Lets post some stuff about being safe in the shop. Not everyone knows of the things that can hurt, maim, or kill you and others around you while working on their truck. Safety tips, stories of things that got away from you and so on... As for me:
REMOVE ALL JEWELRY AND DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE FIRST, BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING.
That stops a whole lot of crap from goin on right there. I was fartin around by the battery and was touching the positive terminal with one hand and my watch on my other hand brushed up against the body. I didnt notice but just a little tingle at first, which turned into excruciating long-term pain as I peeled the watch off along with most all the skin around my wrist. That darn watch got real hot real fast!!!
OMGosh.....I know Dale Carnegie (author) said he jumped out of a tree house when he was younger and his ring caught on a nail and it tore his finger off...who would have thought? ..
Quote from: Trent on April 13, 2011, 03:09:22 AM
your all goin to call me a dumbass for this one
dont lift up a truck with just a highlift jack and get under it, they like to fall over ==doh
I had to get a Pinto station wagon off of a guy who did that, he had several broke ribs, had layed there stuck for an hour or so.
make sure when you use a truck hoist you put under solid points on the frame i was lifting my cuzins old 84 and it slipped completely out from under the rear spring shackle and scared the piss outta me
old school make sure u have this topic stickied to top it could be usefull
I have never had much happen to hurt me, but if it might be compressed, DO NOT stink any body part in it. Seen 3 missing fingers in about a week.
dont pick a truck up with a hoist & then remove a heavy part from either end of the truck. :)
KEEP THE TORCH BOTTLES SECURELY CHAINED UP SO THEY CAN NOT POSSIBLY FALL.
Yes they will take off like a rocket, and worse they can spin on the floor oh boy look out now!
Quote from: Trent on April 13, 2011, 03:19:20 AM
oh, how about this one, dont drill holes while layin under it without saftey glasses, had to go to the hospital for this, metal in your eye really hurts ==censor
i always hate when your working under truck and you know dirt/mud off of frame etc into your eyes safety glasses are a must
ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TURN ON A DROP LIGHT IN A SHOP WHEN THERE IS GASOLINE PRESENT, THE VAPORS CAN IGNITE AND THE FIRE WILL TRAVEL BACK TO THE VEHICLE.
Especially if theres an open fuel tank, that was a mess, huge whole burned in the roof, car destroyed completely.
Our friend Dan who ran CMSC bog went to torch a barrel in half and it exploded and killed him last spring....rest in Peace Dan...we miss you!
ALways know what a barrel had as its contents before you torch it....could cost you your life...
Quote from: mudboggshirts on April 13, 2011, 03:30:57 AM
Our friend Dan who ran CMSC bog went to torch a barrel in half and it exploded and killed him last spring....rest in Peace Dan...we miss you!
ALways know what a barrel had as its contents before you torch it....could cost you your life...
sorry bout your loss. but ive heard more than a few stories similar to this imo just dont cut them or fill them with soapy water first
Quote from: mudboggshirts on April 13, 2011, 03:30:57 AM
Our friend Dan who ran CMSC bog went to torch a barrel in half and it exploded and killed him last spring....rest in Peace Dan...we miss you!
ALways know what a barrel had as its contents before you torch it....could cost you your life...
Best to hook up a hose from your car exhaust to the barrel or tank and let run for an hour or so depending on size then cut into it, even if you think its ok, the fumes displace the oxygen so it cant go boom
Thanks for the tip...good to share things like that....don't need to lose any more friends
Quote from: lilred on April 13, 2011, 03:18:51 AM
dont pick a truck up with a hoist & then remove a heavy part from either end of the truck. :)
x2!
my first s-10 blazer had no motor or trans in it but we needed to take out the ifs so we could put my dana 60 up front..well we had everything disconnected and it wouldnt drop so i noticed a brake line was holding it up, i cut the brake line and next thing i knew the blazer shot up and fell backwards off of the hoist!! scared the p00 out of me and my dad!
Quote from: lilred on April 13, 2011, 03:18:51 AM
dont pick a truck up with a hoist & then remove a heavy part from either end of the truck. :)
:D
Quote from: mudboggshirts on April 13, 2011, 03:10:24 AM
OMGosh.....I know Dale Carnegie (author) said he jumped out of a tree house when he was younger and his ring caught on a nail and it tore his finger off...who would have thought? ..
This is actually quite commen (i work in t&d). I have meet several guys who have lost their ring fingers do to them getting caught on something.
