Abstract: On June 30, 2008, an employee was working as a laborer, who had worked for approximately 3 months helping the partners assemble and install wire and ornamental fences. At the time of the incident, he had been instructed by the employer to clean and cut 20 foot lengths of 1.5-in. square steel pipe down to 10 foot lengths. The employer stated that he instructed the employee to clean the pipe either before or after cutting as was the normal practice. The employee was operating the Ellis Mitre Band Saw, Model Number 1600. He set up the machine and product and was wiping down sections of the pipe with an oiled rag to clean the pipe. He did this as the horizontal band saw was cutting the pipe. The rag got caught in the saw blade and pulled the employee's right hand towards the blade, amputating the tip of his right index finger just below the first knuckle. The employee was not hospitalized.