I bet that we've nearly all had mishaps while working on our various projects. Injuries, mistakes, etc.
What's the worst thing that's happened to you in the workshop?
Ken
I bet that we've nearly all had mishaps while working on our various projects. Injuries, mistakes, etc.
What's the worst thing that's happened to you in the workshop?
Ken
Technically it was in a bedroom not a workshop but I electrocuted myself whilst making a lighting dimmer. Probably the worst thing that's happened to me, I was literally shaking for the following 2 hours.
Wow - scary. It doesn't take much amperage to stop one's heart. Glad you're OK.
Ken
I had a very similar experience. Electrocuted myself on a standard household 110V circuit. Attachment 3019Quote:
Originally Posted by Workshopshed
The electrical shock was less than a second long, but I was psychologically "shocked" for hours. You can actually get PTSD from electric shocks. Here's an example case report: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Following an Electric Shock.
A story they told when I was an apprentice at Dowty was of two chaps running a very large lathe that machines aircraft undercarriages. The decided to go for lunch before tightening up the bolts on the counterweight. When they came back they started up the lathe without checking. The weight went through the roof, across a walkway and back down thorough the roof of the adjacent building. That was where they did etching so it had large baths of dangerous chemicals. Luckily no-one got hurt that day.
Also at Dowty whilst we were learning to machine, I smashed up quite a few ceramic tools but my fellow students managed to smash a 4 in diameter face cutter from a horizontal mill. One also implanted a cutter into the top of their work and to make things worse proceeded to wind down the knee if the mill so that it was literally hanging by the cutter, work and vice. An instructor stopped them before they wound it off the bottom.
OK, that's two for electrocutions. I'm so paranoid about electricity, that I've (thus far) managed to avoid getting zapped.
When I was building my airplane, I did manage to cut myself rather severely one day while smoothing the edge of a hole I'd just made in an aluminum panel with a holesaw. I was using a red Scotch-brite pad (great stuff, BTW) and foolishly wasn't wearing my heavy leather gloves. The edge cut right through the pad and a good way into my fingertip. In retrospect, it's clear that I should've gone in for stitches, but I just washed it out thoroughly, taped it up, and got back to smoothing that hole.
Every time I go down the line at an airshow or car show, I'm always thinking of how interesting it would be to examine the cars and planes with Luminol. Every project is covered in blood, but only the owner knows where!
Ken
I was living in Texas at the time (Dallas area), and it was during one of the hottest and driest part of the summer. I was outside the garage doing some fabrication work (cutting, welding and grinding) since I wanted to keep the grit away from my machine tools.
It was a bright, windless summer day (over 90°F) and it hadn't rained in weeks. What was once a nice lush, green lawn between the garage and house had long since turned to a dry, crunchy carpet that barely covered the sandy soil.
While I was attempting to be mindful of my surroundings as I worked, a few stray sparks from the angle grinder got into the tinder box formerly known as the lawn. I wasn't aware of it until the dog started barking very excitedly and I picked up the smell of dry vegetation burning. As soon as I turned around, I saw this huge patch of charred ground, edged by a few wisps of smoke, growing ever larger and racing toward the house. Yep, a grass fire.
I managed to safely put my tools down, grab the garden hose, and douse the flames before they reached the house. The patch of charred ground was within a few feet of the house...major pucker factor on that one. Needless to say, there were some words of admonishment spoken when SWMBO arrived home shortly after.
There were a couple of upsides to this:
- There were no sand burrs to be found in that area for the rest of the year. The dog was constantly picking them up on her paws and tracking them into the house. A rather nasty thing to find with your bare feet.
- The lawn in the charred area came back even thicker and greener the next year.
Lesson learned...when doing any kind of spark-generating work around dry vegetation, thoroughly water down any place where you think a spark has even a remote chance of landing. And keep the hose close.
Well I had an accident with my left arm, my shirt arrested in the lathe plate. My luck was in high gear, and the engine locked.
In short I have a scar with suture 32 points. :mad:
I was cutting a small (1" cube) piece of wood on my table saw, from a very short piece of 2 X 4, too small to hold. Wound up slicing the edge of my left thumb.
Wrapped it up with a clean rag and drove myself to the Emergency Room.
The surgeon complimented me on making a very smooth cut on the bone. I said that's what happens with a sharp 12" carbide toothed blade..
No fires yet but I often set off the smoke alarm whilst welding. There's a great video of The Salvager (Rico Daniels) setting fire to his trousers with a grinder
Yes, quite true!Quote:
Originally Posted by kbalch
I was ripping strips on the table saw all morning and all was going well until I decided to get one more piece cut from a already too thin strip, when bang the piece shot out and my index finger tip went into the blade!!! lost a little of the tip but no great damage done ! Scared the heck out of me though!!! I had been using push sticks too but the one was ripped right out of my hand!!!
I'll admit to having always been intimidated by table saws. So much potential for mayhem. Be careful out there, guys!!
