Funny story? Yes, but a painful lesson.

[Indiana wood]

rookie mistake. Don’t ever try and “help” the wood splitter. I have a splitter that came with a four way splitter. I was splitting some ash that was stringy and as the wedge passed I thought I’d “help” speed up the process by grabbing the split and pull it apart. Well that didn’t happen and as the wedge kept going the tighter the damn thing squeezed my stuck finger. I did have gloves on BUT they didn’t really help. I didn’t have anything close to pull it apart and the longer I waited the tighter it was getting. I finally just pulled it out. Damn that hurt. It was bruised and hurt a couple of days. The splitter is on its own from now on

 

[Grizzerbear]

Damn that hurt.

Ouch i bet it did. Kinda off point but gets to the same point. My father use to cut and sell wood when i was little and my mother would run the hydraulic splitter. One day she thought she would real quick spin a round at the last second as the wedge was coming down and it took the end of her middle finger off. So yeah keep your hands outta there. They make short work of hands/fingers.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

I've always been afraid of something like that happening. Luckily it hasn't yet.

 

[Woody Stover]

I consider myself lucky when I get a valuable lesson like that and don't have to pay a big price. I've gotten off easy, several times. Wood-gettin' ain't exactly the safest way to spend your time.
Splitting by hand can be dangerous, especially when you get tired and lazy. I tend to stand up straighter, and so the arc is coming back toward my feet more. I came close to chopping my foot instead of the wood a few times.
But you have to stay on your toes when using a power splitter too. When the splitter is slowing down, straining to get through a tough round, we've all see the split finally explode off the round with a lot of force. I've taken a couple of those in the shin, and it's no picnic. I try to never sit or stand at a 90* angle to the side face of the wedge, where a split can come straight at me if the piece flies apart.
Also, never put your hand or finger between the wood and the splitter rail, or it'll eventually get pinched if you're lucky, or crushed if you're not.

They make short work of hands/fingers.

Yep, gotta be careful when two people are involved. Wood guy gotta keep his fingies outta harm's way, and lever guy gotta watch to make sure he does, and stop quick if he doesn't.
Be safe out there.

 

[paulnlee]

I did the same damn thing a few years ago. Crushed the pinky. When it's in there you're too dumb to reverse it but instead try to pull it out. I'm type 2 and no blood now from one side of the pinky when testing.

 

[Grizzerbear]

My mom was wearing gloves when it happened. The end of the finger was left inside it when she pulled away. I learned my lesson then lol.

 

[spudman99]

Somewhat similar, when splitting last month, I usually have the split sort of wedged between my thigh and the beam, holding it in place till the wedge engages from the hydraulic ram. Well unbeknownst to me my thigh was slightly between the half split and the fixed end of the splitter. Well a nice chunk of thigh skin got wedged between and boy did that hurt. Got a nice permanent scar from that.

Point being -- does not have to be your hands, please be careful with all parts of your body when splitting.

 

[firefighterjake]

Fingers are always kept high and outside when splitting . . . always handling the wood so there is little to no chance of being mashed or mauled.

 

[XmasTreefarmer]

Gotta respect the power of the splitter at all times! And respect the power of the wood!

Every so often I'll start to split a piece and then decide it's not right I'll back up the ram and when the piece hits the log dislodgers and starts to close up I always think I don't want a finger in there!!

Oh so many ways to get hurt with the equipment we use.

 

[weatherguy]

Somewhat similar, when splitting last month, I usually have the split sort of wedged between my thigh and the beam, holding it in place till the wedge engages from the hydraulic ram. Well unbeknownst to me my thigh was slightly between the half split and the fixed end of the splitter. Well a nice chunk of thigh skin got wedged between and boy did that hurt. Got a nice permanent scar from that.

Point being -- does not have to be your hands, please be careful with all parts of your body when splitting.

Especially in the general area of your thigh.

 

[Riddlefiddle]

Those four way splitters are nice. Speeds up the job. Glad your ok.

 

[twd000]

...
Yep, gotta be careful when two people are involved. Wood guy gotta keep his fingies outta harm's way, and lever guy gotta watch to make sure he does, and stop quick if he doesn't.
Be safe out there.

My dad took off the tip of his helper's finger that way. One or both of them wasn't paying attention and he got his finger wedged between the round and the base plate. That's why I believe the same person should hold the round and work the wedge lever. Much less likely to lose track of where your own fingers are, rather than your helper's fingers. Plus the two-man operation doesn't speed things up; you're limited by cycle time. Keep your helper busy feeding rounds to a pile near your feet, and stacking splits while you work the splitter solo.

 

[ohlongarm]

rookie mistake. Don’t ever try and “help” the wood splitter. I have a splitter that came with a four way splitter. I was splitting some ash that was stringy and as the wedge passed I thought I’d “help” speed up the process by grabbing the split and pull it apart. Well that didn’t happen and as the wedge kept going the tighter the damn thing squeezed my stuck finger. I did have gloves on BUT they didn’t really help. I didn’t have anything close to pull it apart and the longer I waited the tighter it was getting. I finally just pulled it out. Damn that hurt. It was bruised and hurt a couple of days. The splitter is on its own from now on

Glad you're okay,log splitters are one of the most dangerous devices ever devised at the hands of man. 100% concentration and awareness is crucial,i've been a first responder when things went bad. Sixteeen year old splitting wood with buddies and severed his thumb,quick action on first responders saved it and it was successfully re-attached,it will be functional with time and therapy.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Don't put your hand in the crocodile's mouth.

 

[Indiana wood]

Don't put your hand in the crocodile's mouth.

It definitely felt like that