For you guys that work alone .

Jan 1st of this year I was off work and tinkering in the garage making a fitting for a 55 gallon drum. Anyways a razor sharp curl of metal got yanked & went right past my little finger taking a scoop of flesh along with it. It looked pretty bad and I just couldn't get the bleeding stopped so off to the ER I go. BTW dripping blood on their carpet is one way to get you in quicker!!!
Unfortunately for me they gave me a rookie doctor to sew it up. She asked if I had saved the chunk as it would make a "nicer repair" which I hadn't but suggested I could call the wife and send her in the garage to find it!!! Well she at first tried to cauterize it - no luck after several tries. And finally just decided to s***ch it up - well after a 1/2 dozen s***ches it was still bleeding as much as when I first came in. So finally she went for reinforcements - the next guy was actually very good - he took out all her s***ches and started over - I was amazed at how well he s***ched it up and eventually it stretched back to shape and now looks great.

The down side was that Jan 1 means a BRAND NEW DEDUCTIBLE - how's that to start off my new year!!! That damn fitting cost me 500 bucks and a lesson!!!

I hope you heal quickly!!

 

I didnt use to wear my perscription gl***es while I was working but one day I had forgotten to leave them in the work truck and was wearing them. I was screwing down some metal banding and it slipped out of my hand and came around and hit me square on my gl***es. I would have lost an eye if I hadnt had them on. Now I always wear some eye protection.

 

this is why i never get under a car without some one around. lost a friend that way

 

Thats funny my gf is a RN and made me recently get a tetnus.

 

This is why I did a Doctorate in Paramedical Science, damn thing didn't help me when I knocked myself out though!

Doc.

 

I work alone always.The other day I s****ing paint off the roof of my car with one of those window s****ers with a single edge blade when it slipped out of my hand and hit my stomach and cut me through my shirt. Bled a little but was sore a couple days. I told my wife it wasn't for my keg abs it could have been worse.

 

I'd do a street shout out

 

Its not if you will get hurt but when, be prepared for Emergency First Aid, duct and electrical tape, bandages, plastic bags, etc. All the things you will need should be in one place and organized. Keep a cool head and plan ahead.

 

the only thing that scares me about working alone are the ghosts at my house

 

Now that I am a bid older, I think more before I do something when working on my car, or anything for that matter around the house, yard or at my job. It saves me the frustration when something goes wrong, and for more important, safety! Last fall I was cutting up some old wood for firewood with a skill saw. I hit a nail and a piece of it hit my safety goggles. I would have damaged or lost the eye if I was not wearing them. 10-20 yrs ago I would not have bothered with safety goggles. I alway think ahead now, in anything that requires safety, and that includes driving.

 

One thing I learned...it's really better not to wear gloves when using any kind of rotary tools...the glove can be caught up easily, and RRRRROOOOOWWWWW.

Glad it wasn't worse, John. Damn, those curly-cues are sharp, huh?

 

I got my arm stuck once because of a floor jack that slowly lowered itself with out me knowing.Luckily there was a jack stand under the car wich stopped my arm from being crushed. But I couldn't get it out because my watch (which I no loger wear because of it) got caught. Well two hours later when the blood made it slick enough to slide it out up walks my brother in law. Saying " you didn't come to dinner so I came over to check on you" The other time I was welding upside down and it popped and bounced off the mask off my safety gl***es and into my eye. For those of you who don't know they s****e it out. In my case the next day which was twice as painful. and lastly I cut the tip of my finger off on the compound miter saw and superglued it back on it was fine till I got in the show later that night and it fell back off again. I'm a carpenter so lots of cuts. My wife is pretty **** about me being safe she just shakes her head and says" You worry me sometimes" oh sawzalled my finger to the bone a month ago, the list goes one. But it's part of being a guy and working with ones hands oh weld popped in the hole of my ear too. That one made a nice sizzle noise wasn't as bad as the eye.

 

Teach them how to knock tin.

 

When I was working we had a gal get her gloved hand caught on some curls coming out of a part she was drilling and spin her hand around the spindle. That broke a couple bones in her hand and when Mi OSHA came in to investigate they said we had to post signage around all drill presses stating that you cannot wear gloves while using the drill press.

 

exactly.

cell phone is a good idea by yourself if you have the ringer off.

