Ouch

[Brmorgan]

Guess I forgot to tell you guys last week - I got pwned by a board and broke my nose at work at the mill last Monday, about three hours into a 10-hour shift! Not really really bad or anything; everything stayed straight and whatnot, but holy crap did it hurt! And it was while doing something I literally do dozens of times every day while grading, unfortunately. Sometimes if I get a board with a questionable defect, say a three-face shake on an edge, or a knot cluster, or a compression failure (which was the case here) I will pick the board up and smack the far end of it down on the deck to check the strength/severity of the defect because some need to be pulled even though they might technically meet grade by appearance. Well, out of the probably tens of thousands of times I've done this, this is the first time I've ever had a piece (about 2' long) break off the far end and come straight back at me before I could even blink. Being that it was from a compression failure, it was a really ugly jagged end and it cut my nose up quite a bit, which made it look a lot worse than it was. But it bled like a sonuvagun from the inside too instantly, like someone turned a faucet on. That stopped in a couple minutes no problem, but you should have seen the look on the poor little Indian (as in India) fellow that I was working with at the time. I thought my nose was completely missing or something, the way he looked at me!

Since it hit me straight on and didn't knock anything out of whack, and I wasn't in an unbearable amount of pain, I went back to work after seeing First Aid and getting some ice on it for half an hour or so. I didn't feel like going to sit at the hospital for four hours (longer if they were to send me to radiology) only to have them put some tape over it and tell me to take some Tylenol. I could breathe fine through both nostrils, and I didn't have a headache from a concussion (just my :censored: nose hurt!), so I wasn't too worried about it. It didn't swell up too badly and I never did go terribly black and blue, more yellow bruising than anything, right around the corners of my eyes which I didn't even notice until I put my contacts in on Friday for the weekend; my glasses obscured a lot of it.

I'm not sure who had the worse day though - I was actually covering for the trimsawyer at the time, because he had woken up that morning with half his face swollen up so bad his one eye was shut, and ended up having to have an emergency tooth extraction and a root canal on another. Personally I think I'd rather take it on the nose than that, but I'm very biased against dentists!

Oh, and before anyone asks, no I don't have a picture. My phone crapped out on me two weeks ago, and have you ever tried taking a self-portrait with an SLR? Even in a mirror I couldn't get anything in focus. It's looking a lot better now though, the swelling is gone and most of the scabs from the cuts have fallen off too.

 

[deeker]

Yeah, that is almost the same story my dad told the ER doctor last week.


























But he tripped and fell carrying carving wood. Looks as though his nose was broken too.

He got the stitches out today.

He don't dare lip off again....

Hope you get feeling better.

Cannot possibly be any fun.

Kevin

 

[mikeb1079]

sorry to hear that brad. i've done that playing b ball. hurts like hell. it's really disorienting for awhile too.

 

[820wards]

Guess I forgot to tell you guys last week - I got pwned by a board and broke my nose at work at the mill last Monday.

Brad,

Sorry to read about your work accident, the good news is that your are sitting at your computer telling us what happened. So has the company mandated new policy that any person doing that job is now required to wear a face shield protection?

I know the feeling. I took a shot at my nose in high school on a bad hop at first base. Looked like the guys used my nose for batting practice.


Take care of that nose...

jerry-

 

[WesternSaw]

BrMorgan

Brad, Geeezzzz Man your lucky with that one! It could have been your eye.Or do you wear eye protection on that job? Nobody can say you have a glass jaw,you took that one right on the button and kept at er.Hope you heal up quick with no complications.Can we expect some red markings on lumber at the building yard.
Lawrence

 

[Brmorgan]

Brad,

Sorry to read about your work accident, the good news is that your are sitting at your computer telling us what happened. So has the company mandated new policy that any person doing that job is now required to wear a face shield protection?

I know the feeling. I took a shot at my nose in high school on a bad hop at first base. Looked like the guys used my nose for batting practice.


Take care of that nose...

jerry-

No face shields; they're only required when grinding (won't argue with that one) and when in the planer room. It would be far too restrictive for a graderman. Hopefully WCB doesn't have a fit about the incident report.

