For those who like to read about other people's stupid mistakes in the shop,
I've got a good one.
I was finishing up my new workbench, and turned the thing right side up for
the first time, when I realized I put the vice on the wrong end. Careless
mistake, but I figured I'd just remove it and re-install it upside down on the
other side. No way was I going to flip the whole bench again, much too heavy.
I almost threw out my back turning it over the first time.
I had used a piece of 1/4" hardboard about 4" x 3" as a spacer for the vice. I
was gonna put the back bolts in first loosely with the spacer in place, then
slide the vice on, then tighten. So I drilled new pilot holes for the vice on
the other side, and held the spacer up to match the new holes.
Here's my big, huge, boneheaded move. I had my head down there so I could see
as I drilled the first bolt in half way, with the spacer in place. However, I
didn't stop to clamp the spacer down(or up, I guess) to the bench, just held
it in place with my thumb. Turned the drill on with the hex head chucked and a
1/2" bolt in it, and away went the piece of hardboard. Never even saw it
coming. Just felt a big thump in the head and started cursing. Then I looked
down and saw the blood coming down, turned out to be a big gash in the
forehead.
This ones gonna leave a big scar, and I'm trying to decide whether to go for
stitches, it's kind of deep. Could have been a lot worse, though. If my head
was up another inch, I may have lost an eye, very scary thought.
Inexperience and carelessness are a very bad combination in the workshop.
I hope someone else reads this and avoids making this stupid mistake.
Jon
jon wrote:snip< Inexperience and carelessness are a very bad
combination in the workshop. >
How's that saying go? "Good judgement comes from experience, but a lot
of experience comes from bad judgement." Glad you're technically okay.
Those wounds bleed like a stuck pig, too. If you're sensitive about
how others see you(or you see yourself), by all means, get it attended
to. Tom P.S. My wife put 911 on the speed dialer. It's now
#38.
Thanks for sharing your painful experience with us. All too often, we
attempt to take a shortcut, and it ends up being a difficult,more
costly, and painful experience, and in the long run, we would have been
better off doing the procedure correctly the first time. This
principle can be applied to many areas in the shop, and it is a message
that we need to be reminded of very often, I'm afraid. Thanks again
for taking the time to remind all of us that of this painful lesson!
Ah - a dueling scar! Sabers at dawn in the woods
just east of the city. Defending a maidens honor
yes?
Oh that? A reminder of an encounter with a tribe
of pygmy amazons - Sumatra if I recall correctly,
back in '72, or was it '73?
A reminder of my fall , The south route up K-2 is
really treacherous.
Almost got the '06 Darwin Award for that one.
Some home handyman using plastic explosives
to clean the dried concrete in his cement mixed
beat me out that year.
From then on I'd always downshift a little earlier
in that turn just before the tunnel at Monaco.
If I'd opened my reserve chute a second later
I wouldn't be here telling you about this scar.
I'd seen lion tamers stick their head in a lion's
mouth and I figured if they could do it . . .
I don't know how I lost my grip on that gator.
Came home drunk once to often and the LIttle
Woman was waiting up for me - with a
frying pan - or was it a cast iron skillet?
My memory isn't all that great since
that night - or was it early morning. No,
it was after the Raider's game so it must've
been around six.
At first I thought it was just a mosquito
bite. Turns out it was a brown recluse
spider bite. They had to cut out nearly
six square inches of skin to get it all.
Wasn't enough stretch in the surrounding
skin to close the gap and I wasn't gonna
let them do no skin grafting. I'm not
that vain.
:
:
charlie b
On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 15:47:11 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>Speaking of shop injuries, early this morning, I was rearranging the
>recycle bin (It's just inside the house at the Shop door) when a large
>can lid (Wally World Wild Decaf species.) jumped out and bit me. It
>went in about 1/8" deep and slit all the way across the right index
>fingertip. I have a feeling that it will be sore for awhile. I cleaned
>it out and butterflied it together with some Bacitracin on it rather
>than spending all day and $1,000 in the ER getting a dozen stitches.
>Gimme 2 weeks and you'll barely see this latest dueling scar.
>
>
>>good on you, Charlie!
>>Can you pass around whatever you're smoking? We could all use a little more
>>humor in our lives.. *g*
>
>Mac, I think he musta picked a stray mushroom out of his garden...
wow.. flash back to the 60's!!!
(I experimented with drugs, but i didn't exhale)
Sorry about the finger.. hope it doesn't effect the priorities in life, like
sex, beer and wood working....
