Workshop safety

[mcrover]

Just thought Id start a thread on safety, not because im a safety nazi but because there may be a few people which arnt quite up to speed on keeping it safe while working on their Landrovers.

Any safety tips from welding to ramping and jacking is what im thinking of as well as specific Landrover repairs which may have specific risks.

I have just had to sit through 2 days of OH&S drivel so now it's your turn and you never know we all may learn something.

It may seem dumb but put it in anyway as it may save someones arm leg or life .

[mcrover]

When working on a diesel engine, Disconnect the fuel solonoid so it will not start on you if you have to turn it over.

Dont use flames any where near a battery, they explode.

[JDNSW]

Jacking:-
Never get under a vehicle supported only by a jack - use stands. And always chock a vehicle when jacking - and remember that most Landrovers have a transmission handbrake which means as soon as you jack a rear wheel the handbrake is doing nothing to stop the vehicle moving unless the diff lock/front wheel drive is engaged (and free wheel hubs if fitted locked) ; so don't rely on the handbrake! If possible only jack on level ground, preferably hard and flat.

John

[dullbird]

if jacking a car with a hi-lift, kangaroo jack, or monkey jack (many names for the one jack)

and it slips and starts to walk its self down, DO NOT under any circumstances attempt to grab the handle you will not stop it and it will hurt you if not break something

dullbird

[LandyAndy]

WELDING
Im guilty every time when Ive got a small job to do.Shorts singlet and thongs is my standard dress.Arc light burns worse than the sun,you need long sleeves/pants/boots.Been flash burned plenty of times.
Im not totally silly,if Ive got a decent job I do dress up for it.
Andrew

[sadbenn]

I had a to laugh at this. they made me spent a hole day doing an induction for a major fork lift company don't do this do it our way . Was sent out with one of their top service technician's for the day .The fellow got a bit up set that I wood not get under a high reach truck just supported by a jack.Next day was quite interesting as too who was at fault.Thats how its all ways been done.
Arrived back in the work shop next day white power all over the place ,thought it was a bit strange ? Turns out to clean some contacts brake cleaner was used Can you just shift it out of the way no problem's mate ,as this ball of flames went across the work shop [battery driven forks have open contactors ].
turns out over half a can was used to do some , de-greasing at the same time .
All I can say is was I glad to get out of there.

[Bigbjorn]

Good thread idea. I started my apprenticeship in 1957 when safety meant putting the chain and belt guards back on after servicing or repairing a machine. Few did. Welders hung off scaffolds in the shipyards and docks by a hand and a foot, with nary a shield in the yard. "Strike" or "Arc" was called out and we turned our heads. Riveting teams wore felt hats not hard hats. Machinists did not wear goggles. Steel toed boots were something seen in safety films from overseas. Bring it on.

[JDNSW]

Specific safety prescriptions can be counter-productive, both because they can't cover every circumstance, and because they can give a false sense of security.

Perhaps the most important safety tip is "Do I really understand what I am doing? What can go wrong? If this breaks(comes off, slips etc) what happens? Is there a spring under tension or something under pressure? Is this wire alive? Is this flammable? Is this something I don't want on my skin or to breathe (or on the paintwork)? Is something going to potentially get in my eyes? Is there a wire or a fuel line on the other side of this bit I am welding (cutting, drilling)?"

You can probably think of other questions to ask, but you get the idea - think about what you are doing and what the possible results are going to be, including the the ones you don't want.

John

[dmdigital]

Specific safety prescriptions can be counter-productive, both because they can't cover every circumstance, and because they can give a false sense of security.

...think about what you are doing and what the possible results are going to be, including the the ones you don't want.


John,

Without starting a debate about right and wrong. Your first point is one of the biggest misconceptions many have with safety awareness. Your last point is probably the most valid reason for having safety awareness.

You'll notice I use the term safety awareness and not rules. No safety information or instructions should be never be considered counter-productive. They are there to make you stop, think, assess - Something we should all do.

Now as for safety tips:


Never stop to change a tyre just over the crest of a hill (saw this yesterday)

Wear safety glasses, particularly when working under the vehicle.

[tombraider]

Never tell the missus her best friends better in bed....

