I have been out of the professional machinist's career for awhile now so my hands
look less weathered now. They do still carry the scars of having worked in the trade.
Left hand tells two stories.
The middle finger has a crooked fingernail and a scar back to the first knuckle.
It was crushed in a machine and split open back to that first knuckle.
When they stitched it up a stitch went through the root of the fingernail damaging
it for life.
The ring finger has a spot on the end of it with no fingerprint ridges.
That was the result of momentary contact with a sharp rotating edge part.
I thought I had been burnt until I saw my finger tip sticking on the vertical ways
of the machine. I had clipped it off to the tip of the bone but it grew back.
The right hand isn't quite as dramatic.
Middle finger, second knuckle has a straight scar on it.
That was the result of a stringer chip whipping out of the machine.
It hit and again I thought I had been burnt. When I gathered the courage to look
at it, I bent the knuckle and got a first view of a living knuckle joint.
But the pay way great! :
Rick
