# Warning: I almost lost my left eye and came close to killing myself



## Oldiebutgoodie (Jun 26, 2012)

This is one of those almost tragedy, warning stories. I have several hand held power tools which I try to be extra safe with, but the only mounted saw I have is a 10in. miter saw which I use for a lot of my cuts. I thought there would be no problem cutting a 4x4 for some fence posts. I did it several times without a problem. The problem is that the saw nestled on the cutting plate was too small to clear the cutting guard without some extra help from me.

I did one with no problem, but on the second piece, something got a little wacky and the saw and the lumber got sideways and walked the end of post until the strain was too much and something snapped, and the whole thing exploded in my face. The 4x4 (about 12 in. long) was no longer on the saw. Something knocked my glasses sideways and I stood there trying to count my fingers and limbs and testing my eyes to see if they were still providing an image. By some grace of God I was wearing glasses with poly-carbonate lenses. There was a chip out of the lens right at the point were my eye was. I had also been hit rather hard on my forearm. I found the 4x4 on the other side of the garage with the end chewed to pieces. 

Obviously, I had lowered my Darwin points by about half. Problem is, I'm not completely sure about what happened. I'm sure I was exceeding the capacity of the saw by taking the blade cover up a few inches. Just before the thing snapped I remembered the blade riding up to go off on an angle, almost like it was bent. I don't know if the drive assembly was bent. 

I'm just trying to do a little triage here. I'm aware of the kick-back problems with a table saw. I thought I was safe with miter, but could anything have added to the problem like a dull blade? Is there anything I should check for to see if it's in good working order. Feel free to start any comments by "You stupid aff you".


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

Always stand to the side, never directly in line.
johnep


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It sounds like you didn't hold the 4x4 down well enough and cut too fast. If the fence on the saw was less than 3 1/2" high it would also be prone to roll over the fence if the blade grabbed.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Glad you're ok.

David


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## Tenn Turner (Sep 17, 2017)

Thank God it wasn't any worse. Glad you came out of it with nothing but a soiled pair of skivvies. I'd seriously check the blade and guard to make sure everything's copacetic before you use the saw again.


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## Tree Hugger (Sep 1, 2011)

Kudos for wearing polycarbonate lenses, they beat standard CR-39 plastic by a mile with impact resistance.
I have used Trivex for several years which has similar characteristics .


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