Almost every incident ( that could have killed someone in the shop or someone on the road b/c ) in the last 7 years in the shop has been traced down to people using the cell phone in the shop or it buzzing in their pocket, getting distracted, and forgetting something.

That is what no cell phone in the shop policy.

I leave mine in the office if I am working on something.

I think a cell phone is the most dangerous piece of equipment in the shop.

Wil
www.sakowskimotors.com
www.ridefree.com

 

Had a chick shoot herself and the weapons instructor once, trying to **** a FN9mm Browning, she placed a hand over the slide and when ****ing twisted the weapon so it pointed into her crotch. When she released the slide, of course her damn finger was ON the trigger and she fired a round right through her flank and into the instructors leg behind her!
The whole Army now have to **** the FN in the most uncomfortable way as a result so it cant happen again.
I guess thats O/T but kinda funny........and a pointless story........

Doc.

 

I'm a solo act in the home shop. For about 5yrs I made my living in a shop that was also just me 90% of the time. So far the worst was when I was doing a Mopar mini tub gig. As hard as I worked to remove the galvanize from the OEM sheetmetal I couldn't get it all. The **** would pop and spark like I'd not seen before. Not the whole job but without warning someplace. I normally just shrug off mig burns as a fact of life. Only hurts for a second so WTF, right? Now I'm sitting cross-legged in this tub and ****'s just flyin. The whole down the neck and in your ear gets old fast. I covered up like I was sandblsting. Hood, jacket, gloves, and then I layed a fireproof cover over my legs. I'm thinkin I was a bit overkill but hey, no burns in unusual spots. 1st weld, kool. 2nd weld, got a "roller" that got through a little opening in the lap blanket, burned through my Levis and went right where you ****in NEVER wanna get burned!! The burn was bad enough but even worse was the slam of the back of my head from the pain right into the fender edge. I was so pissed by this time I closed the shop for the day. Several other things went south that day and burning my balls was the last straw. I went home and cut the gr*** instead. Even though I was fed up I remained calm enough to wait around and look for smoldering **** anywhere. I usually will not weld at least 1/2 hr before I lock up. You never know where those little *******s go. If I'm done I sit down and have a smoke planning the next gig and checking things for safety. Always keep some wet rags around for your gas tanks and related fuel type **** when you're grinding or welding. I've been in 2 fires and it worked out OK but I never want "strike 3". My preference is someone on "fire watch" when I grind or weld. Grinding can be worse. The sparks get really hot flyin through the air at that speed. Fire scares me more than anything. Seconds can be the difference in whether or not you survive.

 

They are advertised for 'little old ladies', but you can get a cheap alarm installed in your garage/house/whatever, and include a "panic" ****on that hangs around your neck (keep it INSIDE your shirt). If, for any reason, you are incapacitated, you push that ****on and it immediately notifies the alarm company who then call the police if you do not answer their 'call back' on a designated phone. You do need to be careful with these things, as most municipalities exact a heavy fine for more than one or two 'false alarms'. When you're not using it - let your wife/significant other have it. That will give you some piece of mind if you're away.

"help....I've fallen down and I can't get up"

dj

 

I make sure to stop welding and grinding at least a half hour before I'm done for the day/night. Some times a spark takes a while to turn into a flame

 

When I was a kid my mom would check on me about every hour or so when I was working out in the garage and if she heard a loud noise she would come out and check on me.
My worse injury came when I was doing some plumbing and got my index finger split open when it was smashed by a ten foot piece of water pipe. I had to drive myself to the emergency room as no one was home at the time. I still don't use that finger to type four years later.
I always block a vehicle that I am working under solid before I get under it. Years ago I had a car fall off cheapie jack stands just after I had gotten out from under it so that has always stuck in my mind.
I bought a full face shield for grinding a couple of years ago and it has pretty well become a habit to put it on before reaching for the grinder. It has a few dings to prove how well it works. Remind others that not every hottie will let you check her out by the braille method just because you lost your sight when something got in your eyes.
Keeping things picked up is one key to being safe in the shop be it you work by yourself or with others. I broke a toe stepping in an ammo box that my buddy used as his 'metric" tool box a few years ago when it was sitting in the pathway to his big tool box. He always knew I had been in his shop because I would clean it up and put the tools away before I pulled my project in to work on it and clean up afterwords.

 

Haha Everytime my wife DOESN'T hear a loud noise from the garage she runs out to make sure I'm still alive!

