Has anyone had a metal wedge chip off?

[saginaw22]

Well Sunday morning I was out working on the wood pile splitting wood.
I split all the smaller wood with the mall. So I am getting into the nasty crouch stuff, with a wood grenade and just a standard 10" steel wedge. Well I split a 20 or so hunks of maple, that were nasty.

Well to get to the Point I hit the wedge and and piece of metal comes flying off the wedge and lucky me it hits my calf and makes a 4" gash. It looks like one of those war movies when a bomb blows up and you look down and you just start gushing blood all over. I also was waring shorts not paints....makes me wonder if that would of helped much anyways......Well yeah I am at home so thats good. So I grab the hunk of flesh and squeese it together limping bent over into the house with is only a 100' or so. Take off my bloody sock and run into the shower. By this time I am feeling pretty woosey....I thinking to my self "suck it up your all by yourself" "SUCK IT UP".
Well I have a first aid kit for my dog when we go hunting so thats good, I open it up its got a stapler in it....I'm thinking to my self yeah its deep but not gonna use this thing....so I pull out the surgurical glue and try to glue the thing back together....well its just too dam big of a cut so......it would hold. Mean while it pretty much stopped bleeding and the glue wont hold so I just butterfly it together and pretty much making due with some butterflys and tape.

I do have insurance, I should of went and got stiches but I freaking hate the doctors...I have never had stiches and since its just a spot on the calf I dont care about having a scare there.....I thought that I would just take care of it myself.

Everything is going all right but I am gimmping around like no other....my buddys were laughing there ass off at me walking around hooter for dinner....I just to em to f....off .

The bummer is I have a music Festival to go to this weekend and there will be walking involved....thats going to suck


so eveyone

 

[ray benson]

Had it happen a couple times years ago. Now I grind the mauls and steel wedge faces when they start mushrooming or distorting. Those spalls can do some damage. Use safety glasses and nobody standing near you when your splitting.

 

[2FatGuys]

My dad had this happen 20+ years ago and still limps from the steel shrapnel that embeded into his shin bone. He did have it removed, but it caused some serious pain for quite a while. We now "dress" our wedges regularly, even though we don't use them much any more.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

+1 :agree2:

The calve is bad enough there are other places that it could have been much worse.

 

[saginaw22]

+1 :agree2:

The calve is bad enough there are other places that it could have been much worse.

Yeah no doubt I was thinking if it would of hit me in the face or something like that.....I would of left a huge scar.

Pretty crazy stuff......

 

[Ductape]

I have a hunk of steel in my leg....... similar deal, was splitting up a little kindling inside the barn. Piece broke off........ shot into my upper thigh. Thankfully not a couple inches higher. I bled like a stuck pig....... thought it just cut me till i ran my metal detector over my thigh !!

Drove myself to the hospital where they opted to leave it there, as it was deep enough to require "real" surgery to remove. I haven't flown since this happened......... but i'm afraid i'm going to set off the metal detectors even with my belt off and my pockets empty! :bang:

In all seriousness though.......... if you havent had a tetnis shot in the past five or so years, get one. We don't want your leg falling off.



P.S. I had some heavy jeans on...... pants would not have saved you.

 

[toddstreeservic]

I have a chunk in my leg still. Same as ductape I opted to leave mine in there. I do fly alot and mine doesn't set off the detectors. The doc said "there are plenty of men walking around this country with chunks of metal in them". I keep my wedges ground and use them as little as possible now.

 

[Brushwacker]

A old freind of mine breathed in a piece which I understood went to his lungs. Not sure how bad it was but I know he lived through it.
Pounding steel wedges in wood seems unneccessary at least for me with the tools I have. What the monster maul will not handle with a modest effort is either sliced with the larger chainsaws or logsplitter . In rare cases I may use a steel wedge falling a tree with extreme weight on the wedging side.

 

[olyman]

def keep your wedges dressed--thats why the steel flew---

 

[CharlieG]

Drees 'em up-I havent had a problem since. Mushrooming is a weak spot

 

[Adkpk]

I dodged the bullet when I saw it coming. You guys must be slow. :kilt:

Yes I have had it happen. I also dress the wedges, since.

 

[barkies]

Ive still got a peice in my right shin

now wedges are a last resort

 

[Buckethead]

I had the same thing happen to me when I was about 15. Had a piece of the wedge come off and get me in the upper arm. It left about a 1.5" cut just above the elbow. At that time I didn't know about dressing tools that you strike.

 

[LTREES]

WOW, never thought about it. I'll dress mine up next time I use them.
Thanks for posting

 

[husky455rancher]

i never thoght of it either. good to know. i never had stitched but i did have staples in my head...good times

 

[Rookie1]

Years ago I worked on Cat equipment and we were beating out a track pin. It was real stuck so three of us were taking turns swinging sledge and holding pin hammer. Pin hammer mushroomed over while working pin out. My turn to rest and my coworker didnt hit dead on and chunk of mushroom came off and cut my third finger on right hand behind nail. I didnt really feel it but boy did it bleed bad. I got 4 stiches and xray to make sure it was not in there. From then on I dress all chisels and punches and such.

 

[mimilkman1]

This may be a dumb question, but how do you dress wedges and other tools? My dad still has a piece of sledgehammer in his arm from splitting.

Kyle

 

[Ductape]

Grind the mushroomed area off on a bench grinder.

 

[mimilkman1]

Grind the mushroomed area off on a bench grinder.

Thanks, very helpful.

Kyle

 

[turnkey4099]

Thanks, very helpful.

Kyle

Yeah. Take a look at a new wedge and then keep yours looking the same way. I bought 3 from a pawn shop. Worst mushrooms I ever saw. Took me most of an afternoon and a 6 pack to get them ground back to useable.

Harry K