OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14460430
AMPUTATED,FINGER,WORK RULES,BLADE,UNGUARDED
Event description
Employee's fingertip amputated by cutter head of jointer
Investigation abstract
At 11:45 p.m. on May 1, 1984, Employee #1 was flattening a 1 1/4 in. by 1 in. bo d was behind the cutting head. As he was pushing the board over the cutting head , the board hit a slick spot and moved forward suddenly. His right ring finger c ontacted the cutting head of the jointer, amputating the fingertip. Employee #1 is employed by his brother, works his own hours, and is his own supervisor. He h as been using woodworking tools for approximately 8 to 10 years and is an experi enced operator. During an interview, he explained that for the particular operat ion that he was doing at the time of the accident, had a guard even been availab le for the jointer, he would probably not have used it. There is a self-feeder w hich the company has for the jointer but could not have been used for this opera tion. He also explained that when flattening boards he does not use the fence. I ard, at least 8 ft in length, on an Egan Manufacturing Co. jointer, model #285. t is used only when edging boards. According to the employer, the jointer was pr obably manufactured during the 1950s and the company never manufactured a guard for this jointer. He was making hinge stiles for interior shutters and was flattening the last of 10 pieces of lumber. The jointer was equipped with an 8 in. horizontal cutting h ead with three blades. There was no guard for the cutting head installed on the jointer and there was not one available to use. The employee did not have the fe nce or gauge on the jointer at the time of the accident. He was using his hands to push the board over the cutting head and maintain pressure on the board to ge t an even cut. His left hand was toward the front of the board and his right han
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 23 M
- Nature of injury
- 1
- Part of body
- 10
- Event type
- 2
- Source
- 26
- Occupation code
- 733
- Human factor
- 9
- Environmental factor
- 3
- Task assigned
- 1
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