:wasntme:

[mcrover]

I have worked in many work places which needed a bit of OH&S awareness.

I don't think doing things safely is counter productive and Im talking in this thread about back yard mechanics more than my commertial workshop.

I think it would cost a fair bit more to have 6 to 8 weeks off work unpaid than to go buy a set of jack stands for example.

My tip for today:

When working on the electrical system, after fault finding the problem, disconect the battery so while repairing the problem you dont Ark live wires on body work which can start fires, burn fingers (and electrical burn hurt bad) and other body parts, fry regulators and damage body work.

When lifting heavy objects, go get help or use a lifting device such as a block and tackle or engine crane.
Make up a rolling bench if you have a fixed possition block and tackle so you can move heavy objectss around your work shop.
When using an engine crane make sure that your rigging is strong enough to lift the object your lifting.
Rope, hay band or dog chain is no good for rigging, flat strap (sling or tree protector), heavy chain (rated higher than the load) or a continuous sling and bow shakles.
As with winching, when lifting heavy objects you should allways use rated equipment.

[byron]

Never tell the missus her best friends better in bed....

:wasntme:

:eek: :) :D :p :o !!!!!!!

[GrahamH]

Pushing a disabled vehicle on the road (or off it) ...

Put your bum against the rear of the car and use your legs to push (those big muscles in the back of your thighs are much more powerful than your arms!). It saves your back from damage and you can see cars coming up behind you and take evasive action if necessary.

Never push a car with your arms out forward and your bum to the traffic behind you. A number of people have been killed by being between the disabled car and the one that rear-ended it and they never saw it coming. This should be one of those lessons that parents give their teenagers when they buy them their first (and less than 100% reliable) car.

It works when you're pushing a vehicle around the workshop/driveway as well.

[William]

Never tell the missus her best friends better in bed....

:wasntme:

Or even more dagerous than that..........Her sister!!

[mcrover]

Or even more dagerous than that..........Her sister!!

Wrong workshop...:D ;)

[George130]

On a practicle note. wear the eye goggles even when just doing a little drilling on metal!

[Koukandowie Brangus]

On a practicle note. wear the eye goggles even when just doing a little drilling on metal!

You bet!!!! having a doctor cut the metal out of your eye with a needle is not something you want to go through believe me, :(

[rangieman]

just do a pre job risk asessment before doing any job
look at the job and ask your self am i likely to injure my self and if the answer is yes

then do a run down and say to your self how can i lower the chance of injury

= PPE (PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT)
= DIFFERENT TOOLS
= or pay some other sucker to do the job (lol):p

this should all be part OHS

[Quiggers]

I worked in a metal fabrication factory when I was 16 - 6 weeks during the summer school hols.

There was one injury a week needing hospitalisation - lost fingers, broken leg, crane hook to cranium, crushed foot by a dropped quarter ton dye, forklift backed into an employees motorbike, (she'd only just parked it), pipes fell off a semi trailer moving the 'tea room' about six feet, one of those inside was scaled by boiling water, etc etc etc... and ongoing bakstrains...

OHS may be dull to learn but when it didn't exist back in the '70s, the problems were rife - an ambulance was in that industrial estate almost every day...

GQ

[mcrover]

I agree as much as it was like pulling teeth last week sitting through it I have been thinking about it all week and have already bought a new leather welding jacket, new welding gloves, a couple of pairs of goggles and new oxy goggles and started this thread.

Something must have soaked in.

Tip for the day,

Might not count for a lot of you but never stand under or even put your feet under something that is suspended in the air even if its just off the ground.

Hydraulics, chains, slings, dogs and bow shakles even when rated can let go at any time and should be treated as if they will and if something comes down you dont want to be undernieth it when it does.

Also Steel cap boots are a brilliant thing to stop broken toes but they do have a bad side when something extremely heavy is dropped on the back of the cap they can cut toes off.

I have a permanent injury to my right big toe due to a horse standing on the back of the cap and it bloody hurts all the time.

So keep your self clear at all times.

[Quiggers]

Well, if you're getting paid for the course, mcrover, then its just another part of the job - dull or otherwise.

Having survived that factory in my teens - I'm so safe I annoy me, hi lift jacks not withstanding.....

