That one Tuesday last fall when my domino joiner ate a chunk of walnut and I nearly lost it

I was building a custom entertainment unit for a client in Portland, and my domino cutter grabbed a knot wrong, split the board clean in half. The piece was $180 of black walnut I'd just picked up from the mill, and I had to stop and just stare at the bench for ten minutes. Has anybody else had a day where one dumb tool mistake cost you that much material?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.dylan20d ago

Honestly, that hurt to read. I feel you on the walnut thing. Tbh I did something similar with a table saw a few years back, except the wood was cherry and the mistake was me trying to cut a piece that was too short without a push stick. The board kicked back and took a chunk out of my garage drywall and my ego at the same time. Ngl I just sat on the floor for a solid 15 minutes questioning my whole life.

bennett.evan20d ago

Three years ago I was trimming a board on a miter saw and the cutoff piece somehow caught my shirt sleeve and pulled my hand right into the blade. Lost the tip of my left index finger. Still have the scar and the phantom pain when it gets cold.

patricia_gonzalez19d ago

So you're telling me the wood just decided to break itself AND your wallet at the same time? Classic power tool betrayal. I swear, sometimes I think the machines just get bored and want to see us sweat.