Husky splitter got me

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staplebox

Member
Jan 2, 2008
211
Eastern CT
So I recently scored 5 free truck loads of black locust that was cut down at work. Didn't really cost me much in gas, I just took the truck to work instead of the car.

Borrowed the father-in-law's Husky 30(35?) ton splitter today to get to work on the nice large pile. Got about a third of the way through when I f'd up. I had just, I thought, split a piece when I reached over the top to pull the pieces apart. This Locust fights you every inch so I kept the wedge moving forward. My glove got caught in between the split and the end of the bolt that holds the wedge on. I felt it pinch but couldn't get my hand out, or let go of the drive handle, before it pulled my finger in and crushed it. Two hours later I got out of the ER with:

-A broken finger tip bone
-3 stitches to hold the skin back on
-my nail taken off and then stuck back on - to cover the growth of a new nail they say

Now the free wood, and my stupidity, has cost me:
$100 - ER copay
$38 - prescription copay (antibiotics, 800mg ibuprofen, and Percocet ;)
$14 - in new gauze and bandages
??$$ - Wound care and orthopedic follow up they recommended

I am attaching a picture for those interested, because I am that kind of guy.
 

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sorry to hear about your misfortune.
That is a painful and expensive lesson learned.
 
The one thing that has always concerned me is a split popping out and hitting me in the crotch and dropping me like a stone, but thankfully that has not happened.

I can say though I have hooked my hand like you did but managed to not get crushed.

Wish you a speedy recovery. I just hope you did not hurt the Huskee's feelings when you cursed at it once you figured out what had happened :ahhh:
 
Sorry to hear about your accident. They happen very quickly even when you think your doing everything safely. I caught my thumb between a large round and the wedge of the splitter last week, results were not as bad as yours but still very painful and will most likely be loosing the fingernail.
 
Sorry to hear about that staplebox...best wishes with a full and speedy recovery.
 
Forgot to mention the nurse who gave me my new tetanus shot. She asked me what happened and then slipped in that she is a pellet burner. Ordered early from pelletsales.com and got 3 tons delivered for $700. I told her that when I burn all this locust I may replace the wood stove with another pellet stove. Probably not though. Free wood burns best.
 
staplebox said:
Forgot to mention the nurse who gave me my new tetanus shot. She asked me what happened and then slipped in that she is a pellet burner. Ordered early from pelletsales.com and got 3 tons delivered for $700. I told her that when I burn all this locust I may replace the wood stove with another pellet stove. Probably not though. Free wood burns best.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but at least you get the Percocet!!

I have had a few near misses on the splitter, but thankfully was able to let go of the lever before it got really bad. I do worry about those pieces that tend to explode apart and come flying off the splitter. That doesn't seem to be a problem with locust, though...

Be careful out there!!

Chris
 
I was a cnc machinist for 15 years and the one thing that I stress to anyone working with moving machines is NEVER where gloves,loose sleeves or anything that can

a. limit your sense of feel and dexterity
b. get caught and pull you into the machine.

Much better to get a blister or some callouses on your hands or at very worst get pinched and rip some skin as you pull away than get a glove or sleeve caught and get pulled into the machine and get "crunched". I most DEFINITELY feel your pain. Just be thankful it was not as bad as it could have been. I hope this accident wont turn you sour on your splitter. Take your time and be safe.
 
^ that's the way I was brought up too...never wear gloves cause the moving equipment will grab 'em and bite your hand. I was forced into wearing gloves over 20 years ago when my wife kept jumping when I touched her bare tits or other sensitive areas. Handling wood sucks all the moisture out of your bare hands....that's how I discovered corn huskers lotion too.
 
I had the exact same injury to my left pointer and the exact same fixerup by the ER. They called the last bit of finger "bone soup". Your pictures look eerily similar. Right down to having to remove and then restitch the fingernail back on. In my case I dropped a 750 lb brush hog onto that hand from about two inches up.

Two plus years later and my fingernail is only somewhat back but that just means I open beer cans with my right hand. Your finger tip will hurt like heck for many months and you will begin not using the finger to do things like open car doors without even thinking about it. Then the finger tip goes numb and you forget about it.

Well except for that oddball nail looking at you. Luckily we still have our fingers.
 
staplebox said:
So I recently scored 5 free truck loads of black locust that was cut down at work. Didn't really cost me much in gas, I just took the truck to work instead of the car.

