Dumb Shop Accidents
 

Thought it might be interesting to start a thread about dumb things you've done in the garage, shop, etc. while working on a vehicle. Maybe we can learn from each others mistakes. :confused:

My list of notable mishaps:
1. Grabbed a hot brick with my bare hand (had been using it to weld on with a torch).
2. Sprayed myself in eyes with self-etching primer (was trying to adjust the fan-spray tip).
3. Lit my shorts on fire with a welding torch (same day as primer incident, that was a bad day).
4. Had a 12" "jobber" spade drill bit bend 90 degrees at the chuck, swing around, and almost cut open my stomach (it was slightly bent and I didn't notice until it was too late).
5. Cut the tip of my knuckle off while filing a sharp edge on a piece of sheet metal in the vice.
6. Tons of other random cuts, smashes, burns, etc.

What's everyone else's stories?

Taking the Cam Bearing Rings out of my Big Block with a dead Blow buddy says be careful last week I racked myself with a glance off the rod. Nah Im good "Hit edge of Rod then right into the ribs with a dead blow" That took my breath for a few seconds.

I try to remember image and sage advice of my HS Wood shop Teacher as he held up his hand to show a missing finger:

"a moment's inattention can cause a life time of misery"

No big disasters to share, fortunately.
I did once put a nice big slice through my jeans and knee when I used my bent knee as a surface to cut a length of Co-ax cable... :facepalm:

...I've never repeated that mistake

In my former life, I was a pro Ford tech. This thread made me chuckle.

I won't bore you with the tiny details, but my two most notable blunders were:

1. Working under the dash of a Ranger pickup with a manual transmission, I had to access some wiring in the driver's side kick panel. The park brake was set, and the pedal was in my way. Not thinking, I released it...with my face in the way. POW! Right in the kisser. I saw stars.
2. Forgetting to relieve radiator pressure, I cut into a heater hose while staring directly at it. Got blasted with very warm (thankfully, not HOT) coolant, right in the face. The guys called me "slick" the rest of the day.

This was a shop accident to my car not me.

About 20 years ago when I was a senior in high school I removed the intake on my 1986 Mustang GT... can't remember what is was doing. Anyways, I dropped a hose clamp down into the lower intake. I thought it just fell into the engine compartment somewhere so I just grapped another hose clamp and through everything back together. A day later I siezed the engine. Once the engine was pulled and disassembled it became obvious what had happened. I found the missing hose clamp smashed into my piston.

NOTE TO SELF: Always use blue painters tape on any openings to the internals of the engine when the intake is off. When I put my blower on my 5th Gen this was well embeded in my memory.

Had a tire and whole assembly drop on my foot while helping a friend.

When I was about 8 my dad had his '62 Chevy II Nova up on blocks (tires not frame) in the yard. He was pulling the tranny. He got so involved that just as he loosened the e-brake cable to get it out of the way he realized that was the only thing holdind the car on the blocks. He tried to roll over to get out before it came down, but it caught him side to side and separated the cartilage from between almost all his ribs. For weeks he said it only hurt when he breathed. I was standing there handing him tools and saw the whole thing. From then on he drilled into my brother and I to NEVER work under a car unless with jackstands and a solid surface. Funny thing was he was a pro mechanic and instructor.

ouch

Cut half my nose almost off.....more like I butterflyed it polishing a headlight ring, buffer grabbed it and whipped it back at my face. No safety shield of anything. Looked like a murder scene. 18 stitches. Sucked real bad.

When I was 16-17 I was changing some oil, drained the ATF instead and then put 3 more quarts of oil in the car. LOL a smokey mess that wouldn't move!

Another time I drained the oil, changed the filter, and filled her up without putting the drain plug back in.. There went 30 bucks worth of oil.. :facepalm: LOL

Best regards,

Tyler
888-308-6007

At my work I've seen people forgetting the tire chalks under the driver axle lol The weirdest one I did was when I was lowering the lift was one of the locks held rather than releasing and the whole truck was at an angle!! Raies the lift back up and a little higher to get it off that lock. Nothing scarier than seeing a 25,000lb truck tilted on a lift

This is something simple, but it seems every time I open my fuse box to do something I leave it open and shut my hood. Now only 3rd fuse box cover........ they break in half very easily.. thankfully they're only $3 haha.

I've almost done that twice in the 2 months I've had the car.

Left my wipers raised up for cleaning and tried to open the hood, not too bad, just two little marks, but won't forget that again.