My piece of advice is to put in ear plugs in when using a cutting torch under a truck to keep sparks/slag/hot p00 out of your ear canal.
I was putting longer shackles on a 78 camaro and Im not shure what happened but i had the air gun in my left hand and the jack sliped with my finger under the air gun and the entire car came down on it, it looked like you just steped on a grape they said theyd have to remove it well that was after siting in the hospital for several hours we got mad and went to the clenic and the put me in first. looks normal now but have a small hole in it can still see muscle in there, its pain in the but to try to keep clean. but it will eventualy heal over. even got infected and dint know it everyone said youll never feal anything again (just didnt under stand why it hurt all the time) when back and infection was going up my arm, but luck me they saved everything! LESON LERNED DONT HAVE A BRAIN FART WILE WORKING ON ANYTHING. HAVE MORE COFFEE.
need less to say never play guitar again! (cant feal the string)
I worked on a starter didnt disconnect the battery and had my.wed ring on and tool touched the.frame while i was taking positive off the.starter i got shocked and my ring got hotter n hotter and i tried to pull it off and i almost couldnt because the ring had became oval shaped after jumping up n down for few second trying to get the ring off i got it off but couldnt hold on the ring i just drop em on the garage floor and my ring finger turned white w blister peeling. From that day on i never wore a ring again and thank god i didnt cuz two yrs ago between that finger and my chainsaw had a fight i could imagine it would get worse if i had that ring on
Quote from: Trent on April 13, 2011, 03:19:20 AM
oh, how about this one, dont drill holes while layin under it without saftey glasses, had to go to the hospital for this, metal in your eye really hurts ==censor
Always wear safety glasses when using power tools, even if it is drilling something on a work bench, I have seen numerous people get things in they're eyes and have seen a few people lose an eye over the years, my dad was one of them.
He just got a small sliver of steel in his eye and the doctors was able to remove it however an infection set in afterwords that they could not get rid of and had to take his eye out.
Even if I am just working under a vehicle I wear safety goggles to prevent any rust from falling in my eyes and suffering the same fate.
when i was pullin the engine and trans out of my buick roadmaster beacuse it was smashed in the front but anyway it was hung up on somethin so i put more pressure on the cherry picker and stood on the frame while holdin on the picker and bounced up and down then bang the chain broke and the picker arm punched me square on the chin nocked me down hit my head on the floor about five feet away morale of the story use bigger chain
WORK SMART, NOT HARD. REMOVE OBSTRUCTIONS AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS DISCONNECTED AND CLEAR BEFORE REMOVING A LARGE COMPONENT. DO NOT EXTEND THE END OF THE CHERRY PICKER PAST THE FRONT WHEELS, AND DEFINITELY DO NOT STAND ON THE PICKER FRAME TO COMPENSATE FOR OVERLOADING AND/OR OVEREXTENSION. IT CAN TIP OVER FORWARD WITH NO WARNING. THINK HARD ABOUT WHAT THE VEHICLE WILL DO WHEN THE WEIGHT OF THE COMPONENT IS REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE.
SPRINGS CAN AND WILL KILL YOU. CHAIN THEM UP, RELEASE PRESSURE SLOWLY, AND STAND CLEAR UNTIL PRESSURE IS OFF. THAT GOES FOR LEAFS TOO. WRAP CHAIN AROUND THEM WHEN CUTTING U-BOLTS, IF THE LEAF PACK WAS COMPRESSED BY THE CENTER BOLT DURING ASSEMBLY, IT CAN BREAK WHEN THE U-BOLTS ARE CUT AND THE LEAFS CAN FLY OUT WITH DEADLY FORCE. A JACK CAN SLIP AND ALLOW A SPRING TO FLY OUT. CHAIN IT UP!
A few years ago I was using a 4" grinder w/ wire wheel on it. Of course I had safety glasses on, a wire came off the wheel and went up my nose! Wow! Had to go to ER to get it removed.. ALWAYS wear a face shield when using wire wheel! I learned the hard way!
Best horror story I have is a friend came over a few summers ago, he had bandages on both arms and was wearing sun glasses...it was night time?
I said why are you wearing sun glasses, he said don't want to talk about it, after going back and forth a few times he takes off the glasses and has stitches across the bridge of his nose and two black eyes.
Finally got him to confess, he took the cap off his radiator when it was hot and coolant blew out all over his arms burning them, when he moved his arms out of the way he knocked the stick out that was holding up the hood and it come down and broke his nose resulting in stitches and two black eyes ==roll
Quote from: Disturban on April 13, 2011, 06:15:40 PM
Best horror story I have is a friend came over a few summers ago, he had bandages on both arms and was wearing sun glasses...it was night time?
