Blood thirsty tools

[NCWayne]

Had an encounter this afternoon with a 4 1/2 inch Dewalt grinder with a 1/16 cutting disc on it. I was squatted down cutting a weld on the bottom side of an angle that's part the frame on the debailer I've been working on. I wasn't doing anything unusual, or anything, in fact, basically I was just trying to undo the screwed up mess brought to me to work with so I could start over and do it right. In the course of all the cutting I had done to that point I'd a disc bind up and all but disentegrate a couple of times, but no big deal, nothing unusual...... This time was different.....

This time the disc caught, and just like all the times before, it tried to kick the grinder out of my hand. The bad thing is this time when it kicked I lost my balance and started falling back about the same time. Not really sure exactly what happened from that point on but the next second or two felt like an eternity. When the grinder kicked I felt myself falling so I attempted to just toss it away from me...That didn't work out so good.... I remember letting of it and hearing it start to slow down as I fell. I don't know wether I was standing on the cord so it couldn't fly away, or what, but the next thing I know I feel it hit me in the chest and hear it start to speed back up. Somehow it hit my chest at just the right angle that it flipped the safety latch back and allowed the trigger to push back in and start the grinder spinning again. Somehow I got hold of it, and in doing so it cut through the leather glove on my right hand and took a whack at the knuckle of my index finger. Finally, somehow, I did manage to get the trigger lever disengaged. From there, somehow, while it was still spinning, it got from the center of my chest to the back, left side of my head. ((( about level with the top of, and about two inches back from my ear))). There the edge of the disc left what I can only describe as a rug burn. From there I got it thrown off to my right side where it once again hit, turned on, and spun in the dirt for about two seconds before it kicked itself out of the dirt and released the trigger. When all was said and done there was nothing wrong with the trigger or the safety latch, so I tended my wounds, swallowed my pride, counted my blessings, and put on a new disc so I could finish cutting what needed cutting.

My wife was headed down to the shop and saw the whole thing happen. Like me, she said it all happened so fast she didn't really know what happened any more than I did, except that the grinder looked like it was "possessed" and was dead set on getting to my left ear.

When it was all over I just wish I had had a camera set up so I could have seen exactly what happened. I know when it was happening it was scarey as he!!, but I guarantee I'd be setting her laughing my tail off at myself if I was actually able to step back and watch it all happen. I mean how many times do you get to see a grown man get his butt kicked by a little angle grinder??? LOL

Seriously, I got really lucky, and I know it. Thankfully I was wearing safety glasses, and leather gloves or it could have been alot worse than it was.

Now I'll tell on my Dad from probably 30 years back. He had a big 1/2 T handled drill and was using it, drilling overhead, while lying under a machine. Somehow the lock button on the trigger had gotten pushed in.....and the drill bit grabbed.....causing the drill itself to start spinning, and keep spinning even after he let go of it. He said it likened to have killed him before he got out from under the machine. Fortunately by the time he actually realized what had happened he didn't have to dive back in to stop it himself because it had wrapped up enough cord to unplug itself. Been hearing that story for most of my life and I'll never forget it anymore than I'll forget my latest fight with the grinder........


That said, how about you guys, any more tales out there of power tools that kicked your butt? Heck how about any other situations where you watched, or know somebody else that get their butt kicked by a power tool?

 

[JDseller]

My Dad was helping my Great-Grand Father drill some holes into the bottom of an old manure spreader. My Dad was only 10-11 years old at the time. HE was using an old steel cased electric drill. They are real heavy. I still have the drill. (it has the cord cut off it to keep anyone from using it) They where drilling 1/4 inch holes. The drill bit caught and the bit broke with about 2 inches of the broken piece sticking out of the chuck. When it caught it torn the drill out of my Dad's hands. He dropped the drill down on to himself. It had turned over and drilled three holes into his chest. Right over his heart. He has the scars to prove it happened. The Doctor told the family that if the drill had been just a 1/2 an inch longer it would have hit his heart. That would have been fatal as this was in 1940-41.

