Back in the early 60's I had a used 1961 Connecticut State Police Ford Fairlane, 390 cubic inch, 330 horsepower police special, and I was replacing the clutch in a friend's driveway. The driveway was a little uphill, so I blocked the wheels so the car would not roll downhill. Everything was fine until I kicked out the transmission cross-member. The car rolled off the jack, and up the driveway. The frame came down on my chest, pinning me to the ground, I was lucky, the frame kick up was just in front of my face. When my buddy jumped into the trunk to get the jack, I was able to just squeeze out form under the frame. No major damage, just a huge black and blue chest for a while.
I have a matching scar about 2inches higher. here is my story - I have a 39 Buick and decided to pull the rear end. Everything went fairly smoothly until I got the the last shock mount, I could not break it loose. I had used a cutoff wheel to remove the first one so I decided to do the same with the second one. The work area was very tight so I removed the second handle to get the angle. The cutting wheel caught on the nut and sent the machine skating across my chest on the guard, it then buried it self in my left bicep. I looked at the damage and said well this is going to need a DR. so got in my truck to go to the ER. Truck was dead, so I had to go up to the attic of the barn, pull down my battery charger, use the boost feature to start the truck, then put the charger back. All why holding my left arm with the tee shirt I had on holding the blood back. Went inside, washed my filthy hands and put on a cleaner tee. Drove to the ER, then walked in and said I needed stitches. They stitched me up, 40 stitched worth and got a laugh at the tee shirt I was wearing. It came from the Red Cross and said give blood. I did shock them when they asked who was driving me home- I told them the same idiot who drove me there- me.
Over the years, I've been pretty lucky nothing real serious but a friend of mine lost an eye due due a piece of wire. He's very cautious now with only one eye. Gary
Sitting on the trunk floor with the deck lid up and installing the handle on my 41 tudor...Santa Ana winds lifted up the lid enough to loosen the springs and it slammed down on my head and herniated L5-S1. I'm lucky it was only a herniation as I thought my neck was jacked but was OK. After a month of insane pain down my leg and not being able to urinate without screaming my fricken ass off I went to the ER and had surgery 4 days later. The surgery was supposed to take 1-1.5 hours but took 3...dumb ass. Sent from my QMV7A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks, Clunker. Doc says it should heal up all good, as long as it doesn't get infected. Put me on a 10 day antibiotic series. By the grace of God I missed everything (but the artery) important.... nerves, tendons, muscles. Could have been MUCH worse!
They say the Good Lord takes care of stupid people. So, since I'm still here it's probably true. A) When I was 23, I was using a tool that I didn't know how to use. Being to prideful to ask l said " I'll figure it out". That ended with my wedding ring getting ripped off my finger & 3 stitches. The only thing that saved my finger was that I was so dumb I was holding the tool backwards. B) I was putting a tranny in a truck & l was having trouble lining up the bell housing over the pins. So, I rocked up on my right foot & slammed it home. I felt something pop in the bottom of my foot. Being the intelligent person that I am, I walked around for a year with a broken bone cause I was afraid to go to the doctor. That ended in surgery & crutches. Doc said I'd never miss that bone & I guess he was half right. It only hurts when I'm awake. C) A SUV came into the shop with something stuck in the seat track. What I didn't know was, that the track frame was cracked by the quarter wedged into it. I unbolted the seat to work on it on the bench. It stayed together until I flipped it over to work on it. The seat shot forward & the track leg hit me in the mouth. It went through my cheek, shattered one of my top teeth. Long story short & boring... 13 stitches, one fake tooth, a pretty scar, & I drool a little when I sing in church!
I had a household injury to my scalp back in 2012, left a 2.5" gash in the top of my head towards the back... what a gusher. It took us a 1/2 hour to get the bleeding under control for the ride to the ER. My wife was more upset about it than I was.
That is a nasty looking cut. I used to work in the sheet metal business and I've never seen one like that. Glad your OK and I hope it heals with no further problems. On the lighter side; If you rotate the picture 90 degrees counter clockwise it looks like a vulture.