I said why are you wearing sun glasses, he said don't want to talk about it, after going back and forth a few times he takes off the glasses and has stitches across the bridge of his nose and two black eyes.
Finally got him to confess, he took the cap off his radiator when it was hot and coolant blew out all over his arms burning them, when he moved his arms out of the way he knocked the stick out that was holding up the hood and it come down and broke his nose resulting in stitches and two black eyes ==roll
Seen this before.
Dont try to install torsion bars with a pipe wrench & multiple handle extensions unless you are good at flying.
if torching on something make shure u have a fire extinguisher close by
For sure, fires are easy to start and hard to stop! ==doh
always block the tires on the other end of the vehicle when your jacking it up, buddy got caught between his truck and a fence post for 1/2 hour cuz the jack gave and the truck rolled foreward pinning him between teh bumper and the fence post
I was lowering a car for a buddy (honda) and he was being cheap, so i was heating them the rubber got to hot and started melting instant mess then we had a 5 gallon bucket of WATER (so i thought it was) water & gas mix man did i burn all my hair on my face! wooosh instantly. need less to say im a little more carefull and dont lower cars for anyone! (they never seem to like it for vary long) and heating springs is just not vary good anyhow!
oh and he needed new paint to! hahahahaha
i no longer wear my wedding ring because i almost pulled my finger off when i jumped of my truck and it was caught glad i didnt go with bigger tires.
Quote from: mudboggshirts on April 13, 2011, 03:10:24 AM
OMGosh.....I know Dale Carnegie (author) said he jumped out of a tree house when he was younger and his ring caught on a nail and it tore his finger off...who would have thought? ..
dont torch against cement if its wet it can explode
Quote from: 'the DON' on April 15, 2011, 11:42:55 PM
i no longer wear my wedding ring because i almost pulled my finger off when i jumped of my truck and it was caught glad i didnt go with bigger tires.
Quote from: mudboggshirts on April 13, 2011, 03:10:24 AM
OMGosh.....I know Dale Carnegie (author) said he jumped out of a tree house when he was younger and his ring caught on a nail and it tore his finger off...who would have thought? ..
sorry to hear that....I wear rings and now I wonder if I should...not even around car batteries!
Quote from: 'the DON' on April 15, 2011, 11:54:34 PM
dont torch against cement if its wet it can explode
Yup, and dont let your big gobs of slag drip onto the concrete, it makes it pop and itll put your eye out. Always put a board or fire blanket or piece of steel down under what youre cuttin. Yeah I know, boards are flammable...
On another note: YESTERDAY, I WAS TRYING TO REMOVE A SWAY BAR, AND THE 10MM 3/8 DRIVE SOCKET I WAS USING POPPED AND SPLIT IN TWO AND ONE PIECE HIT ME SQUARE ON MY LOWER FRONT TOOTH, CHIPPED A CORNER OFF OF IT. WHEN PUTTIN ALOT OF PRESSURE ON A HAND TOOL, ITS A GOOD IDEA TO GIVE SOME THOUGHT TO WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF THAT TOOL BREAKS.
Wear safety glasses. Enough said........especially when doing brakes.
KEEP YOUR KNEE OFF THE FLOOR WHEN USING TORCH OR WELDER, THE CHERRIES CAN ROLL TO YOU AND BURN YOUR KNEE. I KNOW ALOT ABOUT THIS ONE, loll
Quote from: Chevy Racer on April 16, 2011, 12:28:34 AM
Wear safety glasses. Enough said........especially when doing brakes.
X2000000000, brake cleaner in the eye hurts like ==censor, also when hammering on a stuck part, wear protective gear, had a chunk of steel break off and rickochet off 3 walls before it fineally landed on the floor
when cutting metal with a grinder always debur both peices so when someone picks it up ya dont gash yer fingers open later this happened to my bud last weekend on a peice of plate i was hackin on he should have gotten stitches but we super glued it
Quote from: old school truck dude on April 16, 2011, 03:01:14 PM
KEEP YOUR KNEE OFF THE FLOOR WHEN USING TORCH OR WELDER, THE CHERRIES CAN ROLL TO YOU AND BURN YOUR KNEE. I KNOW ALOT ABOUT THIS ONE, loll
this happened to me last night
Wheeled the Cheep yesterday, got home and unloaded the wifes quad and Cody's bike, but I had to unbuckle the Cheep to do it..
well.. got them unloaded and got distracted for a minute, went to unhook the trailer from the truck and forgot I had popped the binder on
the Cheep.. cranked the landing gear down lifting the front of the trailer, Cheep has no park and I did'nt block a tire.. you do the math!
