Thread: Share a story you spanner wielders, but not too gory

Can relate to that.
Still kept all my digits after 30 years as a mechanic.
Had a couple of tries though

Still in the business, but mainly office bound now with a back that almost works as it should.

Yes in mechanical trades and the metal trades fingers and eyes are very subject to injury. Thirty to forty years ago it was common place in a large workshop of thirty or so blokes for someone to only have one eye, usually lost from an injury incurred whilst hammering a bearing from a shaft or a flying spark from a welder or grinder! No doubt more awareness about personal safety and the compulsary use of safety gear like glasses/face shields, machinery guards etc have reduced the number of those incidents.

Cheers, Mick.

Nothing too serious for me just the usual cuts ect. But the knees and back are showing signs of wear and tear

I only spent about 15 years on the tools full time, but apart from the normal cuts and bruises came through unscathed.
Only overnighter in hospital was after siphoning kerosene went a bit wrong and I ended up with it on the inside

Biggest lesson I've learned is listen to that inner voice that says "thats got the potential to go wrong - stop now", and take the time to do it properly.
Its the same voice that says "if the spanner slips off I'm going to lose my knuckle on that edge". The times when I've ignored it through haste or laziness is the times I've been injured. Thankfully nothing serious.

Thanks for starting the thread, its always good to have a reminder and hear of what happened and why things went wrong.

Not spanner related, but a colleague at work was telling me the other day how his wife's step-father had fired a lump of wood through his arm with a circular saw a couple of weeks ago. Severed the forearm apart from a bit of skin and a couple of tendons and he was extremely lucky he didn't bleed out. Re-attached now and has feeling in some of his fingers so time will tell.
Was just a small job at home, with the workpiece not secured properly.

Steve

When I was a primary schoolboy there was a sawmill with attached joinery works opposite us on the side fence. It was quite noticeable how many of the workers there were missing bits of their hands and an eye. Two men were killed there in sawmilling accidents at different times involving great flitches of wood being split off a log whilst a big saw was breaking it down and thrown at the worker. I never had the slightest inclination to make a career in woodworking because of this.

Another time a big lump of log was grabbed by the Canadian saw, broken off, and chucked across the street. Fortunately no one was around.

Later as a fitter-machinist, late 50's and 60's, I worked in shops where no-one wore safety glasses whilst operating machine tools. Sandshoes were the footwear of choice and hard hats were only seen in the movies. Cane farmers often worked barefoot and bare chested their usual uniform being a pair of shorts and a battered felt hat.

How many of you have the experience of using an extension lead (unknowing to you) that the neutral and positive were fitted back to front when repairing a machine ?
Believe me it is not nice.............................................. ....................
From then on my extension lead is part of my gear.

Had a few.

Working really late at night once, machining something to try and get ready to leave to a race meeting that weekend, on an old (and thankfully not very poweful) milling machine where you released the motor to loosen the belt to switch pulleys and change the speed.

I wasn't thinking so released the motor but didn't turn it off so when I moved the belt, it went tight, took up drive again and wound my hand around the front of the pulley, stalling the motor.

I managed to reach the emergency stop but it made a bit of a mess! Luckily no lasting damage.

1mm cuting discs on grinders on more than one occasion have ended up leaving fairly deep slots in my fingers!

Not tool related as such, but possiby the most panful was helping lift a complete front diff out of a Defender into a mates trailer.

The top of the trailer floor sat slight below the edge of the angle iron frame it sat it.

When we lifted the diff and went to slide it in, I got 2 fingers caught between the diff and the edge of the angle, so when the diff was pushed in it took the skin off pretty much down to the bone.

Had to sit down after that one. Instantly felt very unwell when I looked at my hand

Nothing permenant or broken yet tho!

Originally Posted by Chucaro

How many of you have the experience of using an extension lead (unknowing to you) that the neutral and positive were fitted back to front when repairing a machine ?
Believe me it is not nice.............................................. ....................
From then on my extension lead is part of my gear.

I had belt from a damaged extension lead. Not fun at all