Today I had my first real accident with a piece of machinery in over 20 years of doing this work. I was distracted and doing something I’ve done probably a million times but it bit me in the ass. While edge joining a piece of maple I managed to nick the tip of my middle finger on the knives. That fingertip is now gone, and although it didn’t hurt in the moment it doesn’t feel so great now. Thankfully, my doctor is a quarter mile away (and is an avid woodworker that has done terrible things to his hands over the years), so I was able to about the ER. He was able to stitch the end of my finger together to reduce the scarring but it will definitely never look the same. Basically the point of this post is to say please be careful! It is hard to not be distracted during this trying time, but you need to stay focused. I am 41 years old and have been a cabinetmaker since I was a teenager, so I am not at all new to this. I’m embarrassed that I made this mistake, but figure if I can use it as a warning to others it can serve some useful purpose. Stay safe out there!