Cheep hit the end of the chain just as the rear tires walked off the deck, trailier hitch damn near gave me an upper cut then slammed to
the ground missing my foot by inches.
Glad you and The Cheep are OK Hammerlane!
Quote from: mudboggshirts on April 17, 2011, 03:45:41 PM
Glad you and The Cheep are OK Hammerlane!
Thanks, ego needed a bandaid but other than that.. ==np
Quote from: Hammerlane on April 17, 2011, 03:51:25 PM
Quote from: mudboggshirts on April 17, 2011, 03:45:41 PM
Glad you and The Cheep are OK Hammerlane!
Thanks, ego needed a bandaid but other than that.. ==np
we learn from our boo boos ;D I always tell myself mistakes are stepping stones to success...we are only human...Just wow stop doing that! ;D
Note to self, When using the tig welder , do not hang the torch over one leg. the tungsten hurts when it burns your leg( the torch sliped and got me in the lower leg, it took 2 months to heal)
DONT LAY THE WIRE FEEDER GUN OVER YOUR LEG BETWEEN WELDS. IT CAN TRIGGER UP AND DRIVE SOME ELECTRIFIED WIRE @ 20-30 VOLTS AND 100+ AMPS DEEP INTO YOU CAUSING SEVERE PAIN IMMEDIATELY, AND SEVERE INFECTION LATER (MORE PAIN) ;D
IMPACT WRENCHES AND OTHER AIR TOOLS ARE VERY DANGEROUS TOOLS. SAFETY GLASSES AND GLOVES ARE A MUST. DO NOT HOLD THE SPINNING SOCKET, IT CAN SLICE YOU WIDE OPEN IF IT HAS A BURR ON IT OR IF IT BREAKS. BE EXTRA CAREFUL WHEN USING SWIVEL SOCKETS, THEY CAN FLOP OVER AND GET YOUR FINGERS/HAND CAUGHT AND IT REALLY HURTS BAD WHEN THIS HAPPENS. 12 STITCHES, AIR RATCHET, 9/16 SWIVEL SOCKET, FORD WATER PUMP.
BENCH GRINDERS CAN PULL YOUR FINGERS OFF RIGHT AT THE KNUCKLE AND DO ALL KINDS OF OTHER REALLY BAD THINGS TO YOU. USE A FACE SHIELD, HOLD SMALLER PARTS WITH VICE-GRIPS, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT STAND DIRECTLY IN LINE WITH THE SPINNING STONE OR WIRE WHEEL, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!! I GOT HIT IN THE GUT MANY YEARS AGO WHEN A STONE BROKE - I WAS VERY LUCKY AND DID NOT GET HURT. KEEP ALL THE GUARDS IN PLACE AS WELL AS THE TOOL RESTS, AND KEEP THE TOOL RESTS ADJUSTED - NO MORE THAN 1/8" OR SO FROM THE STONE. DO NOT DRAG IT DOWN BY APPLYING ALOT OF PRESSURE TO THE PIECE YOU ARE GRINDING, IT CAN GET SNATCHED OUT OF YOUR HANDS AND WHO KNOWS WHERE IT'S GOING NEXT. THE STONE CAN CHIP OR BREAK AND SEND A CHUNK FLYING AT YOU, OR IF IT'S A WIRE WHEEL YOU KNOW AS WELL AS ME A PIECE OF WIRE IS GOING STRAIGHT IN YOUR EYE. SOME OF THESE GRINDERS CAN FREEWHEEL FOR A LONG TIME AFTER BEING SHUT OFF AND PEOPLE OFTEN CARELESSLY WALK AWAY LEAVING THE GRINDER SPINNING. IN A NOISY SHOP, OTHER PEOPLE MAY NOT NOTICE THE GRINDER IS STILL SPINNING AND GET HURT, SO EITHER WAIT TILL IT STOPS OR MAKE IT STOP BEFORE YOU WALK AWAY FROM IT.
