What's your worst workshop injury?
Discussion
Just been reading a thread about replacing the gearbox on a griff and the author mentions getting oil in his eye. Sent a shiver down my spine, taking me back 20 years.
As a young lad, working under my old Triumph Vitesse (as usual) I was messing with the diff and couldn't quite see 'cos it was too dark. Didn't have an inspection lamp (too poor!) so ever resourceful I wired up a loose brake light bulb, hung it over the chassis and connected it to the battery - worked great. Few minutes later the said bulb slipped and fell right onto my open eye. Much pain and shouting, got out from under the car and got my brother to have a look at the injured eye. Through my good I eye I saw him go pale and he nearly keeled over - the bulb had burnt a perfect circle like obscure glass over the iris of my eye, about half inch diameter. We rushed to hospital with me vowing to totally destroy the Vitesse at the first available opportunity (convinced I was blinded). Hospital said - ok, it will heal in three days - and it did!!!!!
Forgave the Vitesse and carried on with the love hate relationship for a couple more years.
Had loads of bumps, gashes, scrapes etc since, but nothing quite so traumatic. How about you?
As a young lad, working under my old Triumph Vitesse (as usual) I was messing with the diff and couldn't quite see 'cos it was too dark. Didn't have an inspection lamp (too poor!) so ever resourceful I wired up a loose brake light bulb, hung it over the chassis and connected it to the battery - worked great. Few minutes later the said bulb slipped and fell right onto my open eye. Much pain and shouting, got out from under the car and got my brother to have a look at the injured eye. Through my good I eye I saw him go pale and he nearly keeled over - the bulb had burnt a perfect circle like obscure glass over the iris of my eye, about half inch diameter. We rushed to hospital with me vowing to totally destroy the Vitesse at the first available opportunity (convinced I was blinded). Hospital said - ok, it will heal in three days - and it did!!!!!
Forgave the Vitesse and carried on with the love hate relationship for a couple more years.
Had loads of bumps, gashes, scrapes etc since, but nothing quite so traumatic. How about you?
My old x1/9 fell on me once, it was on stands but one of them must have been positioned wrong, luckily I had shoved a wheel under it and the other stand stayed firm. Scared the shit out of me.
The funniest one was when I was rebuilding my TVR M, I'd bought some overalls and was very pleased with the way that my normal clothing was staying clean. Until the night I was painting some bits which were hanging in the garage, streching up to paint them I did not realise but I managed to pour a whole big tin of smoothrite inside my overalls completely covering myself in the stuff!
The worst DIY mishap I had was when investigating what was wrong with a broken washing machine. I turned it off, pulled the plug out opened the top and started to delve about. So I'm bent over the machine, arms round the drum (ie no easy way to get them out) when I realised that I'd unplugged the radio and the washing machine was still live, I discovered this by touching live with my arm, which I then could not get out from round the drum! Much swearing and struggling later I got them out with a badly burned arm and lots of bruises. There I was sitting on the kitchen floor, clutching my arm shaking and in a general state of shock, my wife came in found out I was ok and bollocked me for being so stupid!
Typical
D.
The funniest one was when I was rebuilding my TVR M, I'd bought some overalls and was very pleased with the way that my normal clothing was staying clean. Until the night I was painting some bits which were hanging in the garage, streching up to paint them I did not realise but I managed to pour a whole big tin of smoothrite inside my overalls completely covering myself in the stuff!
The worst DIY mishap I had was when investigating what was wrong with a broken washing machine. I turned it off, pulled the plug out opened the top and started to delve about. So I'm bent over the machine, arms round the drum (ie no easy way to get them out) when I realised that I'd unplugged the radio and the washing machine was still live, I discovered this by touching live with my arm, which I then could not get out from round the drum! Much swearing and struggling later I got them out with a badly burned arm and lots of bruises. There I was sitting on the kitchen floor, clutching my arm shaking and in a general state of shock, my wife came in found out I was ok and bollocked me for being so stupid!
Typical
D.
When I worked as a tyre fitter I was quickly repairing my own tyre, while reaming the tyre I pulled the reamer out to far then pushed it into my hand just bellow my thumb, when I pulled it out of my hand it bought all the cartilage with it. About 6 months later I stabbed myself in the same place with a screwdriver when trying to remove an oil filter.
A chap that we used to employ was drilling through the floor pan of a Triumph stag thinking that there was a double skin used his other hand to bear against the on coming drill, needless to say he proceeded to administer the equivalent of a gang land torture to himself, having pulled his hand from the deeply imbedded drill he was unable to stop it from twitching, to cut the storey short he needed keyhole surgery to repair a nerve which involved a huge scar in his forearm, he is still very proud of it and tells people he was bitten by a shark !! oh and his hand is fine now.
My father was using an industrial reciprocating saw in a company's workshop (with unofficial permission from the chief workshop chap, so not covered by any insurance or anything I would imagine).
You can guess what happened. He was changing the blade, the safety interlock wasn't working, it started up for some reason and crushed his finger, destroying many of the nerves such that he doesn't have a lot of feeling in that finger to this day.
He also cut the fleshy part of his thumb open with a Stanley knife and refused to go into A&E because all his colleagues would laugh at him (he's a doctor) so stiched it up himself.
You can guess what happened. He was changing the blade, the safety interlock wasn't working, it started up for some reason and crushed his finger, destroying many of the nerves such that he doesn't have a lot of feeling in that finger to this day.