When I did welding a zillion years ago most of the course was watching ancient films of welding mishaps - crikey!

The Tech was very 'work safety' even then...

Get this: one (USA) film was sooooo old it finished off with a happy ending saying something like: "...and man will soon crack the atom, etc...."

How this related to welding was beyond me, preparing apprentices for welding up nuke bombs? Or if the atom was split would it need welding?:D

GQ

[dobbo]

snip


How this related to welding was beyond me, preparing apprentices for welding up nuke bombs? Or if the atom was split would it need welding?:D

GQ


Are you saying you are privy to a method of nuclear fusion using a Tig or a Mig welder?

[Quiggers]

Good one dobbo.

The Tech teacher was a bit embarrased by the age of these films - we all couldn't stop laughing - I remember seeing many with '30s era trucks, you know, the types with no doors; lotsa demonstrations of how to weld up leaf springs 'n' shackles 'n' tanks etc.....

underwater oxy welding was fascinating; guys with big brass helmets; didn't even know that was possible.......

"....hey Floyd, the submarine has a hole in it, let's weld it up!"

:D :D :D

GQ

[mcrover]

I helped a bloke once do oxy welding on the hull of a house boat on lake eildon.

They pumped air into the hull to keep the area clear and the oxy stays lit under water but as I was about 14 and on work experience at the time I dont remember much more.

There were girls on the boat.

Tip for the day:

When using oxycutting equipment, clear the area for about 10 meters or so of anything that could catch on fire because if it is in the danger zone it will.

Also as mentioned before wear safty gear Gloves, long sleeves and long pants or overalls preferably a leather apron or jacket and solid boots.

I burned my hand about 2 years ago with the cutting torch cutting a hole in a steel sheet wall, I went to put my hand up to steady my self and put it in the line of the flame which was going accross the sheet and I couldnt see it through the goggles.

If id been wearing gloves it probably wouldnt have been to bad but I was just doing that "quick job" and after 20 years of using oxy equipment thought id get away with it.

I didn't.

[Quiggers]

MCR: Ouch! Bad? Spose it was being that type of device.

I can't weld anymore, my eyes get hot spots and I need them (the eyes).

Which is an annoyance - I'd like to be creating all sorts of things...

I cut steel with an angle grinder which actually seems better than using the oxy blaster....

I wish they'd told me all those years ago that even with eye shields, your eyes may get a bit stuffed up......... OHS?

GQ

[RobHay]

The safety tip that I follow religiously is: Is this likely to hurt me if it all goes pear shaped........If the answer is YES!

I get the son-in-law to do it.......cos I know I can always get another son-in-law.:p :angel:

[crash]

Great thread.
I like the standard safety equipment - goggles, ear muffs and steel capped boots, and gloves.
Working in the medical field I have seen countless amount broken toes that would have been prevented if steel caps were worn.
Angle grinders are fantastic at starting fires -including yourself - always check where the sparks are flying and make sure nothing flameable is in its path including dry grass.
When changing a tire, place the spare under the frame rails while jacking and getting the old tire off, then place the damaged tire under the framerail as the spare is going on.
When using a drill press make sure you clamp the piece of steel down while drilling it. If the bit gets caught there is no way that you can hold the piece you are working on by hand.

[Quiggers]

Crash: angle grinders are great stuff!

starting fires is only a side line - they're great with fingers, legs and arms

just binned one of these, got the wobbles, so ta ta.......

OHS issue story if you're interested: Back in the early (er) days of tv broadcast tv stations had an amazing device called the video disk.

standing 5 feet high (electronic racks below) the two ten pound disks (on top) could record about 30 seconds of broadcast tv for 'instant replay'.... amazing stuff 30 years ago..

we were sent a videotape from the manufacturer, AMPEX, of the result of what happened when one of the disks 'destabilised'

the ten pound top disk, spinning at 15000rpm took off like a frisbee and destroyed the room in which it was housed, it's flimsy glass case did not stop it and it was a disaster... the unit itself was shaken to bits by the lower disk and apparently those in the room ran for their lives... about 1972 at a vtr room at cbc vancouver....

"hi honey i'm home, didn't get decapitated today........."

pluck!