A few years back I was separating rusty quarter panels from a Bandit car I was restoring. I needed a grinding disc for my air grinder and all that was open was the local Schucks Auto Supply. I bought it and returned to work only to have it scatter at full speed a short time later. Hit me in the stomach, felt like I got kicked by a mule. I held both hands to my gut, fearing that I was actually holding my internal organs in. Since I didn't die immediately I decided to lift my shirt to reveal the damage and this is what I got and yes the bruising was instantaneous as you can see the wound isn't even cleaned out yet, bits o grinder disc still in there. Doc cleaned out the wound said I was lucky I had so much meat where it hit. I saved the chunk of grinder disc and hung it on the wall of shame in my shop. The words, "made in China" are all you can make out. Oh, word of caution, other than the whole "made just west of the California" thing, don't take the shield off your grinder and wear a heavy shop apron.
Well,I wasn't exactl wrenching but was moving a car at night in low light and tripped over a concrete block back in February and band broke three bones in my shoulder and crushed the ball,I had to have a replacement,damn thing still hurts! HRP
I had a chuck jaw let go on an old lathe. Tossed the workpiece. That got me a half-dollar-sized depression fracture in my right temple. Lost all vision in my right eye for a while. Four years on, it still hurts.
Wasn't wrenching but it happened in the garage and a vehicle involved. I had just put a starter button under the hood of an off topic truck the day before. I was going too show my son-in-law how it worked. reached in and turned the key on without checking that it wasn't in gear, it was a stick. Walked around the front and hit the button at which time it fired immediately. Well with your body between 3 tons of truck and a wall something has to give. I ended up with my pelvis broke top and bottom on each side and spent 19 days in the hospital and 3 months of rehab. The wall was pushed off the bottom plate at the point of impact. I ended up without out any residual effects and consider myself extremely lucky for that. I was also fortunate that my son and son-in-law were there to get the truck off me
I had a good friend who was the most intelligent person I have ever met,seriously he could remember everything he read so he was a walking ,talking encyclopedia,his bane was he was a total klutz with anything with a power cord. Back in the 60's I was helping him put a 8 track tape player in his Mustang and I ask him tp drill two holes in the hanging bracket to match the holes under the dash. No more than two minutes later I heard him yelling like a little girl,he had placed the brackrt on his knee and actuall drilled a hole through the bracket but also drill a hole in his knee! HRP
When chocking wheels, I use four. Two in front, two in back, so it can't roll either direction. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
A couple of summers ago I was changing the a/c compressor in my Dakota. It's on top of the intake manifold, and the upper radiator hose runs over the top of it. Having driven to the junkyard and back, the engine was hot, but had been sitting for a little while while I got the tools out, removed bolts, and such. As you can see, the fill cap is in the centre of the upper radiator hose. This is a plastic section, with the hose bonded to each side. No clamps. Having done this before, I knew that I could lift out the compressor with one hand, while pushing the hose out of the way with the other. So I got my left hand under the compressor, grabbed the hose with my right, pushed it a little bit (it needs to move about 1/2" to clear), and *bang*. The hose popped, spraying me with hot coolent. The plastic part failed, right below the cap. Fortunately, my glasses kept it out of my eyes, and there were no serious burns, probably because it had been sitting for a little while so was no longer up to operating temperature. Then I got to walk to the NAPA to get a new hose. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You guys are freaking warriors. Knock wood, but the worst I've gotten are a few reallly nice burns and some decent cuts. I'd say the worst one pain wise that I got was on a pipe bender. You'd think it would be something good like I got my hand caught in a die, but now I was shrinking a pipe with a 90 degree bend in it and when the machine went to release it pulled the pipe and my middle finger got caught between it and the machine. It didn't break any bones or even bleed but my whole finger turned black an blue in the joint area and to this day has numbness. Initially and even days later it was this terrible burning and throbbing pain.
I was welding in a filler neck in a stainless beer keg, to be used in a T bucket, when I just finished the weld and the phone rang in the shop. It was one of those annoying telemarketing calls, so I got pissed off and hung up real quick after telling them to stick it up their arse. I swung around and of course the tank was right behind me, the red colour had just died off, and I went to roll it out of the way. With my ungloved hand of course. It's strange how cooked human smells just like cooked hog. The only way I could get to sleep past the throbbing pain was to immerse my hand in a bucket of ice water next to the bed. When we read about all these mishaps, it's good to get a mental picture (or a real photo) of the damage caused, along with all the blood that comes with it, it makes you shit yourself and think twice before you try it yourself. Learn from your mistakes and mistakes of other people.