 

[Anonymous-0]

My brother and I have both had fights with grinders and my worst with a drill was standing on a ladder drilling bolt holes in beam of polebarn when bit caught, it twisted my arm around and around and tied it up in the cord until it ran out of cord, luckily no broken bones. Also this winter using big hammer drill on ladder in block wall, drill wasn't working right you had to really push or jump on it to get it to hammer so I was pushing with my shoulder when it caught and came around and wacked me in the head I threw it so far and hard it lost and didn't work anymore, knocked some sense into me. We had told boss it neede fixing but it still worked, it may get fixed now! Be careful out there and use these stories to work safer.

 

[Puddles]

I'm torn on which little grinders to buy now a days. The ones with paddle switches, or the ones with the push buttons that lock if you push them all the way. Few years ago I was under one of my flatbed trucks using a wire wheel on a 4-inch grinder prepping for paining. I was trying to get real close to the clearance lights wiring, you guessed it, too close! The wire wheel grabbed the electrical wire and wrapped it up, and tore it loose, about beat my fingers to death before I could throw the grinder down. If I would have had a paddle switch grinder it might have stopped spinning quicker. But I hate paddle switch grinders because you have to be careful how you lay them down.

Over the years I've seen a few carpenter types knock themselves out using long ships augers drilling large timbers. Always hated the twist lock electrical plugs they have on construction sites, not so easy to kick the cord loose with a twist lock plug. Majority of the time working with large timbers we used air drills anyway.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Funny (read that painfull) ho them dang cutoff discs can find a knuckle, in a heartbeat, in a sea of steel. About 2 weeks ago, I had a ryobi cordless grinder, with a 4-1/2" cutoff wheel, with no shield on it, catch in a 20 penny nail, and scoot backwards, burning a 1/2" cut, into my left knuckle, at the base of the thumb. 1/16" deeper,and I woulda been seeing bone! I still run it with no shield on the grinder, but take more precautions, knowing what it's capable of.

 

[4020guy]

I remember seeing a news story years back about a fellow in western Ontario under a truck with a cut-off grinder that flew and cut his neck. He didn't live to tell the story. I never liked cut-off disks in grinders but they work so darn good. Glad you can kinda laugh about it now NCWayne......Ron

 

[Harold Hubbard]

I've done the big bit and powerful drill thing too many times to remember.

Also the hold the wrench on one side and watch the air wrench on the other side beat my hand to death with it.

And the sand my leg smooth all ready for Bondo routine.

I've had a couple real close calls with a chainsaw, chain brakes, steel toed boots and chaps really DO work.

One of the scariest was with a gas powered drill we used to use for tapping maple trees.

It was an Ohlsson and Rice "Drillgine", about as simple as you could get, overgrown model airplane engine with a direct connected gearbox and chuck on it, NO CLUTCH. This was NOT the deluxe model with the throttle trigger,either. It ran wide open all the time, and the only control was a kill switch.

Anyway, I was bumbling through the woods in three feet of snow, trying to keep ahead of the rest of my crew, when I miscued somehow, and got the bit caught in my pant leg. It started just below the knee and wrapped up the material while rubbing the skin off my leg, until either it stalled or I managed to hit the kill switch, still don't know which. About another inch or two and it would have found something a lot more tender to wrap up.

I used that machine for several more years but I was a lot more careful with it.

 

[TimV]

Buddy was trimming cow's hooves a few years ago. If you're familiar with the usual implement used nowadays, it's a blade that goes on a grinder and looks like a cheese grater. It will make short work of the toughest hoof. As he found out, it will make short work of other things as well--he was holding the cow's hoof in his lap (I'm sure you can figure out where this is going!), something caught, and he nearly lost the ability to father children. Time it was done chewing, the family jewels were on full display, and he gashed his hand to the bone trying to get the grinder away from them. Got REAL lucky when the blade missed the big leg artery by a hair, or he'd have bled to death before he could have got help, and it was quite a while before he healed up completely, but the docs said should he ever want to father children (he's a bachelor) he should be still able to.

 

[Billy NY]

I'm not sure where I found this photo, been awhile, looks real, sure does make you respect a grinder wheel !