At least you can say that you take great pains to recycle, anyway...
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm
Jon Shelley wrote:
> For those who like to read about other people's stupid mistakes in
> the shop, I've got a good one.
>
> I was finishing up my new workbench, and turned the thing right side
> up for the first time, when I realized I put the vice on the wrong
> end. Careless mistake, but I figured I'd just remove it and
> re-install it upside down on the other side. No way was I going to
> flip the whole bench again, much too heavy. I almost threw out my
> back turning it over the first time.
>
> I had used a piece of 1/4" hardboard about 4" x 3" as a spacer for
> the vice. I was gonna put the back bolts in first loosely with the
> spacer in place, then slide the vice on, then tighten. So I drilled
> new pilot holes for the vice on the other side, and held the spacer
> up to match the new holes.
>
> Here's my big, huge, boneheaded move. I had my head down there so I
> could see as I drilled the first bolt in half way, with the spacer in
> place. However, I didn't stop to clamp the spacer down(or up, I
> guess) to the bench, just held it in place with my thumb. Turned the
> drill on with the hex head chucked and a 1/2" bolt in it, and away
> went the piece of hardboard. Never even saw it coming. Just felt a
> big thump in the head and started cursing. Then I looked down and saw
> the blood coming down, turned out to be a big gash in the forehead.
>
> This ones gonna leave a big scar, and I'm trying to decide whether to
> go for stitches, it's kind of deep. Could have been a lot worse,
> though. If my head was up another inch, I may have lost an eye, very
> scary thought.
>
> Inexperience and carelessness are a very bad combination in the
> workshop.
> I hope someone else reads this and avoids making this stupid mistake.
>
>
> Jon
I've always believed that experience is a tough teacher. It gives the test
first, then the lesson.
Get it checked out if you have any doubts about it. No telling what chunks
of hardboard are still stuck in there.
Jon Shelley wrote:
> For those who like to read about other people's stupid mistakes in the shop,
> I've got a good one.
>
> I was finishing up my new workbench, and turned the thing right side up for
> the first time, when I realized I put the vice on the wrong end. Careless
> mistake, but I figured I'd just remove it and re-install it upside down on the
> other side. No way was I going to flip the whole bench again, much too heavy.
> I almost threw out my back turning it over the first time.
>
> I had used a piece of 1/4" hardboard about 4" x 3" as a spacer for the vice. I
> was gonna put the back bolts in first loosely with the spacer in place, then
> slide the vice on, then tighten. So I drilled new pilot holes for the vice on
> the other side, and held the spacer up to match the new holes.
>
> Here's my big, huge, boneheaded move. I had my head down there so I could see
> as I drilled the first bolt in half way, with the spacer in place. However, I
> didn't stop to clamp the spacer down(or up, I guess) to the bench, just held
> it in place with my thumb. Turned the drill on with the hex head chucked and a
> 1/2" bolt in it, and away went the piece of hardboard. Never even saw it
> coming. Just felt a big thump in the head and started cursing. Then I looked
> down and saw the blood coming down, turned out to be a big gash in the
> forehead.
>
> This ones gonna leave a big scar, and I'm trying to decide whether to go for
> stitches, it's kind of deep. Could have been a lot worse, though. If my head
> was up another inch, I may have lost an eye, very scary thought.
>
> Inexperience and carelessness are a very bad combination in the workshop.
> I hope someone else reads this and avoids making this stupid mistake.
>
>
> Jon
I believe the stiches will make it heal smoother. Especially if you
have a good doctor. They even have that glue stuff they can use.
In all my years of automotive work I have come to believe profanity was
made for the shop.
Another 20 years no one will even notice. Glad you didn't loose that eye.
--
Thank you,
"Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor
man's wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not heard." Ecclesiastes 9:16
Well thanks for the support, everybody. As one response mentioned, it was
pretty much too late to get stitches by the time I posted, which I didn't know
at the time or I would have had it checked out sooner. Good thing I don't
really care too much how I look- one of the nice things about being married!
:-)
Jon
On Tue, 31 Jan 2006 23:35:37 GMT, [email protected] (Jon Shelley) wrote:
>Well thanks for the support, everybody. As one response mentioned, it was
>pretty much too late to get stitches by the time I posted, which I didn't know
>at the time or I would have had it checked out sooner. Good thing I don't
>really care too much how I look- one of the nice things about being married!
>:-)
>
>
>Jon
Spoken like a man who's about to lose his wife to someone who does care...
*ducking*
Sorry, Jon.. couldn't resist that one...