GQ

[shorty943]

Isn't machinery fun. I remember all hell breaking loose during a Naval Gunnery firing, a class of trainees, all told the same safety rules at the same time, yet one bloke must have had a better idea. A big scream of pain, the gun captain shouting checkfire, and all the guncrew clambering through the whole machinery system from magazine , up the hoists, the lot, looking for 3 fingers, taken off by a 4.5 inch breach block.
I'm with qiggers all the way on angle grinders. Dangerous devil machines them, first sign of trouble, run over it with a D9 Cat. Got a scar runs up the inside of my left thigh, real close nasty frightened, curtesy of an unmaintained 9 incher. I don't trust a brand new 9 inch angle grinder.
Working in meatworks engineering many years ago, meatworker fighting an air powered siding saw. The only thing that saved his life, was the chainmail apron he was wearing. An old speedway racing mate of mine, was working in a pit, under a Ford tip truck (running), he reached up for something, managed to accidentally push it into gear. The tail shaft grabbed his arm, lifted him out of the pit, and dragged him across the road till the truck hit a Stobie pole the other side of the road. Destroyed his left arm.
The injuries that put me on the 100% service disability pension, were due to over tired people working in dangerous conditions, with heavy machines. We all bitch about the OH&S mob, but, we all have also worked for some shaky bosses, safety wise from time to time. At least I seem to have, some real "Bent Axle Bob's", out there in the world.

If one can not tell the difference between a left or right handed screwdriver, then get the hell out of my workshop.
Or, go buy one of the new universal ones, that works both ways.:twisted:

Shorty.

[mcrover]

My god quigs thats an amazing story I might start another thread of what can happen when things go wrong.

Just to add another tip:

Keep your overalls clean, there is nothing like having to spray an entire co2 extinguiser over one of your workmates when he sets himself on fire when his overalls that had probably never been washed had that much diesel and oil in them that it acted like a giant wick.

We had to strip him down nude as jocks were still burning and we ran out of extinguisers and he was getting crook from the co2.

He didn't have really bad burns that was surprising but where the burns were is where no man wants it to be.

[Bigbjorn]

I worked in ship repair for a while long time ago as a casual fitter. The dockyard used to put numbers of CO2 extinguishers throughout the ship as the on board fire fighting gear was out of action without engines and pumps when the ship was shut down. What would have happened in case of fire is worth thinking about, as most extinguishers had been used by (mainly) the Ship's Painters and Dockers to chill beer cans.

[justinc]

This is a great thread,

Just a quickie,

ALLWAYS wipe up ANY oil or liquids spilt immediately BEFORE someone slips on them.

(I guess you all know who that someone is by now.....):( :(
And lets face it, Landies ARE pretty oily.

JC

[Bigbjorn]

An old speedway racing mate of mine, was working in a pit, under a Ford tip truck (running), he reached up for something, managed to accidentally push it into gear. The tail shaft grabbed his arm, lifted him out of the pit, and dragged him across the road till the truck hit a Stobie pole the other side of the road. Destroyed his left arm.
Shorty.

A friend of mine is shorter than he used to be and walks with a peculiar motion. In 1967 he was leaning over the bonnet of a Mk2 Zephyr automatic giving it a tune up. He revved it up and somehow managed to foul the shift linkage and knocked it into a forward gear. The car rammed him into the back wall of the shop with its bumper and smashed the bones in both legs. Much hospital time and surgery later he is 3" shorter.

[shorty943]

I worked in ship repair for a while long time ago as a casual fitter. The dockyard used to put numbers of CO2 extinguishers throughout the ship as the on board fire fighting gear was out of action without engines and pumps when the ship was shut down. What would have happened in case of fire is worth thinking about, as most extinguishers had been used by (mainly) the Ship's Painters and Dockers to chill beer cans.

WOT? You expect them to drink hot stolen beer?

Shorty.

[Quiggers]

CO2: Being a prize smart **** and in need of a quick fix for a show I was producing (a sales conference) I needed a cloud of gas or smoke, so i pinched a CO2 extinguisher and filled the stage with a cloud.

I also created lightning......

