What's the most dangerous tool in your workshop

Not a dangerous tool exactly but add 'lifting heavy things' to the danger list - especially if you're in a small restricted workshop, you're lifting awkwardly or it's something oily.

Edited By Bikepete on 07/05/2017 21:47:02

You often hear the always wear eye protection remark, which is of course a very sensible thing to do. But I would add hearing protection to that If you're working on a machine that's proving to be particularly noisy, don't try and tough it out.

Just stop what you're doing and stick some muffs on. It only takes ten seconds, and you can take it off again when you're finished, it's worth it if it stops you from getting permanent tinnitus.

If you still think that's being a pansy*, all the workmen I see with power tools have a pair in their toolbox. 

( *they don't deserve the reputation of being a wimpy plant, they're actually a very hardy species and will withstand even the hardest of frosts.)

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 07/05/2017 22:00:40

The nut behind the apron handwheel

in my case, probably blunt knives. Made a nice slice in my left index finger yesterday that woudln't have happened if I had fitted a new blade or just honed the one I was using :-/

Or not wearing safety glasses, fortunately only been to A&E with a scratched eyeball once.

Neil

probably me to be fair, although to be fair I've got better as age has crept upon me.

my personal highlights are from way back when I was an apprentice, tig welding sitting at a bench finished off a bead and laid it across one leg and electrode went right into to other knee with a smell of roast pork.

cutting up some old aluminium steps with a 9" grinder looking directly over the blade, the blade bit the grinder did kick and the handle caught me right in the mush, luckily no teeth rattled loose or broken just lots of claret and Mick Jagger jokes for a coupla weeks. it did teach me to look from the side when using a grinder though.

one I had to deal with at work last year wasn't power tools but hammer related, the lad was knocking roll pins in to castings to hold slipper pads in place and rather than start them slowly with a tap or two was giving the full monty from the off one pinged up and hit him in the eye (no safety specs) extremely lucky to be just bruising and not doing a dalek impression.

Matt

Power guillotine - once you hit that foot pedal it isn't going to stop no way no how.

Andrew

The scariest near miss I have had was while working 7 meters up at the full reach of a tallescope (google if you're not sure) I was using a 9 inch angle grinder to cut through a welded box section structure when the sparks set fire to my trousers in the area of the zip! Unfortunately I had no choice but to finish cutting through the piece so that my mate could lower it to the ground, before putting the grinder down in the cage and then beating the flames out as gently as possible all whilst swaying alarmingly. The fire had burnt my trousers, tee shirt and jumper but somehow not me. I have since tried to set fire to cloth with an angle grinder ( while not wearing it ) but have never managed it.. The thing that bothered me most about this was the fact that this scenario never entered my head.

It is one thing to do something slightly dangerous if you know the risks and are prepared for them and another to be totally surprised by some unexpected calamity.

Regards.

David.

Handtool: Screwdriver. Millions of gashed hands around the world every year.

Power tool: Drill press. If it's not tearing jobs out of then-shredded hands, it's firing swarf into eyes.

Oxy-Acetylene set

I second that man

I've seen 3 flamer kick-offs and I don't even work around them, the last one about 3 years ago in a vehicle garage I was visiting

Separates the headless chickens from the cool heads when an oxy set gets antsy

Edited By Ady1 on 08/05/2017 00:52:32

I agree with majority its me first then others.

Lack of thought, idiots, lack of maintenance and electrical storms.

Reflecting on the self inflicting pain over the last year....

What bright spark came up with the idea of putting a storage cabinet under my mill. Pretty much guaranteed to hit my head on the handle or, if I'm really lucky, on the corner of the table. Considering a hard-hat area......

I was feeling for a drill bit coming out of the bottom of a casting...drill bit came through and didnt notice for a second that my finger was in its path. Wend straight through my left index finger from side to side - missed the nail. There wasnt much of it left. At hospital they packed if full of some gel substance, bandaged it up and told me how utterly remarkable fingers were at repairing themselves!

My Shaper - have to remind myself all the time that this hypnotic, gentle machine will not pause for a second if I'm tempted to do something really daft, like touch that surface to see if it's as smooth as it looks........

IanT

Table Saw. and me.

(I can still count to 10 though)

regards Martin

That just so reminds me of watching a young colleague hand twisting a screw ended bone pin held in a hand chuck through a cat's femur.. and bracing the joint with her other hand. One last twist and it shot through the end of bone and straight through her palm - and (of course) had to be slowly unscrewed to release her from the patient.

The comments about working against the clock whilst tired at the end of a session have really struck home with me. Not just the realisation that's when I have most scrapes, but there's the amount of work I've spoiled when tired and impatient. Tiredness, like alcohol, makes me much more likely to take risks. The silly thing is, being retired, I don't have to hit time targets any more. Perhaps old habits like that should be added to the list.

The scariest accident down to me was when my car rolled off the jack just after taking the front wheels off. I'd put axle stands underneath and one of them tipped over too. Had I started work I would have got squished. Looking for reasons I found that my drive isn't quite flat and that the foot of the jack had sunk lopsided into a soft patch in the tarmac. Worst of all, I hadn't lowered the car onto the axle stands so they were taking the weight.

Thinking about it cars are far more dangerous than model engineering. Even if my driving happens to be up to standard, there are all those other idiots on the road!

Dave

Thinking about it cars are far more dangerous than model engineering. Even if my driving happens to be up to standard, there are all those other idiots on the road!

Dave

usually in a certain automobile manufactured in Germany .

15 years of contracting work up and down the land

Machine handles!

Drop something, scrabble around on the floor, find the dropped thing, stand up and smack your bonce on the nice shiney metal handle!

I now have tennis balls, with a hole cut in, too push on machine handles not in use.........