to stand, turn on the light and sit on the toilet, and start to inspect my injuries, wipe away the blood dripping down my face and pull bits of glass out of my head. Fortunately the head cuts are not as bad as they look but I find I have two long cuts on my left arm and hand that will clearly need stitching so a trip to emergency medical care is needed. However, SWMBO will definitely not be driving so I call my son and we head off to Hospital emergency. All this time what hurts the most is the bloody pulled muscle in my left leg and when I hobble into the hospital with blood still slowly dripping off my face I must have looked like a right drunken hobo who has had a bad night with the booze and been in street fight or two.

Now to cut to the chase, the sum total of my injuries are, relatively superficial cuts but requiring 26 stitches on 2 places on my left arm/hand. The multiple punctures on my forehead where I pulled bits of glass out, and two badly bruised rakish cuts across the bridge of my nose, have been superglued closed (see there is a WW link here!) 

My nose bridge is swelling up quite nicely which should add to the drunken street hobo look.

All I can say I was really lucky that I did not receive a deep puncture or two or hit a major blood vessel. I was definitely saved by that metal cross bar in the door and my now rather painful nose.

The doctors at hospital emergency were amazed I did all this without any alcohol.

Now I am back home and still finding glass flakes on various places of my body but the pulled muscle in my leg still hurts more than everything else.

We still like the dog very much but at the first available opportunity that door is gone!


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## john taliaferro (Oct 1, 2011)

You could make a door, but it would need hydraulics to move . I got my right middle finger in between winch and log got 8 stitches out last wed looks good now. Some of that Canadian pine sliced thin finished in oil would work in the door . Ya can't mill like that now its time for holiday and elastic waist pants again ,


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## mtngun (Oct 1, 2011)

Dang, Bob, you really are lucky to have survived the glass door with only superficial cuts. 

Seriously, you should never have non-safety glass at low heights where someone could fall into it. A kid I grew up with fell into a glass window while playing football in a yard, a piece of glass pierced his heart, and he only lived a few minutes.

But I admit I got a chuckle out of your story. :biggrin: That's wrong of me, I know.

If it makes you feel any better, I think I broke some bones in my foot the other day. Was unloading milled beams (300 - 400 pounds) from the truck, and dropped one end of a beam on my foot. That prompted some cussing and hopping around on one foot.  I'm among the millions of uninsured Americans, so I'll just hobble around for a few months.


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## TraditionalTool (Oct 1, 2011)

Yikes, take it easy there BobL, will 'ya ???:bang:

One good thing about it is that armchair milling provides the best quality timber, it never checks, it never twists, never warps, or splits...there is never a knot in the wood, and is perfectly clear...it is the worlds most interesting wood...


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## BobL (Oct 1, 2011)

Thanks for the sympathy guys.



mtngun said:


> Dang, Bob, you really are lucky to have survived the glass door with only superficial cuts.
> 
> Seriously, you should never have non-safety glass at low heights where someone could fall into it. A kid I grew up with fell into a glass window while playing football in a yard, a piece of glass pierced his heart, and he only lived a few minutes.


I'm aware of the risk these doors pose - a guy I went to school with was accidentally pushed into such a door and the same thing happened to him.
I have been meaning to remove that door for years but thought because that door spent 99.9% of it's time up against a wall, it would be less of a risk. Now that I have time to go back and look at the crime scene and checked the wall out it turns out my head did hit the wall which was ~3" behind the glass which restricted how far my head went through the door. I shudder to think what might have happened otherwise.



> But I admit I got a chuckle out of your story. :biggrin: That's wrong of me, I know.


My wife and I are also laughing and crying when we reflect at the "unfortunate series of events" and what might have happened.



> If it makes you feel any better, I think I broke some bones in my foot the other day. Was unloading milled beams (300 - 400 pounds) from the truck, and dropped one end of a beam on my foot. That prompted some cussing and hopping around on one foot.  I'm among the millions of uninsured Americans, so I'll just hobble around for a few months.