.... an open power point doubled up with cheap doublers and while I thought I was very clever, filling the stage with a cloud of CO2 gas for vast effect, I didn't even consider it was electro conductive - lucky I didn't kill me or those onstage (which was the boss).....

others in the audience later said the lightning effect was amazing

(the lightning bolt went stage left, straight into the CO2 bottle, somehow I dropped it, just prior)

rules: don't kill me, don't kill the boss, don't kill the staff, don't kill the audience....

OHS is a pain, but so very needed....

[Quiggers]

mcrover: good idea

we could all collect maybe a 1000 stories of error and publish, amazing what people do in innocent error

but will it all sink in and solve the probs of 'humanity'.....

in this case of OHS issues the truth is always stranger than fiction, sadly.

this'll make a strong man weep:

we had a crew of film crew at a studio in Balmain and knew all of them quite well - our day was without drama thankfully

at the same site a few days later (on another job) the gaffer was reversing his pantech truck into its bay - and crushed his assistant between the box and a wall - it was his beloved 19yo son - they survived, just....... (hope you're well Derek....)

lost a crew man due to hypoxia in the hymalayas - we carried him (dead) out over 2 weeks - OHS? of the time said the biggest problem to be encountered was frostbite - no one thought about altitude sickness....

when I was production manager on the tv series Go Fish Australia, the sound recordist had a near terminal case of seasickness, poor bugger...

my best mate Frank Lennon, (a stuntman and ex SAS) who once held the world record for being on fire the longest - died as a result of falling off a balcony at the Mad Max 3 wrap party - only six feet - and he was sober - the balcony rail gave way...... (love ya Frank)

plenty more mcrover if you wsh.....

GQ

[DEFENDERZOOK]

hey quiggers......


are you a jinx....?

[HangOver]

You bet!!!! having a doctor cut the metal out of your eye with a needle is not something you want to go through believe me, :(

I second that I was tightening a rusty bolt under the rangie a couple of days ago and had goggles on. I still had to fish rust out of my eye with a cotton bud.

[mcrover]

Quiggers, Im not trying to make light of it but remind me to never work with you, mate you have had some bad luck (or your friends have anyway).

Hydraulics:

Never use your hand to check for Hydraulic or pressurised diesel leaks.

The amount of pressure coming out of a pin hole can cause the oil or diesel to penatrate the skin and enter your blood stream.

I dont know what the end result is but ive been told it's not good, I was told of a bloke who needed a large chunk cut out of his arm from a leaking injector line and another lost his whole hand to gangreen from Hydaulic oil.

If you need to check for a leak, use a piece of paper as it will show up straight away.

Also residual pressure, relieve pressure from injector lines, Hyd Hoses and fuel lines before loostening them.

Nothing like being hit in the eye by a squirt of petrol from a fuel line.

[JDNSW]

On the subject of angle grinders - some years ago one of the locals here had a wheel break on an angle grinder - hit him in the face - very lucky, he made a full recovery. Before the ambulance had reached the hospital there were farmers for a radius of thirty kilometres digging out guards from behind benches and refitting them.............(good grapevine here).

Never use an angle grinder without a guard - if you can't do the job with the guard on, think of a different way of doing it.

John

[Bigbjorn]

On the subject of angle grinders - some years ago one of the locals here had a wheel break on an angle grinder - hit him in the face - very lucky, he made a full recovery. Before the ambulance had reached the hospital there were farmers for a radius of thirty kilometres digging out guards from behind benches and refitting them.............(good grapevine here).

Never use an angle grinder without a guard - if you can't do the job with the guard on, think of a different way of doing it.

John
My best man lost an eye to a disintegrating grinding disc on an angle grinder. Same thing, guard removed and thrown away. Adding the proverbial insult to injury, he was to get $16000 compensation, but his ex-wife (the third! slow learner) got wind of this and as he owed her a goodly sum in the divorce settlement, payment of which he was avoiding, got her solicitor to put a clamp on the payment. I have never seen another man so angry. I thought we would read about a murder in the morning paper. "The *#+&$ bitch left me broke, with a second hand ute and one eye!" has been his catchcry ever since.