My Story And Quizzes to see if yall are paying attention. Back in the early 70s when wrenchin on trucks for a living, Had just finished tuning up an engine in a cabover Kenworth. Used to jack the cabs over and sit on the tire with my feet on the front axle and tie rod. When I went to jump down off the tire I grabbed the suspended step hanging below the cab to kinda swing off the tire onto the ground. KWs in those days had serrated metal steps and, yup, hooked my wedding ring. As tuff as my finger was it couldnt handle the 200 lbs of body weight coming down on it about 6" before my feet hit the ground. Ring went flying off and a burning sensation arose on my hand. I looked down and all the skin on that finger was hanging on by the fingernail. Question #1...What do they call it when 100% of your skin is removed from a body part. Answer... Degloving Heres the great part. They rushed me in, the pain was unbelievable but a shot of something took the pain away instantly. The doc comes in and cuts the skin off and proceeds to scrub the finger with phisohex and a scrub brush and he is scrubbing like he was trying to remove skid marks off his wifes new wood floors. As Im watching all this, Im thinking, man, I bet this really hurts, but whatever they gave WORKED, and I felt nothing. So he leaves and about 5 mins later whatever they gave me started wearing off.... Question #2...when you are shot fulla pain killers and they are scrubbing your hamburger meat looking finger with a scrub brush, does it actually hurt? Answer...YOU FUCKIN A TWEET it does. Just wait for the pain meds to wear off for confirmation. Shot number 2 and 12 stitches to hold the meat that was once a finger together and all was good with the world again. Had to go in every two days and they would smear what looked like sour cream on it about 1/4" thick and wrap it back up. Every two days repeat. They said it was something they used for Napalm burns. The ring had sliced into the finger and cut the ligaments and even today I cant straighten this finger out, but all the skin did grow back. Question #3...How does your skin grow back if its removed Answer...Well I can tell ya. About the second time they changed the dressing little white spots appeared, looked like someone had lightly salted my finger. Every two days when he would redress and re sour cream it the little white spots got bigger and bigger until they eventually grew together creating a new layer of skin. Amazing. Found the wedding ring about a year later back underneath the shop compressor perfectly shaped like a teardrop. Question #4... Have I ever worn ANY rings since? Answer...Not a snowballs chance in hell!!!
Stuff happens, and I bet almost everyone on here that's been injured will back me up when I say it happens almost instantly! Just a seconds inattention, or one little stupid thing, can result in major injury! Pay attention, and wear the appropriate safety gear, it'll save your rear end! I should have been wearing leather gloves, and next time I use that style of cutter, I'll be damn sure to retract the blade before pulling it out of something! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
He didn't get hurt but back in the early 80's I was driving down a street here in town and a guy had a car jacked up with a bumper jack and was working under it. I stopped in the middle of the street and hollered that he needed to get some blocks under the car so it wouldn't fall. He slid out from under it and proceeded in no uncertain terms to tell me to mind my own fucking business. About that time his wife stepped out the door to see what the commotion was all about and at that time the car rolled back a tad and fell off the jack. Dude never said a word but his wife came out and thanked me for stopping and being concerned about her hubby's life.
My two worst are getting my little finger caught in the pivot of an engine stand, mashed it up to the bone leaving a 2 1/4 in scar on a 3 inch finger and the other I was taking the diff head out of a Triumph 2000 when the ratchet dropped and removed my top front teeth. JW
I work in a shop almost every day, even on my days off, I go into the garage and work on my own projects. I get small injuries often, but rarely moderate to severe injuries. Handling tools is just like handling a weapon, no matter how comfortable you get with it, you have to respect what it's capable of. As soon as you don't respect it, it will bite you. Now, I have learned my lessons when I forgot that. Luckily, I paid a pretty small price to cement those lessons in my mind. One was using the mill at the shop. I was very preoccupied with a very draining personal situation. I foolishly allowed that to take concentration away from what I was really doing. Since I wasn't thinking clearly, I was wearing gloves. I got my finger too close to the end mill, and it grabbed it, brand new end mill too, first time it was ever used. Luckily, I had already turned the mill off, so it was spinning, but not under power. I just about tore the tip of my finger off. I consider myself very lucky because the machine was off, I never felt any pain, even during healing, and I did not have to go to the hospital. I wrapped it up, and finished the work day. I definitely learned a lesson that day. Another time where I wasn't paying enough attention, I was using the pneumatic sheetmetal shear, and pinched just the tip of my finger. Hurt, but no real damage. Pay attention guys, that's all it takes. I got off easy and won't make the mistake again. Heed the advice and pay attention so you don't have to pay the price.
