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Author: Subject: Power Tools Warning. Please Read! Important!
russbost

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:16 PM Reply With Quote
Power Tools Warning. Please Read! Important!

Holesaws are dangerous – large holesaws are bl**dy lethal!!!!

Ok, I’m usually a bit flippant about power tool injuries, tend to think “well it’s only common sense” - well yes basically it is, but sometimes we all do things without really thinking about possible consequences.

I’m 53 years old & been playing with cars since I was 14 or so, so it’s not as tho’ I’m inexperienced, worst injury I’d ever sustained was one stitch in the palm of my hand over 20 years ago when I managed to stab myself with a screw driver - until yesterday…………………

I was cutting a hole in a floorpan from underneath, as no access from above, using a 3” holesaw - yes, larger than usual, but in this case necessary. I started to drill up from under the chassis so lying on the floor, the guide drill wasn’t very sharp so was using full speed on a mains 750W drill, once the guide hole was thro’ I foolishly just didn’t think & carried on with the drill at full power with the 3” holesaw, it probably only actually needed about 30 Rpm! Next thing it snagged something & was ripped out of my hands smashing me so hard in the face it almost knocked me out – I didn’t know what part of the drill had hit me & was sh*tting myself as to what I might have done – put a hand to my face & it came away literally covered in blood. Legged it indoors & grabbed a towel to staunch the bloodflow & managed to alert my missus (who thank god was in or don’t know what I’d have done) & she drove me to hospital – how she managed not to look absolutely horrified at what I’d done I will never know. At this stage I didn’t know how bad it was, I was thinking maybe an inch or so tear above my lip. I thought just the drill had hit me & split the skin against my teeth. Unfortunately, not so.

The more squeamish might not want to read the next paragraph. Long story short the holesaw had hit me at the side of the mouth & run straight up above my lip & just under the nose, it hadn’t just taken skin off the outside, it cut straight thro’ the flesh above the lip to the inside of my mouth, machined a straight line across the top of my front teeth, actually cutting into the teeth themselves where they join the gum & it just caught the bottom of my nose, it also severed the facial artery, hence the amount of blood. During the doctors examination he actually poked his finger thro’ the hole from the inside of my mouth to the outside whilst checking for bone/tooth fragments b4 stitching it all back together! They had to cauterize the artery b4 they could even start stitching.

The result is I now have about 40 stitches or so both inside & outside my mouth & running along a line about 3” long from below the left hand corner of my mouth to just below the right side of the bottom of my nose. For those of you that know me & already thought I was ugly – well, it hasn’t made me any prettier, put it that way! I look like something out of a horror movie.

I’m not looking for sympathy, what happened was entirely down to my own stupidity & carelessness, I’m actually very lucky it wasn’t a lot worse, I could easily have been blinded, had it knocked me out I would probably have bled to death b4 anyone found me, it could have sliced my neck & the carotid artery instead of my face …………… I just hope that by publicizing this on here it just might make one or two of you think a little more b4 piling in & subsequently mutilating yourselves or, worse, others. Holesaws are amongst the most dangerous tools out there, probably second only to “the tool” being used on the angry grinder, they have no guards or anything to prevent injury, but they only NEED very low Rpm to use them, had I stopped to think about that then when the holesaw snagged it would have done nothing more than jerk the drill which I would easily have been able to hold.

Anyway, I’m off out to the garage to get some work done, can’t sit on my a*se all day just cos I’m mildly damaged!
Take care guys! (& gals!)& keep smiling – something I’m finding a touch tricky at the moment.





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blakep82

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:20 PM Reply With Quote
f'ing hell!
glad it didn't turn out any worse





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BenB

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:20 PM Reply With Quote
Jeez! Hope you get well soon, that sounds very very nasty As you say it could have been nastier though not by much!
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tegwin

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:21 PM Reply With Quote
Ooh.. thats really nasty... It does worry me somtimes when im working in the garage... would anyone one find me if I had an accident?


Play safe kids... and use protection!





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cd.thomson

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:21 PM Reply With Quote
im glad you're in one piece (even if there are stitches holding it together).

i hope you have a speedy recovery.





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andyharding

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:24 PM Reply With Quote
Photos please...





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russbost

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:28 PM Reply With Quote
I did actually think of posting a pic, as a warning,but seriously it's not pretty - wouldn't want to put anyone off their food!!!





I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours. http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1

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l0rd

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:32 PM Reply With Quote
Sorry to hear about that.

I wish you get better soon and not have any ugly scars.

We always need to remember how leathal these things are. Every year someone gets hurt.

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Irony

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:32 PM Reply With Quote
I hope you get better soon mate, and scars can make a man look rugged (or so my missus claims).

I must admit that I try to take care when using power tools but it pays to be careful. The other day my jumper snagged the angry grinder and it all ravelled up and stalled. I was fine as it was -3 and I had 12 layers on. If I had just been wearing a T-shirt?????