[shorty943]

My best man lost an eye to a disintegrating grinding disc on an angle grinder. Same thing, guard removed and thrown away. Adding the proverbial insult to injury, he was to get $16000 compensation, but his ex-wife (the third! slow learner) got wind of this and as he owed her a goodly sum in the divorce settlement, payment of which he was avoiding, got her solicitor to put a clamp on the payment. I have never seen another man so angry. I thought we would read about a murder in the morning paper. "The *#+&$ bitch left me broke, with a second hand ute and one eye!" has been his catchcry ever since.

Now there is a workshop safety tip. Never have a third. Can't you just love females of the opposite sex every now and then. At least she left him the ute Brian. Mine took the lot.

Never, ever, run any spinning, rotating machinery without its guards. Never. I nearly lost a fair bit of my left hand in a belt drive once. 400 HP electric motor driving a large industrial refrigeration compressor, owch, hurts mum.

Never wear rings, chains around the neck or wrist. I won't even wear a watch in a workshop. If, like me you have long hair, net it or tie it well back. One of my apprentices became prematurely bald, long hair, high speed mill. Need I say more?

Never store anything, anywhere, except in propper storage equipment, and never block exits.

Always make sure all safety and fire fighting gear is up to date. And that you do know how to use it propperly. Fire training ground, HMAS Cerberus Vic. Class of recruits, had all, we thought, listened on the day before, during the safety briefing. Not so one lass, All, were told about the fire dangers of nylon undies etc. The screams were terrible, as the poor girls bra melted. Say no more.

Shorty.

[mcrover]

Tip for the day.

Earmuffs, earplugs, goggles etc are not just for decorating the shed with.

I see people all the time operating mowers and whipper snippers wearing shorts thongs and no eye or ear protection.

96db is the noise level of the average 2stroke engine and then when you remove the spark arrestor it bounces up above 100db.

Same with 4 stroke mowers they are maxed out at 96db but as soon as that crappy exaust gets a bit rusty it is easy to get over that.

96db is about as loud as your average pub band and after a night out your ears ring the next day.

I know its not in the workshop but it counts for in there as well, angle grinders are very loud as are circular saws etc.

So dust of your safety gear and work out how to use it or if you dont have the basics go get some but beware cheap earmuffs are next to useless but if its all youve got chuck some plugs in as well or cotton wool.

[CowsGoMoo]

If you're going to mess about lifting the rear end of some small car (moke?) while your mate "gives it a bit" and pops the clutch to get the driveway gravel to flick out, make sure it's not front wheel drive. If it is then you'll get pulled flat on your face and the car ends up crashing into the gararge roller door..... :angel:

Wasn't me, but told by someone who assures me the gravel didn't taste real good :eek:

[dmdigital]

And look inside your earmuffs before putting them on, same with boots...nice hiding spots for redbacks and other creepy crawlies :D

Also good hiding place for green tree frogs!

[Quiggers]

Found the neighbours cat in my boat, whch was locked in the shed for three days - far more of a danger than any spinning tool - crikey!

The back story is that I left the shed door open, much later that night, I did my rounds of the property (locking stuff) and found it open, so I locked it up and didn't return for three days........ mee owwwww!

GQ

[dmdigital]

At least they don't bite but I reckon they'd scare the s**t out of you just the same :D

My wife's petrified of frogs... so you can imagine the effect if one get's in her work boot :eek:

[dmdigital]

Another overlooked thing is keep chisels, knives and other blades sharp. A sharp blade will cut properly and is less likely to slip or jam if used correctly. Which leads to the next point of always use them correctly!

[mcrover]

While on knives and sharp things, allways put them in the tool box with the blade protected as to not blunten it or cut you fingers off when you put your hand in the tool box.

Dont use those snap blad stanley knives as if any pressure is put on it the blade breaks and can end up in your hand or flinging accross the room and hitting someone else.

Allways sharpen your chisels before you put them away, theres nothing worse than going to do a job with a blunt chisel.

[mcrover]

My tip for the day,

Never spray paint anything in an enclosed area without good ventillation and never smoke while spray painting as the over spray can explode like a bomb.

Saw the roof of a spray booth take off one time when the bloke spraying with rapid enamel and having a smoke at the same time.

He came out with ringing ears and no eye brows and singed hair and steaming clothes.

He didnt just stop smoking while painting, he stopped smoking all together.

