Funniest Workshop Incidents....

I would like to hear from all of you about your worst personal restoring incident. I mean something you did that was really dumb or an accident that you still can't believe happened... and you never told anyone.

Something happened to me tonight that I will share because I still can't believe I did it. The short version.... I had these old DD Satinedge scales and a real nice blade sitting around for a while and I swore one day I would do the restore... and do it well. Tonight I was bored so I went to work. I got to where the scales looked pristine and I was happy. Getting the blade on while the third pin was in place was tricky but got it done. Then I realized I used brass rod instead of SS and did the whole thing over. You know, all of the little troubles you run into while doing a restore like this. I had the original washers from another DD and everything. Tapped the pins tight and took some Mothers to shine up the brass. I noticed that some of the Mothers got inside the scales so I grabbed a jelly jar bottle of water I keep on my workbench opened it and gave the whole razor a swishing to get rid of the residue. Except it wasn't water... it was a jar of acetone I was using last night. As soon as I got a whiff, I knew immediately to look on the floor for my heart. How dumb am I? You can't believe those scales look like after just a second.

That's my story. Anyone beat it?

Sharpened up an old hunting knife years ago to a very sharp edge sat down to admire it in the light, some how managed to drop the knife only to have it stop short of hitting the floor by sticking itself upright in the top of my thigh.

While rubbing of the last vestige of polish on a paring knife I had made, I managed to stab myself in the hand to the bone.

While out snorkelling, I also manged to stab myself in the fleshy part of my hand while trying to catch a sand crab, also to the bone...And I only include that story because at the time it happened, the ocean was my workshop.


Mick

the dumb one that got me was when I was grinding a small piece of steel that kept getting hot. at first it felt hot really fast then it took a little longer to feel hot then it took a little longer to feel hot finaly I dipped it in water to cool it and saw steam....I decided to check my fingers and sure enough I had gotten to the point where I was going to end up with a couple nice blisters

Just last night I was casting bullets, and decided to scratch my ear. The only problem was that the hand I was scratching my ear with was also holding a set of 600 degree mold blocks. Fortunately I felt the heat before the mold actually hit the skin. Just got a minor 1st degree burn out of the deal.

I burnt my fingers once by picking up a piece of angle iron that I had just been welding on. It was still red hot when I grabbed it. I dunno what I was thinking at the time, but clearly I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.

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Originally Posted by HNSB

Just last night I was casting bullets, and decided to scratch my ear. The only problem was that the hand I was scratching my ear with was also holding a set of 600 degree mold blocks. Fortunately I felt the heat before the mold actually hit the skin. Just got a minor 1st degree burn out of the deal.

I burnt my fingers once by picking up a piece of angle iron that I had just been welding on. It was still red hot when I grabbed it. I dunno what I was thinking at the time, but clearly I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.

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almost forgot about welding burns

back in highschool shop the way I learned to keep my feet out from under what I was useing a cutting torch on was haveing a piece of slag fall into my shoe...you shoulda seen me jumping and hollering.

another time (at home) I was heating something up with a torch and useing a piece of railroad tie to set it on, after I was done I reached over the tie for something and it got me on the forearm.

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Originally Posted by MickR

Sharpened up an old hunting knife years ago to a very sharp edge sat down to admire it in the light, some how managed to drop the knife only to have it stop short of hitting the floor by sticking itself upright in the top of my thigh.

While rubbing of the last vestige of polish on a paring knife I had made, I managed to stab myself in the hand to the bone.

While out snorkelling, I also manged to stab myself in the fleshy part of my hand while trying to catch a sand crab, also to the bone...And I only include that story because at the time it happened, the ocean was my workshop.


Mick

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W

LOL... A three-bagger!!!

Best accident I ever had was when I managed to set the curtains in my shop window on fire. I was holding a burning propane torch in one hand, and a crucible full of molten metal in the other. I watched the flames for a second, but realized I was too busy to put them out. By the time I got the crucible put down and the torch put out, the curtains were gone and the fire with them. All I had to do was vent the shop and re-melt the metal :D

Ufda! 60 years working in shops, garages, and kitchens gives one a whole collection of methods to hurt oneself!

"Goofing off" with a buddy in the shop as a kid; slipped and have a six inch scar in one arm to this night.

Mixed MEK and stainless steel parts in an aluminum pan while cleaning parts; smoke and fire quick! Do not use MEK when working with aluminum! it reacts when iron is added to the mix. Check your cutting oils!
Ditto some semi-precious stones, water, and steel

I made the mistake of wearing polyester slacks back in the day and used a cutting torch.

I used a small piece of wood and a very sharp knife in conjunction and forgot my fingers were hanging out below. I have a couple of nails on one hand that are triplets.

I sharpened a 10 inch butcher knife and slipped on the floor. Knife, tennis shoe, foot, and floor conjoined at the web of the toes

The boss was in a hurry and told me a large glued up 16" wood disk was ready to turn in the lathe, Wrong! Have you ever had to operate machine tools with one hand for a few weeks while the bones knit in the other?

I ran my hand between a pulley and the belt on a machine. Not nice, motor support broke, fortunately! Ever eat south paw for a couple weeks?

Aren't single edge shop razor blades well wrapped?? Yup and I went to the facility nurse for a few butterfly closures.

Don't old fashion shop safety glasses fit poorly? And a hot piece of metal came between them and my eye.

I've picked up a packaged item that someone else had opened on the other end. Walking with a crutch is a pain.

Gloves on while grinding, Yup! onest too often, I am lucky that I did no more than shorten my finger nails. If the tool rest had been loose I would have lost at least a couple knuckles when the glove finger went into the gap.

Loose stitching on a buffing wheel, strings flapping? Small part into orbit, off the wall, and into face! Face shield paid for itself!

Laughingly and respectfully
~Richard

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Originally Posted by Geezer

Ufda! 60 years working in shops, garages, and kitchens gives one a whole collection of methods to hurt oneself!

"Goofing off" with a buddy in the shop as a kid; slipped and have a six inch scar in one arm to this night.

Mixed MEK and stainless steel parts in an aluminum pan while cleaning parts; smoke and fire quick! Do not use MEK when working with aluminum! it reacts when iron is added to the mix. Check your cutting oils!
Ditto some semi-precious stones, water, and steel

I made the mistake of wearing polyester slacks back in the day and used a cutting torch.

I used a small piece of wood and a very sharp knife in conjunction and forgot my fingers were hanging out below. I have a couple of nails on one hand that are triplets.

I sharpened a 10 inch butcher knife and slipped on the floor. Knife, tennis shoe, foot, and floor conjoined at the web of the toes

The boss was in a hurry and told me a large glued up 16" wood disk was ready to turn in the lathe, Wrong! Have you ever had to operate machine tools with one hand for a few weeks while the bones knit in the other?

I ran my hand between a pulley and the belt on a machine. Not nice, motor support broke, fortunately! Ever eat south paw for a couple weeks?

Aren't single edge shop razor blades well wrapped?? Yup and I went to the facility nurse for a few butterfly closures.

Don't old fashion shop safety glasses fit poorly? And a hot piece of metal came between them and my eye.

I've picked up a packaged item that someone else had opened on the other end. Walking with a crutch is a pain.

Gloves on while grinding, Yup! onest too often, I am lucky that I did no more than shorten my finger nails. If the tool rest had been loose I would have lost at least a couple knuckles when the glove finger went into the gap.

Loose stitching on a buffing wheel, strings flapping? Small part into orbit, off the wall, and into face! Face shield paid for itself!

Laughingly and respectfully
~Richard

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Richard....
Looks like your shop partner was Murphy...as in Murphy's Law. And I felt bad about a pair of razor scales....

