55.2-59 Reminder to work safe

[bobinbc]

Just as I was thinking "I shouldn't be cutting towards myself..." my utility knife jumped off the workpiece and right into my hand. Bunch of stiches and compression bandage = no working on the truck for a week Be careful out there everyone!

[mr48chev]

Ouch. I slightly stabbed myself in the stomach last year with a utility knife doing pretty much the same thing.

Looks like you did better than when I smashed my left index finger a few years ago. The doctor wouldn't let them stitch it up as it was swollen too much and it has a nasty scar and still doesn't work right.

It is very true that we need to take the time to stop an think about working safe though. Face shields/good goggles, jack stands that are solidly placed ( I prefer firewood rounds outside or the junk yard style rim welded on a rim.

I've also found that if you drop your angle grinder with a cut disk on it throw that cut disk away as those are often the ones that explode.

[mongocanfly]

ooowwww!!!!!!!

[dsraven]

ouch!
at least you have an excuse not to have to do the dishes....haha

[DransportGarage]

Awe man!!! Two of my worst ones have been while polishing stainless headlight rings - on the same day! At first, the ring caught on the wheel and ripped my ring finger up pretty good (should have had stitches).

That ticked me off so much I went right back at it. The ring caught again, went completely around the buffing wheel and hit me in the chest. I thought I had been shot. It tore a hole in my t-shirt, and ultimately in my skin. I don't polish headlight rings on the wheel anymore. I use a dremel and a small buff.

Other than that, I did hit myself in the center of my forehead with a pair of pliers once, pulling toward my face when the pliers slipped off. Usually I'm really careful, but here were three instances where I could have done better. Not bad, I suppose, for 71 years+.

[57tailgater]

To add: Recent mishap in a co-workers parent's garage: small gas spill ignited by a dropped incandescent trouble light and immediate fire. Fire extinguisher also did not work. Lost 2 Corvettes. BE SAFE in a lot of ways.

[slammed57]

gosh, hope you feel better bud.

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by 57tailgater

To add: Recent mishap in a co-workers parent's garage: small gas spill ignited by a dropped incandescent trouble light and immediate fire. Fire extinguisher also did not work. Lost 2 Corvettes. BE SAFE in a lot of ways.

There is NO excuse for not using an LED bulb in a trouble light. They also can take 100x more abuse than an incandescent.

[joedoh]

yeeeowch.

[mr48chev]

I looked for a rough service incandescent drop light bulb the other day to put in my pump house to throw off enough heat to keep it from freezing and had a hard time even finding a 100 watt regular bulb now. I had so many burn marks from those things from the years I did use them in drop lights that I don't want to use one again.

I have a friend who would work on his race car in his home garage and he spilled some gas one day and the pilot light on the gas furnace ignited the fumes and burnt garage, house and race car to the ground. He spent money on another race car before he got the house situation taken care of and his pretty nifty wife divorced him because of it. He didn't have enough sense to go house first and then race car.

[vintovka]

Sorry to see. Know the pain. I'm so use to bleeding on jobs it seems normal. First Aid kit is always a popular feature in any workshop especially mine. I have so many scars and each with its own memory.

Worst was trying to disembowel myself with a run away grinder.

Gets worse as you get old and skin is thin and easy to bruise. FWIW don't toss those thicker long socks when they get holes. Cut off the toes and slip on arms up and around elbows. Helps reduce tears and bruises. (Might want to wash them first.)

Heal well friends (beer helps)

[bobinbc]

Seems like my left hand catches most of the abuse, being right handed my right is the one that is usually holding the instrument of my pain, hammer, knife, grinder etc lol. The hot rod gods still demand a small blood sacrifice from time to time

Good tip on the old socks used for sleeves! I've recently spent a small fortune trying to find a good solution to keep things out of my eyes (would like to keep using both preferably) guess I should've bought some gloves too

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by bobinbc

Seems like my left hand catches most of the abuse, being right handed my right is the one that is usually holding the instrument of my pain, hammer, knife, grinder etc lol. The hot rod gods still demand a small blood sacrifice from time to time

Good tip on the old socks used for sleeves! I've recently spent a small fortune trying to find a good solution to keep things out of my eyes (would like to keep using both preferably) guess I should've bought some gloves too

Correct, still hurting from trying to "core drill" my left hand decades ago I have tried thin yellow kevlar gloves but keep taking them off when i can't get a good grip. They are ones that glass workers use. Just reaching under the dash on the 54 can make my arms look like i fended off an attacker with a chain. The sock trick really helps.

[mr48chev]

It's barely visible now but 45 years later the scar is still there from when I broke a 1/8 drill bit and took a chunk out of my right hand just behind the thumb.
My wife's young cousin was in the garage with me and turned a bit green when he saw the carnage on my thumb and ran out the door. The neighbor came over and asked what I did to the kid because he had puked when he got to the other side of the street.

