worst thing to happen while working on your project...

I usually work alone,so one day back in '81....I had just chopped the top on my firsy '51 merc and had it welded.Well,while knocking out a low spot just behind the "B" pillar with a large ball peen hammer,somehow ,on the upstroke,the hammer came out from under the top and i beaned myself over my right eye causing me to lose my balance and fall to the ground bleeding profusely . My then wife came out to see why the noise had stopped and found me,helped me clean up then gave the same hammer and said,"now hit yourself again..this time on the other side".She's not my wife no mo! Moral of the story...? Now lets here yours!

 

about 6 years ago i was making a brake pedel for my car. i made the pedel out to look like an ace of spade. i had the spade cut out and clamped it to my edge of my workbench. i was using a grinder and was grinding the spade to give it a sharper point, when my clamp gives way, the grinding when shoots my spade (which by this point is more of and arrow head) at me and hits me right under my right knee cap before i even have a chance to react. i fall to the floor and feel a sharp pain, i look down and see i the spade in my right leg and sticking out the back. i had to pull it out and drag myself through the garage into the house down the hall and into the bathroom leaving a trail of blood behind me. at which point im in so much pain i threw up. i ended up tying my shirt around my thigh to slow down the bleeding and using crazy glue to close the wound. the next day i finished the pedel and welded it in. it looks cool but not as cool as the scar under my knee cap.

 

That beats my story of "pain from pleasure"! Anyone else got one to top Alex.

 

While working on one of my projects i ran out of money. haha

 

Ran out of time and money. Then we moved. Had to sell the project.

 

While i cant top the "impaled by brake pedal" I was running some cable through my first truck (huge stereo) and was drilling a hole to pass 0 gauge power wire through the firewall. The bit cut through quicker than i was expecting and i smashed the top of my middle finger against some bare metal. It took a good 5 minutes for me to realize i had shaved the flesh from the joint to the knuckle clean off and a small pool of blood was forming on the floor board. doesnt sound as cool as flying sharp metal objects though....

 

Had my car on a quick lift and was in the process of folding the legs under to back the car off when the jack gave out. In a split second the leg on the lift hit the floor flew up and caught the tip of my right hand, I had two compression fractures on my index finger and cut the tip of my middle finger off at the 1st joint. I was lucky enough that they where able to sew it back on, but I can't close my hand like I used to.

 

Wow, those are bad, worst thing I ever did was run a drill bit through my thumb. Luckily it stopped in the middle so I had to spin it out with my other hand. Thinking about it still gives me the twitches. Oh and I was being sarcastic about luckily.

Had an friend of a friend drop a car on his head- no shlt to he is still alive. Dumb a$$ was using a scissor jack to change his oil or something and it kicked out. Luckily someone was there to get a real jack under there. That aint no lie either.

 

This is one of the only 'horror' stories I've heard about with a kwiklift. I've got one and have been trying to figure out how to attach a pull cable or something to release the legs and fold them up without getting under it or reaching in there. This is good motivation.

Personally, I just about lost a finger. Not due to my hot rod but a boat lift. The cables had bunched up and I wanted to straighten them out. I was lowering the boat so there was no 'pinch' hazard by the cables and I thought I was pretty safe. As I was sliding my hand across the cables to pull them together, the bolt holding the cable came around and caught my right hand ring finger. Took it and smashed it into the frame, then pulled the skin almost off from the knuckle toward the tip. If it had been the nut/bolt and not the bolt head, I would have lost the finger as there is less clearance. It took three seconds from the time it started till I got my finger out. (I went back and timed it.) Seemed like an eternity.

 

I cringe every time I read one of these posts.....

I've had my share of stupidness while working on cars, but other than the odd deep cut I haven't had anything too bad happen....touch wood.

I had a 4 1/2" grinder get away from me once - I had a cup wire brush on it at the time and it made some interesting scars and marks as it worked it's way across my wrist and hand. It all seems to have healed up OK tho, and I didn't loose any parts in the process.

I remember trying to remove a coil spring off a coil-over by letting down the threaded collar nut, I thought once I got it down far enough the spring would be loose - lost a fingernail when it came down on my finger after the last thread on the collar. I guess I reflexively pulled my hand back just as it let loose, that's probably what took my nail off but I'll bet it saved my finger!

Hey, I was 18 and had never seen a coil-over before, I didn't know you had to use a spring compressor or band the spring.....

 

I was cutting a piece of one inch tubing with a cutoff wheel in an angle grinder. No vice, no guard on the cutter, no brains. I was young and invincible. I was holding the tube with my right hand and cutting with my left. Well, when the wheel made it most of the way through the tube, the bit that was still holding it together bent and the tube closed up on the wheel, pulling the whole angle grinder out of my hand. It ran back up my hand before I could get outta the way. It hit the ground and ran across the floor of the garage. I thought I made it out OK, then I saw the blood on the floor and looked at my hand. I had cut right into the bone in the big knuckle (the ones you use to punch with) of my left pointer finger. I was lucky, when I opened my hand, there were two ligaments or tendons that crossed back directly over where the cut was. I must have been lucky enough to have my hand just in the right position. They sewed me back up and I was good to go. Hurt pretty bad for a few weeks. Now I've got a nasty scar, and my knuckle is swollen and discolored, but I still have full use of my hand. I went out and got a vise and I always use it. Unfortunately, the guard to the cut off wheel is still in my top drawer. I should probably put that back on.

