An employee was moving empty wooden wire spools with an all-terrain forklift. After placing one spool on another and backing the forklift up slightly, he noticed that the fork's tips had stuck to the spool and gapped at the bottom away from the mast. He stopped the forklift, left the operator's position, and dislodged the forks. The forks fell into place and pinched his right hand, amputating the thumb.