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I've been building full-time for almost 20 years. Had a few accidents but nothing really serious and I always try to be really careful. Never even crossed my mind that I could hurt myself like this. Afterwards, I thought of other scenarios to avoid and wanted to share so you could avoid something similar.

So I have my chisel rack on the wall above a workbench. My bench needed serious flattening -- so flatttened with a handplane and then took the top outside to sand ... then brought it back in and set it on the legs. I'm bending over to align the screw holes for the top -- and when righting myself, I ram my head directly into my chisel rack, hard. I got extremely lucky !!! I didn't pierce through the bone and the chisel was angled such that it skated along my cranium and just tunneled underneath my scalp for a couple inches. I could have easily killed myself given how much force I applied and how freaking sharp the chisel was (that awesome LMI glue clearing chisel). Alternatively, I could have ripped up my face or gouged an eye or the worst would have been to ram the chisel through my temple -- all very possible given the orientation of the chisel and my head.

So very, very lucky but incredibly frustrated at myself and of course, the $1200 ER visit stings a bit too.

The lesson here is to consider any sharp objects you might hang on the walls -- things like bandsaw blades, chisel racks, etc ... And for God's sakes, if you ever find yourself bending down anywhere near a chisel rack -- think of my accident and be hyperaware of its location !!!

All the Best,
Simon

Yeeouch! Glad you're ok. Sounds like they could use a board nailed to the wall underneath the blades, so you can ram your head into that first.

My chisels are all in a pile on a little table, so not exactly secure, but the danger is minimal since I work near floor level so they don't have far to fall and my feet are well out of the way. The planes sit at one end of the same table and drill bit boxes at the other, which prevents anything rolling off the ends.

I did stand up under my 3D printer's shelf once. It hangs down from the ceiling, and thankfully I had the foresight to round over the corner of it just incase that ever happened, so no external damage at least. If I had any sense I'd tape some foam rubber to it like I did to a piece of wood I ran my toe into (that one has saved me several time since).

My hot box also hangs from the ceiling, but it's so flimsy it would just bend/break if I ever really ran into it.

I do have a shelf with a bunch of aluminum piled on it that would be a disaster if I ever bumped hard enough to cause an avalanche. I'll see if I can swap its storage space with something lower density and/or lower altitude...

The only good thing about our ridiculous medical costs is that it teaches you to be more careful not to get injured in the first place :p

Thanks for the reminder Simon. Glad you’re ok and it wasn’t worse but it sounds plenty bad.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Well the nice thing about super sharp chisels is that you get a nice, clean cut. So no stitches and they were able to glue everything in place. With my workbench in place, my chisel rack doesn't pose any danger. One smart thing I've done is build a magnetic bar faced with wood -- so all the chisels I'm currently working with go on that bar. I don't leave them sitting on my bench after one of them rolled off my bench many years ago and fortunately missed my leg/foot. Anyway, I thought this accident was weird enough to be worth sharing about. I remember somebody here shared about some go bars flying off and almost injuring them. There sure are a lot of ways to hurt yourself when building guitars.

Simon, you are one lucky duck. Did you go out and buy a lottery ticket right after?

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Simon,
I am so glad you were not seriously injured.

I am not really sure it is "your Mistake" as much as an unseen accident waiting to happen.

My bench is about 3 feet from a wall that has all my frequently used tools. My chisels are
hanging near the center of all my tools with in easy reach.. sharp ends hanging down. I have
thought of building a guard but never have...

You can bet I am going to build it now.

Thanks for the reminder and I am really glad you are somewhat OK.

Hope you heal up soon,
Bob

So glad you came through this with only that injury! It could have been so much worse.

For chisels (and pretty much all my hand tools), I keep a few of those rolling automotive tool chests in my shop. The chisels have tip guards made of silicone rubber. They go in the shallow drawers, like everything else.

In my shop, the main way I hurt myself is by hitting a body part on some cast iron. It seems to happen when I bend over to pick up something I have dropped. My skull must be magnetic.

Glad you’re ok Simon, a tough and expensive lesson. I keep my chisels in a wooden rack in a drawer so no issues there but I’ll certainly do a careful check for shop hazards today. Like Don my most common injury comes from running into cast iron tables or bench corners in my small shop. Fortunately those are usually minor.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

yikes, I am glad you are OK.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Oh boy! I'm glad it wasn't as serious as it could have bee!

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Very, very glad you're OK, Simon!

Thanks fellas ... I got lucky and I know it !!!

Glad it wasn’t serious. I’ve tried to eliminate hazards in my shop, but it just takes a new injury to show me what I’ve missed. I’m always finding new blood with my thin-with-age skin. Here’s my chisel solution. The wood strip on top keeps hands from hitting the edges from the top.

We could probably all benefit from reviewing each other’s shops for hazards.

Good idea, Bob. I've decided to add something similar below my chisel rack.

Also lucky you didn't bleed all over a nice AAAA top-

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Hydrogen peroxide cleans up the blood from spruce. I keep it in the shop.

I use those magnetic bars for some of my chisels, files/rasps too. I like the very sturdy hold they have and the flexibility to change around what I have stored there. I have my chisels pointed down and only on the bottom row (anthing pointy or sharp on the bottom) files and such above. The edges are only a few inches above the bench top so i never reach under them, but should probably mount some sort of wooden bar below for insurance.

I love threads like these for identifying potential issues that I have not thought about before I randomly discover them for myself.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.