Hello, I keep looking at this scar on my right bicep. I know how that 1.5 inch oval scar got there, but I cannot believe I would do the same treatment that I did back then, today. This scar is the result of a nasty surface burn created by my bicep rubbing against an open header pipe on our SBC 1940 Willys. I was reaching in over the fender to hold the starter on the SBC. My brother was underneath unbolting it to check out why it was sticking or clicking. I was the “man” in being able to hold up the starter under the hot exhaust pipes, but when my brother unloosened the last of the bolts, the starter dropped lower out of the hole. Needless to say, my bicep and arm flexed straight with the added weight. My bicep went right into the hot exhaust pipe until I let the starter drop lower with my brother’s help from below. The skin was totally peeled back and it stung like there was no tomorrow. Since we had paid for the day at the drags, and our Willys was being prepped to continue racing, I was not going home or to a hospital for treatment. My brother said that I needed something on the wound as it would get infected. I was walking around in pain and to make myself feel better, so, I ate one of those famous “Lions” hot dogs and had a Coke. My friends behind the counter all saw the burn and were about to gag at the sight of raw flesh oozing. I went back to our part of the pits and was rummaging around in the trunk of our tow car 58 Impala. I found a can of STP motor oil. It had been used as an additive in our motor, so there was some left over. I decided to put some STP thick oil on my burn and immediately felt a soothing sensation on the burn. Of course I had to roll up my white t shirt sleeve to show off my biceps and to keep the oil off of my shirtsleeve. Ha!. For the rest of the afternoon and into the late night, the burn was not noticeable in the pain department. I kept the STP on my burn wound all weekend and on Monday, I went to our family doctor. First, he was amazed at what was on the burn. Second, he commended me on my quick action to prevent infections on the wound. Somehow, the STP blocked out all air, dirt, and bacteria from getting into the open wound. Finally, he said never to do it again, but it was a great idea at the time. The wound healed and left a 1.5 inch oval scar that has lasted over 50 years. A souvenir of my days at Lions, an actual battle scar from the racing days… Jnaki
I was working on some parts for a paying customer on my Bridgeport. It was a lot of pieces and easy to keep loading new parts into the vise and drilling holes I spotted earlier. I had a rhythm going and probably due to my dyslexia, I got off-rhythm and drilled a .125 diameter hole in my left middle finger, through the nail and when I pulled the drill up, most of the nail went with it. Blood all over. I taped it up with a napkin & electrical tape and finished the job. Off to the ER and by then it had a decent throb going and was swelled up. X-ray showed no damage to the bone. They trimmed some of the nail, cleaned it out (they had numbed it), gave me a tetanus shot, wrapped it up. The nail took about 4 months to grow out and I had to patch it with crazy glue where the missing piece was. The nail grew weird for a couple of years, now it looks fine.
#1, In 66/67 or so, building a T-Bucket, using hammer and chisel to knock spring brackets off 57 Chev housing, was getting tired, should have stopped, full force swing, missed chisel and hit my ankle, fainted from pain, woke up and went to ER, surgery to repair and for years when putting socks if I touched that bone, would remind me, Dumb A$$, be careful with a hammer. #2, bought a auto darkening welding helmet in 90's, used it, nobody told me to keep fresh batteries in it, seemed to work, welded for a few hours, everything seemed OK, later in evening, traveling, noticed eyes burning, ended up with the worst welding flash ever received, went to an ER, threw that POS away, bought another more expensive one and to this day (paranoid),Put new batteries in when I weld, do not weld on a regular basis, have used welder in the last year now. Worked in machine shops all my life (Tool & Die Maker) have had some injuries (hand, eyes) but nothing serious or permanent, a mentor and friend told me years ago, You need all them fingers, they don't grow back ya know.
The Jalopy Journal