Borrowed the father-in-law's Husky 30(35?) ton splitter today to get to work on the nice large pile. Got about a third of the way through when I f'd up. I had just, I thought, split a piece when I reached over the top to pull the pieces apart. This Locust fights you every inch so I kept the wedge moving forward. My glove got caught in between the split and the end of the bolt that holds the wedge on. I felt it pinch but couldn't get my hand out, or let go of the drive handle, before it pulled my finger in and crushed it. Two hours later I got out of the ER with:

-A broken finger tip bone
-3 stitches to hold the skin back on
-my nail taken off and then stuck back on - to cover the growth of a new nail they say

Now the free wood, and my stupidity, has cost me:
$100 - ER copay
$38 - prescription copay (antibiotics, 800mg ibuprofen, and Percocet ;)
$14 - in new gauze and bandages
??$$ - Wound care and orthopedic follow up they recommended

I am attaching a picture for those interested, because I am that kind of guy.
Click to expand...
That smarts
 
This should be a sticky post for reference by anyone considering a full detented auto cycle valve, and why double detent is a bad idea.
(not referring to the two handed two spool valves. Those keep both hands away, but could get someone else)

Had this been detented, it could have been really bad.......
Not a good day, but scary to think how it could be worse.

Glad you are ok.

kcj
 
Good call on the gloves. I don't usually wear them. Not for safety reasons, I had never thought of them getting snagged, but just because I don't usually wear them. In this instance my father-in-law was helping with the splitting and said something like, "Where's your gloves, don't want to get cut up." He's a lineman for the electric co and is usually a tight a$$ about safety and stuff, so I put them on because I didn't want to argue about it. But, I'm still the idiot who got it caught in there. I'll leave them off in the future.
 
Maybe it's me, but I feel the pinch on the glove about a nanosecond before it gets ugly and let go of the valve. I've gotten the glove caught, but never the finger (knocking on wood). I agree that wearing something loose around high speed rotating machinery IS a bad idea, but I will keep on using the gloves when splitting. I will agree that a double detented valve is a bad idea. YMMV as always.

Chris
 
struggle said:
The one thing that has always concerned me is a split popping out and hitting me in the crotch and dropping me like a stone, but thankfully that has not happened.

I can say though I have hooked my hand like you did but managed to not get crushed.

Wish you a speedy recovery. I just hope you did not hurt the Huskee's feelings when you cursed at it once you figured out what had happened :ahhh:
Click to expand...

Man, two splitter accidents on the same forum page this morning. Be careful out there peeps!

Also funny you mention this struggle. I was thinking the same thing the other day...not 10 minutes later a split bucked out of the splitter (first time in probably 6-8 cords of wood) and hit the stump I was setting on. Luckily about 4 inches below the family jewels. Now I'm wondering if I should bolt a steel 'cup' to the stump for a little added protection!
 
Some folks are crazy - it was NOT the fact that he was wearing gloves that did it it was where his hands were located. Things like this happen when we get moving too fast and we are not paying attention. Not picking on the OP here but this is truth. AND loose clothing around mast moving equipment is indeed a no-no. Splitters are not fast moving by any means. Every time I start reaching too far or sticking my hand where I know it should not be I get that hand that slaps me upside the head.

And as for the crotch shots - I have escaped a few near misses on those too. Always hoping that the stubborn log is going to just give gently. You really have to know your machine. These days, I give up more often than not and flip the log around when it gets stubborn.
 
Ouch, that'll heal up pretty qwick i see alot of injuries like that in the er, mostly from car doors though. My buddy smashed his thumb in a hydrolic post pounder on labor day. The only thing that saved it was he had a glove on kept it together. 6 pins and a cast which he just got off he can move one joint they say might be fused
 
You were lucky it wasn't a lot worse. Friend of mine did the same thing this year. He needed surgery to rebuild his hand. Thankfully it looks like you will still be able to count to 10. ;-)
 
I was splitting some locust in Sept. and started to get carried away with going as fast as I could. I pulled an 18" round off the splitter before the it was completely split and it snapped on my finger like a mousetrap. I couldn't pull it apart myself. Luckily my wife was close by and pried the locust apart enough with a BFS so I could get my finger out. All I got was a black fingernail. I don't know what hurt worse, my finger or her laughing her ass off at me.
 
One place I now insist on wearing steel toed shoes - horizontal splitter, or even by hand. Especially when it's real cold. Those splits landing on a slow moving foot hurt.
 
I'm with Redox---- keep the gloves- I have several right handers around here with missing fingertips, but I've still got all the fingers!! Surprising how fast you can react when you have to. With a 6 way wedge on one of my splitters-seems like one of the fins is always trying to nibble me.

Best wishes, WOODRAT
 
I agree with the glove users - IMHO the certainty of cuts and splinters from handling the wood is greater than the risk of damaging yourself by crunching your finger in the splitter, especially if you are reasonably careful.

However, I'm also fussy about the gloves that I wear - I don't wear the clumsy leather "one size doesn't fit many" work gloves. Those may be cheap and long wearing, but they are ill fitting and make you clumsy by having extra material hanging off the end of your fingers...

Instead I wear the pricier "technical" gloves that come in actual sizes, and have a spandex style back that makes them fit snugly and precisely on your hands. Better feel, and you can tell where your fingers are. They don't last as long, but I don't really care...

Gooserider
 
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