The Little Things Can Really Hurt

Some times the smallest things can cause us a lot of pain. and as woodworkers one of those things are splinters. On and average day in the shop I know I must get at least three or four, and some time as many as ten, depending on what type of lumber I am working with. The worst one I thing I ever got happen just the other day. I was fixing a piece of treated lattice work by my front porch when I picked up a splinter in my little finger. It managed to go in at old angle right up under my finger nail, now I still haven't been able to extract it with my first aid kit that I keep handy for extracting stray little wood slivers. I am hoping my body will expel this on its own, if not I am afraid I may have to go to the ER, because; my finger is turning red and is stiff and numb. I sure wouldn't want it to get infected and have to be treated in the hospital. Now that may sound extreme, but it wouldn't be the first time for me, and while I was there the ER doctor told me its not as rare as one might expect.

Some wear gloves while handling boards, but I always found that awkward and a little dangerous while running a machine, although a friend of mine told me he use his golf gloves, so I tried mine and found they where comfortable and safe to use, now a just need to get one for my right hand.

I keep a of small bandaid box in my tool box, and in my van, and in them I keep I pair of good tweezers, a magnifying glass, a few large upholstery needles I sharpened, some neosporen, a razor blade, and some bandaids. I found that with these few items I can safely get most splinters out of my hands. For the more stubborn ones I soak them in warm water with baking soda that cause the wood to swell and most time pop them right out. If I get one of them multi splinter kind that we all hate, I use yellow glue rubbing it all over the area and letting it dry then peeling it off and with it the splinters.

Well I sure hope everyone is staying safe so remember to keep the saw dust out of your eyes
Joey