Paul Daniels damages hand in powersaw accident

[Q. Kumber]

Shocking news and I hope the news from the consultant will be good. Paul writes about the accident on his blog:

http://thelifeandtimesofpauldaniels.blo ... s.html?m=1

[Richard Kaufman]

The description is pretty horrifying, however he doesn't tell us what the result is ... did he cut off his fingers? Lose fingers? It sounds as if, even if he still has all his fingers, his sense of touch and movement will be affected. It's all a big question mark.

It could have been much worse, either way, and I'm sure we all wish Paul the best.

[Larry Barnowsky]

I hope Paul has a full recovery. As a radiologist, I see so many bad injuries from table saws, snow blowers, wood chippers, and log splitters. As a woodworker myself, I am very repectful of the danger of the table saw. I use the radial arm saw whenever possible which IMO is a safer tool. When I do use the table saw I am keenly aware of the hazards of this tool. The keys to safety using the table saw are goggles for eye protection and using one or more hand grip type pushers to feed the wood. This way even if you slip, the pusher hits the teeth of the blade before your fingers can.

Larry (still with five fingers on each hand)

[erdnasephile]

1+ I've taken care of many table saw victims and have come to believe that table saws deserve enormous respect and attention.

This: http://www.sawstop.com/how-it-works/ makes a whole lot of sense.

[IrishMagicNews]

This is awful.

We only had Paul & Debbie over in Dublin at the beginning of December and they were in sparkling form.

Wishing Paul a speedy recovery.

Brendan

[IrishMagicNews]

I was just chatting to Les Williams (the guy who looks after Paul's Masterclass's etc) on Facebook. he stayed over with Paul last night and said he is good spirits. They won't know the outcome until the bandages come off on Tuesday.

B

[KirkG]

It is interesting to note Larry that the entire world of woodworking has the exact opposite opinion as to which of the table saw and radial arm saw is the most dangerous.

Of course all tools can be dangerous, if used improperly and without taking advantage of all appropriate safety measures and guards.

If you haven't seen them yet, you should look into the Grip Tight Magnetic Feather Boards by Mesa Vista Design. They will do an even better job of protecting your fingers in most applications that even a push stick.

[Dave Klaiber]

If you haven't seen them yet, you should look into the Grip Tight Magnetic Feather Boards by Mesa Vista Design. They will do an even better job of protecting your fingers in most applications that even a push stick.

Amen! I have 4 of the Grip Tights that I bought several years ago for use on both my tablesaw and jointer. They run about $35-$40 apiece and are worth every penny.

[AJM]

From today's BBC News website: -

BBC News

Cheers

Andrew

[Richard Kaufman]

The Guardian reports that his first finger was cut off, but they managed to reattach it, and that the end of his third finger is gone. The saw missed his second finger.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/ja ... off-finger

[erdnasephile]

I'm glad he's on the mend, but it sounds like there may be a bunch of PT/OT ahead. Is Paul right or left handed?

[IrishMagicNews]

From memory right handed. Saw him to the Pen Tapping stunt (I think from Martin Gardner's book) and if memory servers right he was using his right hand.

[Ian Kendall]

He was writing with his right hand when I saw him.

[erdnasephile]

Good--I'm glad the injured hand is his non-dominant one. Here's best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[AJM]

From yesterday's Scottish Daily Record: -

Paul Daniels' Cut & Restored Fingers


And on a related (however somewhat bizarre) note: -

Paul Daniels v. The Krankies

From the above, two questions have been left unanswered: -

1. It's not exactly clear from any of the reports what damage PD did to his finger(s).

2. Just what do our friends across the Pond know about Scottish cult entertainers, The Krankies?

Cheers

Andrew

[Richard Kaufman]

The piece in the Guardian states clearly that his first finger was cut off and reattached, and the tip of his third finger was cut off and is gone.

[Meir Yedid]

Shortly after the accident I spoke to Paul and after the back and forth kidding around him trying to do my act he explained that the only permanent damage will be to the tip of his left ring finger which was severed and was not reattached.

The detailed facts about the accident can be found on Pauls blog at:

http://thelifeandtimesofpauldaniels.blogspot.com/

Meir

[Richard Kaufman]

From Paul's blog:
"I thought I had best bring you all up to date with the situation. Yes, it was awful but turned out to be better than I thought it was going to be. The story about my forefinger being sewn back on was a bit of an exaggeration. True, the saw did rip through the top knuckle area of my left forefinger but it never came right off and it is already healing up."

[IrishMagicNews]

Link to Paul's update on the injury. http://thelifeandtimesofpauldaniels.blo ... mours.html

[Q. Kumber]

Just what do our friends across the Pond know about Scottish cult entertainers, The Krankies?

The Krankies are a husband and wife act, Ian and Janette. Janette is short and in the act she plays the part of Jimmy, a wayward and cheeky schoolboy who keeps interrupting Ian.

They started in the clubs and appeared in the TV show The Wheeltappers and Shunters Club in the early 70s. This TV show ran for six seasons and was higely popular at the time, featuring many of the acts that were playing the notorious working men's clubs in the north of England. The first three series of the TV show are available from amazon.co.uk

The show is where Paul got his big break, as did many other UK acts. The DVDs probably will not play on US players but probably will on your computer.

The Krankies later developed a family audience following and are still working today.

[Richard Kaufman]

Region 2 DVDs will play on your US computer, but it will require you to change the region selection, and you can only do that five or so times before the choice becomes permanent. I think there are plenty of hacks to get around that.

[Ian Kendall]

One bypass is to install a second DVD drive in your computer (which is not hard) and set that one as region 1 and the other as region 2.

[AJM]

From The (excellent) Daily Mash today: -

PD in trouble with The Magic Circle...

Cheers

Andrew

[Richard Kaufman]

That would be funny if he wasn't missing the end of his third finger.

[Pete Biro]

The bandages are off. He has feeling in all fingers and all is healing well. The left ring finger lost about half an inch. He's possibly going to fit a prosthetic tip if he feels he needs it.

[Richard Hatch]

The left ring finger lost about half an inch. He's possibly going to fit a prosthetic tip if he feels he needs it.

That should be about right for a small silk or cigarette vanish...