Ken
I was rebuilding a series Land Rover engine when I tripped and fell, managing to impale myself, in the back of the right knee, on a 3/8UNF stud.
I became faint but managed to reach the house where, my wife, bless her took control. She was most concerned in that I have the normal old age conditions, heart and lung problems, and by this time I was in a faint on the floor, but she kept her cool and rang for an ambulance.
I subsequently learnt that although the stud had gone in deep, it had missed a major nerve, which controls the foot, and had hit the tendon, fortunately with no damage. It had also missed the femoral artery....&$!?&@..! by a whisker. My daughter, who is a nurse,
subsequently told me that had it hit the artery, I would have had an immediate loss of blood pressure, a loss of consciousness, and I would have bled out.
Anyway, a couple of days in hospital and all's well, but I certainly admonished myself about keeping a tidy workplace, I tend to be a bit of an untidy worker, leaving gear all over the floor etc.
Needless to say, the engine was completed without further incident and now takes pride of place, in the engine bay of my, in progress, series 2a landrover restoration.
Norm.
That was a lucky miss Norm! Hope to see that restoration when it's done!
I have an accessible attic above my shop. Went up there one day to get something. Not all of the upstairs has been sheeted with flooring.
It's only a storage area.
Long story short,
Fell through, straddled a joist, banged up my right side pretty bad.
Couldn't do anything for a few weeks due to the bruising of my ribs.
Not only did I bang myself up pretty good, I had a big ol hole to patch in my drywall... LOL...
Then of course there are the usual things, cuts and burns.
My wife has threatened to install a monitoring system.
Not in the workshop, but related, 2 items:Quote:
Originally Posted by Wood Butcher
1) Just for the record; Catalina Island Fire of 2007:
2007 Island Fire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"According to Associated Press, the blaze was started by contractors cutting steel wire with a torch for day-time only AM radio station, KBRT.[3]"
2) Courthouse in Pittsboro, NC burned down, because of some hot work in the attic:
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsboro,_North_Carolina#Chatham_County_Courthouse_fire"
Gee, fire watch anyone?
Sounds painful!! Hope the drywall didn't fall on anything important… :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by jmayaa
Ken
I've been up in those hills above Avalon harbor and it's dry as a bone much of the time. Hard to believe it took until 2007 for a major fire to break out.Quote:
Originally Posted by kb4mdz
Ken
I've had a number of things happen as you guys have mentioned already.
I get chills and goose bumps when I think ablut my injuries!
I'm not talking about them anuymore!
OK, this didn't happen to me, but I was a witness!
One day, at about three years of age, I was watching my Dad mow the lawn. He was using an old Toro. You know the type - a gas engine, pull start, side-bagging push mower. The grass was a bit damp and soon clogged the chute. Dad decided that it was a good idea to remove the bag and clear the blockage without turning off the mower. Even at that age, I told him not to do it, but he was never one to take good advice from anyone.
Predictable results ensued (I'll never forget the sound it made), with him picking up a large piece of his thumb from the lawn (covered in bits of bright, green grass set in bright, red blood) and calmly telling me, "Kenny, get your mother". Which I did despite her being 8 months pregnant. Dad wrapped his hand and thumb in a towel and drove himself to the hospital. That's the only time I ever saw him voluntarily seek medical attention until his final illness a couple of years ago.
Anyway, that's the day I became a safety nut. I always read the manual and/or MSDS, have the right gear, and never short-cut a procedure. I've seen the consequences of impatience up close.
Food for thought…
Ken
About 21 years ago I got some casters for my table saw; I was tired of wrastling it around the garage. So one night after dinner, headed out to the garage, carrrrrefully laid the cabinet over on one side, always being conscious of how heavy it was. Nice & soft onto the floor, installed the set of straight casters on the one side, nice, nooooo trouble. Lifted it back upright, all OK.
Oh, Goddess of Confidence, yes, I took you for granted. I tried to make you my bitch.
Walked around to the other side to start the 2 swivel casters. Took a firm confident heft on the tabletop and started to tip it, pivoting, of course on the new casters. Yup, there is this concept of 'center of gravity;' It's not just a construct for Physics classes. As soon as the C.G. was to the outside of where the casters were, everything sped up. Bottom of the saw went away from me, I lost my grip on the edge of the table and one of the fence rail bars aimed itself PERFECTLY!! for my left big toe.
I did not swear. That's one thing I remember as I headed to the door to the kitchen, don't swear, you have 2 daughters under the age of 6; they don't need to learn Daddy's special words yet. Wife, having heard the loud banging of table saw settling to the floor was already coming to meet me.
Little trip to the doc in a box, she drilled thru (doctor's version of a Dremeltool) my toenail to relieve the hematoma that was blooming underneath, gave me an orthopedic shoe and scrip. for painkiller. Man, I was gonna need that, and yes I was glad of it later!
Not done yet, after work the next day I had to drive 2 hours to meet someone for a job interview; it's a little embarrassing showing up for an interview sporting ortho-shoe & crutches.