I'm not a fan of drilling overhead, more so in construction. While tasked with the job to install some pretty large windows on a 15 story high end apartment/condo building in SOHO,(south of Houston St pr. how-ston) in Manhattan, I made a decision to change structural connections to this reinforced concrete superstructure, for that very reason, that and determining that there was an interference with reinforcing and the 1/2" diameter sleeve anchor fasteners we were using. Whomever bid the job in the office, (I was a field orientated project manager) never considered this, even though the structural drawings showed where the rebar was. That and the unproductive, miserable task of drilling into concrete from underneath to get the top connections. I did not want the ironworkers having to do that for safety and other reasons, same thing as you describe, bind that bit and it could toss you out the window, which was so big you could drive a car through and then some. I tested the structure with the fastener rep, did pull out tests on the back side, incorporated bent steel plate to connect to the window top and the back side of the opening, all to avoid an unsafe, miserable counter productive condition in the field. Our engineer re-calculated the connection I designed, stamped and sealed off on it and I ordered steel, the partners in the office were ticked off, extra cost, then again, drilling upside down, sometimes these guys just don't see the job as they should and it takes an experienced eye to correct problems, spent my career doing that. Power tools can be extremely dangerous, especially when you don't think about what you are doing. My ironworkers really appreciated the change and were a lot happier about doing the work, with union wages it made all the difference, I stayed 2 floors behind the bricklayer till they topped out, had it been the other way, production would have never been near that, and we'd have been taking some heavy flak about it. Extra cost up front, but less labor and more production, saved the profit on the job, could have gone the opposite direction in a hurry.

I lent my ole trusty Hilti TE-53, (which is a big ole hammer drill, and or small chipping hammer depending on the bit) to a good friend to drill some holes in the garage floor under the bench to allow water to drain, winter slush, ponded up and they did not consider that when he built it. Easy thing to drill the holes, but under a work bench, he's under there and I dawned on me to warn him about binding that bit, thankfully I reminded him before anything happened,(being I was there) he knew, but we all kind of forget especially if you do not use these tools everyday. If that thing had bound up with that big masonry bit on it, he would have got clobbered right in the head.

A lot of this comes with age, maturity and experience and I think that this kind of information is extremely important to share with younger people to help them be safe, learn and realize to think about what you are doing first, and prepare as best can be done to be safe.

 

[JDseller]

1) Guy that works at the AMD corn dump broke his wrist with a 1/2 inch drill. It caught in a piece of steel and twisted his wrist. He was at home and miss six weeks of work. He makes $25 plus per hour. So figure what it cost him to miss all that work.

2) Another kid was helping my son work on an old pickup truck. They where making a patch out of a piece of 6 inch square steel. Instead of using the drill press they had just vise gripped the steel to the frame. The drill caught and ripped the steel out of the Vice grips. The steel caught my son's coat and twisted it up in a knot. It stopped just before it went up over his face. HE had cuts all up his body where the steel caught it.

3) A guy I worked with was putting a floor in an old manure spreader. He had beat all of the old boards out of the floor. He was using a big six inch angle grinder to cut/grind off the old self tapping bolt that held the floor in. It was in the winter and he was wearing a sweat shirt. One of the one with the draw string at the bottom. He was holding the grinder against his leg for more force to cut the bolts faster. The grinder caught that draw string and wrapped it up in the grinding wheel. That yanked the grinder right back to him at waist level. The grinding wheel cut through his pants, underwear, and put a blister on the head of his privates. LMAO There never was a guy in that shop with a draw string after that. We all kind of "felt" his pain.

 

[rossow (mn)]

I had a 4-1/2-inch knotted wire brush in a Dewalt high-speed angle grinder last summer, trying to clean up a wood stove to sell. As I was cleaning out the flue pipe, the wheel caught and rode right up out of the pipe and attacked my inner left arm halfway between wrist and elbow. It left a jagged wound that was similar to a bad burn. Ironically, I already had a 2-inch muffler-burn scar on the arm, and the grinder scar matched up with the other scar to make a nearly perfect V scar. I told my grandkids that the scar was from my days as a gang member of the Vice Lords. They seemed dubious.

 

[wisbaker]

The one job that I had the most risk with electric drill was working at the travel trailer place. Plumbing wasn't real accessible, the standing joke was the first part on the line to build a travel trailer was the bathtub trap, everything else was built around it. The procedure when we changed a holding tank was to mount the tank and then using a Milwaukee 1/2 inch magnum hole shooter and the proper hole saw drill the holes for the plumbing. Those old Milwaukees could spin you around pretty good when they caught something, especially if your standing on your head in a closet.

