SCHOOL OF HARDKNOCKS. (please feel free to add yours too those are the best safety messages in my opinion)

[MrCrankyface]

Having the attention span of a goldfish I have quite a lot of these moments.

One of the less fortunate events was when I ran my angle grinder with a cutoff wheel without a guard(big no no), the grinder kicked in my hand and the blade went all the way down to the bone in my left index finger in just a few milliseconds.
Luckily it didn't hit anything vital and my finger healed up fine, I even have a video of the flexing my finger with the open wound.
Since then I refuse to remove the guard, no matter what.

Another freak accident is when I was walking through my garage and when trying to step over something my foot slipped on the floor.
As I instinctively throw my other leg to the side to regain balance, I manage to hit the front of my kneecap against a standing sheet of steel, slicing all the skin off my kneecap, down to the bone...
I now have a 2" circle of purple scar tissue cover my right kneecap.
Lesson learnt? Store your materials safely and realize how dangerous slippery floors can be.

 

[macardoso]

I used to hold my hand in an OK sign when running the lathe, chip coming off the cutter and going through the circle between my fingers to guide it to the floor. My smartie of a brain through this would prevent bird nesting. Amazingly I made it through 4 years of engineering shop classes in college + off hours access to the machine shop without getting hurt OR anyone suggesting that was a bad idea. I was probably only ever baby cutting aluminum so the risk was probably a bit low.

I finally got bit by a moderately thick aluminum chip. Got pinched between the cutter a shoulder on a part and started to get pulled in. I instinctively grabbed on tight to prevent it from wrapping around the chuck and it sliced my fingers up good. Thankfully the chip broke and I didn't get pulled in, but bled pretty good. I do not touch chips anymore, either on or off the machine.

 

[tq60]

When you graduate, next is university of dried tear stains...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[aliva]

The server here is not large enough for me to list all my screw ups, so I'll pass

 

[Illinoyance]

When welding the crotch of my coveralls caught fire......

 

[JHerdebu]

Sorry it's been awhile but I swear I have a good reason. Yupp I did it again. This one is just plain stupidity. You see last year I decided it was time to have a really solid place to work here in the shop. Not really a shop more like a single stall garage over stuffed with my precious Empire of collected tools over the last 40 yrs.
Anyway I was tired of pouring water on smoking wooden bench tops. I built myself my dream metal working space. Well while planning and laying it out on paper I simply forgot how much lighter paper is to steel. Brother let me tell you 3/8" steel plate on 1/8" 1"x2" rectangular tube frame along with 16 gauge spark stop back panel, 2 welders my 618 lathes on the back along with all their accessories and spare spools of wire and all my smaller gotta have um cut offs and drops. I know it weighs in close to 1400 lbs. I nice beefy 5 inch wheels on it and can normally role it no problems.


Remember you my be as strong as you were 30 years ago means, your still just as Stupid too. I tried to push the table and it wouldn't so I braced my boots against the wall and really leaned into it.

And that's how I tore my left hamstring!
I guess that's why only Quarterbacks can still football in their 50s all us Linemen got beat all to heck so they could stay pretty.

 

[Suzuki4evr]

When welding be careful spatter+hair=not good and weld spatter going down your gloves isn’t fun most of the time I don’t wear gloves

I have discovered that it is actually also better to weld with flip-flops. I know it sounds crazy but hear me out. When a piece of slag falls into you boot,you try desperately to get away from the burning piece of hell that found a new place to live on the inside of your boot. And while you are trying to get away from it,you get burned all over. But with flip-flops you just kick and your good. If you don't feel safe with this idea, just don't do it.

 

[Braeden P]

I have discovered that it is actually also better to weld with flip-flops. I know it sounds crazy but hear me out. When a piece of slag falls into you boot,you try desperately to get away from the burning piece of hell that found a new place to live on the inside of your boot. And while you are trying to get away from it,you get burned all over. But with flip-flops you just kick and your good. If you don't feel safe with this idea, just don't do it.

i wear long pants that cover the boots that helps

 

[Suzuki4evr]

I recently just had bad luck. An extremely hot twirly chip got in between my safety glass and cheeck just under my eye. I tried to slap it off but only my glasses flew off,the chip stuck. From the side I must have looked silly smacking myself stupid. I now have three stripes under my eye where it burned me as a reminder. I have so many scars all over my body from my bike accident and workshop war wounds, one more don't matter to me.

 

[Suzuki4evr]

i wear long pants that cover the boots that helps

In summertime in SA,it is just to hot for that.