Naw, just felt that way!:gaah: Most other dings were simple cuts, stings, burns and bruises. Just a lot of years in the workplace and many 80+ hour weeks. Things can be repaired or replaced be glad that I didn't go into all those I screwed up!
Keep it safe out there!
Respectfully
~Richard

I was working on a motor that was hanging by a chain hoist mounted to the shop ceiling. The motor was semi resting on a table to keep it from swinging while I was torquing a bolt (this was an inboard/outboard motor for a boat, 4 cylinder mercruiser). The bell housing was off so the fly wheel was exposed. When I was turning the torque wrench, the motor started to roll and I went to "catch" the motor. The motor rolled over my arm with the table under my arm with exposed teeth of the fly wheel...still have the scar. What was I thinking? I'll catch the engine...oh yeah it wont' fall anyway it's hooked to a hoist. DOH!

I was changing the propane tank on a fork lift. The valve on the new tank was not closed so when the fittings went together, gas started going everywhere. One of the other guys in the shop was welding, I panic and reach into disconnect the valve (should have closed it). I don't know what temperature that compressed gas comes out at, but it is VERY cold and I had burns on my hand something fierce. I later had the hand scratched and all the skin blew up like a ballon and then sluffed off.

When I started this thread, I thought I would hear a lot of funny restore mishaps but instead I am hearing about burns, cuts, jabs, fires, and near death experiences. Everything posted has something to do with pain. Some funny but most scary.
Anyone have any tongue in cheek stories that may offer a chuckle?

Here's another one. I had ordered 100 tiny brass nuts from Microfasteners ( 20 bucks worth!!) to fit those 2-56 screws. If you've ever used them, you know the true meaning of micro. Anyway, I emptied both bags of 50 into my palm to transfer to a small baby jar I use for them when my cat surprised me by jumping up on my work bench and scared the s--- out of me. The 100 nuts went flying after I jerked. Want to know how many I found out of 100? My floor was needing a vacuuming after 2 hours of sanding scales. Aarrggghhhhh

Many years ago I was the manager of a light engineering workshop - it had a powder coater, an overhead conveyor belt, a degreasing tank and a radiant oven - we degreased metal parts, put them through the powder coating machine and the conveyor took them through the long oven to bake the powder paint on.

The oven had a large motor duct about 7 feet off the floor, and it run alongside the powder coater leaving a narrow aisle between the two.

One morning the degreasing tank had sprung a leak - thankfully the oven wasn't turned on. The liquid run under the powder coater and pooled up on the floor against the oven. I wasn't going to tread in it in case it came through my shoes, so I took a running jump to leap over it and get to the degreasing tank - except that I forgot about the motor duct and smacked right into it with the top of my head, knocking me out for a moment.

Of course I landed in the puddle of solvent. Should have walked through it in the first place... I was really glad that I had got in early and no-one saw what had happened!

Regards,
Neil

I was working on a restore project last week. I was going to grind down part of a cracked razor. Luckily I learned shop safety a long time ago so I not only wear safety glasses I normally always wear a face shield as well. So i was grinding away and the metal started to flake and before I could pull the blade out it broke off and got flung and embedded itself into my face shield. My wife still doesn't know about it because if she did my shop would never see me again..:D

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Originally Posted by Zomax

When I started this thread, I thought I would hear a lot of funny restore mishaps but instead I am hearing about burns, cuts, jabs, fires, and near death experiences. Everything posted has something to do with pain. Some funny but most scary.
Anyone have any tongue in cheek stories that may offer a chuckle?

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Well... my daughter nailed a piece of wood to my workbench. She didn't realize that if you drive a 1.5" nail through 0.5" of wood, there is 1" of nail that needs to go someplace else.

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Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Many years ago I was the manager of a light engineering workshop - it had a powder coater, an overhead conveyor belt, a degreasing tank and a radiant oven - we degreased metal parts, put them through the powder coating machine and the conveyor took them through the long oven to bake the powder paint on.

The oven had a large motor duct about 7 feet off the floor, and it run alongside the powder coater leaving a narrow aisle between the two.

One morning the degreasing tank had sprung a leak - thankfully the oven wasn't turned on. The liquid run under the powder coater and pooled up on the floor against the oven. I wasn't going to tread in it in case it came through my shoes, so I took a running jump to leap over it and get to the degreasing tank - except that I forgot about the motor duct and smacked right into it with the top of my head, knocking me out for a moment.