 

[Hotflashjr]

Believe it or not a simple Husky handsaw from Home Depot (not even a power tool). Everytime I touch it it somehow gets a knuckle. I don't know how or why but it always seems to get a little piece of me. It surely seems to have it out for me.

 

[Steven-Id]

I was doing the same thing with a big grinder. It didn't have a cutoff wheel in it just the regular grinding wheel. I lost my grip just long enough for the switch to shut off. Thank goodness for the safety on the switch that it didn't turn back on when I caught it. Another time I was nailing with a framing nailer when it double fired. The first nail went where it was supposed to and the second one hit me in the back of the hand hitting one of the veins and cutting it. I went to the doctor and he gave me a wrist support to hold the wrist from bending, said it would heal faster if not bending. I went to work the next day and we were talking about war stories with nail guns and one of our suppliers had a door shop where one of the employees was building a door and leaned across the door table and shot a staple through "Mister Winkie" and to a door jamb. He hollered for help. His coworkers cut the door jamb and he went to the hospital carrying a piece of door jamb. It still hurts just thinking about it.


Steven

 

[Dean Olson]

Milwaukee hole hawg!!

As a plumber I drilled lots of holes for lots of years and still would hang a bit occasionally. If you weren't paying attention it would get you every time. Bruised busted knuckles and sprained wrists.

 

[BUTCH IN N.Y.]

One time when I was one of six guys in a car club,we were cutting out steel square stock for
rub rails on each side of the car. It was my first time ever to use a torch, I cut the one piece and was getting the next piece to work on,
I was holding the torch with my left hand, the steel was off to my left, I reached under the
torch with my right hand and the rest of the
tale really hurt!!!!!!! Then about 10 years later
I bought my own torch and tanks (presto-lite type
tank-Acet.) and 60 cu.ft.Oxy. Beautiful outfit for me (size). I somehow burned a hole in the
instruction book.......It was all FUN, I think.
Great typing job...HUH

 

[smallercrawler]

Friend was working on early 60's Chevy restoration, had the hood off and the spring loaded hinges tied down in the closed position with a piece of brass brazing rod. He was using a 7" grinder to remove rust/paint along the edges of the fender/cowl area when he hooked the rod cutting it; the hinge unloaded and knocked the grinder toward his face. He managed to avoid serious injury, but did have a bad case of "floor burn" on his cheek and ear.

 

[Stan in Oly, WA]

I've had my share of events, several of which sent me to the emergency room for stitches, but they were all pretty ordinary. A couple of friends had some real adventures though. One friend was using a 5" cup wire wheel mounted on a 9" Milwaukee angle grinder. It caught the tail of his shirt and came skittering up his chest towards his face. He couldn't get his finger off the trigger because the first thing that happened was that it swung around and wrapped either the cord or some of his shirt tail around his hand. It took some hide off his chest but it didn't get up to his face. I don't know what ended it---whether it yanked out the plug, or ran out of shirt---either because I can't remember what he told me, or because he wasn't sure himself. I know that kind of thing happens pretty fast.

The other friend, dead many years now, once got the opportunity to salvage all the lumber he could get in a day out of the buildings in an abandoned logging camp in Mason County, WA. It was the end of a long day and he and his helpers were tired, but he wanted to get a few more of the clear cedar T & G 2X6's that the ceiling in the dining hall was made of. He was cutting lengths of them out with a chainsaw, using it overhead. The saw bucked and hit him in the center of the face, cutting his face open from his hairline to his chin. It freaked out his helpers so badly that they were completely useless---he had to arrange the trip to the nearest hospital himself. I don't know whether he also had to do the driving. Probably.

They stopped at the first place they came to that had a phone (this was years before anybody had cell phones), and called the E.R. at Mason General to make sure there would be someone there who was qualified to deal with his situation (the stop and the call were probably also his idea). When they got to the hospital, the staff there hadn't been told anything about it. Soon after that, an Olympia plastic surgeon worked on him, and did such a good job that you couldn't see a scar unless he told you about it and you looked closely. There are a lot of things I'd like to ask him, but he's gone.

Stan

 

[Stan in Oly, WA]

Sorry. I don't know how this ended up posted here, where it doesn't belong. I had about ten kinds of trouble getting this posted. You'd think I'd never done it before.