Ouch ! - been there and done that. My understanding is there's nothing that can really be done about that sort of thing except rest anyway.


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## Oden (Oct 1, 2011)

*You are lucky Bob*

And your wife lets you play with chainsaws


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## jimdad07 (Oct 2, 2011)

Pretty soon Bob your wife won't allow you to leave your padded room, the one she is going to make you build on the back of the house to keep you from hurting yourself.


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## BobL (Oct 2, 2011)

Yep - After a couple of days thinking about it and even laughing about it, I still can't get over how lucky I was.


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## Pagie (Oct 2, 2011)

I was in Perth last week thinking I would try to look you up to see you in action. I am sort of glad you weren't home as I don't need any broken bones. Get well soon and be careful. Chainsaws are not so dangerous as the doors you play with. 
Peter.


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## Old Blue (Oct 6, 2011)

*Sorry to hear it Bob*

It sounds like your takin it better than I would. Take good care of those fingers and I hope they heal quick.

Old Blue


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## BobL (Oct 8, 2011)

Pagie said:


> I was in Perth last week thinking I would try to look you up to see you in action. I am sort of glad you weren't home as I don't need any broken bones. Get well soon and be careful. Chainsaws are not so dangerous as the doors you play with.
> Peter.


 
Yeah give us a call next time you are around.

Wounds are healing fine and the flu bug is subsiding, it's just my leg with the pulled muscle that is still painful. I spend an hour or so in my home shop this morning but after then the leg pain was enough to send me back to the couch. 

I'm getting ready to make an external sound suppressing enclosure for my 3HP 3100 CFM twin bag dust extractor.

The enclosure will be similar to one I made recently for my aircompressor which works really well.






There's plenty of room to fit a bigger compressor in there when this little cheap one dies. I have worked it very hard but it seems to refuse to die.





The enclosure is made from 5/4" thick aussie hardwood lined on 4 sides inside with 2" foam and outside with colorbond metal sheeting to match the shed. To help cool the compressor a 5" 100cfm, 240V fan is wired to the compressor so when the compressor recharges the fan kicks in pulling air in through a zigzag pathway under the doorway and expelling it under the metal roof. I'd like to say I milled the Aussie hardwood myself but it came from a dumpster at work about 3 years ago. They were old science lab work benches, eac 15 ft long by 3 ft wide hacked into 4 ft lengths and dumped, covered in rubble and cement in a dumpster. I wrestled as many as I could out of the rubble and knew they would come in handy some time. Because the dust extractor enclosure is much larger I will be using some of my milled wood for this

The noise from the enclosed compressor standing next to the enclosure is about as quiet as the neighbors pool pump which runs for many hours of the day and night so there should be no argument for the compressor hum. Inside the shop it's a faint low hum - I don't want it silent as I want to keep an eye on the duty cycle and once triggered, how long it takes to switch off.


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## BobL (Oct 14, 2011)

*I must be falling apart*

My wounds are healing fine but I was still not feeling right, sort of dizzy and lethargic, and my leg was not improving so I went to the docs again and got an all over check up.
It now turns out I have full on type 2 diabetes and blood clots behind my left knee! The doc says my blood sugar levels were so high I should probably not have been driving.
The diabetes was almost certainly the cause of the night cramps that led to the pulled muscle and the blood clots. 

The doc sent me home with a bunch of prescriptions for meds and a week's sick leave. Apart from a short gentle walk for no more than 10 minutes every couple of hours, I have to keep my leg up, and definitely no shop work until these clots get sorted. I have been on the diabetes pills for a few days and already feel a lot better so I'd really like to go do a bit of work in my shop but SWMBO is on holidays and monitoring my activities  

Anyway I've gone from zero meds, to 14 meds a day


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## StevenBiars (Oct 15, 2011)

Bob, 

I've been a long time reader (but a first time forum poster) here on ArboristSite, but your bad luck kinda reminds me of my father (rest his soul). We had recently been working on designing a bandmill when he passed suddenly on Oct. 3rd. I think you have a disease that my father had. It's called Whatthehell Syndrome. He started developing it in his 40s and it continued until his passing last Monday at 61 (RIP, DAD). Anyhow, to give a rundown of symptoms, here is "the breakdown" of the past 20 or so years of his colorful medical history:


-My father and I built a barn when I was around 5 years old. I felt like a big shot because I got to use a power drill for the first time. This was about 1989. A couple of years later, a squirrel chewed some of the wiring and the barn burnt down. Dad tried to put it out and ended up getting smoke inhalation.