Tools come with guards for a reason believe it or not. O and never check to see why your fan wobbles while its on. Got to see what a couple knuckles look like.
always always always keep a loaded fire extinguisher in the garage! you never know when your gonna need it
i was taking the seat belts out of my truck and it was a pain in the ==censor. there locktighted on so i had to use a 1/2 inch ratchet and a 3 foot pipe to get them out, but the bolt head snapped off and i smashed my finger off cab when it snapped off. hurt like a ==censor
dont pry on a breaker bar/extension without room for give when something breaks. I broke my hand on an engine crade when I snapped the frame bolt.
never get under a car/truck without 2 methods of keeping it in the air. that way if one fails you dont die.
I always wear safety glasses earplugs, long pants, and a hat. keeps most of you covered and safe from flying stuff and noise. not to mention you have an excuse for not hearing your wife call you into the house.
Some of these tires we have are pretty tall. When theyre wet, theyre kinda slippery to stand on. You can fall off and break your arm, poke your eye out, or worse.. My buddy was cleanin off a window and fell off one of the real tall ones and broke his arm in 3 places because he landed on concrete.
this just happen to me a couple weeks ago. got into a hurry (when most things go wrong) had one jack that blew a seal and my back up jack had no front wheels. instead of fixing the missing wheel problem i just used the jack. figured it only had to lift my s-10 jimmy high enough to fit jack stands to do a quick pad slap. needless to say after i got the vehicle in the air i turned around to grab the jack stands an the jack came out from the under the truck like a rocket. thank god i wasnt hunched over putting the stands up. the only damage this time was some crushed oil cooler lines.
morral of the story make sure your lifting equipment is in top shape and when u rush bad s**t happens.
Got a trip to the ER today..
driver came into the yard and you could smell brakes real bad..
sure enough.. he comes in lookin for a fire ext..
well, we got the brake fire put out n' I was in the process
of inspecting the trailer as to why they locked up when BOOOM!! tire blew up..
I was only a couple of feet away, blast knocked me off my feet..
got some small schrapnel wounds, got feeling back in my face and arm..
but gotta follow up with what's still in my eye..
What a Monday! ==doh
Quote from: Hammerlane on June 06, 2011, 05:27:48 PM
Got a trip to the ER today..
driver came into the yard and you could smell brakes real bad..
sure enough.. he comes in lookin for a fire ext..
well, we got the brake fire put out n' I was in the process
of inspecting the trailer as to why they locked up when BOOOM!! tire blew up..
I was only a couple of feet away, blast knocked me off my feet..
got some small schrapnel wounds, got feeling back in my face and arm..
but gotta follow up with what's still in my eye..
What a Monday! ==doh
Holy p00, glad you are okay!
Hey hope youre ok, old buddy!! Who wouldve thought the tire would blow..? Yeah, my eye too! I just bought a ridin mower and the carb is screwed up, so I bought a kit for it, took it apart and was sprayin out the little holes by jammin the little red straw in there. The carb cleaner all of a sudden came back out of the carb in a way I really did not expect and shot me square in the eye causing an intense burning sensation for a pretty good while.. I should have been wearing my clear face shield, but geez, it was all of 5' away, too much trouble to pick it up and wear, right? Better to chemically blind myself. ==doh
And for those of you with a junky old fridge in the shop, you can freeze yourself to the interior of the freezer in less than a second and cause EXTREMELY SEVERE burns! I never saw this happen before until 2 nights ago when my gf was screamin "Get a cup of water Im stuck to the freezer!!!" - it burned the p00 outta her in just a couple seconds, look closely and you'll see several very large blisters :(
Got me a day off of work.. ==doh
had to follow up with the eye doc this morning.. (per ER instructions)
oddly enough they moved me right to the front of the line..
doc said she plucked a piece of steel outta my eyeball.. was feelin it all night
had to cut it out.. ==censor ==censor ==censor son of a ==censor ==censor I HATE THAT!!
she says its gonna be sensitive for a couple of days.. but I should be ok..
weird too.. this morning my face and arm felt like I have a sunburn..
blast hit my face and left arm like a mule kick.
P.S. yea, I was wearin my saftey glasses too.
Tires are the most unpredictable and dangerous things we work with. When I was in high school, I lost a good friend to a 2-piece truck rim. He stepped across the tire as it was bein aired up on the floor with a clip-on air chuck. No chains on it, uncaged. The ring came off right when he stepped on the tire and it cut him completely in half. I believe in chaining these type of rims, and whenever possible put them back on the truck or at least under it. I would never air one up unsecured period. It only takes about 10 lbs of air pressure to blow your head clean off and thats no joke. If you dont know what youre doin with tires, let someone that does know do the job until you learn proper procedures. Rusty or cracked one -piece rims can blow apart, too.