A) Got the job,
B) Learned anew the concept of 'center of gravity'
C) Confidence is a karma-loving little **** of a goddess.
Must have been traumatic, Ken! Were they able to reattach the shorn off piece?
Yep, they put it back on there. It took nearly a year for any feeling to return. For the rest of his life, when asked about it, he'd make a show of looking at both thumbs as if he didn't remember which one had been traumatically lopped off…Quote:
Originally Posted by DIYer
It always amazed me that they were able to perform such effective micro-surgery in 1969.
Ken
The thought of losing digits always keeps me second guessing safety around finger removing devices. Thanks for sharing that one, glad it turned out well.Quote:
Originally Posted by kbalch
Just to be a picky old cuss, if you're electrocuted, you're dead. If you
survived, you got shocked.
My contribution; router table, climb routing with fence, left index finger.
14 sutures later very painful lesson learned. X-ray showed the contour of
the bit in the bone of the fingertip.
Bill
I have had a lot of close calls in the shop but nothing more than small cuts and smashed fingers for the most part.
While putting new roof on the garage last summer I put leg through an old board that gave way. On that same roof the year before I got some my pants caught in a chainsaw while trimming tree limbs. This year I have launched a few hard wood bowls across the garage right past my head. Found out my oxy acetylene torch had a leaky valve after the leak ignited while welding. Stuff like that seems to happen a little too much but live and learn... If you are still alive
Worst I saw was a gentleman I worked with caught his arm in a conveyor belt and ripped it off all the way up to the neck took collar bone and all. He was a tough old coot managed to come back and work another thirty years or so one armed. Only battle he lost was to cancer which took him a few years ago.
On that note, crahar, I've got a cycling buddy who was involved in a similar accident. On his bike (which has a custom dual-pull brake system), he's really, really tough to beat.
I needed to grind a little piece of steel with a hand held grinder in my garage workshop. Whenever I use a torch or grind anything, I always remove the gas cans for the lawn equipment to the outside. Well one time I was in a hurry and a little 2 gal. gas can was a couple of feet away and was almost totally empty just 3 or 4 ozs in the bottom. The can was sealed except for the little vent hole in the top. I figured I just need to give a quick little grind and what the Hell. Sure enough all Hell broke loose. A spark from the grinder somehow found its way through the little vent hole and lit the fumes in the can. It sounded like a small jet engine with blue flame shooting out of the vent hole about 6 inches. I grabbed the can and through it out the garage door (which was open) in the yard, burning my hand. The can didn't blow up but it ran like a jet engine for a few minutes.
I was working on the drill press with wood, just drilling small holes. and I raised the bit out, and there were compacted shavings still in the cracks on the bit, so I normally take my finer( bare handed) and just run it along side to knock it off. and I was wearing gloves because it was about 30 out side. and when I went to wipe the dust off my glove got caught in the drill when it was still on and it took my glove right off my hand and I thought I lost my finger right there, then I pulled my hand out and I had god watching over me because I didn't even have a scratch just heavy pants. if you know what I mean
Not in my workshop but when I was 17 while at work in the machine shop. I just pulled a steel plate off the CNC mill and set it down on a pallet where the next plate was standing on edge. While I was removing the sling from the plate I just set down, the one on edge started to fall over. To this day I have no idea why I thought I could catch it in time to keep it from slamming down on the freshly machined piece, but I did. Well, my hand did break the fall and in the process my middle finger's knuckle landed directly on a 1/2" freshly drilled hole. If memory serves me correctly, these plates were about 15" x 25" x 2" thick so you can imagine the outcome. I immediately wrapped the finger in a shop towel and was taken to the ER for stitches. I remember the doctor showing me what a knuckle and tendons looked like as he lifted the flap of skin so he could pick out the loose cartilage.
Stupidity, like highly contagious infectious diseases, is ultimately self limiting on a large, ecological scale.
Attachment 3537
Many years ago and the first of two Times I have been shocked once by 240 Volt the first time and the second time by a three phase Tig and the 240 volt was worse than the three phase which was 415 volt.
The first one was using an Italian Faro hanging grinder porting two stroke cylinders and it appears what happened was aluminium chips from porting somehow worked its way down into the foot control which was the style where you move the control sideways with your foot not like a pedal style as used on Tig Welders.
Well did it bite me conductivity was through the Right foot and all the way through the right hand, The end result was it threw me some thirty feet across the workshop and in the process I hit the Oxy Welding set knocking it over which then broke both the regulators off the bottles which were turned off at the bottle valves luckily.
Reason I made the last point about always turn Gas off at the bottles is a friend when doing his fitting and machining apprenticeship saw an accident where somebody knocked over a G size Oxygen Cylinder breaking off the gauge head the bottle valve was fully open and the bottle did a very good impersonation of a rampant Torpedo as it took off and ran through the factory wall (Sheet Metal) of not one but two factories then shot across a road narrowly missing passing traffic before embedding itself in an Earth embankment.
One can never be too careful and as with the foot control you can be bitten when least expected doing something not seemingly so dangerous.
