Top ten (or more) dangerous tools and anecdotes thereof

Top ten (or more) dangerous tools and anecdotes thereof

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Discussion

colin_p

Original Poster:

4,503 posts

211 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
No, not that kind of tool, get your mind out of the gutter.

Inspired by the recent angle grinder discs thread, we must collectively be able to list and rank what dangers lurk in the tool box / shed / garage. Obviously there are likely to be some sombre tales but most I'd say will be down to pure idiocracy.

I'll start but only with a list, anecdotes will follow when I have more time.

Key to terms;

NM - near miss, it came close to ending in tears
AGH - actually got hurt
SB - stting bricks
AOK - have not got hurt using one as yet but makes you wince using one
IDDQD (degrealessness mode) - God mode, I ain't scared of no tool

1, 4"-5" Mini grinder AGH / SB - two visits to A&E to have lumps of metal removed from eyeball with needles.

2, Car jack (with no secondary support) NM

3, Electric DIY chainsaw AOK / SB

4, 9" electric ginder AOK / SB

5, Dremmel SB

6, Stanley knife IDDQDAGH - load of cuts even some you don't notice at first until you notice your hand is wet and then you look down and notice there is blood, then the stinging starts...

7, Electric Plane SB

8, The "yankee" screwdriver AGH / SB - rare these days what with leccy drill/drivers but in days of old the Yankee and a slotted screw was guaranteed to end in slippage and a cut hand.

9, Arc / MiG welding AGH / SB / IDDQD - weld spatter, down your shirt, in your boots or anywhere else. Nuff said.

10, ....

WinstonWolf

72,857 posts

238 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
colin_p said:
No, not that kind of tool, get your mind out of the gutter.

Inspired by the recent angle grinder discs thread, we must collectively be able to list and rank what dangers lurk in the tool box / shed / garage. Obviously there are likely to be some sombre tales but most I'd say will be down to pure idiocracy.

I'll start but only with a list, anecdotes will follow when I have more time.

Key to terms;

NM - near miss, it came close to ending in tears
AGH - actually got hurt
SB - stting bricks
AOK - have not got hurt using one as yet but makes you wince using one
IDDQD (degrealessness mode) - God mode, I ain't scared of no tool

1, 4"-5" Mini grinder AGH / SB - two visits to A&E to have lumps of metal removed from eyeball with needles.

2, Car jack (with no secondary support) NM

3, Electric DIY chainsaw AOK / SB

4, 9" electric ginder AOK / SB

5, Dremmel SB

6, Stanley knife IDDQDAGH - load of cuts even some you don't notice at first until you notice your hand is wet and then you look down and notice there is blood, then the stinging starts...

7, Electric Plane SB

8, The "yankee" screwdriver AGH / SB - rare these days what with leccy drill/drivers but in days of old the Yankee and a slotted screw was guaranteed to end in slippage and a cut hand.

9, Arc / MiG welding AGH / SB / IDDQD - weld spatter, down your shirt, in your boots or anywhere else. Nuff said.

10, ....
9, got weld spatter down my ear canal, sent me deaf in one ear thirty odd years later. Wear ear protection when welding!

kiethton

13,883 posts

179 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
Wired hammer drill, attempting to drill a hole for a spotlight - caught a baton behind with a c.40mm hole saw bit.

Saw gripped, kicked the drill and dislocated the finger, couldn’t dislocate it anymore so snapped it in quite a messy way

AGH





[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/OA0yc126[/url]

Edited by kiethton on Thursday 13th December 11:18

K50 DEL

9,227 posts

227 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
Don't think I've still got the photos sadly but a standard, cordless power drill...

trying to drill a rusted screw out from a car wing mirror, with the mirror laying on my nice, new, solid walnut kitchen worktop....

One slip and the drill bit went straight through my thumb nail, through my thumb, out the other side and a good 15mm into the worktop.
Reflex action made me pull it straight back out before I even truly realised what I'd done.

Was slightly unnerving watching the blood spurt from both sides of my thumb at the same time though!

colin_p

Original Poster:

4,503 posts

211 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
kiethton said:
Wired hammer drill, attempting to drill a hole for a spotlight - caught a baton behind with a c.40mm hole saw bit.

Saw gripped, kicked the drill and dislocated the finger, couldn’t dislocate it anymore so snapped it in quite a messy way

AGH
Arrghhhhh !

