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Can't get splinter out of finger. Help!


Lungimsam

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Every time I do a set up on my basses I get a metal sliver in my finger while playing afterwards.

The kind you can feel, but not see.

Any one know any tricks to getting it out?

 

I have tried:

Duct tape

Tweezers

Meddling around with a pin

Magnifying glass- but cant see it.

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Every time I do a set up on my basses I get a metal sliver in my finger while playing afterwards.

The kind you can feel, but not see.

Any one know any tricks to getting it out?

 

I have tried:

Duct tape

Tweezers

Meddling around with a pin

Magnifying glass- but cant see it.

 

I get them all the time since I work in a machine shop. I fine point needle is all that ever works for me. Sometimes I have to dig a hole many times bigger than the actual sliver just to extract it [cursing]

 

What I want to know is why you get these after setting up your bass? :-k

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I don't know why, but my guess is one of two things:

1. Slivers from screwheads or from cheap feeler guage after running it between string and fret.

2. Fragments of steel wool used (unbeknownst to me) by a tech in the past.

I would never steel wool a fingerboard. Maybe my tech guy did in the past.

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Are you sure it's a sliver and not just dry skin? Dry skin from exposure to certain metals and woods can make your skin feel like it's got a sliver or splinter in it to the touch but there's nothing physical there.

 

I had a wood splinter in my foot when I was a kid that I got from a pool deck, because it was wet and I decided to shuffle along the boards. Ended up with a splinter in the middle of my foot, while on vacation to cottage country PEI. My mom was dating my now Stepdad at the time.

 

Poor Bas*ard, I was screaming so loudly in this cottage surrounded by other cottages in a quiet country area that the other cottage go-ers thought they were murdering me. My soon to be step-dad outside with three cigarettes in his hand, trying to relax, waiving to the other guests while my mom dug around my foot with tweezers.

 

Good times.

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The only tweezers that were ever worth a darn were made with two flat strips of stainless steel, connected at the butt end with a cylindrical spacer. Then the two tapered halves were squeezed together, then a very sharp point was ground in the two joined tips. This will dig out the smallest sliver. They used to be sold everywhere. I heard they went out of business. I bought one like it with an magnifying glass attached at a swap meet. The guy had dozens. It was branded as a Fiskars, you know the scissors people.

 

Good luck finding one.

 

These look similar: http://www.herrschners.com/Product/Tweezers+with+Magnifier.aspx?keyword=ca+thefind , but they don't appear to have had their tips ground to a point.

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Every time I do a set up on my basses I get a metal sliver in my finger while playing afterwards.

...

 

You think the sliver is coming from the new strings? Is it possible you impaled yourself with a string end? (not likely, though as big as bass strings are)

 

Maybe you need a better brand of strings.

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Are you sure it's a sliver and not just dry skin? Dry skin from exposure to certain metals and woods can make your skin feel like it's got a sliver or splinter in it to the touch but there's nothing physical there.

 

I had a wood splinter in my foot when I was a kid that I got from a pool deck, because it was wet and I decided to shuffle along the boards. Ended up with a splinter in the middle of my foot, while on vacation to cottage country PEI. My mom was dating my now Stepdad at the time.

 

Poor Bas*ard, I was screaming so loudly in this cottage surrounded by other cottages in a quiet country area that the other cottage go-ers thought they were murdering me. My soon to be step-dad outside with three cigarettes in his hand, trying to relax, waiving to the other guests while my mom dug around my foot with tweezers.

 

Good times.

 

I do have eczema on my hands, so maybe there is something to that.

Remember, when pulling a splinter out of bottom of foot - pull as fast as possible. Slowly pulling makes it hurt - alot! I found this out when pulling out a nail in my foot. Tried to pull slow and it was terrible. My friend yanked it really fast and I didn't even feel it when it came right out.

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Victory!!! It is out, whatever it was. I can play again. I am so happy. I don't know why this happens so much.

I scrutinized my fingertip under magnifier for 20 minutes today in the sunlight and could see nothing. I used the pin trick and started lightly pulling up areas of suspect skin (the areas that hurt when I ran my finger over it).

Whatever was in there seems out now.

 

 

Thanks for the great tips everyone! I will keep them in mind the next time this happens. Hopefully others can also benefit from all the wisdom and tips you imparted in this thread!

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