-Before a new barn was constructed, Dad decided to build a timber retaining wall. He promptly ended up getting bitten by a copperhead.

-Ohio received 3 feet of snow on January 17, 1994 and my Dad decided to make a pot of coffee and go shovel snow. In the process of shoveling, the coffee pot caught fire due to some kind of short. Dad opened the door of the house and it flashed over. Minor burns, house is a total loss. The flash knocked him about 6 or 8 feet across the deck.

-By 1995, dad had bought a farm. Things were relatively uneventful until we built a new garage. One of the trusses kicked out as it was being set and nearly took dad out with its swing.

*Around this point in time, my dad's hair really started greying up quite a bit.*

-1998, my dad and grandad bought a tractor for the farm. It was an old Ford 8N (can't remember the year right off). The brakes went out (which lead to a complete rebuild) and dad nearly rode it over one of the hills out here. No injuries, but a sore back. (the tractor will be more significant later)

-2000, dad was bucked off a horse and kicked, resulting in 3 broken ribs. Totaled a truck the same year (driver came left of center).

-2003 (ish), dad has what may have been a minor heart attack a few weeks after totaling his truck (a bull ran into the road in the middle of the night).

-2006 (ish), dad decided to work on the tractor. He rebuilt the carb, and was using his truck to jump the tractor. The tractor backfired and caught the barn on fire. Dad ended up having a heart attack and stumbled over a hill, ending up next to a shade tree. It was sheer luck that anyone found him. Truck, tractor, and barn are a complete loss. One pig ended up in the freezer a few days after dad recovered from stent replacement.

-2007 or 2008, dad has a bypass after having yet another heart attack. We had been working on a deck shortly before this. This heart attack was really the only one that had significantly slowed him down (probably due to damage to the heart). Totaled yet another truck (other vehicle's fault).

-2009, dad was helping his brother move a trailer. While it was being positioned, the truck attachment broke and the trailer came down on dad's neck. He had a concussion and 2 or 3 cracked vertebra, and cracked ribs... lucky to have survived.

-2011, dad passed on October 3rd. Shortly after my father and I had set up a mineral spot for the deer that roam the farm, he started having chest pains. I thought he had pulled a muscle. He started breathing funny, and said he was going to lay down for a bit. A few minutes later we had him in the car and had called EMS. He flatlined 4 times before they made it to the hospital, after which he was briefly stabilized. About an hour later, a doctor comes in. We had expected the doctor to say that he was going up for the CT Scan that had been ordered (since dad was stable and relatively alert at the hospital). Moments later we were informed that he had flatlined again and that as soon as they established a stable cardiac rhythm, he would go into flatline again. Dysarrhythmia leading to cardiac arrest was the cause.​

Anyhow, the moral of the story is that bad things happen to good people, and sometimes you'll feel like the world is out to get you. Losing my father has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to endure, but looking back at his life, it's a miracle that he wasn't gone so much sooner. That smashed hand of yours and your busted up nose will heal with time, so don't let it get you down. Life every day as if it's your last. Minor setbacks in this life won't mean a hill of beans in the long run. With a little luck, you'll be back to milling in no time, and you'll likely appreciate more than ever. Until then, maybe you should invest in some safety pads, a helmet, and one of those shark-resistant woven steel suits. :msp_rolleyes:

Take care!

-Steven


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## TraditionalTool (Oct 15, 2011)

Bob,

This doesn't sound good. Take care of yourself, before anything else.


