that time my Festool saw almost took my finger off - close call on a cabinet job

Man, I was installing these custom cabinets in north jersey last month, using my Festool track saw to trim the face frames, and the damn thing slipped just a hair cuz the clamps weren't tight enough. Nearly sliced right through my thumb, blood everywhere, had to slap on a tourniquet and call it a day - lost a full $800 in billables waiting at the ER. I'm up in zone 5 here, cold as hell, but that adrenaline kept me warm. Saw a similar story on r/woodworking about a guy with a table saw mishap, reminded me how fast it can go wrong. Anyone else had a near-miss with power tools on finish work? FML, but glad I still got all 10 fingers.

jesus, that sounds like my nightmare with the circular saw last year, same slip and i was bleeding like a stuck pig.

glad you walked away from it, bro. i finally got my setup dialed in with better clamps after a few close ones.

ugh, hate hearing these stories, makes me double check everything.

use a saw stop if you can afford it, saved my hand on a bad cut once.

tighten those clamps with a torque wrench, set it to 20 ft-lbs for track saws.

festool tracks are slick, but yeah, one slip and you're done.

always wear kevlar gloves, cheap insurance.

i second the sawstop, worth every penny for cabinet work.

damn, north jersey winters make hands cold and clumsy too.

someone in the contractors network fb group posted pics of a similar accident, scary stuff.

those er visits kill your schedule, i lost a whole week once.

never rush the setup, that's when it bites you.

i check my clamps twice now, learned the hard way on trim.

frustrated with these tools sometimes, they fight you.

use push sticks even on smaller cuts, habit saves lives.

pe firms buying up shops means more pressure to cut corners, hate it.

lol, at least you didn't end up like that guy in the essential craftsman video who nicked his leg.

bro, that musta sucked, hope the thumb healed ok.

how long was recovery? asking cuz i had a similar thing.

these stories keep me safe, thanks for sharing man.

yeah man, close calls suck but they teach you.

we all been there, stay safe out there.