Shop horror stories

[WVanHemert]

I was working in a welding shop as a labourer as a kid, and they were bringing in oxy bottles on the back of a truck.



The guy on the deck of the truck would roll the bottle to the back of the truck, grab the bottle cap with both hands and lower the bottle down.



Well someone didn't screw the cap on one bottle it fell to the floor tipped over with a cap on it now, and hit a concrete foundation section for an old wall, the valve popped off and imbedded itself in the concrete block wall 75 feet away and the bottle.



Well the bottle made it through two cinder block walls, destroyed two welders, knocked over a drill press, and finally finished when it hit a vessel that was being built and dented it. Man did that bottle travel.

 

[Matt400]

Here is a bad one:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=126637826

 

[IC Smoke]

a couple weeks ago at work one of the guys was running a bridgebort accu-rite mill when he reached behind the cutter (spinning at the time) to turn the spray lube on when his sweatshirt arm got cought up in the mill, it sucked him into the mill, he tried pulling himself back but it sucked him back to the mill. resulting in a pretty nasty gash next to his eye and 10 stitches He could have been worse off... if the cutter got into his arm it would be bad news!!!!



after the second time of being pulled into the mill he hit the stop lever!!..... the guy/kid (mid 20's) is a bit of a space head anyways..... hence the "buzz lightyear" nickname



Ian

 

[Matt400]

Any other good advice or stories that might make those people that read this think twice before doing something stupid?

Renewed appreciation for how volatile fumes can be from crankcase oil.

http://www.cdc.gov/NIOSH/face/stateface/ia/03ia045.html

 

[Flinty]

The rental shop we do business with had a 55gal drum explode. The fella working on it was cutting the top off with a cutting torch but forgot to remove the plugs. No loss of life or major fire thank God. He was very seriously injured, though.



One night while jacking up my truck the main seal in the jack failed. That rig came down not now but right now. Never again without a jack stand.



Working on my race car when I was a kid spraying short bursts of carb cleaner while the car was running. Had my head directly over the throttle bore so I could get that hard to reach spot clean. Yup, back fire right into the old eyeballs. Stupid kid. My brother said "oh man" . He always had my best interests at heart.

 

[GHarman]

The quick versions. Secure your long hair before working around a drill press. My pardner got scalped! Dont grind your steel with your oxyacetylene hoses lying on the floor where the sparks land. INSTANT DETCORD! :--) Secure your oxygen bottles! Valves break off when they fall. Against FAA regulations; unscheduled launch! Dont set a gearbox on a bucket to drain it, unsecured. It always lands on your feet , behind your steel toes in your safety boots. :{ When operating a lathe, make sure to remove the t-handle from the chuck before turning the lathe on! Dont reach through an oxyacetylene flame with your off hand to grab another filler rod. Gloves dont help, still got 3rd degree burns on my wrist. :{ Dont operate center articulated excavation equipment parallel to an incline and expect to turn without lowering your center of gravity. They roll over. Stay inside the roll cage, if you have one, if you dont- refuse to operate it! :-{} All personal experiences in 40 years. I made it to retirement=) TYL. Oo. GregH

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

GHarman



Congratulations are in order.

 

[Kiohio]

Don't hold small peices of sheet metal with your hand..... and then use a die-grinder to "shape" it.

Went all the way thru my thumb nail right in the middle.

A perfect slot cut thru the nail and into the soft tender flesh underneath.







Never cook bacon in the nude...



KO

 

[JApol]

Never cook bacon in the nude...

I consider that..... TMI!!!

 

[rumblefish]

Just the other day my neighbor was working on "Trusty Rusty", his old 70something Chevy 4x4. Carb backfired and was shooting flames out. His 6 year old son ran and grabbed the hose and procceeded to spray the flaming carbeurator with water... . while the truck was still running. The truck started to sputter, and then put the #7 rod threw the block. The only thing I could do is :-laf

 

[PToombs]

I consider that..... TMI!!!

TMI?

 

[Matt400]

TMI?

Tooo much information :-laf or many times we just say. . overshare!

 

[WBusa]

Eighth grade woodworking class: our teacher was instructing us on how to safely use a table saw. Firing up the saw and grabbing a board, he told us "now, always use a pusher stick to feed the wood into the blade. NEVER use your hand... like this... because you could... . " and then he proceeded to cut the end off his middle finger before our eyes. He stopped, held it up in front of his face, bellowed "F***!", and stomped out of the shop.



Way I figger it, he was a dang good teacher. I always use a pusher stick.

 

[BarryG]

Dont use milk crates for a stand to reach way over in the back of the engine area. I was replacing one of my heater hoses and was having trouble getting one off at the firewall. Fully outstretched just as far as I could be. Milk crate slipped out from under my feet and crack there goes a rib. Wonder while I still use one.