Be careful and get well soon!

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whitestu

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:34 PM Reply With Quote
It's easily done! I always use a cordless drill these days for as much as I can 'cos when things go wrong they don't have anything like as much power to do damage.

Wouldn't have the balls to power a 3" hole saw though.

Stu

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stevec

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:39 PM Reply With Quote
Wow that must have put the wind up you!
Hope you get better asap.
Oh and we need pictures as said already.
Steve.

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MikeR

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:41 PM Reply With Quote
one thread that seriously doesn't need pictures!

or perhaps i should phrase it,

"this thread is useless with pictures"

get well soon & look at the tape you can put on scars to reduce the swelling / redness once its started to heal - ask a pharmacist about cica-care.

(if he says he's no idea, ask if he gets the All About Health magazine from AAH then get him to turn to the back page)

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NS Dev

posted on 27/1/10 at 03:57 PM Reply With Quote
ooohhh bu**ger...

Jeez I hope healing is as quick as it can be.

I hate big holesaws but I use 100mm one pretty regularly in steel, and they do take some bracing against.

Hells bells that's one of those injuries where everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

Know yr not after sympathy but please have some anyway!!

Hope yr back on track as soon as poss, without too much scarring hopefully?.





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CRAIGR
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posted on 27/1/10 at 04:14 PM Reply With Quote
No damage to the floorpan i hope after the "Benfleet holesaw massacre"


















Glad you're patched up ok.

[Edited on 27/1/10 by CRAIGR]

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mcerd1

posted on 27/1/10 at 04:22 PM Reply With Quote
and there was me thinking that those things wern't that dangerous
hope you heal up quick
quote:
Originally posted by russbost
I did actually think of posting a pic, as a warning,but seriously it's not pretty - wouldn't want to put anyone off their food!!!

too late for me......

[Edited on 27/1/10 by mcerd1]





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iank

posted on 27/1/10 at 04:25 PM Reply With Quote
That's going to hurt in the morning.
Hope you make a full and speedy recovery.
If you want to look on the bright side it could have been worse.





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Anonymous

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YQUSTA

posted on 27/1/10 at 04:32 PM Reply With Quote
ouch thats bad glad you are as OK as you can be after that and good luck with the recovery.

made me cringe reading that.





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l0rd

posted on 27/1/10 at 04:37 PM Reply With Quote
Can i ask if the part was a budget or a quality one?
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iank

posted on 27/1/10 at 04:45 PM Reply With Quote
If only cutting a lot of holes in aluminium or thin steel it might be worth getting a decent quality punch rather than using a hole saw.





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Anonymous

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omega 24 v6

posted on 27/1/10 at 04:58 PM Reply With Quote
BIG OUCH. Hole saws are as you say nasty bastards when they get loose. Hope you are not in to much pain/discomfort mate.





If it looks wrong it probably is wrong.

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macc man

posted on 27/1/10 at 05:25 PM Reply With Quote
power tool care

Hi, sorry to hear about your accident, similar thing happened to me when drilling a hole in a joist with a mains drill. I got most of way through when the flat bit snagged on a nail. Drill bit stopped but drill continued. Hit me in side of head and gave me slight concussion. I always use battery drills now in similar situations.
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ashg

posted on 27/1/10 at 05:35 PM Reply With Quote
i have had the drill ripped out of my hands before when using a hole saw as you said its all over before you realise what is happening. luckily i was standing and got out of the way. you didn't have a chance under the car.

hope you get better soon.

i know its a bit late now but if you ever pluck up the courage to use a hole saw again put the drill on a torque slip setting like you do when using the drill as a screw driver that way if it snags the torque setting will stop it pulling the drill out of your hands.





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mistergrumpy

posted on 27/1/10 at 05:38 PM Reply With Quote
Bloody dangerous these. I had a hole saw break up and cut a nice curve into my palm.
Another rung on the learning ladder reached there

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zilspeed

posted on 27/1/10 at 05:49 PM Reply With Quote
Thanks for sharing.

We all need to remember that these thigns can happen.

However.....

To all the folks saying that the answer is to use a cordless.
Wrong answer in my opinion.

The correct tool for this job is a drill with an adjustable clutch so it can't deliver any torque over that which you choose.
Used to use one all the time for coring walls.

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kb58

posted on 27/1/10 at 06:01 PM Reply With Quote
Wow, glad you're still here. I absolutely agree about holesaws. The most evil are the fly-cutter type, but even the ones with the teeth round the cutter are bad. The next evil tool is a 1/2" mains-powered drill that isn't variable speed. One of those tried to rip my arm off. Couple the drill and holesaw and as you know, they're downright deadly. Take care.

[Edited on 1/27/10 by kb58]





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