# The dangers of CA...graphic pic...beware



## MesquiteMan (Jul 29, 2007)

I thought I would post this gross picture to remind folks how bad CA can burn you.







I get CA on my fingers all the time without any problems.  Sometimes it burns a little but has never done any damage until last night.  I had just used accelerator to clean the blank (a trick I learned for dealing with oily woods).  I applied my first coat of CA while using a blue paper towel to smooth it all out.  Well, the CA soaked through the paper towel and stuck to my finger.  No big deal, it has happened many times before.  I guess I got more on than normal and together with the accelerator, it really started to burn.  It ended up making a large blister that popped right away and the skin came off with the ca/paper towel chunk.  Talk about painful.

Be careful when using CA for a finish.  It WILL severely burn you if you have the right combination.


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## Verne (Jul 29, 2007)

Curtis, I think I posted something similar a while back. Thankfully not as severe as your experience but diffinetly enough to make me more careful when using accelerator.
Hope it heals well and you are back to snuff soon.
Regards, Vern


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## johnnycnc (Jul 29, 2007)

Oh my!Sorry to hear about this.
I knew it got hot,but not flesh
smoldering hot.[:0]
I will use a bit more caution.
Thanks for sharing your painful experience.


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## micah (Jul 29, 2007)

Ouch! Been burnt many times myself, but not that bad!
What I usually do now is put my index finger in one of the little plastic bags that the pen parts come in and that way it _usually_ won't go through onto the finger. At least most of the time....[B)]


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## papaturner (Jul 29, 2007)

OUCH!!!!!!


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## barrels (Jul 30, 2007)

You said it "right combination" two times now I have been burned when touching the CA to certian woods.  No pressure on the CA just touching it.  I always keep some debonder near by and boy do I relate to the pain until I got the wiper debonded man did it sting.  The good news is it will heal ...use lots of neosporan.... don't forget get back on the horse as soon as possible.

Eric


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## barrels (Jul 30, 2007)

You said it "right combination" two times now I have been burned when touching the CA to certian woods.  No pressure on the CA just touching it.  I always keep some debonder near by and boy do I relate to the pain until I got the wiper debonded man did it sting.  The good news is it will heal ...use lots of neosporan.... don't forget get back on the horse as soon as possible.

Eric


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## Penmonkey (Jul 30, 2007)

Yup it's bad stuff that CA. Nice up-close picture of your finger.


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## wudnhed (Jul 30, 2007)

New scar for your finger print..........sorry Curtis


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## Ligget (Jul 30, 2007)

Ouch! Thanks for the reminder to be more carefull![xx(]


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## TBone (Jul 30, 2007)

Ouch.  Thanks for reminding me to be watchful.  It seems to me to burn worse if accelerator is involved.  Does CA melt those plastic bags like it does rubber gloves?  The rubber melted with CA is hard to get off when it's melting  DAMHIKT  HOpe it heals quickly Curtis


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## Jim15 (Jul 30, 2007)

I didn't know itcould burn you that badly. Hope it heals quickly. Thanks for the reminder to be careful.


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## bkc (Jul 30, 2007)

Ouch! Being new to CA finishing, what's the best way to avoid getting burnt? Here all I thought I had to worry about was getting stuck to the lathe..... [:0]


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## Blind_Squirrel (Jul 30, 2007)

> _Originally posted by bkc_
> 
> Ouch! Being new to CA finishing, what's the best way to avoid getting burnt? Here all I thought I had to worry about was getting stuck to the lathe..... [:0]



Like some of the others here, I use one of the little plastic bags to apply the CA with.  Unlike the others I fold up a paper towel and put it inside the plastic bag.  My finger is protected by the bag and paper towel.


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## IPD_Mrs (Jul 30, 2007)

CA won't normally burn or melt the plastic bags that the pens come in.  I use them all the time for applying glue to the barrel before inserting to the blank.  BUT, that never gets hot like it does on a paper towel.  I have seen paper towel burst into flames it gets so hot.  Here is what I do when applying CA to a blank....

I was taught to use half a sheet of paper towel.  After soaking though one time, I said heck with it and use a full sheet.  I get four applications per sheet, so figure three sheets per pen minimum.  Another thing that has cut way down on the CA getting real hot is my lathe is turned down to 500rpm when applying CA.  As soon as I am done turning the blank I switch the speed to the lowest setting for sanding and finishing.  After having a rather nice piece of amboyna crack on me a few days after tuning, I switched to the lower speeds and have not had a problem since.  

Hope you heal fast and look at it this way, you are wiser from the experience.
Mike


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## Dario (Jul 30, 2007)

I had something similar happen to me twice...not a pleasant experience especially since you cannot get away from the heat source (it is stuck with your skin!!!).  I would say one of my experience is far worse than that...and I am a lot more careful now. [B)]

Hope you heal fast but knowing you, you can take this easily


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## Chasper (Jul 30, 2007)

I kept getting my gloves stuck to the back of the folded up Viva pad I was using to apply BLO/CA.  Pulling the glove away would usually rip out a little hole in the heavy vinyl disposable glove.  Since I'm a seriously cheap, it bothered me to break out a new glove every time I apply CA.  To be safe I really needed a new glove for every coat.
So I wrapped a little standard tan masking tape around the finger tip of the glove to patch the hole, and noticed that doen't stick as bad.  After doing that a while I've turned to just wrapping my fingertips in masking tip before applying BLO/CA....works great.  

