Abstract: At approximately 9:00 p.m. on October 28, 1998, an employee had just completed repairs and reinstalled the back side pin machine for Punch Press #6. Punch press #6 was an Owe Bliss 100 ton, full revolution punch press. This press normally ran in continuous mode using type A gate for operator protection. The pin machine provided pins for the double hinges. The employee raised and locked the point of operation guard and put a clip on the micro switch so the press would run with the point of operation gate open. The employee needed the guard open, so he could look through the press and see that the pin machine was operating properly. The employee jogged the press about 12 times to determine that the pin machine was putting the pins in the hinges at the right time. He then put the press into continuous run mode; the press was now making about 90 strokes a minute. The employee noticed a wire that monitors the pin machine was about to break. He was using his finger to point to this wire and was showing a coworker where this wire should be run. His right middle finger got caught in the wire. When the press cycled his finger got pulled into the press and got pinched between the stop post and the upper die. The employee was transported to the San Dimas Community hospital, where he spent less than 24 hours. He received a partial amputation, including bone, of the right middle finger. The employee was not hospitalized.