Yep, watched a guy at our motorpool launch himself into the rafters airing up a split rim.
welp learned the hard way today.
while lighting a torch i was using a lighter instead on striker and i had my pointer finger extended out across the path of the gas and when i lit it. it moved faster then me and burnt my finger but nuin serious.
just saying always keep your fingers tucked in so u dont get burned ;D
had a truck fall off ramps when I was under it once. I was 17. haven't used ramps since. the axle bruised my sternum. Lets just say i'm glad i had oversized tires on it, and wasn't under the pig.
Quote from: OHEARN.2012 on June 15, 2011, 12:34:28 AM
welp learned the hard way today.
while lighting a torch i was using a lighter instead on striker and i had my pointer finger extended out across the path of the gas and when i lit it. it moved faster then me and burnt my finger but nuin serious.
just saying always keep your fingers tucked in so u dont get burned ;D
Not a good idea to use a lighter, you can blow your fingers off
all i have dad just used it for plumbing i dont have a set of torches so i have no striker it could be a good investment
Quote from: Bowtie972 on April 13, 2011, 02:58:44 PM
A few years ago I was using a 4" grinder w/ wire wheel on it. Of course I had safety glasses on, a wire came off the wheel and went up my nose! Wow! Had to go to ER to get it removed.. ALWAYS wear a face shield when using wire wheel! I learned the hard way!
really your supposed to wear one whenever cutting, grinding, etc. one of the best 14 bucks ive ever spent
Quote from: OHEARN.2012 on June 19, 2011, 03:59:53 AM
all i have dad just used it for plumbing i dont have a set of torches so i have no striker it could be a good investment
Use your rod and strike an arc. That gets the flame away from your hand.
Quote from: old school truck dude on July 25, 2011, 11:38:54 PM
Quote from: OHEARN.2012 on June 19, 2011, 03:59:53 AM
all i have dad just used it for plumbing i dont have a set of torches so i have no striker it could be a good investment
Use your rod and strike an arc. That gets the flame away from your hand.
if all you have is a lighter, light a piece of wood or something that is about 6" long to keep your hand out.
also if you are a smoker, don't keep your lighter in your pocket when you weld. guess what happens if a piece of slag hits it...
i did that too
Quote from: blazentrout on April 18, 2011, 01:10:43 AM
Note to self, When using the tig welder , do not hang the torch over one leg. the tungsten hurts when it burns your leg( the torch sliped and got me in the lower leg, it took 2 months to heal)
welp got some torches and i got a striker im good now ;) :P
one day my dad was cutting under a car of course with the torches i went out to pass him the phone and when i said "hey pops" he turned toward me the torch melted the skin on my arm lmao the heat was so hot it melted the skin and never hurt because it melted the nerve endings!
I know that was hot for sure! We have to really pay attention to which way the torch is pointed, if you pass by the bottles with the flame you can heat the tank enough to rupture it and go boom. Be sure to have flame arrestors at the regulators in case you burn the hose! If theres gas in the shop, get it out and ventilate the shop real good before you start, the cherries fly around everywhere and it only takes ONE to start a roaring fire.
Explosive vapors will seek a low spot and hang there until an ignition source comes along, back in the day we used to heat the shop with propane 1000 gallon tank out back with a gas line run into the building, seems where the line entered the building had some galvanized 3/4 pipe and fittings to make the transition through the wall, had sprung a slow leak at the 90' into the building.
There was a pit under the baler behind the shop 8' long 3' wide 8' deep, block wall cement floor. Propane is heavier than air and filled the pit, Mike was hot rodding some crane counter weight's in half 45' behind the shop and a spark landed in he pit and the baler was history, the explosion knocked the baler half over and shot random parts of it all over the yard, the boss was proud that day.
Few years later had a C60 up on a two post lift with the mechanical fuel pump out, fuel line just hanging there, well the rear hoist settled during the night leaning the truck forward quite a bit, this was normal no worries right? well gas had leaked into the hoist pit all night filling it with fumes, next morning fired up the torch 2 bays over and leveled the wall next to the 2 post lift, luckily no one was working on the C60 at the time they would have been history.
i remember i was trying break loss rusty lug nuts with breaker bar and long pipe while i was jumping on it. i slipped and smoked my head on the truck..DONT JUMP ON BREAKER BARS
well I know most folks don't own hoists but for gods sake use the proper lift points. I have seen people set pads that have 20 years the business that scare the hell out of me. we share hoists at work where one person has to set it for someone else. one day we heard a loud crash while on break. a photographer went to move a truck up and the hoist was wrong. it kicked out the pads and it rolled right off onto the floor. lucky for him he was out of the way as it landed right on the controls.