Yes forgot about the 'ole drill catchy - arm - ripper - offer - roony

Been close a few times - SB / NM

How long did you have to wait in A&E ?

phumy

5,671 posts

236 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
K50 DEL said:
Don't think I've still got the photos sadly but a standard, cordless power drill...

trying to drill a rusted screw out from a car wing mirror, with the mirror laying on my nice, new, solid walnut kitchen worktop....

One slip and the drill bit went straight through my thumb nail, through my thumb, out the other side and a good 15mm into the worktop.
Reflex action made me pull it straight back out before I even truly realised what I'd done.

Was slightly unnerving watching the blood spurt from both sides of my thumb at the same time though!
Aaaghhh that made my toes curl and my nuts sucked up into my stomach FFS.....Is the hole still there, can you whistle through it hehe

StanleyT

1,994 posts

78 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
AH - never walk along with your staplegun in your mouth and a 6x3 plasterboard in front of you as when it obscures the view in front of you, you impact an object, the plasterboard catches the stapler mechanism, you sort of know about it!!!!

Much amusement in A&E being asked if I wanted my cheek flesh "stitched or stapled". Well apart from me suffering a one side self inflicted "Chelsea grin".

colin_p

Original Poster:

4,503 posts

211 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
phumy said:
K50 DEL said:
Don't think I've still got the photos sadly but a standard, cordless power drill...

trying to drill a rusted screw out from a car wing mirror, with the mirror laying on my nice, new, solid walnut kitchen worktop....

One slip and the drill bit went straight through my thumb nail, through my thumb, out the other side and a good 15mm into the worktop.
Reflex action made me pull it straight back out before I even truly realised what I'd done.

Was slightly unnerving watching the blood spurt from both sides of my thumb at the same time though!
Aaaghhh that made my toes curl and my nuts sucked up into my stomach FFS.....Is the hole still there, can you whistle through it hehe
SB



And the cheak staple gun incident. I'm an amatuer by comparison.

This whole thread is going to be like the bit in Jaws where they talk about scars!

C0ffin D0dger

3,440 posts

144 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
Guess I've had odd near misses with stuff over the years but generally not done anything major.

Nail guns have got to be high on the list though? Got chatting to a bloke in A&E whilst in with my wife who'd broken her ankle (no power tool involvement) with a nail sticking out of his hand. Transpired he worked for the same company that did our loft conversion. Sort of described it that the nail bounced out of whatever he was trying to nail into and went into his hand embedding itself in the bone lucky missing veins etc. The docs just pulled it out after an X-Ray and gave him a tetanus jab.

My Dad took the tip of his finger off with an electric plane, somehow caught the underside of it as it was spinning down. I have a healthy respect for those now.

TwistingMyMelon

6,385 posts

204 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
Often with me, its the most innocuous tools that cause the worst injuries

If Im working with power tools or up heights im pretty careful and often have gloves and eye protection on (im blind in one eye and cant afford another bad eye) .

I have grabbed a hacksaw in a rush to do a quick job and slipped and put it through my leg!

Or just grabbed a drill to drill out a lock, slipped and put it through my hand!!



kiethton

13,883 posts

179 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
colin_p said:
How long did you have to wait in A&E ?
Any about 10 minutes initially (thankfully), think the combination of the finger and my state (fat, topless and stinking of sweat as the MRS wouldn’t let me get changed out of DIY shorts that would literally walk) got me seen quickly.

Them pulling on it to try and get the dislocation sorted prior to the X-ray stung a bit though.

Im still awaiting the NHS’s “emergency surgery” though - meant to be next morning but they called and cancelled saying they’d call the next day - they never did and I went private.

K50 DEL

9,227 posts

227 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
phumy said:
K50 DEL said:
Don't think I've still got the photos sadly but a standard, cordless power drill...

trying to drill a rusted screw out from a car wing mirror, with the mirror laying on my nice, new, solid walnut kitchen worktop....

One slip and the drill bit went straight through my thumb nail, through my thumb, out the other side and a good 15mm into the worktop.
Reflex action made me pull it straight back out before I even truly realised what I'd done.