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm
On Thu, 02 Feb 2006 21:14:06 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, mac
davis <[email protected]> quickly quoth:
>>>good on you, Charlie!
>>>Can you pass around whatever you're smoking? We could all use a little more
>>>humor in our lives.. *g*
>>
>>Mac, I think he musta picked a stray mushroom out of his garden...
>
>wow.. flash back to the 60's!!!
>(I experimented with drugs, but i didn't exhale)
Yeah, sure. Hey, you makin' fun of my Clintoon t-shirt? <g>
>Sorry about the finger.. hope it doesn't effect the priorities in life, like
>sex, beer and wood working....
It does. Well, I gave up alcohol 20 years ago, so that's not an issue.
I haven't been able to get back into the shop to do some damned
cleaning and sorting for awhile now. (I used it all last month as a
production area for my NoteSHADES glare guards and the floor is still
sticky.) My girlfriend has a cold so the finger incident dovetailed
nicely with that. I haven't seen her in a week 'cept via email.
>At least you can say that you take great pains to recycle, anyway...
Literally. (Unfortunately.)
---------------------------------------------------
I drive way too fast to worry about my cholesterol.
---------------------------------------------------
http://www.diversify.com Refreshing Graphic Design
On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 10:30:47 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, mac
davis <[email protected]> quickly quoth:
>On Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:17:35 -0800, charlie b <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Ah - a dueling scar! Sabers at dawn in the woods
>>just east of the city. Defending a maidens honor
>>yes?
>>
>>Oh that? A reminder of an encounter with a tribe
>>of pygmy amazons - Sumatra if I recall correctly,
>>back in '72, or was it '73?
No, no, no. That was the Giant Rat of Sumatra, Charlie.
Now get your mukluks out of the cellophane before they burn.
Speaking of shop injuries, early this morning, I was rearranging the
recycle bin (It's just inside the house at the Shop door) when a large
can lid (Wally World Wild Decaf species.) jumped out and bit me. It
went in about 1/8" deep and slit all the way across the right index
fingertip. I have a feeling that it will be sore for awhile. I cleaned
it out and butterflied it together with some Bacitracin on it rather
than spending all day and $1,000 in the ER getting a dozen stitches.
Gimme 2 weeks and you'll barely see this latest dueling scar.
>good on you, Charlie!
>Can you pass around whatever you're smoking? We could all use a little more
>humor in our lives.. *g*
Mac, I think he musta picked a stray mushroom out of his garden...
--
- Tom Mix Died For Your Sins -
--------------------------
http://diversify.com Comprehensive, Sin-free Website Development
On Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:17:35 -0800, charlie b <[email protected]> wrote:
>Ah - a dueling scar! Sabers at dawn in the woods
>just east of the city. Defending a maidens honor
>yes?
>
>Oh that? A reminder of an encounter with a tribe
>of pygmy amazons - Sumatra if I recall correctly,
>back in '72, or was it '73?
>
>A reminder of my fall , The south route up K-2 is
>really treacherous.
>
>Almost got the '06 Darwin Award for that one.
>Some home handyman using plastic explosives
>to clean the dried concrete in his cement mixed
>beat me out that year.
>
>From then on I'd always downshift a little earlier
>in that turn just before the tunnel at Monaco.
>
>If I'd opened my reserve chute a second later
>I wouldn't be here telling you about this scar.
>
>I'd seen lion tamers stick their head in a lion's
>mouth and I figured if they could do it . . .
>
>I don't know how I lost my grip on that gator.
>
>Came home drunk once to often and the LIttle
>Woman was waiting up for me - with a
>frying pan - or was it a cast iron skillet?
>My memory isn't all that great since
>that night - or was it early morning. No,
>it was after the Raider's game so it must've
>been around six.
>
>At first I thought it was just a mosquito
>bite. Turns out it was a brown recluse
>spider bite. They had to cut out nearly
>six square inches of skin to get it all.
>Wasn't enough stretch in the surrounding
>skin to close the gap and I wasn't gonna
>let them do no skin grafting. I'm not
>that vain.
>
> :
> :
>charlie b
good on you, Charlie!
Can you pass around whatever you're smoking? We could all use a little more
humor in our lives.. *g*
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm
Well from the time of injury til the time you posted this I think your time
frame for receiving stitches is over, I think you have about 6 hours not
100% sure though , If you thinks it should be stitched then by all means see
a doctor. What I would do is take out the super glue clean up the wound and
glue er shut!
Searcher