Of course I landed in the puddle of solvent. Should have walked through it in the first place... I was really glad that I had got in early and no-one saw what had happened!

Regards,
Neil

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LOL, sorry for laughing mate, but i can see myself doing just that (6' + isnt always a good thing)

So someone has to mention a dremel here. Yeah thats right, we all know now that you sand with the drum spinning OFF the edge of the razor, not INTO the edge of the razor. 'ping' any one think they want to use a straight that has a cutting edge 2" long? Nope.


+Sz

I can't say that many incidents I have had were particularly funny at the time - Although now I laugh at the stupidity of what I was doing.

I was trying to cut scales with a mini dremel saw holding the dremel in one hand and the scale blank in the other - big suprise when it caught and decided to skip round to the other side where my index finger was holding it - blood all over the place. Sad thing is that I have done it twice!

The most recent was amusing to a few people but not to me - I made some scales from an unknown wood and it brought me out in a terrible rash. All over my face hands and for some reason, downstairs too?
It took about two weeks for the skin to go completely back to normal.

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Originally Posted by nickyspaghetti

The most recent was amusing to a few people but not to me - I made some scales from an unknown wood and it brought me out in a terrible rash. All over my face hands and for some reason, downstairs too?
It took about two weeks for the skin to go completely back to normal.

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All places where your hands have been? Allways wash your hands when you get out of your workshop.
You did wear a respirator, hopefully?

+1 on that!

Spalted woods have a fungus in them that gives them that look, but the fungus can cause long term respiratory damage if inhaled. You should always wear breathing apparatus and any other protection needed when working in the shop.

My work shop was outside for many years. Funniest thing I ever saw: Diner, 3AM Saturday night into Sunday morning. Very busy place. Four uniform police, 2 in each booth sitting on either side of entrance way aisle.
One cop has a little device. Long clear fishing string. Attached to one end, $20.00 bill, on other end, device that rewinds(snaps) line back very quickly.

Walking in and out of diner, many, many folks who have been drinking alcohol at the local "gin mills."

$20.00 bill on floor in center of aisle, drunk bends to pick up bill: It gets snapped back. Drunk says some fairly objectionable words, Cops laugh......Drunk moves on.

Enter, Rolls Royce Limo, two folks get out, man and lady. Dressed to kill, you can tell very big money. Woman struts in wearing full length Mink, diamonds all over her, man also dressed very, very well. Woman sees $20.00, bends to pick it up (like a lady I should add) it gets snapped back. She looks at cops with death in her eyes, cops remain silent. Man starts to point at her and laugh uncontrollably, yelling "holy crap they got you good." Woman turns and smacks man in face, sounded like a fire cracker going off. He keeps laughing, she turns, walks out and gets into limo, it drives off.

Cops offer a ride to man since they feel bad. Man just asks for a cab. Man leaves. Cops get up to leave a while later. Man had already paid their bill.

There are many others, this one came to mind.

My stationary belt sander has a fixed dust collection bag.
This weekend I emptied it for the first time, not expecting much, since I am using it upside down. Well... if you'd make a cup from your 2 hands... that was how much dust and grit there was in the bag. It really does work well.

I also regularly vacuum the floor of my work area, as well as the places where I have been filing, sanding or sawing. I am not a neat freak, but I see the value in keeping the grit and dust under control.

In the '60s when "Eastman 910," the first "super glue," came out, it was actually kept in a locked refrigerator at the computer manufacturing plant where I worked. At $95 an ounce it should have been!
One of our technicians was using it and then made a nature call. Imagine the look on the plant nurse's face when he got to her office... with attachments! No debonders then, either.

