Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1496313.015 - Kalahari Manufacturing Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Madison Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 2:30 p.m. on October 1, 2020, an employee working as a carpenter for a manufacturer was rip cutting a dado cut into a 36-inch by 2-inch by 1/16-inch red oak board. The employee used a single blade instead of using a dado blade while performing multiple 3/4-inch by 7/8-inch cuts into the board. The employee removed a guard that was equipped with a splitter and kick back fingers because the splitter would prevent the employee from completing the dado cut with one single pass. The employee used his left hand to guide the piece of wood over the blade and a push stick in his right hand to push the piece of wood over the blade. The employee was on the third dado cut when the push stick slipped off the board causing it to ride up on the cutting blade. This caused the board to kick back and fly backwards off the table saw. The forward cutting motion of the saw caused the employee to contact the cutting blade with his thumb. The employee amputated his thumb to the first knuckle and was hospitalized.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Blade, Board, Bypass, Bypass Guard, Carpenter, Catch Point, Caught By, Cutting, Finger, Instantaneous amputation, Kick Back, Knuckle, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Partial Amputation, Push Stick, Safety Device, Sawblade, Splitter, Struck Against, Thumb, Traumatic Amputation, Unguarded, Wood