When using your floor jack dont leave the handle in and down on the floor. Put on my front diff cover jumped up and took a big bouncing step to grab the lube off the work bench. Foot caught the handle and I did a nice forceful face plant on the garage floor. Trying to break my fall as most would do put my hand out and it took the full force of it. My hand hurt like heck. Went inside told my wife what happened. She laughed and called me a DA. A couple hours later that evening the pain was getting worse and worse so off to the local urgent care and sure enough it was broken.



If the equipment moves you should make sure and take gloves off. I used to cut meat for work. If anyone knows what a meat tenderizer is guy was wearing gloves and it caught one pulled his hand in(wasnt using the saftey gaurd). Couldnt get it out had to take the machine with us to the hospital since his hand was still in it. Another guy was using the bone-in bandsaw down to the last cut, blade caught his glove pulled it in just enough to cut the end right off his knuckle. He lost that finger. The saw didnt cut off his finger it cut through his bent knuckle but Docs said not enough knuckle left to keep it so they cut it off(his new nickname was stubby). Another guy using a cheese shredder with gloves on didnt use the plunger instead used his gloved hand and it got sucked in and literally shredded his fingers down to about 1/2 inch long.

 

[GHarman]

I remembered another set of incidences that were considered normal at the time. Working for the local gas utility as a lead welder we were given the duties of welding HOT TAPS onto live natural gas distribution piping. This pipe could have 5# or 150# pressure depending on the location in the system. During the welding process you have to really move or the puddle will get deep enough into the wall of the pipe that the pressure will blow out the molten metal with a crack like a gunshot and a fountain of fire. I burnt off my beard even with my welding helmet more than once=) GregH

 

[Scot]

School shop class. Any wonder it is becoming rarer and rarer.



One kid kicked back a piece of wood and sent it through a block wall.



Another chucked a small brace bit into a router. When he turned it on. The bit bent 90* and destroyed the router. Oddly enough, the bit held together and did not throw it through someone.



I was walking past a table when a doofus is glue clamping about 24" of wood together with several clamps, none of which was on top. I hear a noise and turn around to get hit in the face with several boards. My noise began pooring blood. He never noticed the bow...

 

[terrywerm]

When cutting pieces of steel with a horizontal bad saw, and you have the saw lifted to slide your stock ahead for the next cut, make sure you shut off the saw!



I was lucky some years back while cutting some 6" square tubing. The piece was 20' long and I had to cut some three foot long pieces from it. The far end was supported by a stand with a roller on top, and once in a great while the roller would jam. Well, I grabbed the end of the tube with both hands to pull it ahead and the roller jammed. As a result, the stand tipped over, letting the far end of the tube drop to the floor, and the near end went up. My one finger on the top of the tube got pushed right up onto the blade. It required stitches, but I still have my finger.



If the blade had been moving.....

 

[JGrefenstette]

used a cable come-along hooked to the bumper of a 05' Cummins to pull out some boxwood bushes, wasnt paying attention and let the cable all the way out, so when we took off in the truck, the only thing holding was the small crimp that holds the cable to the wheel. BAMB!! no more come-along. i learned to always double wrap anything im pulling with, chain, rope cable, watever.



welding slightly dirty metal or greasy... ... makes more smoke than usuall.

turn up the sensitivity on the mask. learned that the hard way. itll give ya flashes like non other, be right in the middle of nice bead then... . wammoow. lost 50% vision for 1/2 hour.



using drill press on thin metal, look out for the chance of it wrapping round the bit. can tear you up if your holding on to it.



keep a magnetic telescoping rod round the shop for nuts and bolts that get into them impossible spots. Once dropped a bolt from a banks high ram intake... fell into the front part of the frame of a third gen.



ohhhh..... and make sure the hand gaurd on angle grinders are ON and positioned right. thought i could get into tighter areas with it off, till my thumb got snatched by the top of the wheel.

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

I went into the shop to install a block heater on the Subaru beater wagon yesterday. In the shop were a brace of college geniuses, here to work on either the lynnx, wolverine, elk, or moose studies going on, trying to rip a full sheet of 1/2" plywood on the band saw. Doooah!



When I came in I heard this screeching noise. They stopped and asked if I thought the band saw would work for ripping the plywood. I suggested using the table saw that was sitting next to the band saw might work a tad better. I helped them get the table saw set up. I ran out because I had to catch another guy who was getting ready to leave and then sprinted back into the shop, plumb scared at what they might try with the table saw. Fortunately, they had managed to rip the sheet without further incident.



All education and no common sense, or perhaps life experience. :-laf

 

[Forrest Nearing]

don't set a full 10lb nitrous bottle on the edge of a tailgate where it can get knocked to the driveway below... thus busting the pressure relief and making the bottle spin like a top for a good minute or so... which, while somewhat entertaininng, will ruin a good bottle!