Abstract: On March 8, 2013, an employee was working in the maintenance shop of a firm that manufactured bags for dog food. He was a temporary employee. The employee was operating a W.F. Wells Model Number W-9 horizontal bandsaw. The employee was attempting to trim off a piece of 4-inch (100-millimeter) steel angle approximately 2 feet (0.6 meters) long. The employee was standing directly in front of the saw to operate it, when he saw that he was unable to position the piece correctly. When the entire piece except approximately 2 inches (50 millimeters) was extended out the back side beyond the blade, the bandsaw's blade was sitting on the piece instead of about 1 inch (25 millimeters) above it. Since the locking pliers he was using, such as Vise Grips, were not engaged, the piece could not be properly positioned for the cut under the saw blade. Holding the steel steady with his right hand, the employee reached with his left arm for the operator's panel to raise the blade. The employee intended to depress the CUTTING HEAD RAISE button, but he pressed instead the SAW BLADE START button. The blade activated and dislodged the 4-inch (100-millimeter) angle in his hand. The employee's right thumb was caught in the moving blade, and the tip was amputated through the nail bed. The unused portion of the bandsaw's 1-inch-wide (25-millimeter-wide) blade was not guarded within 8 inches (200 millimeters) on the left side and 4 inches (100 millimeters) on the right side of the cam roller guides. There was a 10-inch (250-millimeter) cutting area between the cam roller guides. Although two other employees were nearby, there were no witnesses. The employer later guarded both sides of the unused portion of the blade and installed an elevated neck guard around the START button to distinguish it from other similarly shaped or positioned buttons on the operator's panel.