EEYYYOOOWWW: a practical lesson learned the hard way

done both of those though my spill wasn't as spectacular as yours. also the usual scalpel cuts to fingers trimming all the while knowing and telling yourself "i'm going to cut my finger."

i get white poster paper and put that down on my work surface with tape. when it gets to mess y i replace it.

I use it to stiffen my "water" before I paint it, and I go through a lot.

I glued my lips together once. I was trying to unscrew my replaceable nozzle cap with my teeth and guess what. Won't do that again.

Steve

GMorrison

Or, build a 1/4" dam around the bench with holly wood, pour in a gallon of CA and let it set. maybe add some beer coasters.

Now THAT'S a fine idea!  

Or, build a 1/4" dam around the bench with holly wood, pour in a gallon of CA and let it set. maybe add some beer coasters.

My fingers have completely recovered. The ego will take longer.

Last night I spent some time trying to chisel/scrape the mass of hardened CA/hand wipes off my workbench. What a mess. I thought about using my beloved old Record #3 bench plane on it, but I suspect that would wreck the blade. I thought, for about ten seconds, about my belt sander, but I figure breathing the dust therefrom would do in me, my two cats, and the rescue party. I'll try a carpenter's chisel. The blade is easy to sharpen.

Charles, there's no prohibition against linking to other sites. We do it all the time.

Ouch ouch ouch.  Reading this reminded me of a section in Ed Tosti's epic build log of his HMS Victory, where he keeps his CA glue in a custom-made (of course) housing:

http://modelshipbuilder.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?1655.30#post_1870

I don't do anything nearly this custom . . . I just tuck the open bottle of CA inside a 2" roll of blue tape laying flat on the workbench.  It ain't perfect, but I figure it will catch the bottle before it gets all the way over, giving me a chance to right things.

Glad you're feeling better, Professor!

PS--I hope it's not a breach of manners to link offsite?

WHen I read your first few paragraphs and read that you spilled the glue, my first thought was "Oooh, that's going to burn!"

Been there, done that.....

When I was a kid, I had an uncle who was a butcher.  He gave me some wise advice which I remember to this day:   "Never try to catch a falling knife!"

Hey G;

   I did that once and thought the fan blew my little piece of tape away .Then my landlady at lunch wanted to know " how come you got a piece of paper glued to your leg ? " I wear shorts a lot .

jtilley

Thanks for the sympathy, gentlemen. Unfortunately there's no known cure for clumsiness, senility, or stupidity.

Glad to hear your wounds are healing nicely, J.

Hey, Proff !

   Since you wrote this I really did a boo-boo ! I rented a nail gun and proceeded to nail my shoe to the floor ! The safety was faulty. The rental place not only gave me another tool to use , but bought me a new pair of shoes .Thank goodness no flesh was damaged though .Just totally embarrassed.

 I was showing a neighbor lady how to use the thing .Well, I am sure she thought I was a dumb Klutz but didn't say it . The main thing is ,there was no serious damage to your person .How could we get along if the Proff. was off duty ?

Medical update, a week after the Stupid Stunt. All but one of the fingers have healed completely. The right middle fingertip is still a bit tender, and has a tiny scab on it. I'm sure the scab will be gone in a few more days.

I was able to save the workbench cover. There are still a couple of blobs of CA on it that need to be scraped (not sanded!) off. No serious damage to tools or paint jars. I really was lucky.

Man that is an aweful story.  I am sorry to hear that happened.  I tell you what though.  That is a lesson we can all learn from.  Thanks for sharing that and I hope your fingers are doing ok now.

Steve

I have glued the occasional finger to a model I was working on (balsa and ply, RC models mostly). Never managed to glue any other bodily parts, thank goodness.

There are people out there who wish I would glue my lips together! 

How in the world did you manage that, anyway?

Hey !

How the heck did you glue your lips together ? I have glued an eyelid ( trip to the emergency room there ) because a bottle top shot off when I was under it ! I was fixing a ceiling fan light . I don't do  that anymore either .It is dangerous stuff , but I love it anyway !

Been there and done that, too. I was jabbing a needle into the clog and was inadvertantly squeezing the bottle, and sprayed glue all over my hand. I had the foresight to keep my fingers open so I wouldn't stick to myself, but it did get quite warm as it cured.

What? Wait... you glued your lips together by accident?!? How the heck did you do that? LOL!  

I'm glad you came away from that relatively intact. And I'd wager that anyone who has used CA for any length of time has done the same thing to one degree or another. When it happened to me I just happened to have a bunch of dry wipes handy plus there was nothing on the desk where the puddle ended up. Now there were other times where I didn't come away so clean. Several times one or more of my fingers have been glued together and then there was that time that my lips were glued together. Sometimes my wife probably wishes that they still were.

That Sir ! Is why I work mostly on glass ! Although the main surface is a 46 year old piece of Corian  .Remember that stuff ? Get it stained or really gross and just wet sand it down with Automotive  , Wet or Dry  sandpaper ( wet ) and it's good as new and can be buffed to a high shine too .

   Great for a work surface. Now , take care of them thar fingers fella .They's the only uns ya git !

As I understand it, CAs work by catalyzing water that's in the atmosphere. I've seen ads recently for a couple of new brands that don't require water. One of them, Nextabond 2500, is reviewed in this month's Fine Woodworking magazine. The reviewer loved it - for wood-to-wood joints. I may pick up a bottle.

All sorts of crud is now stuck to my bench. I'm going to be sure it's really dry before I try to get it loose. Maybe I can save the board cover.

DOH !!!  But I learned something from all this- I didn't realize CA got really hot when mixed with water!  I will be constantly aware of that now!

Yikes, that doesn't sound like fun at all.

After reading this, at my end I will be treating my CA bottles with a new-found respect.

We mess with some potentially dangerous stuff. All it takes is to stop thinking for a couple seconds. Scares me cuz I don't think all that well in general any more.

Thinking of the Sarge in Hill Street Blues, let's be careful out there. And hope your fingers/hands heal quickly, J.

I like the Playdough idea. Anything that will keep the bottle from falling over.

Just took the band aids off. No souvenirs from last night except one tender red blister on the right middle fingertip. The CA left on the other fingers peeled off naturally. I was indeed lucky. 

Thanks for the sympathy, gentlemen. Unfortunately there's no known cure for clumsiness, senility, or stupidity.

From an AULD PHART :

Hey Till !  Mooaan,Mooaan .OOOH that Hurts .Ouch , Darned ,Fiddlesticks and others I won't say in your defense ( not for civilized ears ! )Been there done that .There's still some ship parts glued to my old workspace  .Super-Glue sure gits aggressive when wet don't it ?

I had a similar accident jtilley so you're not alone.  mine happened with paper towels that actually started smoking from the heat.   I wraped the bottom of the CA bottles with  " play dough " .  After a few days the Play dough hardened and shrunk a little and now my glue will not fall over and I have reusuable CA glue bases.

The wicking action of the wipes spread the CA thin and allowed more surface area to contact...the water in the cleaner in the wipes. Instant accelerated bonding. You're lucky, CA can easily cause 2nd and 3rd degree burns. It may still be worth it to have your fingers checked by a doctor.

Keep a rag handy nearby for future spills of any sort... Dry of course. It sounds like there was some sort of chemical interaction between the CA and whatever was in the baby wipes to cause that burning. Sounds like your worst  injury here is a bruised ego... Which is far better than a puncture wound and potential infection... I think some medicinal Brandy or other spirit might be in order to aid in recovery from this mishap ;)