Goofs & Blunders You Should Avoid.

While working for Fred, he bought a large horizontal/vertical mill. The mill (weighing 13k lbs) arrived on a flatbed semi trailer. The only forklift he could borrow was 10k capacity. As usual, I was the designated lift operator. With the addition of 3 or 4 human counterweights on the back and full back tilt, I was able to get the mill about 3 inches above the trailer and the truck driver pulled forward. I began to gently lower the mill to the ground. Mind you, the mast was tilted all the way back, so as I was lowering, the load was also moving forward. Fred then told one of the counterweights to jump off and get some timbers to put under the mill. Instantly the lift began to tip forward. I hit full down as fast as I could, to no avail. The mill slid off the forks, hitting the concrete with a thunderous crash. When the forklift rebounded, the forks flipped back over top, ending up vibrating on either side of me. No one was injured, but my knees would not support me for over half an hour.

Physics, it's not just a good idea, it's the LAW!
 
Durn! You were very lucky that day.
 
So today I scrapped a crankshaft for a little punch press I'm building for a customer :rolleyes:

The crank started out life as a chunk of 3 inch (another screw up, I intended to order 2 inch) 4340 pre-hard round bar (machines about like a grade 8 bolt) A lot of chips before I got it turned down to size. Quite a nice job also, the bearing journals finished to +/- 0.00005 (at least at the temperature in the shop :) )

Only one small problem...... The throw on the crank is supposed to be 0.375, so offset in the 4 jaw 1/2 the throw or 0.1875 right? .....WRONG. :mad: I don't know what I was thinking. :faint: But the throw did come out at exactly 0.1875.

So about 6 hours and $75 in material into the scrap pile. I have the new crank just about built, this time I'll make sure the offset is 0.375. I have to get it right this time, it's the last of the material. :cautious:

Here is a rather expensive piece of scrap. Ignore the numbers on the notepad, nothing to do with the crank.
1535947796591.png

Here's the press frame. I'll post a build thread on this later.
1535948045632.png
 
Nice looking project, reminds me of my toolmaking days, in the far distant past. I guess we all make mistakes like that from time to time, That part will find a use somewhere, you just have to remember where you put it when you want it.
 
Never stuff match heads into an empty CO2 cartridge.
I tried it 49 years ago.
Lost some fingers and The use of my sewn on pinky.
I still do love fireworks

6AD01748-AB53-4D43-AE83-509182A1ED04.jpeg
 
savarin said:
12 years old I built a man trap in the back yard.
A trip wire that sent a concrete block onto your head.
I walked through it to see if it would work.
It did.
Click to expand...
Fortunately,you survived the experience. I think most of us could admit to similar goofs when we were that age.. Myself, I've got the scars to prove it.
 
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Ok, I've got one about as bad as Savarin (don't think I told this yet, but I'm old). I was in elementary school, I think about 6th grade, so what, about 11 years old? A friend of mine had an older brother that reloaded cartridges, and he knew where there was a coffee can full of "gunpowder".

Now, I have no idea what it was of course, it may have been nothing, smokeless powder, or black powder. The thing is that he snuck it out of the house, and four of us took it out into a big farm field and stood around it trying to light it with matches.

Read that again for effect. It was a windy day, and we eventually gave up. Granted it wasn't exactly a bomb in that form, but we still could have been seriously hurt. I cringe when ever I think about it.
 
I could list at least a dozen poorly conceived ideas that us lads thought were ok at the time. For some inexplicable reason we all still have all our fingers and toes and no one lost their sight or any other serious injury.

One good idea at about age 12 or so was to get a supply of penny bangers or bungers (fire crackers ) The plan was to stand with a bucket of water at our feet and holding said penny bunger in outstretched naked hand light the fuse and hold it long enough, so that when dropped it would fall into water and explode showering us with water. The trick was to hold it long enough so that when dropped the burning fuse was far enough inside the banger that it was not extinguished by the water before it exploded, but not too long so that it exploded in your hand, we got pretty good at it without serious injury.
 
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