Yup, seen a guy put a van through a wall because it slipped off, gotta get it by the frame not body parts ;D
Incident #1: I once had this dirtbike. It loved to flood when left sitting. I pulled out the sparkplug and proceeded to roll it over while sitting in the middle of my parents pole barn (metal and mostly empty thank god). Gas sprayed all over my bike and my jeans. Being that it was a push button killswitch and I "wasn't" pushing it, it didn't take very long to ignite the bike, my jeans,.....and the open 5 gal gas can next to the bike! I was able to put myself out by using the stop-drop-n-roll method (screaming and flailing around on the ground),but the bike was a total loss even after the help of 4 extinguishers. The barn survived with minor wounds.
Incident #2 While working on yet another bike (in the same barn) i had rebuilt the carburator and accidentally put the throttle slide in backwards holding the throttle wide open. I kicked on it about a million times wondering "whys it startin so hard" like a ==sm before it finally fired at like 20grand! At this catastrofic engine speed the kill switch didnt work. I figured slamming it into 4th and dumpin the clutch was sure to stall it out, right? Not a chance! Looked like i was in a damn burnout contest until it hooked up sendin the bike and 110lb me hurtilin tward the door that was only open about as wide as the handlebars. Handlebars barely made it and I bailed sendin the bike flyin into the back 40 before it spunn in circles and destroyed itself.
There are many lessons here but the biggest one would be to please START IT OUTSIDE! You never know whats going to happen.
Stonyv you shouldnt own dirt bikes or anything with motors lol :P
fire scares the crap out of me! im glad you were able to get the fire out on your cloths!!!!
i had a incident not to long ago involving a gas can my welder and a set of hot balls i was welding a plate on my bench and forgot about the half full gas can under my bench i herd a loud swoooosh sound lifted my helmet and didnt see anything so went back to welding all the sudden i started to get warm lifted helmet agin and seen my boots and shorts were on fire yes (SHORTS ) welding lol and tried to put it out in the middle of trying to put it out i kicked the gas can and and made more of a mess and then tried to run out of garage because i ended up putting gas on my argon tank and cought that on fire and tripped over my hose my wife took off running away from house cuz its almost attached less than a foot away i was yeeling at her to get me the hose and she finaly got it and in the mits of her hooking it up i grabed the other end and went into my garage with it and jerked it and pulled it out of her hands then she finaly got it hooked up and put my self out then tried to put out the fire with it but had hard time since gas and water just spread i waas flipping bye that point cuz i got my argon tank full inthere plus my torch tanks full and 4 ropane tanks full and all chemicals but i stayed with it and finaly went out ..........needless to say it was a fun time since i just had a heart attack not to long ago blood was just a pumping .......but anyways im fine garage is ok and only lost a airhose and gas can with 5 gallons of gas ....never weld near a gas can and never weld in shorts cuz the flames on ya legs go up the shorts for a fried hotdog anf nutsssss........
Incident (1) A couple years ago, I was doing brakes on my at the time 96 deville, all I had was the factory scissor jack. I lifted the car got the wheel of and had just got on my knees when it folded the jack, lucky for me I was working on the passenger side and the car fell towards the driver side, I will never ever use a scissor jack again.
Incident (2) Never fart with your coveralls zipped up, It will stay in there and slowly release the stench straight upward to the nostrils.
Incident 1 was using a grinders to cut a cunk of 3x4 thin wall tube . well i didnt think the pants i had on had a few hole in the bottom . it a few sec i lost about a 1/4 of my right pant leg. ( not the first time ive sent my self on fire )
incident 2 . me and one of my buddy where puting is 87 ford 7.3 ext cab ext box on one of the older underground air lift . it got 3/4 way up the rear right sliped off . the hole truck missed me by a few and my buddy by a foot or so . we bent the trans crose member and broke a bunch of stuff . it was fun explaning this to the owener of the truck .