Respectfully
~Richard

Ok, Just today i was sanding some teak scales and i don't know what happened, but for some reason I stopped paying attention to what I was doing when I sanded clear through the end of the scales to the pivot pin. I noticed a little pain in my finger when I decided to look down and I was caught by surprise as though I had forgotten what I was doing.
Also today, I was finishing some cherry scales when I did the same thing and realized that I had CA glued my finger to the bench top with the debonder out of arms reach. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was wearing a glove and could take the glove off then go get ti debonder to remove the glove.
Needless to say I left the workshop after that.

-G

1982. Poured some sulfuric acid down the drain in my college chem lab sink during a qualitative analysis experiment. Hissing, strange smelling gas from drain, professor (very old Armenian who had made poison gas for the Germans in WW1) shouted "Gas!!!) and we evacuated the lab. He set up fans, blew the fumes out, and we returned without LAFD Hazmat being notified, as probably was required. Turns out there was some arsenic in the drain from another student who did not flush it completely down. ASH3, or arsine, is one of the deadliest gases in existence! Passed the class but nobody wanted to be my lab partner after that. No harm done, though.

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Originally Posted by Croaker

1982. Poured some sulfuric acid down the drain in my college chem lab sink during a qualitative analysis experiment. Hissing, strange smelling gas from drain, professor (very old Armenian who had made poison gas for the Germans in WW1) shouted "Gas!!!) and we evacuated the lab. He set up fans, blew the fumes out, and we returned without LAFD Hazmat being notified, as probably was required. Turns out there was some arsenic in the drain from another student who did not flush it completely down. ASH3, or arsine, is one of the deadliest gases in existence! Passed the class but nobody wanted to be my lab partner after that. No harm done, though.

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That's funny...

Lab Prof in high school spun up a small war surplus gyroscope with compressed air. At about beyond hearing range RPM, the bearings froze and we had a small brass buzz bomb ricocheting around the class room. No-one was injured but there may have been some strange smells!
respectfully
~Richard

Summer of 1975 I was putting myself through college by working at a mobile home factory. Those things were basically stapled together. I was building ceilings on a floor jig which were then hoisted onto the trailers. My basic tool was an 1.5 inch and 100 feet of hose. The safest way to carry the thing from station to station was to shoot the last staple in and hold the trigger down. No way to fire another staple. My gun broke and the guy in the tool crib handed me a semi-auto staple gun. See where this is going? Moving from one station to the next I had the trigger pulled and brushed the tip against the center of my knee cap. BANG! Down I went shouting, "I been shot!" They dragged my sorry butt to the clinic in the back of a pick-up truck and the old Doc pulled it out with household pliers. Hurt a helluvalot more coming out than going in.

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Originally Posted by Croaker

1982. Poured some sulfuric acid down the drain in my college chem lab sink during a qualitative analysis experiment. Hissing, strange smelling gas from drain, professor (very old Armenian who had made poison gas for the Germans in WW1) shouted "Gas!!!) and we evacuated the lab. He set up fans, blew the fumes out, and we returned without LAFD Hazmat being notified, as probably was required. Turns out there was some arsenic in the drain from another student who did not flush it completely down. ASH3, or arsine, is one of the deadliest gases in existence! Passed the class but nobody wanted to be my lab partner after that. No harm done, though.

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That's similar to something that happened in our lab. I can't remember what the substance was - it could have been phosphorus, but the professor told us to take a small nugget out of the bottle of liquid that it was stored in and hold it with long forceps in the air. The idea was to show how it spontaneously ignites in air, upon which we had to flush it down the sinks.

The class before us had been using alcohol, and hadn't flushed the sinks properly - the lab nearly blew-up. All the u-bends were shot to smithereens. No one was hurt though, but it took a week to fix all the damage. No more practicals and a new professor.

BTW: the old prof going was a blessing. He was a sadist who kept various bits of timber ranging from 1 x2 inch to 2 x 4 inches to whack us with, if he hadn't already satisfied himself by pulling us up off our seats by our sideburns or whacking us round the head indiscriminately with his large text-book as he strolled back to the board from the back of the class. That was just kid-glove stuff though. His brother worked there, too - as a woodwork instructor. guess where the timber came from!

Regards,
Neil