Gerry


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## kent4Him (Jul 30, 2007)

Curtis, if you are going to hurt yourself, I am not going to send you your kits.


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## TellicoTurning (Jul 30, 2007)

Curtis, That just looks painful... I got tired of getting stuck to my kits and work with Ca, so have taken to using gloves regularly so only thing I loose is the finger tip of the glove.. now I'm more likely to get my finger into the spinning scroll chuck or jabbing myself with the wire on my bottle brush as I clean the inside of my pepper mills or game calls... so far this week I've only drawn blood 3 times.. CA makes a pretty good bandage for the little nicks and cuts..


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## gerryr (Jul 31, 2007)

[:0]OUCH!


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## rd_ab_penman (Aug 1, 2007)

Been there! Done that! Now wear surgical gloves!


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## Dario (Aug 1, 2007)

> _Originally posted by rd_ab_penman_
> 
> Now wear surgical gloves!



Easier said than done in Texas.  Maybe okay for Curtis since he has an airconditioned shop but not me.


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## NancyLaird (Aug 1, 2007)

> _Originally posted by barrels_
> 
> ...use lots of neosporan.... Eric



Be careful, everyone, with using Neosporin.  According to my dermatologist, approximately 50% of the population is either allergic or develops an allergy to Neosporin.  Both my husband and I did so; mind was so bad that the infection and swelling provoked 3 weeks worth of steroids.  Hubby's was just about as bad.  If you develop an allergy, it is because you are allergic to nickel and/or other metallic elements in the medication.  If so, you can't use Bacitracin either.  Ask your doctor for a prescription for Bactroban (or the generic equivalent).  Sometimes Silvadine works too.  But watch the injury for any swelling, blistering, or excess redness and itching when using Neosporin.

A word to the wise.

Nancy


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## wizical (Aug 3, 2007)

I think everyone should wear gloves when working with this kind of stuff, can save you from many things


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## PatrickTaylor (Aug 3, 2007)

I did the SAME THING last week!  Ouch!  I was RUNNING across the shop for the acetone. I think it was the wood/CA combination.


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## Bill Baumbeck (Aug 4, 2007)

Curtis,

I personally donâ€™t think the posting of the picture of your boo-boo was really necessary.  Your written description and warning would have sufficed. 

I hope you never get your you-know-what caught in the zipper of your pants and feel the need to photographically warn people of the damage that could do!

BB


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## Kalai (Aug 4, 2007)

Hi Curtis, Ouch!  I hope it gets better soon. I was using CA and a drop of it flinged up and passed the gap between my safety glasses and and my face and landed right on my eye, I held my eys lids open so it would not get stuck but I had a drop of Now dried CA on my eye, when I got to the ER the Dr. said the drop of CA was gone, most likly when I was blinking and washing my eye out, but when it came out of my eye it took part (a very small part) of my eye with it, leaving a pot hole so to speak.  The Dr. said it would heal with no problems and it did, thankfully it was only a small drop of CA.  USE CAUTION AT ALL TIMES WHEN USING CA
Oh ya I glue my fingers too but not too bad.  Aloha

Chris 
Kalai


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## TBone (Aug 4, 2007)

What kind of gloves are you guys using?  I use nitrile gloves from Harbor Freight, but if you get enough CA on them they will melt on to your fingers.  DAMHIKT


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## mdburn_em (Aug 4, 2007)

I use a strip of wax paper behind my paper towel.  
CA has a hard time sticking to it, and it won't get through to your fingers.


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## penstool (Aug 26, 2007)

Hi folks, from NZ. For what it's worth, I'm told that CA glue only has strength in the "pulling" direction. It is weak in the shearing direction. So to release forefinger from thumb...slide them apart. I haven't tried this but that is what I got from our local turners association president.
Denis


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## Proud_Poppa_of_2 (Dec 31, 2007)

> _Originally posted by Bill Baumbeck_
> 
> Curtis,
> 
> ...



I beg to differ.  Pictures bring the story home.  I remember watching a safety film in shop class when I was in 7th grade.  It showed a variety of accidents, including a fellow lose his thumb on a shaper.  We actually saw it fly off his hand, or, at least, that was the cinematographic effect.  The film's climax showed another fellow taking a slender table saw kickback projectile to the gut.  It went right through him.  We all learned our lessons.  Now, some (let me do the math) 38 years later, I can still recall those pictures from the film.  They were far less pretty than Curtis' finger, but they may have saved my digits, or even my life.

By the way, can I get your permission, Curtis, to download your picture, enlarge it and reprint it for my personal use?  I want to hang it in my shop to remind myself of the potential dangers of CA glue and I don't want to infringe on your copyright.


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## R2 (Jan 5, 2008)

I've done that - Twice! Oh well I do work in a Special School![:I][:I]


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