FIRE! so easy to start, so hard to stop! Keep the flammable things AWAY from the welding area. A grinder can start fires pretty quick too, dont let the stream of sparks go on you, itll burn your clothes up and you too! Be real mindful of where ALL the sparks are goin. ;D
Quote from: old school truck dude on January 18, 2012, 08:59:58 PM
FIRE! so easy to start, so hard to stop! Keep the flammable things AWAY from the welding area. A grinder can start fires pretty quick too, dont let the stream of sparks go on you, itll burn your clothes up and you too! Be real mindful of where ALL the sparks are goin. ;D
fire cabinets work well for storing flammables or store them in an outside shed
Note to self:
Dumba$$ -
put the big (cardboard) can of Pyrodex away BEFORE using the grinder!!!!
probably one of the best ones i have heard is simply keep the shop area clean dont leave tools laying around. You can easily trip and fall or slip. And wen they are put away in a toolbox it makes them so much easier to find.\
Draw strings on hooded sweatshirts can get in belts, pullys, anything that spins. Cut them off the hoody you work in and avoid loose fitting clothing.
Creepers are not skate boards
Skateboarding on a creeper..? ==lmaoo
Quote from: Bigolcummins on January 22, 2012, 07:53:34 AM
probably one of the best ones i have heard is simply keep the shop area clean dont leave tools laying around. You can easily trip and fall or slip. And wen they are put away in a toolbox it makes them so much easier to find.\
Draw strings on hooded sweatshirts can get in belts, pullys, anything that spins. Cut them off the hoody you work in and avoid loose fitting clothing.
Creepers are not skate boards
Quote from: old school truck dude on January 22, 2012, 01:56:35 PM
Skateboarding on a creeper..? ==lmaoo
Think I would pay money to see that ==roll
ive seen people do it lol, usualy does not end good
this might have been said already but when using a ladder of any sort leaned against a truck tie or strap it off so the bottom cant kick out when your standing on it leaning over and stuff happened to sam /4x4fun/ on the front of my truck darn near broke some ribs
That was pretty bad, I was standin right there and he hit real hard ==censor
Here's 2 good welding ones:
So when I first started welding it was with the ole Lincoln stick. I hated the hood, so I would just squint so I could see in dark places. Woke up the next morning and had sunburnt face and eyes, oh god my eyes hurt. So the next day I baught an auto dimmer.
#2
so again with the stick welding, I was under a home made trailer welding supports, and I was just going right along and dropping the little end of the stick and replacing it, not paying attention to where the hid rod was dropping, I felt this EXTREAM pain on my nads, started hopping around like there was a fire in my pants, cuz there was, I fianly made it out from the trailer and the rod managed to drop from my sack to in my shoe. So yea, that was great. I now invested into a wire feed.
When you bring a vehicle indoors that has been settin up outside in the cold, be prepared for the bees and wasps when they get warmed up ==roll
Don't try to siphon gas out of your gas tank with a garden hose ==roll I was changing my fuel pump in my old chevy truck and because the tank was full and I was by myself I had to get some of the gas out so I could lift it back up into place I tried siphoning some gas out with an old garden hose and swallowed some loll after that I was burping up the taste of gas for a couple of days
When you are going to lift something with a ceiling hoist or similar device in order to "flip it over" , turn it upside down, remember that at a certain point in the lift the object will "break center" and gravity is always always always workin. It will free fall for a second till the chain, cable, or whatever catches it. What if the hook comes undone? ==doh
My friends wife was helping him service truck was using air grease gun she didn't realize it had a hole in hose pushed grease under skin of her finger this picture is after 2 surgeries still does not know if she will be able to keep it
HOLY CRAP THATS REALLY BAD!! ==omg
Owww. Thats making my finger hurt. I hope she can keep it. That would be horrible.
One of the greatest garage horror stories ever told...
Winter 2014
Has kept me outta my garage for 3 months.
Just sickening!
Nobody got hurt on this one, floor gave way to the basement and the trackhoe slid down a beam into it .. Its wedged between the 2 basement walls pretty tight right here, took quite a bit of fartin around to get it outta there ;D
Ok so I slipped in a puddle of water that was on an oily spot. On the way down, I scraped my elbow on a rust spot of the truck. Moral of this story is keep the floor clean and dry ;D
Never be the guy to try to stop a tire balancing machine with your foot! My son was changing his wheels at school and a kid tried to stop the machine by putting his foot on the tire while it's spinning full tilt needless to say the tire didn't stop and shot this other kid into the air about four feet and landed on his back! Also those wire wheels can go through t shirts and stick into your skin! Stay safe guys
one thing that ive been using in the barn is the florescent light bulbs in my drop lights they seem too take a beating a lot better than the old incandescent bulbs and they don't get hot and burn you when yer all twisted up under whatever yer working on
Watch your step when you get out of these tall trucks! I slipped coming out of my work rig and ended up in the ER with a severe back strain and sprained ankle :(
;D