 

A guy worked/ lived alone in a shop across the street from me. Big wood working equiptment. Really carefull with it but as it turned out he had a heart attack sitting on the pot, no one missed him for a month, his sister back east finally called the cops to check on him when she couldn't get him on the phone for a couple weeks. They found him still sitting there! Guess it doesn't matter, if your by your self you take chances.

 

Yeah . . . my friend's old saying is "you can't stop stupid!".

I've done a couple dumb things in the last 10 years - luckily I didn't get hurt on any of them, but I take even more precautions than ever .. . . there are a ton of ways to get hurt with power equipment, welders, grinders and all things heavy. Always need to keep a steady/safe pace and really think about things before starting a job. We've ALL been lucky a time or two

I always wear my steel tip boots as well - a bit heavier than sneakers, but beats the **** out of busted up feet. I'm amazed on how few people have good safety boots - should be mandatory around the **** we all work on.

 

When I was younger I worked at a salvage yard and when someone bought a tire or wheel, I would take the lug nuts off and grab the tire on both sides and just jerk it off the car, but one day I was doing it and was in a hurry not thinking and I put my hand on top the tire instead of the side and the car came down on my hand and pinned it between the fender lip and tire. Got all freaked out at first, but luckly I got my $hit together and got enough strenght built up to be able to get my hand out. That was the last time I did that.

 

True story here, working on a wood project on the radial arm saw, ripping the edges off for lathe work, when the push stick I was using broke and I ended up cutting off the pointing finger at the first jt and ran across two next to it. Turned around told my dad I just cut my fingers off he said no way so when he turned around I shot him in the face with blood that was shooting out with each pulse. Picked the finger up and drove to hospital, they advised not sewing it back on, less than a 10% chance of using and enormous doctor bills.

 

not only do i work alone, i live alone out in the country. a mistake could easily cost me my life. when i'm under my jacked-up truck, i have backups to my backups and a phone within reach. when i'm using a power tool, i generally use xtra caution. i tell myself; "how much will it cost me in the ER if i slip up?" that straightens me up every time....

 

Years ago I was working alone in the garage using a propane torch to heat a frozen bolt. Apparently, I hadn't screwed the torch tip down enough. The flame burst out sidewise from the gas bottle top. This caught me by suprise and and jumped back, tripping over and spilling the 5 gallon can of gas kept by the door for the lawn mower. This caused me to fall seat first.

I found myself sitting in a pool of gas with a out of control torch in my hand! Thinking quickly, I tossed the torch out the open door into the center of the lawn. Almost as quickly, the gasoline soaked through my britches and reached my privates. This caused me to leap up as fast as I had gone down. I began striping off my pants and underware to try to obtain some relief.

While this was going on, the brown autumn gr*** of the front yard burst into propane ***ited flames which spread across the entire yard in a matter of moments. I ran into the house with my pants and drawers around my ankles.

I don't know if my neighbors saw any or all of this. I suspect they did, they weren't none to talkative for the next several years.

 

Now that would have made a good episode for TOOL TIME.

 

I think I'd have gone to church after that . . . the 'Big Guy' was having some fun with you . . . here is how it went:

"God: Hey Jesus, I'll bet you two rotten souls that I can make this guy mess up putting the torch on this $10 propane torch, then he's going to light it, almost catch his hand on fire . . . scare himself, fall backwards, trip over a gas can . . . soak his balls in it and you take it from there!"

"Jesus: Ain't gonna happen, no way . . . you're on . . ."

"God: Here Goes . . . . . OKAY Jesus - he's sitting in gas, flaming torch in hand . . . your call! Should he catch of fire and be a human torch???? You gonna fry his nuts to teach him a lesson or not . . . sizzle, sizzle, pop pop . . . I can hear them now . . . "

"Jesus: Naw, he's not a bad guy -- and he needs a reason to get back to church . . . let's just set his lawn on fire and have him run around half-naked. He just needs a SMALL lesson today . . . . we'll let him keep his gasoline soaked balls where they are . . . and the neighbor lady will NEVER want to see them after this . . . "

"God: Holy ****! He's running around with his pants around his ankles trying to put his lawn out - this is funny as hell. Hey St. Peter . . . get a load of this guy . . . are all HAMBers this funny??"


So there you have it - as told in heaven . . . time to finish this cup of coffee and head to the shop.

 

Thea beauty of schizophrenia is that you are never alone!