Brad, Geeezzzz Man your lucky with that one! It could have been your eye.Or do you wear eye protection on that job? Nobody can say you have a glass jaw,you took that one right on the button and kept at er.Hope you heal up quick with no complications.Can we expect some red markings on lumber at the building yard.
Lawrence

I have my eyeglasses, which are safety-rated frames and lenses, but to be honest my eyes bothered me much less when I was allowed to wear my contacts with regular safety glasses. They kept the dust out much better. My right eyelid was actually bruised a bit from the piece of wood knocking my glasses off my face; I guess the nose rest must have snagged it a bit. Never hurt though. I couldn't see a damn thing after it happened; between my glasses going flying and my eyes watering from the knock to the schnoz, I was half blind. The other graderman kindly found my glasses for me while I went to stop the bleeding.

I am just glad it didn't hit a couple inches lower, because I probably would have lost teeth and it would have dealt some decent damage to the lips!

 

[Brmorgan]

sorry to hear that brad. i've done that playing b ball. hurts like hell. it's really disorienting for awhile too.

Heh, I took a volleyball to the face once, a real hard spike shot. Not to the nose, but to the cheek. It didn't knock me out but I didn't know where the heck I was for a few... I was on the other end of that once though, and did hit a girl in the nose at a tournament; blood everywhere. Felt so bad.

 

[BobL]

Sorry to hear about that Brad. I just goes to show that even in what one thinks is a relatively safe work environment stuff happens.

I started milling with safety glasses but I got pretty quickly onto a full face shield and now I feel quite naked without one. I also realize they can fog up in your climate.

The vision on the two shields I use (one in my home shop and one I keep permanent in the van for milling) is crystal clear and the plastic pretty scratch resistant too.

 

[deeker]

Brad, are you feeling better today?

It took a few days for my dads nose to go down in the swelling, and we did just find out via x-ray his was broken but not displaced.

He won't let me post a couple pics of his nose.

He said he will break mine.

And knowing he just may be able to do it...prevents my posting it.

Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Kevin

 

[Brmorgan]

Brad, are you feeling better today?

It took a few days for my dads nose to go down in the swelling, and we did just find out via x-ray his was broken but not displaced.

He won't let me post a couple pics of his nose.

He said he will break mine.

And knowing he just may be able to do it...prevents my posting it.

Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Kevin

Oh ya, it's feeling much better at this point. No pain at all unless I touch it, and even then only the very end of the bone is sore to touch. I wasn't a big fan of the idea of taking an X-Ray to the head for just a nose when it was all still straight - I've had enough of them already with dental stuff (braces are no fun!). So I have no absolute proof that mine is/was broken, but all the symptoms were there and SOMETHING is cracked/broken/loose because I can feel an ever so slight click when I apply pressure to my nose right at the end of the bone. But I can't feel anything move, so I'm not worried.

Sorry to hear about your dad's nose. I hate falling with my hands/arms full of a load, you're at the mercy of gravity!

I had an interesting day yesterday at work - I was asked if I'd like to be the supervisor in the fingerjointer when they (hope to) start it up next year. I'd also be quality control, which is quite a bit of work with fingerjointed lumber, and I'd be in charge of grinding the FJ head knives and possibly the planer sideheads as well, since the FJ autogrinder is technically capable of doing them but nobody's taken the time to figure it out. And for all intents and purposes, I'd be maintenance/millwright for the FJ line as well - sounds like quite a job and not a lot more pay, most likely, but it would be more interesting and good to have on a resume as well. Heh, I guess I am somewhat uniquely qualified - I'm the highest-ticketed graderman they have and I think I've worked longer for them than anyone else there now, am a capable welder and know my way around pretty much all the machinery in all three production lines, and even have a bit of electrical training and experience. And heck, best of all, it would give me an excuse to go buy some new tools! Can't pick a better time of year for that either, the deals are far and wide right now. So it isn't written in stone, but to be honest I was seriously considering asking them about such a proposition anyway, so as long as the details work out, that's probably where I'm headed. Tools are the sticking point for me though - I'd have to supply my own except for some specialty or really expensive stuff, which isn't a big problem because I have a rather healthy collection at home here with lots of doubles already, but I don't do well when other people "borrow" my tools when I'm not around, as is prone to happening at the mill. Someone might get kneecapped on Monday if I found locks tampered with and and/or stuff missing after a weekend...

So it should be interesting anyway to see what happens. If I do end up with that job, I have a few ideas (after working there before) to get it running a lot better with minimal work. The job would mean longer days, probably 12 hours, and a bit more unpredictable OT, but on the upside I'd be in from the cold during the winters (FJ mills must be heated for the glue to set properly), which is increasingly important with the four fingertips I've injured; they don't do well in the cold. Getting your clothes covered in that glue all the time is no treat though. It doesn't wash out, so you basically say goodbye to any clothes you wear there.