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## jimdad07 (Oct 15, 2011)

Jeez Bob, we are going to have to make a documentary on you to cover all the injuries and illnesses in the last year. I am very sorry to hear of your condition, only good thing about it is at least they can do something for it.


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## 820wards (Oct 15, 2011)

BobL said:


> My wounds are healing fine but I was still not feeling right, sort of dizzy and lethargic, and my leg was not improving so I went to the docs again and got an all over check up.
> It now turns out I have full on type 2 diabetes and blood clots behind my left knee! The doc says my blood sugar levels were so high I should probably not have been driving.
> The diabetes was almost certainly the cause of the night cramps that led to the pulled muscle and the blood clots.
> 
> ...


 
Bob,

Just because your now Type 2 doesn't mean you through. I to am Type 2 and am down to only two meds a day. I walk 5 miles every day, watch what I eat and my energy level is much higher. I know you like your brewsky's, but your gonna have to cut back on those my friend. Take care of yourself my friend, we want to see more pictures of your armchair milling. 

jerry-


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## BobL (Oct 16, 2011)

Thanks for the encouragement Jerry.

I know what I need to do and I have done it before - I just got too busy and lazy - so the first thing is take some time out on a daily basis to look after myself
Back in 1996 I weighed 265 lbs and lost 80 lbs by eating sensibly and walking ~45 miles a week - mainly to and from work. When I look back on it, it was actually not that hard.
Then I moved up the corporate ladder and things got busier, business lunches, travel, and got an executive car parking spot ride outside my office so instead of fighting it out with the rest of the workers for a car parking spot as an added incentive to walk I suddenly had easy convenient parking so I reduced and eventually stopped walking/cycling to work. 
Since 1996 I also developed a taste for high alcohol strength brews although I think I have broken the habit because I have gone off drinking completely over the last few months.
15 years on and I am back where I was in 1996 - Like I said - I know what to do - I just have to get on with it.
The first thing is to relinquish that executive car parking spot.
In terms of food We already eat the food required for a diabetic diet but was eating them in the wrong proportion and just eating too much of everything.
Since last week we have adjusted the proportions and cut back on serving sizes - and I feel a lot better for it already!


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## 820wards (Oct 16, 2011)

BobL said:


> Thanks for the encouragement Jerry.
> 
> I know what I need to do and I have done it before - I just got too busy and lazy - so the first thing is take some time out on a daily basis to look after myself



Bob,

Like you said, you know what needs to be done for you and eating sensible will also be good for the Mrs. to. Since I have retired my stress had been eliminated and when I retired I weighted 260 and I weighted myself tonight and I'm down to 209. My goal is 200 so I'm close. Take care Bob we need your expertise. 

I split firewood all day today and will be doing it again tomorrow. I have a huge pile of blue oak from where I milled some slabs earlier this year. I was talking to my rancher friend today and he was telling me he wants me to mill another Blue Oak tree that was cut down. He wants me to make another bench for the park only with a wider log. When I told him my bare is only 38" and would need a larger bar he said he would buy me a 52" bar for my mill. I like that deal!



jerry-


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## BobL (Oct 17, 2011)

820wards said:


> Bob,
> Like you said, you know what needs to be done for you and eating sensible will also be good for the Mrs. to. Since I have retired my stress had been eliminated and when I retired I weighted 260 and I weighted myself tonight and I'm down to 209. My goal is 200 so I'm close. Take care Bob we need your expertise.


Thanks Jerry.
I just got back from having my second ultrasound scan and it shows the biggest blood clot in my leg has not changed significantly in size since last week.
Just to add to my woes, my vision has changed significantly in the last 48 hours .
My distance vision has for decades required glasses to drive, but now everything distance-wise is crystal clear without glasses.
At the other end of the scale, I used to be able to read the AS forum without glasses, but this morning I couldn't even read it with glasses.
I tried enlarging the font and OK while I could read it, the edges of the letters look all blurry and gave me a headache and nausea within minutes.
One the way back from my scan stopped off at a pharmacy and bought a pair of cheap reading specs so I can at least function but I also get a head ache after using them for about 15 minutes.
I know my eyeballs are not the same. 