[Quiggers]

I worked in a building and in our edit suite the chief engineer arrived unexpectedly - he put his foot and them himself thru the gyprock ceiling -

moral to that story: gyprock is not load bearing - especially when you weigh 120kgs......:eek: :D :eek: :D

gday chris - just dropped in eh?????:twisted:

GQ

[mcrover]

while on the subject of falling off stuff,

When climbing a ladder, even if it is just on the back of the landy, then 3 contact points e.g 2 hands and atleast 1 foot and vice versa while climbing.

Also when on a tray or the like make sure it is clean so not to slip over or take extra care or throw some sand over it or the like to make it a little less slipery.

Im scared of heights after falling backwards off a tower ladder in a previous job because of not having 3 contact points and nearly broke my back falling off a truck tray onto a concrete wall because of oil and not looking to see if it were safe.

[Bytemrk]

Keep your index finger away from the pointy bits on th bottom of an electric planer.......they can make a fair divot:eek::eek:

Still can't quite workout how I did that.. :bangin: :blush::blush: :no2:

Mark

[Quiggers]

I rode the crane hook up, (Phil the operator, got me out) was the safest thing to grab on to, after the 20 ton pipe slings snapped, moving the tea room.......... when they all fell down, the semi trailer went the other way, dislodging about 200 tons of stock, which rested beside the trailer and the (compressed) tea room... so long ago but still firmly imprinted in my oh so safe psyche...............:eek:

While we're talking OH+S, I'll toss this one in to the discussion: Had a young guy work with me for a few years, top fella, but went a bit scary, when we had walk into/onto a large (raised) satellite dish at Belrose, only maybe 10 metres of the deck, he had to be coaxed back to terra firma.....heights..........

and I've hung out of helicopters and planes for a good pic - whatever........

curiously, found his fear when the 'famous pilots strike' was on - we rented small planes to get to our jobs and he was not freaked out in high bank, high G positve turns or push descents, solved his phobia...... his phobia was maybe due to negative G - as in leaving terra firma?

GQ

[Debacle]

Dont drink rum before welding.

Being blind for a day aint fun.

This is going back 15 years but pretty glad it wasnt permanent.

[Tote]

Clean your grinder between grinding aluminium and steel, the combined filings make Thermit which they use to weld railway lines together.
Regards,
Tote

[Quiggers]

Thanks Tote!

Explains the lightning bolts I get....

GQ

[mcrover]

Thanks Tote, Ive had that problem and it makes nice work of grinding discs when they over heat and shatter a whole lot of bloody hot bits every where and now I know why.

Every time I climb a ladder these days or even look off a balcony that is more than 2 storys I get the feeling that I had as I was falling about 10m into soft snow (thank god).

Seemed to be the longest 10m of my life though and I left a Damo shaped size hole about 1.5m deep in the snow which was a bit strange to be lookin up out of.

That was the worst accident I have ever had but the only one that I didnt get any phisical injury but ive tried heaps of things to get over the mental scare but I think it will be with me forever.

I nearly crapped my self flying around Uluru in a Jetranger as it was windy and the internal panels were nearly falling off and the thing was bouncing up and down and when he banked I felt I was going to fall out.

The pilot just kept saying to us not to open the door, I was hanging onto the damn door to make sure it wasnt going to fall off.

yes I still make myself do these things but I dont know why as I dont enjoy it anymore.

Tip for the day:

When changing Oxy bottles (and all gas bottles for that matter) dont wipe the regulator thread with a cloth that you dont know if its clean as any oil on that thread can make the bottle blow up and take your head off.

Talking about things that can take your head off, Split rims are dangerous if not inflated properly.
The split ring can take your limbs off or even kill you if you dont take some precautions.
1 inflate the tube a little before fitting the ring.
2 make sure you give the ring a few hits around it evenly to make sure it is fitted properly.
3 use a screw on fitting to inflate and inflate up side down under the vehicle so if the ring does come off it cant go anywhere nor can the tyre.
or inflate in a cage or tie another tyre on top of it for the same reason.
4 when inflated, carefully check that it is seated properly.

Dont use damaged or very loose or bent split rings make sure everything is lubed with WD40 or tyre soap or even dishwashing liquid.