[VWNate1]

Glad you're O.K. ! .

I'm another old timer so injuries are considered just part of the job, most older Mechanics and farmers (especially the farmers) have serious scars and poorly healed broken bones .

I'm going to try the old socks thing as just last Saturday I was doing a tune up and valve adjustment on an old Diesel and when finished discovered a line of hematoma (SP) up my right arm....

This getting old stuff isn't fun .

[MiraclePieCo]

Coulda been worse:

[1project2many]

Rule number one: Don't f*ck with spinny sh!t. Any tool that spins carries a bunch of potential for damage. The amount of potential energy in a 2" disc spinning at 25,000 rpm is greater than the energy stored in a 225/75R16 tire carrying a truck at 60 mph!! The larger the disc and / or the faster the roatation the more energy inside to do damage.

Some rules I always follow:
Any cutoff wheel that has been wet gets thrown out.
Any cutoff wheel that has been cracked gets thrown out.
Any cutoff wheel that has been dropped gets thrown out.
Any grinder, cutter, or die grinder that has loose or noisy bearings gets shelved for repair or thrown out.
Any grinder, cutter, or die grinder that has a bent shaft / wobbling chuck gets shelved for repair or thrown out.
Any paper or adhesive grinding disc that is torn or has bad adhesive gets thrown out.
Items to be drilled, ground, polished, or cut need to be in a vise or vise-grips or attached to a larger part that is stable.
Use locking pliers to hold parts that are being applied to a bench grinder/buffer or wire wheel.
And finally, safety glasses and hearing protection are mandatory.

I SAID HEARING PROTECTION IS MANDATORY!

[73kay]

Great rules to follow. My angle grinder kicked back at me
and nicked my left wrist so fast I didn’t feel anything. Could of been worse but it got one tendon and nicked another. I kept the dry blood spots on the shop floor to keep the memories fresh.

Originally Posted by 1project2many

Rule number one: Don't f*ck with spinny sh!t. Any tool that spins carries a bunch of potential for damage. The amount of potential energy in a 2" disc spinning at 25,000 rpm is greater than the energy stored in a 225/75R16 tire carrying a truck at 60 mph!! The larger the disc and / or the faster the roatation the more energy inside to do damage.

Some rules I always follow:
Any cutoff wheel that has been wet gets thrown out.
Any cutoff wheel that has been cracked gets thrown out.
Any cutoff wheel that has been dropped gets thrown out.
Any grinder, cutter, or die grinder that has loose or noisy bearings gets shelved for repair or thrown out.
Any grinder, cutter, or die grinder that has a bent shaft / wobbling chuck gets shelved for repair or thrown out.
Any paper or adhesive grinding disc that is torn or has bad adhesive gets thrown out.
Items to be drilled, ground, polished, or cut need to be in a vise or vise-grips or attached to a larger part that is stable.
Use locking pliers to hold parts that are being applied to a bench grinder/buffer or wire wheel.
And finally, safety glasses and hearing protection are mandatory.

I SAID HEARING PROTECTION IS MANDATORY!

[VWNate1]

THANK YOU for the important pictures ! .

I used to have some of my mangled arm hand and wrist, I was glad to be alive, I wish I could post here as more need to understand how dangerous this job is .

[whitedog76]

I went pretty deep with a hook blade a few years ago.

GLOVES GLOVES GLOVES!!!

Tendons and nerves take a long time to heal.

[dsraven]

whenever I start up a spinning tool it is always in a plane that, if it disintegrates, it will send the shards in a different direction from where I am standing. that said, I have a few spots on the old body where cutoff discs have blown apart while being used, a chop saw blade disintegrated while cutting or some other unforeseen tool malfunction happened. now I wear safety glasses AND a face shield and a nice fitting set of gloves. coveralls are a must and a leather apron can also stop a lot of stuff, aside from the fact that the coveralls get less pinholes from welding ot cutting sparks. I have a set of leather arms from the welding supply as well as some boot covers. you only get a hot slag down the front of your shoe once and after you pick it out of your ankle you wonder why you didn't have a set of boot covers long time ago. safety stuff is pretty cheap compared to medical bills and time off, or compared to some hotrodding parts too, lol.

[MARTINSR]

I just delivered a car to a 60 something year old lady who had one hand with only a thumb, all fingers gone. She told us how she lost them with a lawn mower when she was in her late thirties!

Brian

[MARTINSR]

By the way, I'm sorry, I kick everyone's ars when this subject comes up. I ran a 1/4" drill through my face into my sinus cavity missing my eye socket by 2mm.

Yeah, drop the mic, you can all go about your business.

Brian