Goofs & Blunders You Should Avoid.

For those of you who work on old cars, If you are working on the window rollers in an old car door, with your arm in the door be careful how you pull it out. That old car door can be very sharp. They did not have the same old safety rounded edges like they do now. After a bunch of stitches, and some healed tendon sheathes the spot can still bother you. bad thing is once is not bad enough then I had to try with the other arm. Boy was the wife upset.
 
Sounds about right! Never got stiches because of the car door, but have been cut pretty badly a few times working on old junk.
 
anyone who's worked on cars has a story or two. speaking of sharp sheet metal, I was taking the sunroof assembly out of my RX7, or at least trying. Had all the bolts out and the darn thing wouldn't come out, until I tried to look at what was holding it up. you guessed it, finally let free and smacked me right in the head. For note, I have learned from my previous mentioned stories and WAS wearing safety glasses!

Also more fun car stories, I was replacing the strut on one of my old RX7s (yes I have an obsession with those as well), and decided to jack the rear of the car up on the bottom of the strut...not sure what I was thinking, but of course I wasn't using jack stands and as soon as I got the bolt out holding the strut to the car the strut compressed and the back of the car fell on top of me and bounced off the top of my chest. Thank god for the strut bump stops! I now use jack stands ALL the time now too.
 
...don't feed the mice (they can set up inside your wire EDM cabinet and chew)... And DO put $ in a retirement fund (hopefully a 401K that your employer matches some % Early retirement here when 55 yrs old and lovin' every minute of it!! (55(and still alive) + 35 yrs of it chewing up metal = the ("our") rule of 90 = yeah boyz!!!
 
...always (always!) stop that lathe spindle when peeling off (grabbing with your gloves, pliers, "coat hanger") a rats nest of stringy chips (like from turning stringy CRS) IE: Don't learn the hard way with a nasty cut (or worse!)
 
3 true stories over 35 yrs:

...I once (that's all it took) in the 70's learned why a correct machine shop floor plan has their line of lathes with each set at about a 30 degree angle with only wall in line with the spindles and why yoose' shouldn't stand in direct line with a spinning chuck! (with or without a part in it)... luckily just cut up lips, a bkn nose, and of course 2 black eyes....

... are any any of you guys (and gals) familiar with rolls of 2" wide abrasive (sandpaper, various grits)?...anyway, we had a H.S. METAL SHOP TEACHER! hired on temp. for the summer...his 1st week in June he tore off a long length, wrapped it around a big OD and long work piece in our big American Pacemaker (to "sand" and "even out" the diameter to print), he wrapped the paper around his wrists while griping (top and bottom ends) of it while manipulating it back and forth along the spinning part while pulling hard....anyway, I got all this from seeing the accident report (I didn't see the carnage but I heard "it")...I later heard he got out of the hospital weeks later and he didn't loose his hands or arm(s)...

...the worst (a death) in one of "our" production depts. on a swing shift: It is said (guessed) the operator, with door open, had his upper torso inside a CNC (MS) lathe, with the safety micro switch switch taped while doing some hand radius work ("polishing", sanding...with paper again)...no one knows if he reached around to the control and hit the cycle start button by mistake or what but a 3/4" (mighta' been a 5/8") boring bar went through his head as the cycle started and finished leaving his tore up body hanging on the tool change magazine...2 of my friends (a set up man and a programmer in that dept.) and a couple of others released the tool (boring bar) and carried him down to the main 1st aid room to wait for the ambulance (all in that dept. were offered counseling if they chose)

Sorry for the bummer but I tell these on every machining site I venture in to (Be careful (smart) out there)
 
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