 

[WesternSaw]

BrMorgan

Brad,I think that's a heck of an offer for a new role at the mill.Fellas with a lot experience just say right the pros and cons on a piece of paper, see how they stack up, a make your decision.
As far as the glue goes nothing like a pair of coveralls or thrift store clothes for work.
Sometimes big money doesn't come right away but it may be like collecting interest in the bank it will grow over time.
See if there are any courses available that would be an asset for your possible new job and ask if they will pay for the course or at least contribute partially.Brad you have a couple of valuable asset's going for you.Your young and you have desire to learn.
Lawrence

 

[TraditionalTool]

Lucky it wasn't worse Brad!

Mend quickly!

 

[Brmorgan]

Brad,I think that's a heck of an offer for a new role at the mill.Fellas with a lot experience just say right the pros and cons on a piece of paper, see how they stack up, a make your decision.
As far as the glue goes nothing like a pair of coveralls or thrift store clothes for work.
Sometimes big money doesn't come right away but it may be like collecting interest in the bank it will grow over time.
See if there are any courses available that would be an asset for your possible new job and ask if they will pay for the course or at least contribute partially.Brad you have a couple of valuable asset's going for you.Your young and you have desire to learn.
Lawrence

Thanks Lawrence. There isn't much on the "con" side of the argument, mostly just the OT (which can be both good and bad, depending) and the tool/equipment thing, though I see no reason why I couldn't work that out quite easily. As far as work clothes go, well, for pants anyway, if it don't say Carhartt on it I probably won't be wearing it. I just love those things, but not so much the price! Once they're "broken in" a bit, they're the most comfortable work pants I've ever tried. And they saved me once from an angle-grinder kickback, so I owe them! They stopped a Zip cutting disc dead and blew it into a thousand pieces, like one would expect from hitting bucking chaps or something. Didn't make it through the second layer of material but still cut my leg up a bit just from the sheer force of it hitting. I still have the main remainder piece of that disc somewhere...

I'm not worried about getting "big money" or anything; I can't really complain since I already make more money than many of my friends and family who did go on to higher education - the kicker is that they have some relative job security as a result and I definitely do not. Which is one other thing that I'll have to bring up as I don't want to be stuck pushing a broom or something if the FJ line shuts down again. But overall I can honestly say I really do like most mill work, just not being at the mercy of the heat/cold/rain/weather-du-jour. Spring and fall are great, no bugs and generally temperate weather, but we can easily get +40°C in the summer and -40°C in the winter, so every year is a crapshoot with those, though winters have been getting milder and summers hotter and drier the past few years. Heck, as I write this it's +5° with a strong south wind (we had gale-force last night, lots of trees down today) and what snow we did have is fast disappearing so it's gonna be less of a White Christmas tomorrow than it first appeared. Two years ago was a green Christmas here.

I did pick up a nice socket set at CT today though - I've been wanting to for a long time so I have a good "master" set in the shop, and then my old set which isn't necessarily complete or all original anymore that I can borrow from (to take out into the bush with the CSM stuff, for example, or in this case, take to work) and not worry about so much. They all came in handy organized trays that I can just throw into my toolbox too, no more fumbling through a whole drawer of sockets or wrenches to find the right one. Speaking of wrenches, I also got a set each of SAE and Metric flex-head ratchet wrenches today. Been wanting them for awhile now too. The Snap-on etc. fanatics here may scoff at CT/Mastercraft tools, but I've NEVER broken one of their wrenches, sockets, or ratchets (and Heaven knows I'm not gentle with 'em), and they have a lifetime warranty and an absolutely unbeatable price when you catch stuff on sale, so that's where I spend a lot of my money. Some of the power tools aren't high on my list as far as quality goes, but are almost always worth the price.

So that was my Christmas present to myself today! Hope you all have a great one yourselves. I'm hitting the hay now, catch y'all later.

 

[DRB]

Oh ya, it's feeling much better at this point. No pain at all unless I touch it, and even then only the very end of the bone is sore to touch. I wasn't a big fan of the idea of taking an X-Ray to the head for just a nose when it was all still straight - I've had enough of them already with dental stuff (braces are no fun!). So I have no absolute proof that mine is/was broken, but all the symptoms were there and SOMETHING is cracked/broken/loose because I can feel an ever so slight click when I apply pressure to my nose right at the end of the bone. But I can't feel anything move, so I'm not worried.

Sorry to hear about your dad's nose. I hate falling with my hands/arms full of a load, you're at the mercy of gravity!