> I split firewood all day today and will be doing it again tomorrow. I have a huge pile of blue oak from where I milled some slabs earlier this year. I was talking to my rancher friend today and he was telling me he wants me to mill another Blue Oak tree that was cut down. He wants me to make another bench for the park only with a wider log. When I told him my bare is only 38" and would need a larger bar he said he would buy me a 52" bar for my mill. I like that deal!


That does indeed sound like a good deal!

BTW I split a lot of firewood as a kid. When I was 9 years old I was sent to pay the family's monthly butchers account with a $10 note and I lost it. My punishment was to chop 10 tons of firewood. Bear in mind that the wood was not even grained softwood but gnarly grained aussie hardwood. It took me about 3 months but I did it. Now I know how to split really gnarly wood but about the only time I get to use this skill is when we go camping.


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## 820wards (Oct 17, 2011)

BobL said:


> One the way back from my scan stopped off at a pharmacy and bought a pair of cheap reading specs so I can at least function but I also get a head ache after using them for about 15 minutes.
> I know my eyeballs are not the same.



Bob,

I don't have a distance problem, it's that darn close up stuff especially when I'm welding. I have been using cheaters, but I think I'm going to buy a new welding hood that will have my prescription in the lenses. I can have the stigmatisim for my prescription adjusted to how close I want to be to my work. When I tig weld I like getting close for some of the detailed welding I do.





> BTW I split a lot of firewood as a kid. When I was 9 years old I was sent to pay the family's monthly butchers account with a $10 note and I lost it. My punishment was to chop 10 tons of firewood.



I'll bet you still have the calluses today from splitting all that wood. I cheat, I have a log splitter I built and wouldn't split wood if it wasn't for the splitter.

jerry-


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## Pagie (Oct 17, 2011)

G'day Bob, Make sure you get to an eye Dr. and get your eyes tested.as soon as possible. I am a type 2 as well. You need to keep an eye on the back of your eyes. Get them to show you the pictures and get copies. just in case you or your Dr. moves. Your eye site should settle down once your GL stabilises. Good luck.

Peter


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## BobL (Oct 17, 2011)

Pagie said:


> G'day Bob, Make sure you get to an eye Dr. and get your eyes tested.as soon as possible. I am a type 2 as well. You need to keep an eye on the back of your eyes. Get them to show you the pictures and get copies. just in case you or your Dr. moves. Your eye site should settle down once your GL stabilises. Good luck.


 Thanks Pete -


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## gemniii (Oct 17, 2011)

This is definitely getting off CSM/BSM butt:


BobL said:


> Thanks Jerry.
> I just got back from having my second ultrasound scan and it shows the biggest blood clot in my leg has not changed significantly in size since last week.


BE real careful, a blood clot in the leg got my grandfather while he was working in the field, about 50 yards from the house, it took them all day to find him. It then when up to his brain and killed him. If they had got to him sooner he might be telling the story. Keep your cell phone w/ you at ALL times.


BobL said:


> Just to add to my woes, my vision has changed significantly in the last 48 hours .
> My distance vision has for decades required glasses to drive, but now everything distance-wise is crystal clear without glasses.
> At the other end of the scale, I used to be able to read the AS forum without glasses, but this morning I couldn't even read it with glasses.


Similar thing happened to me. I had gotten to using moderate (1.5) reading glasses. Then over the course of a few days my vision improved such I didn't need anything and it was back to 20/10. Then I got my sugar checked and it rang the bell at the top of the scale. As meds and diet dropped my sugar my vision returned to needing reading glasses.

Take care of yourself, we need your expertise so we can better make round trees into flat pieces.


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## BobL (Nov 11, 2011)

The Doc has said I can return to light duties but no milling yet.

I have had a weeks annual holiday and been working more or less full time on the dust extraction system for my new shed.

It begins with a 8 ft high, 6 ft wide 2 ft deep acoustically insulated enclosure to contain the 3HP dust extractor outside the shed.