 

My 4 1/2 grinder, no guard of course, got away from me too. I was working shirtless decrusting my 46 Jeep frame and it ended up doing a dance on my stomach. Carved me up pretty good.

Another time I was building my work bench and cutting a bunch of 2 x 4's to the same length with a power mitre saw. I set a stop so I could just throw them in and get the same length each time and knock them out real fast... So fast that I cut the tip of my thumb off. Just missed the bone and it was sticking out. Grew back pretty well but it is much pointier than the other one now.

 

alex1954chevy

How about some pics of the pedal or scar

joe

 

I ran out of money : (

 

lol well i have a few! but the dumbest one is probably when i was trying rush before work cutting some stuff with a cut off wheel in my angle grinder, went to loosen it by grabing the wheel and twisting it off and while holding the grinder between my legs i squeezed the trigger.. and cut my finger and thumb to the bone OUCH!!

 

I was trying to align a transmission with a punch & it broke & put a deep gash in my eyebrow. Everyone knows how head wounds bleed. Funny thing was the three times I broke it open again later that evening. The warm feeling of something running down your face & the light-headed feeling...

 

God, I hate reading these stories..."I was wiping down a piece of sheetmetal, got too close to the edge, and sliced my fingers off." (Cringe) "Dropped a trans on my foot, and smashed my toes flat." (OMG) "Opened the radiator-cap when the engine was hot, and burnt my face off." (Retreat from thread)

 

I worked at a body shop in high school and watched another high school kid that worked there that was grinding paint off a car with a heavy ass 8" angle grinder using 36 grit. The edge of the grinder caught the drip rail on the car spun the grinder around and wrapped the kid up in his own shirt which wouldn't allow him to release the trigger, luckily we saved him before he got seriously hurt, he quit shortly after. Luckily I've avoided serious injury but I also take basic precautions, safety glasses, unplugging tools before servicing them, using a vice, etc....

 

Once I put a brake spring on with needle nose pliars. The pliars slipped off and I put them through my lower lip and broke a tooth. Never put them on that way again

 

I spent about a year looking for a nice clean front fender for my truck, all nice and painted, jack up he truck and the jack buckles and turns the treasure into trash, nice.

 

Someone once told me that scars are like tatoos only with better stories....

 

I took my front clip of my 46 merc and 1000 bucks worth of paint supplies to this guy who owed me money to trade for body work,2 days later his shop burned to the ground
with all my stuff in it. seems he was running a shop with only homeowners ins and no commercial coverage I lost it all

 

One more small one......

Using a lead hammer to loosen a knock-off, hammer slipped (of course) and hit me right on the ankle bone. Didn't break anything or cut anything, but to this day all I have to do is touch that bone with something hard and it hurts like hell!

 

no pics of my knee but i have another story...
i was 17 years old and pulling my cast iron powerglide transmission using a floor jack. the transmission slipps and falls. i sware i saw it happen in slow motion, as its falling i remember thinking "if i break the casing in screwed" so i do i do?? i soften the blow by putting my arm between the transmission and the floor. the trans lands HARD just below my left wrist, instantly i feel the sharp pain shoot across my body. i want to pull my arm out but im pinned on my back and blood start to come out from my wrist. i use an extention to pry the transmission off and blood starts shooting out from out of my wrist. i use good ol crazy glue to stop the bleeding and wrap my wrist with a bandana duct tape and finished my repair... after all i had to go cruising that night

 

Who says building cars is boring!Never a dull moment,is what it sounds like to me.Lets hear some more,this is entertaining.

 

tryed to cut my finger off with a circular saw, fourteen stiches and it still works! kind of.

 

I was working alone under my '53 Ford truck which is very low. I had stands under it but not on them and the small jack rolled out from under and it fell on me. I was pinned and slightly crushed under it. My daughter heard my manly yelling ( not girly screaming) and came out to try and help, she was 4 then. She got the attenton of a horizontally challenged (fat) neighbour lady who I convinced to stand on the other running board. I then could scrape my way out. Scared me pretty bad.

 

apparently the worst thing that can ever happen in the garage is your cell phone ringing?

 

man, we were breaking in the new cam on my 331 hemi and just before we shut it off blew the radiator hose giving my buddy 3rd degree burns over half his face and body. quick trip to the burn ward in SA and 3 days of worry. but my buddy survived with out any scars. very scary

 

Working alone...Driveway, 1978 on 73 Corvette. Thought all was level. Four wheels off ...on Jackstands. Bleeding brakes...Beautiful wife comes outside and asks how I am doing? I say, fine, pull my head out from under rear wheel rotor. New jackstands give way...car crashes to ground. Wife has horrified look...I about pee my pants! Life saved...