Goofs & Blunders You Should Avoid.

I recall an old Bill Cosby routine about teeter-totters ... said that a whole lot of little guys lost their chance for a deep voice because of that evil device :)
 
MrWhoopee said:
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!
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There is a very similar YouTube video that I will not link to, which will become clear in a moment. (I had been watching humorous forklift incidents where they level an entire warehouse shelving system by barely bumping one corner, but anyway...)

A forklift was carrying probably a 4x8 foot sheet of steel of unknown thickness, but thick. It was being moved across the work area when the forklift slowed slightly, causing the sheet to swing forward, and started to tip the forklift forward. Unbeknownst to the forklift driver, an employee walking by behind him and saw what was happening and ran to help, coming up from behind holding on to the rising rear end. The sheet was still too heavy though and it and the forklift continued to tip forward. As it did, the employee at the back was lifted just off the ground and he started to swing forward, hanging now from the forklift. Right then, the load slid off the forks. The employee dropped off at the same time, still swinging forward, and went entirely under the forklift just as it came down, and completely vanished. I don't think the operator had any idea what had happened since his attention was focused forwards.

Just about made me sick to see it because there was no warning of what was going to happen. So, no, you can find that one yourself. It's all fun and games until it isn't.
 
amsoilman said:
Put a spool on my recurve bow to try shooting carp in the creek. First shot the arrow went out about 15’, line hung up and the arrow came back just as fast. Luckily it missed me. My DW saw that and said I was an idiot.
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I shot an arrow straight up just to see what would happen, and lost sight of it. I figured it might be smart to get under some protection, and dang if that arrow didn't land exactly center of where I'd been standing... I think about that sometimes.
 
Flyinfool said:
The place I work at now, when I started it was required that the engineers wear a tie. It only took me a couple of days to figure out that the engineers were also required to go out on the shop floor to assist and/or answer questions as well as work on prototype machine builds and testing. Of course I immediately lost the tie, when called out on it, I explained the perils of a tie in a shop as well as the history of a tie. Now there is no one in the company that wears a tie.
What is really scary is that the engineering manager then mentioned that he once got his tie caught by the lead screw on a lathe, lucky for him he was a very big strong guy and the machine was running at a slow enough speed for him to react, he was able to plant both hands on the machine and was strong enough to hold back till the tie broke and did not have his face pulled into the machine.
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Yeah there was a time (don't know about now) where guys in the machine shop tended to go for the bad-ass look, meaning tattoos and a lot of facial hair, including long ZZ-Top style beards. Always wondered how that worked out for them around lathes and mills.
 
In high school we made a rocket, a 4-ft steel tube and nozzle, completely full of propellant. At some point, someone had to get down under there and connect the ignition wires. I connected one, then brought the second one right up to the connection, and, unusual for a immortal teenager, decided to check whether it was live by briefly touching the other ignition wire. The spark was a big surprise, due to an odd failure 1000' away at the launch board, and I think about how different my life would have been had I just gone ahead and connected it.

BTW, when it launched, it burned all its fuel within 30 feet, and coasted 10,000 feet straight up. That was pretty effing cool...
 
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kb58 said:
In high school we made a rocket, a 4-ft steel tube and nozzle, completely full of propellant. At some point, someone had to get down under there and connect the ignition wires. I connected one, then brought the second one right up to the connection, and, unusual for a immortal teenager, decided to check whether it was live by briefly touching the other ignition wire. The spark was a big surprise, due to an odd failure 1000' away at the launch board, and I think about how different my life would have been had I just gone ahead and connected it.

BTW, when it launched, it burned all its fuel within 30 feet, and coasted 10,000 feet straight up. That was pretty effing cool...
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My wasted youth was largely occupied with similar endeavors and close calls. I won't describe them here. Suffice it to say that I'm thankful to be alive. I'm also thankful for the statute of limitations.
 
kb58 said:
How many have added a power knee drive to their mill and forgotten to remove the handle when engaging it and knocking yourself good in the nuts? Nope, me neither...
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that might be a problem, if after the 4 divorces, there were any left...........
 
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