The enclosure is made of 1.5 x 3.5" radiata stud frame, the outside of which is clad in 5/4" thick melamine sheeting and the inside with 3/4" chipboard with fibreglass insulation in between. The whole enclosure is externally clad using colorbond metal sheeting to match the rest of the shed. On teh fron of the enclosure, 3, 70" high x 24" wide doors weighing ~100 lbs allow for easy access. Inside the enclosure most of the the walls are lined with 2 or 3" of foam. I scavenged all of the materials from building site dumpsters so apart from screws and fixings it cost me nothing.

Inside the shed this is what I have made so far of the ducting.
The main trunk lines are all 6" storm water pipe and I have made the blast gates using 6" connectors and some PVC sheeting





The 19" bandsaw, which I use for resawing, has 3 x 4" dust collecting pipes. The small Woodworking lathe has a 6" collection point as will the planer and table saw.

The acoustic enclosure was essential because my neighbors are real close by. The enclosure drops the 80 dB noise (at 3ft distance) made by the dust collector down to 64dB. Hopefully this will keep the neighbors from complaining.


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## redoakneck (Nov 11, 2011)

Man Bob, I had no idea you were injured, don't know how I missed this thread!!!

Sorry to have been bugging you about all your cool chainsaw milling ideas but I am glad I did. Finally got my motorcycle twist grip throttle set up on my 088 with the cable attached right were you did yours, works perfect!!! Now the exhaust pipe.


I hope you are feeling better and get to some milling soon, you did a major whammy on those fingees, OUCH

I really appreciate all the knowledge you have shared,


Thanks Again,

Pete


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## BobL (Nov 11, 2011)

redoakneck said:


> Man Bob, I had no idea you were injured, don't know how I missed this thread!!!
> 
> Sorry to have been bugging you about all your cool chainsaw milling ideas but I am glad I did.


No worries about that - it's all I can really do at the moment.



> Finally got my motorcycle twist grip throttle set up on my 088 with the cable attached right were you did yours, works perfect!!!


Cool - post some pics when you get a chance.



> I really appreciate all the knowledge you have shared


I'm glad to be helpful.


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## gemniii (Nov 11, 2011)

Bob - Once again you've built something many of us need and have set a high standard.
I am a little surprised you didn't build it out of wood you sawed.


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## BobL (Nov 11, 2011)

gemniii said:


> Bob - Once again you've built something many of us need and have set a high standard.
> I am a little surprised you didn't build it out of wood you sawed.



I was going to use my own timber but seeing as it was going to be clad with metal sheeting to match the shop and I had a pile of lumber taking up space that needed using it was better to use that lumber for this project and keep the nicer timber for woodworking projects.


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## Daninvan (Nov 16, 2011)

Bob,

Took my eye off the arboristsite ball for a while, and just got caught up on what's been going on. Crazy! I am really sorry to hear about all your recent bad health. I am sure you will get back on track quickly though, take care of yourself.

I love what you are doing with the external enclosures. I have been wanting to upgrade my sad little 4" 1 HP dust collection system that sits outside to a 3 or 5 HP system with 6" pipe. There is no way I can just leave a noisy system like that outside, even with the 1 HP I am pretty careful to run it during the day only, and not on summer weekends when the neighbours are in their backyard, etc. It sits less than 10' from their kitchen window.

Hopefully your example will give me some motivation to get to it, as it is more or less exactly what I want to do. Just need to find the time . . . 

Dan


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## BobL (Nov 17, 2011)

Well I got the all clear on the blood clot today - it seems like it has dissolved away and I can ramp up the exercise. I need to lose 20 lbs and then the doc the doctor says I can have a crack at seeing if I can control the diabetes with reduced medication.

RE: Dust collector. 
I was just using it this evening - boy it sure is nice to be able to use it without bugging the neighbors.


