Shrapnel wound while splitting with maul.

[pyro_John]

Wednesday afternoon splitting some rounds, pounded stuck maul with sledgehammer, fragment of metal from maul hit me in the thigh. Profuse bleeding but the wound looked clean. Called GP and practice nurse glued the wound back together with superglue. So far so good. Was wearing trousers when it happened and Thursday morning (after laundering blood out) realised there was a cut in the trousers. Leg felt even more sore and couldn't straighten it.

 

All day at Chichester A&E Thursday, X-rays showed metal fragment embedded about 5 cm deep in thigh muscle - as deep as the bone but to one side. Was supposed to be having surgery to remove it Thursday evening, gowned up ready for op when they cancelled it due to a priority broken hip which had arrived.

 

Saw consultant Friday morning and decided now to leave it alone as incision would have been 6cm or so and I'd have been nobbled for a few weeks recovering. Old soldiers with embedded shrapnel?

 

Other than wearing armour I don't know how to stop it from happening again. Anyone know of similar accident or is this a one off?

 

Splitters beware.

[Lucan]

What make and how old was the maul? I wouldn't be using it anymore by the sounds of it

[Logrod]

What state was the rear edge of the maul in before the accident? I've seen it happen before where they have been all bent over out of shape and a bit fragmented when they should have been ground back smooth

[Fentiger]

Maybe because you hit the hardened end of maul with hardened sledge? We had it drilled into us at school woodwork lessons not to hit two hammers together for this very reason!

[treequip]

 

Other than wearing armour I don't know how to stop it from happening again. Anyone know of similar accident or is this a one off?

 

Don't hit steel with steel

 

Buy a hydraulic splitter

[se7enthdevil]

yep i heard that too. mythbusters tried it but couldn't get it to happen but that saying must be around for a reason.

[pyro_John]

I bought the 3.5kg maul and 4kg sledge new about 15-16 years ago from a French supermarket. There have been a few flakes pop off before so it was getting a bit raggedy on the corners. I'll only use it for splitting (as in swinging it) now, not also as a wedge once it's embedded in the wood.

 

Assuming input energy of 10 m/s for 4kg sledge propelling 4g flake of metal with 10% of kinetic energy transferred to flake would result in flake speed of 100m/s (about 330ft/sec) which is a bit over half of 12 foot pound 22 air gun pellet muzzle velocity (605ft/sec or so). To go in so deep may have been going above 100m/s.

 

I've an old Hakki Pilke 1X but couldn't be bothered to get it out for half an hour before tea. Also the wood was poplar rounds and it was splitting dead easy - and I was enjoying it - not worth getting the tractor out for. Just had this one bit with a small knot it it ....

Edited September 11, 2015 by pyro_John
later posts

[Steve Bullman]

This is why metal wedges for felling are no longer used

[scbk]

Ouch

 

 

Good reminder to always grind off any mushrooms

[TurtleWoods72]

Try a wood grenade..

 

At least if you get shrapnel in your leg again you can say it's from an exploding grenade.

 

Sounds more hardcore.