He also cut the fleshy part of his thumb open with a Stanley knife and refused to go into A&E because all his colleagues would laugh at him (he's a doctor) so stiched it up himself.
I sawed my own head off and stiched it back on with a hotel haberdasher's kit . . . oh these are TRUE stories?!
Cripes - your stories are making me feel ill! (Just has a sausage butty so should be expected) I can picture each one clearly as I've seen most of these happen (and I don't work in A&E either!)
Time to start a "my friend works in A&E and a guy came in with . .. . ." series.
I did once puncture both feet climbing over railings - but this was not a "mechanical" incident . . .
Cripes - your stories are making me feel ill! (Just has a sausage butty so should be expected) I can picture each one clearly as I've seen most of these happen (and I don't work in A&E either!)
Time to start a "my friend works in A&E and a guy came in with . .. . ." series.
I did once puncture both feet climbing over railings - but this was not a "mechanical" incident . . .
Mrs B broke her wrist (after tripping) in my garage
Popular ?
I wish I could say that it's tidier now
I think the least pleasant ones I've had have all revolved around welding, getting a lump of molten metal down you boot for instance, knowing that by the time you get your boot off it's going to be too late so having the choice of one big burn or wriggling and having a selection of smaller ones
I was once lying underneath a GT6 when a similar un-wanted lump fell into my ear, unable to move, listening to ear wax boiling before the pain kicks in
>> Edited by incorrigible on Tuesday 13th August 11:02
Popular ?
I wish I could say that it's tidier now
I think the least pleasant ones I've had have all revolved around welding, getting a lump of molten metal down you boot for instance, knowing that by the time you get your boot off it's going to be too late so having the choice of one big burn or wriggling and having a selection of smaller ones
I was once lying underneath a GT6 when a similar un-wanted lump fell into my ear, unable to move, listening to ear wax boiling before the pain kicks in
>> Edited by incorrigible on Tuesday 13th August 11:02
Mate's Dad teaches argicultural techniques in South Africa. He is a bit of a DIY merchant (destroy it yourself). He needed to do some thatching on a grass hut, but didn't have a proper ladder, but did have some metal railway sleepers. So he took two of them and strung some cable between them to give him something to stand on. Voila, a crap ladder. He fell off and caught his wedding ring on a bit of the sleeper. His entire weight hung off this arm, pulling the wedding ring under the skin, dislocating finger and wrist. Went to hospital, came back in sling, plaster and with wedding ring on other hand.
He had left the tool box on the roof ... so he climbed up his ladder, fell off and did exactly the same thing to his other hand.
This man has also attached ping pong balls on coat hanger wire to the four corners of his car, so he can judge parking space better.
(He's quite a good bloke, and bloody good at what he does, but nonetheless...)
He had left the tool box on the roof ... so he climbed up his ladder, fell off and did exactly the same thing to his other hand.
This man has also attached ping pong balls on coat hanger wire to the four corners of his car, so he can judge parking space better.
(He's quite a good bloke, and bloody good at what he does, but nonetheless...)
Was fiddling about in the Griff and needed to pull a wire through under the dash, so knelt on transmission tunnel and lent over handbrake whilst it was applied and pointing up. (Now you are getting ahead of me!).
Result: Slipped, two broken ribs and much P*** taking fron the TVRCC members at the next meeting. My own fault really as I should have paid someone else to injure themselves!
Could go on about the Hillman Imp I set on fire as well, but that makes me look old so best to deny it ever happened. Certainly taught me a lesson, especially about having a fire-extinguisher handy!
Richard
Result: Slipped, two broken ribs and much P*** taking fron the TVRCC members at the next meeting. My own fault really as I should have paid someone else to injure themselves!
Could go on about the Hillman Imp I set on fire as well, but that makes me look old so best to deny it ever happened. Certainly taught me a lesson, especially about having a fire-extinguisher handy!
Richard
When I fitted the 3.9L supercharged RV8 into my MK1 Escort, I was having trouble with getting it to run properly so I unbolted the charger and ran the thing up. I was convinced that something had dropped into the thing so I got my brother to rev the car while I looked into the downdraft, at that point I watched a marvelous array of colour coming towards me in slow motion! a backfire or enormous proportions. I was like a Rabit in headlights and froze the end result was no sight for half an our and white spots on my vision for a week after, ithy eyelids because I had no brows or lashes to top it all 50% of the hair on my head was fried! all my brother did was laugh so much that he pissed himself!! all OK now 
>> Edited by paulu on Tuesday 13th August 13:01
>> Edited by paulu on Tuesday 13th August 13:01
Trying to increase the width of a round eye wire connector using a drill...and holding the connector in my hand 'stupid boy' and the drill slipped and went halfway through my finger...only stopped by my nail...nice... much smashing and ranting went on about my old ford orion that afternoon..
since this appears to be the muppets are us forum:
working as an electronics engineer using an oscilloscope, kept cutting off. removed mains cable from scope, undid the euro plug (the kettle type) looks ok, pressed cables down to make sure!
off across workshop on wheely chair as my legsshot straight out (probably saved me!)
And I'm supposed to know what I'm doing
working as an electronics engineer using an oscilloscope, kept cutting off. removed mains cable from scope, undid the euro plug (the kettle type) looks ok, pressed cables down to make sure!
off across workshop on wheely chair as my legsshot straight out (probably saved me!)
And I'm supposed to know what I'm doing
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff