Stupid accidents

Ok, I bet y’all have NEVER done this! A couple of years ago I
was frantically trying to finish a prongwork job and I had the
ring in the ring clamp just filing away. My barette needle file
missed the ring and I forcefully stabbed the file through my
jeans one inch into my thigh. (Those suckers are really sharp!)
I was really bleeding badly, hadn’t had a tetnus shot in years,
and had to drive myself to the nearest doc in the box. The doctor
, (who I do work for) was ROFL, walks into the room with a chart
, shaking his head and says “hmmm… female, caucasian, 35 years
old. Stabs self with file…” Moral of story: be careful with
sharp tools, even those that aren’t designed to cut you. P.S. My
beading tools are labeled “Wendy’s lethal weapons”.

Wendy Newman
ggraphix@msn.com

Hi there - I’ve stabbed myself numerous times the way Wendy did,
only in the fingers of my left hand and thereabouts. For every
little spot (they all healed okay) where I stabbed myself, I now
have a little black dot down inside the skin. My doc told me
that since I work with silver, the black dots are all microscopic
grains that travelled inside the cut with the file and didn’t
wash out - and oxidized inside the skin. It can be cut out, but
he said don’t bother. Anyone else have these little trophies?

Laura

Okay…since we are telling really dumb stories I will admit to
the not the most violent but cerainly my stupidest mistake.

I needed to engarge the holes in several pre-drilled pearls. I
drill the first one with a small diamond drill bit when it pops
through the end of it and goes maybe an 1/8" into my finger. I
was holding it stupidly…my fault of course. I only had one
more hole to drill out so I figure grit my teeth and bear it.
Start on a second pearl…of course you guessed it, held it in
the same damn way…drilled another hole right into my finger.
Same spot, much deeper…just in case the lesson of haste makes
waste wasn’t clear, the blood wells up quickly and soaks up into
the hole…staining the pearl from the inside.

This happened at the end of October and the hole is just getting
hard to spot now… You know that sound Homer Simpson makes “Duh”

BTW…my doctor says if you tend to stab yourself frequently
it’s not a bad idea to get the tetanus booster every 7-8 yrs
rather than waiting 10. Can’t imagine why he mentioned it to 'ol
scar finger…that’s me.

Karen

Karenworks@mediaone.net

Yes, I have a little black dot tattoo,too. Only mine came from
having a pencil in a coat pocket. I was carrying a large
portfolio on a very windy day, and the wind hit the portfolio
just right to stab the pencil a good half inch into my thigh.
OUCH!

Jill
@jandr
http://members.tripod.com/~jilk

You bet!!! The fingers on my left hand are all tatooed with
silver filings… I kind of felt bad about them until I saw Wendy
Ramshaws’ - she is a honored English Jeweler -got an award from
the Queen a few years back - she had the same tatoos on her left
hand too… Those pesky slips with saw and drill…
Professional hazard

:>)
Joan

I have several small black lines from sawing into my fingers
that the doc says will probably fade over time but doubts they
will go away in the near future. Also, and I almost forgot about
this a big black dot on my big toe where a sharp little pair of
needle noses fell off my coffee table and went throught my
barefoot big toe nail and just about popped out the front of the
toe…I let my guard down because I wasn’t in the studio and boy
did that hurt (vast understatement). Gosh folks, there are so
few people I can share things like that with :wink:

Karen

Karenworks@mediaone.net

Don’t feel stupid Jill. I have TWO lead pencil “dots” in my left
forefinger and middle finger that have been there so long I
don’t even know how they got there. Probably something stupid I
did, not an act of God like yours.

Sol K.

OOOh those nasty Boo-Boo’s hahahah

Did ya ever do the one where you are sawing something and the
blade breakes and snaps into your hand, I did that one once it
went from my upper palm into my middle finger about an inch or
so. And of course it was aginst the teeth of the saw blade. so
it hurt like heck getting it out.

Here is one for ya, My tips of my finners crack often and i see
pink inside. I need to have callaces on my finger tips so I
don’t use much lotion. When they crack bad and hurt with
chemicals or working, I put super glue in the crack to seal it.
I have sone this with cuts and they heal nicly. May not be the
nest bandaid but it works for me

Rick

Wow, this is fantastic. I thought I was the ONLY person in the
world with black dots inside her fingers! Now when I’m out, I’m
going to be looking at other people’s hands. It’s like, well, a
secret society!

Laura

I too have one of those tatoos in my palm, in my case it is
Phoenix, AZ pavement acquired due to an unfortunate mix of
youthful stupidity and a fast motorcycle.

Am I the only one who does this? I have on several occasions
been working a yowah nut or fire agate on my lapidary unit,
looking for the fire, only to realize, generally after I am done,
that I have managed to grind off some fingernail and/or a portion
of my fingertip.

Don’t feel stupid. I have a reaccuring red mark on my forhead
that reappears each time I bend over to look for something by
the Steamer and it takes about a week to heal and two weeks for
my ego when I have to see customers and explain. Not that the
peice of aloe taped to my head looks any better. Isn’t this
business fun? Ron http://www.kreml.com

   Here is one for ya, My tips of my finners crack often and i
see pink inside.  I need to have callaces on my finger tips so
I don't use much lotion.  When they crack bad and hurt with
chemicals or working, I put super glue in the crack to seal
it...

Rick - There is a product that does this. I think it is called
“liquid band-aid”. When I used to work outdoors, the tips of my
fingers would crack and bleed in winter, and we always used this
stuff. It don’t think it would be as harmful as superglue, if
your body were to absorb a certain amount of it.

You might also try using “finger cots” - which are rubber tips
which are rolled up finger length on each digit - like
individual finger “gloves”. Most pharmacies sell them and
they’re cheap. I don’t know if they would interfere with “feel”
in jewelry making or pose other risks. I would assume that you
would need to keep the injured finger out of the way and
protected while it heals. Good luck.

Mona

Am I the only one who does this? I have on several occasions
been working a yowah nut or fire agate on my lapidary unit,
looking for the fire, only to realize, generally after I am done,
that I have managed to grind off some fingernail and/or a portion
of my fingertip.

I think everyone who works opal freehand has had the same
experience. Diamond wheels are great for removing
fingernails…down to the bed if you’re not watching! But at
least they don’t ‘eat’ your skin the way silicon carbide wheels
do.

I just did an inventory, and the index fingernail that I took
1/3 off with some Mexican opal matrix has grown back nicely, and
only one thumbnail is slightly grooved …and very short. Not
too bad :> Carol


| Carol J. Bova @Carol_J_Bova | |
http://www.bovagems.com/ Faceted Emeralds, | | Tourmalines,
Garnets, Aquamarines & more! | | P.O.Box 5388 Glendale, CA
91221-5388 USA | | Sponsors of The Eclectic Lapidary e-zine
| | http://www.bovagems.com/eclectic/ |
‘’

Rick as i understand super glue was developed as a surgical
glue. i have been using it for years to seal up cuts at the
bench. also stuck a broken saw blade in my palm doesn’t feel
good but have you ever sat on one and stuck it in the old
gluteus maximus goes in real nice but will relly get your
attention when you pull it out. Frank

I’m a knifemaker (which led to jewelry). I was once soldering a
guard on a knife and when I stood up, I noticed a strange orange
glow from in front of my face. I had a full size torch going in
one hand and was trying to put out my hair with the other.

I also had a knife (unsharpened) get away from me on the buffer.
It hit me in the thigh narrowly missing the artery. I drove
myself to the hospital and got 8 stitches. I believe buffers are
the most dangerous thing in any shop.

Terry Johnson