Was slightly unnerving watching the blood spurt from both sides of my thumb at the same time though!
Aaaghhh that made my toes curl and my nuts sucked up into my stomach FFS.....Is the hole still there, can you whistle through it hehe
Lol, and that's just the polite description... I live on my own and needed to hold both sides of the thumb to stop the blood going everywhere.... kind of hard to phone for assistance like that....... you can imagine what my kitchen looked like afterwards.

as a 39yr old man I had to call my Mother to take me to A+E - not my proudest moment I can assure you!

No hole now, just a very slight indented scar on the pad of the thumb in the shape of a cross, I didn't lose the nail either, though it took well over a year before there was no visible record on that side of the thumb....... the wood-filler in the worktop was a constant reminder though!

Scabutz

7,474 posts

79 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
I have a Triton circular saw, it can be used handheld but is really meant to be mounted in their table. Its about 3.5hp and has a 9 3/4 inch blade. Bit of a beast. I was fitting a new kitchen in our old house and cutting the worktop. Went a bit fast, and despite it having a riving knife it bound and flung the saw back at me. Thankfully I was standing to the side. NM with new pants required.

Plus Gas + Blow Torch trying to release the famous Audi pinch bolt. Small fire - NM


JackReacher

2,118 posts

214 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
Common garden fork

In through top of my trainer and out through the bottom of my foot, didn’t quite get through the sole of the trainer. Thankfully the fork missed the most important bones and it was just a case of stitches top and bottom of the foot and tetanus jab in the bum. Massively painful experience and couldn’t walk for a couple of weeks.

It was actually a friend who did it, unintentionally without knowing my foot was where he wanted to put the fork.

soad

32,825 posts

175 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
Bookmarked! Needs more gory photos though! biggrin

sausage76

350 posts

122 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
Using a stanley knife to cut some plastic.

Was using my leg as a table, as you do. Blade not up to much so swapped for a new one, first cut slipped and straight into my thigh.

Was the 20th December and only me and my then 2 year old in the house. No need to panic I think its just cut my jeans and nicked the skin.

Walk into kitchen drop my jeans and oopps. Perfectly clean straight cut across my thigh, about 4 inches long, could see the layer of fat and all the inners of my leg. Still no sign of blood which is good. So take photos of injury (yep one for the scrap book), then cover in kitchen roll and tape up with electrical tape.

Call mother in law, please come round and look after daughter I need to go to hospital. Whilst waiting for her I go upstairs swap jeans and put on some shorts.

Drive myself to hospital within minutes I'm seen after showing the nurse on the desk previous photo. Loads of blood some anaesthetic and 7 stitches later I'm home.

The nurse did say I was lucky as the last layer inside my leg I could see was muscle and if I had cut that would have meant staying in and surgery the next day.

I use a table to cut stuff on know.

colin_p

Original Poster:

4,503 posts

211 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
Quality stuff so far Gents.

..............And we wonder why women live longer than us.

sospan

2,469 posts

221 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
30+ years ago......
Was in the garage cutting firewood. The axe was sharp...very.
I was placing the edge on the end of the wood and lifting, dropping the lot down so the axe bit. No swinging axe!
Just as I was placing the axe onto the wood....BANG! The kids were on th3 drive and kicked a ball against the door. The axe touched my hand in the VEE between thumb and forefinger.
OUCH! Or words to that effect. Nice deep cut.
“That needs stitches” I thought. Strapped the cut to control bleeding , got kids into the car and went to A&E. Not long as I knew the head nurse....5 stitches and I watched the stitching. Wife is a nurse so used to seeing blood as she watches all the tv stuff.
Now, a blunt knife/tool is rated more dangerous than a sharp one hence my habit of sharpening a lot. I reckon the sharp axe caused a nice clean cut and the A&E Doc agreed. Still got the scar.

bimsb6

8,031 posts

220 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
Cutting up the xmas tree some years back with an axe , holding the tree i chopped at the branches then chopped the base of my thumb (the big fleshy bit !) trip to a and e to stitch it up and a load of st off the mrs , no sympathy shag ,the cow !

hogfisch

291 posts

190 months

Thursday 13th December 2018
quotequote all
I would add the rather innocent-looking jigsaw to the list. Changing a broken blade, both hands firmly in the quick release mechanism to remove the blade.

Didn't worry about unplugging the power lead as the trigger has a safety switch. Turns out that the safety switch is remarkably easy to accidentally click on. Jigsaw fires up trapping my last finger joint between the plunger and metal plate. Snapped it clean off (only the skin on my finger holding it on)