I had an interesting day yesterday at work - I was asked if I'd like to be the supervisor in the fingerjointer when they (hope to) start it up next year. I'd also be quality control, which is quite a bit of work with fingerjointed lumber, and I'd be in charge of grinding the FJ head knives and possibly the planer sideheads as well, since the FJ autogrinder is technically capable of doing them but nobody's taken the time to figure it out. And for all intents and purposes, I'd be maintenance/millwright for the FJ line as well - sounds like quite a job and not a lot more pay, most likely, but it would be more interesting and good to have on a resume as well. Heh, I guess I am somewhat uniquely qualified - I'm the highest-ticketed graderman they have and I think I've worked longer for them than anyone else there now, am a capable welder and know my way around pretty much all the machinery in all three production lines, and even have a bit of electrical training and experience. And heck, best of all, it would give me an excuse to go buy some new tools! Can't pick a better time of year for that either, the deals are far and wide right now. So it isn't written in stone, but to be honest I was seriously considering asking them about such a proposition anyway, so as long as the details work out, that's probably where I'm headed. Tools are the sticking point for me though - I'd have to supply my own except for some specialty or really expensive stuff, which isn't a big problem because I have a rather healthy collection at home here with lots of doubles already, but I don't do well when other people "borrow" my tools when I'm not around, as is prone to happening at the mill. Someone might get kneecapped on Monday if I found locks tampered with and and/or stuff missing after a weekend...

So it should be interesting anyway to see what happens. If I do end up with that job, I have a few ideas (after working there before) to get it running a lot better with minimal work. The job would mean longer days, probably 12 hours, and a bit more unpredictable OT, but on the upside I'd be in from the cold during the winters (FJ mills must be heated for the glue to set properly), which is increasingly important with the four fingertips I've injured; they don't do well in the cold. Getting your clothes covered in that glue all the time is no treat though. It doesn't wash out, so you basically say goodbye to any clothes you wear there.

Sounds like a good opertunity. You should see if they would give you a yearly tool allowance for tools and coveralls for your job. Tell them that the tools are the companies and that that way if you leave then they still have the tools for the job for the next guy. It also shows the company that you can set and run budgets. That way as you get older and your health starts to go down hill you will be able to move into a more management type role.

I set this up with the company that I have worked with for 15 years as a mechanic. I don't buy any tools (with my own money) to do my or my assistants jobs. I have a tool budget. It is amassing what you end up with over time. But breaking knee caps on Monday is neceassary to keep you tools out of the crews hands and doing a good job so they don't need to use them also helps. lol:deadhorse:

Good to see some of the younger generation that still has good work ethics.

Easy is not always better.

 

[BobL]

.
.
.
But breaking knee caps on Monday is neceassary to keep you tools out of the crews hands and doing a good job so they don't need to use them also helps. lol:deadhorse:

Yep

Good to see some of the younger generation that still has good work ethics.

Yep

Easy is not always better.

and Yep!

 

[phred45]

Sorry to hear about that Brad. I just goes to show that even in what one thinks is a relatively safe work environment stuff happens.

I started milling with safety glasses but I got pretty quickly onto a full face shield and now I feel quite naked without one. I also realize they can fog up in your climate.

The vision on the two shields I use (one in my home shop and one I keep permanent in the van for milling) is crystal clear and the plastic pretty scratch resistant too.

Sorry about your nose, Brad and congrats on your new position.

Bobl, glad to see you feeling better. What brand hat is that in your picture. It gets pretty hot around here and a partial hat with a shield like that would be great.

 

[BobL]

Bobl, glad to see you feeling better. What brand hat is that in your picture. It gets pretty hot around here and a partial hat with a shield like that would be great.

Thanks. My damaged fingers are probably only about 70% but it has been too hot to mill here anyway.

The face shield has "VADAR BG" written on the orange front section but I don't know if that is the brand or not. I have two of these full face shield. One I keep in the van for CS use and the other in my home shop. The plastic is remarkably tough and resists scratching compared to cheaper face shields.

 

[phred45]

Thanks. My damaged fingers are probably only about 70% but it has been too hot to mill here anyway.

The face shield has "VADAR BG" written on the orange front section but I don't know if that is the brand or not. I have two of these full face shield. One I keep in the van for CS use and the other in my home shop. The plastic is remarkably tough and resists scratching compared to cheaper face shields.

Thanks a lot Bobl. Found it on an Australian site "SDA". It's the first protection that makes sense for the summers here.

Don't give up on your hand it will probably get better with time. Mine took well over a year to get most of it's function back.