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## WesternSaw (Nov 17, 2011)

*Hi Bob*

Sorry to hear about your injury and health related problems.It seems you are on the road to recovery and managing the Type 2 diabetes.Good for you!
Did you say awhile back that you were going to be making another trip to British Columbia?
Lawrence


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## BobL (Nov 17, 2011)

petesoldsaw said:


> Sorry to hear about your injury and health related problems.It seems you are on the road to recovery and managing the Type 2 diabetes.Good for you!
> Did you say awhile back that you were going to be making another trip to British Columbia?
> Lawrence



I was there in early July for a couple of days and caught up with Daninvan - I'd planned to catch up with Mike Acres but he was out of town. It will have to be another time.


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## jimdad07 (Nov 20, 2011)

Hi Bob, glad to wee you are getting a little better. I know it's been a hard year for you but you will be back to milling in no time.


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## BobL (Nov 24, 2011)

Went to a kidney specialist yesterday because the doc said there was something wrong with my kidneys. Turns out there's nothing wrong with my kidneys acting as kidneys but they are a sensitive indicator of microvascular disease which means I now have an elevated risk of stroke and heart attack. So even though my blood pressure and cholesterol are OK I now have to go on BP and cholesterol reduction meds. Meanwhile a guy has contacted me with news about a log he needs milling that looks like it has some serious fiddleback . . . . . . . Arrrggghhhhh!!!!!!!


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## mtngun (Nov 24, 2011)

BobL said:


> microvascular disease which means I now have an elevated risk of stroke and heart attack.


Diabetes sucks.

And to think this all started when you fell through a door ? :msp_confused:

Are you still working your day job ?

I hope you'll eventually be back milling. How are you coping without any dull chains to file ?

Does the doc allow you to enjoy your favorite brew ?


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## BobL (Nov 24, 2011)

mtngun said:


> Diabetes sucks.
> And to think this all started when you fell through a door ? :msp_confused:


Oh I knew something was not right before I fell thru the doorway, I was just too slack to go to the doctor and get it attended to.



> Are you still working your day job ?


Yeah - I arrive late and leave early, drink coffee, talk to the lads, stare at some computer screens, but half the time I get to the end of the day and wonder what I have achieved. I'm surprised no one higher up has not started asking questions about what I'm (not) doing.



> I hope you'll eventually be back milling.


Me too.



> How are you coping without any dull chains to file ?


I am pottering around my home shop and while I had the blood clots in the leg and against instructions I built a dust extractor enclosure just outside my shop and set up some dust extraction ducting. Even though my blood clots have gone I'm still not supposed to lift anything heavy, ie lumber, for the next few months. I have sharpened a couple of chains and cleaned up a few saws but that just reminds me too much about what I'm missing so I try not to look too often at my CS stuff. Just reading this forum leaves a slight sour taste in my mouth.



> Does the doc allow you to enjoy your favorite brew ?


Doc says I can do anything I like but take the penalty thereafter. 
Thing is now that I have lost about 30 lbs and 4" off my gut (my pants are all falling down) I feel pretty good and really want to get out and on with life.
The doc wants me to lose another 18 lbs to reduce the heart attack/stroke risk and then she says I can start easing in some treats.


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## 820wards (Nov 25, 2011)

BobL said:


> Went to a kidney specialist yesterday.....



** Good to hear the kidneys are OK.



> So even though my blood pressure and cholesterol are OK I now have to go on BP and cholesterol reduction meds.



** I'm type 2 and was on cholesterol meds. After loosing 30+ pounds my doctor took me of those meds. What I founds was that those meds will give you muscle cramps, so watch for that. 



> Meanwhile a guy has contacted me with news about a log he needs milling that looks like it has some serious fiddleback . . . . . . . Arrrggghhhhh!!!!!!!



** So now you have something to look forward to do. I'm going to start working with/teaching the two teenage kids across the street from me how to mill. I figure if I start teaching them now, they will be able to keep me supplied with wood for when I can't mill anymore. Plus, they have lots of friends that can help. You need to get some young guy near you that you can start teaching that can help you. 

Take care Mr. Bob,

jerry-


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