Last Sunday I tore enough skin off of my middle knuckle (I had to peel the skin off of the metal I hit) and smashed my nail to the point I could not use my right hand for a while. I jumped up and down and stomped around and paced back in forth in the garage for about 5 minutes, hurt like hell. Several days before at work I pinched my left little finger in the chuck of the sawsall, the end of my finger looks like the rings of a tree, then a couple days ago I sliced two fingers between the fingers and the palm on the inside of the hand. Finally today I can use my hands enought to work but I hate to see what happens. As I get older I don't heal as fast , I think I can do as much as a 20 year old but the reality is I can't, very hard to accept. I never wear gloves but maybe there is something to these mechanics gloves. Getting old sucks and I don't think I am alone, I'm just venting because I lost about a week and that makes me madder than the sore hands.
Uhm you sound really careless or accident proned... Wear gloves, I know they've saved my hands from getting pinched and cut several times!!
It sounds like you need a week off. Guess what! Its Christmas!!! Take some time to heal, slow down and thank God you dont have arthritis in those hands yet. Hug a good woman, tickle the kids, and enjoy life.
You are having a rough go of it,but thats just part of it.The gloves do help but still get in the way on smaller work.You find a mechanic that hasn"t busted a knuckle or smashed a finger and you found a one of a kind thing.Hurts alot worse when its cold too.
I agree with you on the getting old. I came home for the holidays and my wife is working me like a galley slave. I added on to my shop her a storage building and 2 sheds to get stuff out of my shop. Between hitting my fingers with a hammer,sliding off the roof, running into a joist while climbing the ladder, I am sore myself. Arthrithus has set in on my hands also. I take medication for that. As soon as the swelling goes down I will finish. I had a couple of young bucks over here helping and all they want to do is talk on cell phone and take a break. I feel for you brother!LOL
im sorry to say you need to slow down a little , most of us are only born with 8 fingers and 2 thumbs , i know sometimes im all thumbs , but just take the time and wear protection and try keeping things inn good order merry christmas
FWIW I have a million pairs of different types of gloves around the shop. Same with the safety glasses and earplugs. Why? Cuz I'm more likely to use the damn things when I don't have to chase them all over the shop. I think I'm the only guy in the world based on photos I've seen but I wear heavy leather gloves when I use a grinder. Those have saved my hands a million times. One day I wasn't thinking and wore my mechanix gloves to grind. After I gouged through the fat layer in my skin I realized I'd grabbed the wrong pair. Looking at the scar as I type. oh and PS don't be dumb like me, get stitches if you cut the hell outta yourself. It'll scar less and who knows if there's any crap in the wound. I shoulda gone to the doctor , dunno what I was thinking. PPS Now that I'm old I take ibuprofen every day I work in the shop. It's unbelievable how that stuff takes the aches and pains away. I have hands like a girl so they get sore.
At 50, I'm already starting to feel the pain.. Seems like just yesterday, I was a young teen with lots of spunk.. Strong hands, strong arms and strong legs... So, wtf happened??? So now, the doc put me on "shots" that I gotta give myself once every 2 weeks... Been on those for the last 7 years...
I have not heard anyone mention the fact that other things happen when fingers get mashed,,,, MY SOCKS GET WET.
I'm getting old too and learning to slow down is tough. I recently threw out some old tools that were worn out and prone to slipping. I remember when I was about 16 and it was so cold that my fingers were numb. I was tightening the last bolt installing a water pump fan and the wrench slipped. My hand scraped down the radiator and shaved the skin off all the knuckles. I didn't feel any pain until the blood started oozing out.
I make it a point not to wear gloves when using something that has a spinning wheel on it. I have seen a hand "degloved" and I would much rather have cuts and scratches than have all the skin on my hand forcibly removed! But I do try and wear them when ever else I am working. I hate going through multiple tubes of superglue
My fingers have been sore the past few weeks. But I've got a bunch of work done on some old trucks. I guess it's a trade off, happens when we start to get old. Never used to be a problem years ago.
Sorry to be my "normal self" here but no simpathy here from me atleast you got 2 hands. Not being a hater just being me. All this from a guy that only has 1 arm! Good luck and hope you get better!
Slammed my finger in the door a month ago, Had to take a drillbit and manually put a hole in my fingernail to releave the pressure. Four times. Hard to make a living when you can`t work. The nail finnaly fell off a couple days ago. That makes 7 lost finger and toe nails over the years. This one is by far the worst looking one yet.
my dad's old uncle glen had a favorite saying that was - "gettin old aint for sissies" now days I understand!
After working on cars and bikes for a living for the last 40 years, it looks like I've stuck both hands in a meat grinder. Just part of the job. I think the only folks that have worse looking scars than mechanics are welders. Larry T
friends look at my hands to see if i've been working on projects - if i've been working, it looks like i stuck my hands into a blender & i'm not accident prone - got tender skin
I wear doctor gloves under mechanic gloves, unless a power tool is involved. Cheaper than soap and easier for emergency pee breaks. And I always have to pee after I slide under the car and get positioned just so.
Be careful with the ibuprofen, my daughter ended up in the hospital for a week from it, seems it's not too good for your kidneys. I use the Ringer brand of mechanics gloves, they hold up fairly well and are more comfortable than the mechanix brand IMO.
at 60 I was thrown from the back of a moving truck, (alcohol was involved) at El Dora. Sounds like you are tougher than a pine knot
We have a senior citizen center in town. The neighbor lady is ninety. She will not go to the center. She calls it the moan and groan. It depress her to hear everybody complain about getting old. She says there is only one alternative.
"If you're not bleeding at the end of the day, you haven't worked hard enough."...or so the saying goes. Ibuprofin and all NSAIDs are dangerous drugs.... All the more so because they work so well at pain relief. I only have one kidney and it's in trouble because of that stuff. be careful.
The Jalopy Journal
