I Almost Lost Three Fingers Building Our Van
It happened because we were rushing.
The aftermath of misusing power tools
You know that feeling, when you just need to get something done before you have to stop.
Well, that’s how I almost lost three fingers.
Let’s run the clock back.
Progress on the van had been slow.
That’s ok, but we just wanted to finish this one task: the flooring.
We had been stuck on it for too long — the hybrid flooring was in, it was all looking good, we just needed a bit of trim to finish of the edges.
We’d already sourced some stair nosing for the sliding door trim, but we just needed trim for the rear doors.
Our stair nosing trim for the sliding door of the van
But we couldn’t find the right trim for the rear doors.
Vans need a lot of custom pieces, and this was no different.
This task probably seems easy for a lot of people, but we’d never done it before. So it was just a lot of sorting through all the options to find the best solution.
I’d called about 10 different Australian steel and aluminium companies.
We’d even done some trigonometry to calculate the exact angle and size of what we thought we needed.
This was exactly a piece you could get from Bunnings.
Calculations for the hybrid flooring trim, thanks to trigonometry
We eventually found a company who could make custom trim For The van.
But it was going to cost too much.
And we realised there was a simpler solution that had been right in front of us — using the left over trim from the sliding door.
So, we decided to see we could make it work (of course, we probably should’ve just done this in the first place).
We measured the space and worked out what we had to cut off. Unfortunately, all we had was a blunt hacksaw and an ancient jigsaw that had seen better days to do the cut.
It was painstaking, but we persisted.
Really, we should’ve just ducked down to Bunnings to pick up a new hacksaw or jiggy. Hindsight, ey!
Eventually, the trim was trimmed.
But when we tried to fit it in the van, it was still the wrong size.
We’d measured wrong! Turned out we still had to take about 2mm off for it to fit flush.
What was that old saying about measuring twice and cutting once?
It was approaching 7.40PM and getting dark at this point.
This timing matters because we have noise regulations in Victoria. The EPA dictates that power tools are prohibited after 8PM.
It was a time crunch before it was tools down.
So, we decided to set up the angle grinder.
And this is where all the mistakes started to really add up:
1. We’d never used this angle grinder before – what were we thinking?!
2. We were rushing – never a good idea with power tools
3. It was getting dark – so visibility was getting poor
4. We’d forgotten to have dinner – we were starting to get ‘dungry’ (dumb + hungry)
5. I had limited safety gear on – just a mask, glasses, and headphones as ear muffs
I cringe to say this – because what was I thinking – but I was using the arms of my baggy jumper (the one in the picture) as gloves.
And Time crept on.
It was 7.52PM. I remember because we had eight minutes to grind off the 5mm. And we were counting down every second. Just to get it done and feel some sense of progress.
So, with the angle grinder on, I was hustling, constantly asking Peter for time updates to make sure I would come in under time.
It was actually funny… until it wasn’t.
I was rushing so much that my right hand pulled the trigger of the angle grinder before my left hand (gloved with my jumper) had a grip.
The angle grinder sucked my fingers and jumper into the cutting wheel.
When I finally released the trigger, all I could do was stare at PB.
It was the moment where time stands still.
Where you don’t feel pain yet because of the adrenaline and shock, but you don’t know how bad you are hurt yet.
The jumper was stuck in the angle grinder, and I wasn’t sure if my fingers were too.
The left sleeve of my jumper after the near miss power tool accident.
I’m getting chills thinking about this as I write it.
I honestly didn’t know if I would see my three fingers when I brought my hand out of the jumper.
But when I slowly brought my left hand out, I could see I’d been lucky.
My jumper was jammed in the blade, sucked in by my mistake. But my fingers were intact.
All I had was a few slight burns where my hand had grazed the grinder.
Looking at the pictures, it’s scary to think what could’ve been.
It was just so stupid.
Trying to save a few minutes could have cost a whole lot more.
And It was ALL Just so preventable.
No one goes into these situations thinking an injury like this could happen. But it could have.
The next few days, whenever I picked something up, or used my hand for something in my daily life, I felt this whole new level of appreciation. I was so grateful that things hadn’t turned out the way they easily could have.
I learnt a huge lesson.
Safety first, Second, and third.
Eek, a really close call