02/04/2021
For any aspiring wood workers or carpenters out there. Let me tell you about the extreme importance of wearing eye protection while operating equipment.
On Tuesday night I was milling some walnut slabs in preparation for some cutting boards that I will be making soon. One of the pieces that I was running through the table saw had a crosscut on the bottom of the board that I did not see. Which resulted in a 1"x1.5" piece of walnut coming loose from the slab. The saw blade caught that piece of walnut and sent it hurtling at my left eye at close to 300mph. I always wear safety equipment; eye protection, gloves, hearing protection, and a respirator. However, I pulled my safety glasses up onto my forehead because they had gotten fogged up and in that split second that piece of walnut I mentioned earlier hit me directly in my left eye. Causing a Hyphema.
A Hyphema is an impact injury. Your eye starts bleeding inside of itself and causes temporary blindness, and could potentially lead to vision loss.
I got lucky the eye doctor said I should be able to retain my vision, but I am now higher risk for glaucoma.
Moral of the story is to always wear the appropriate safety equipment. If your glasses fog up do not remove them and continue. Stop the saw and fix it appropriately.