 

[NCWayne]

I've got three different types. One off brand has a slide switch, and the other two are Milwalkee's, each with a different type of paddle switch. One has the spring loaded metal tab that has to be pushed out of the way, and the other has a plastic tab that works about the same way., except it's harder to slide it to the disengage position than the metal one. The one that bit me was the one with the plastic tab. I've laid the thing down thousands of times over the years and never had it move enough to allow the paddle to depress and start the grinder. Funny thing is that when this incident happened it did just that, not once, but twice, once when it hit my chest, and the other when it hit the ground. Like I said I wish I'd have had a camera filming cause I'd have loved to be able to see what really happened in those two or three seconds.

 

[CharlieNJ]

Wayne, sure am glad no fingers were injured in this incident so you can still type, as I always enjoy your posts. I too have had a 4 1/2" school me a few times, got to have a lot of respect for those tools. Saw the scar once where a fellow ran a 6" across his thigh when he was young, very nasty scar.
Best Regards,
Charlie

 

[PJH]

About 35 years ago, a local young man got into an argument with his neighbor about a fence the young guy had built on the property line between the two town lots. It escalated into a rage, and the young guy grabbed up a little mini chainsaw and said he'd just saw the dang fence down. It kicked back and got him in the jugular vein. He tried to make it to his car, but collapsed and died before getting in. If I remember right, he was 29 years old. What a waste.

I had an experience about like your dad's - drilling through a '56 Ford crossmember in highschool shop. Big drill with handlebars - bit caught as it went through - got loose from me - wrapped up and ruined my flannel shirt - cracked me in the chin every revolution - finally wound up enough cord to unplug itself. Looked like I'd been in a bar fight. Had to wear my shop apron as a shirt for the rest of the school day. Been wary of handlebar drill motors ever since.

 

[MF294-4]

I have an old Montgomery Wards 1/2 drill that has whacked me a time or two. This drill very seldom gets used. If I do, I use a two foot handle. I also shortened the cord to about 6 inches so it can't turn more than one turn if you keep the cord tight. I don't tigthen the bit very tight either.

 

[Tim Barnes]

I didn't count 'em but it seems the majority of the previous post involved heavy duty 1/2" drill motors. I have an older Milwaukee 1/2", made back when the whole thing was made of metal. This drill is indestructible, I know because I've thrown it across the room after it tossed me off a step ladder. I was leaning and reaching to shoot one more hole when I found out how much torque these drills have. I have loaned it out a couple of times BUT always with a stern warning about what it can do to the operator. I reckon the last borrower didn't listen too well, cause when I got it back, the power cord had 2 repairs to it. I don't think I will loan it out anymore after this last borrower patched the power cord. I was taught that if I borrowed something, I should return it in the same or better condition than when I borrowed it.

 

[elmersooner]

sawzall--blade broke while I was bearing down on it--had a dull blade. momentum caused it to swing down and stab me in the calf repeatedly until I had sense enough to release the trigger, it felt like an eternity but was only a second or two at the most. it was bad enough to make my leg look like hamburger. i was sitting in my racecar cutting on a rollcage and was in a hurry. now i pay attention to the what might happen if scenario--lesson learned, too bad the lessons are usually painful.

 

[TomH in PA]

In 9th grade shop class we amused ourselves by pushing small pieces of wood into the disk sander to watch them disappear.

You can probably guess what happened. Kid kept pushing with his thumb, second kid standing behind him watched the end of the thumb disappear and fainted, split his head on a workbench on the way down. Two-for-one by that tool.

 

[big a]

Spent a few years at the local IH dealership with a guy we all called "Supercool" It used to be the running joke as to who would drive him to the ER that month. I will try to list a few of his escapades below:

Drilled through his hand, putting grain tank extensions on a combine...he was standing inside the tank, drilling...other hand outside to hold himself up...you can guess the rest.

Was trying to fish a 1" or so nut stuck in a deep socket on an impact...ended up threading it down his index finger.

Pried a flywheel off a 1486 off the crankshaft...onto his foot.

Reblading a disk...all of the blades were leaning one way...he grabbed a spool in one hand and pulled the blades back toward himself. They all went over center and he ended up with a blood blister from the end of thumb, to the end of his index finger, where he was hanging on to the edge of the spool.

And the best....changing rod and main bearings on a semi with setback axle...I had a short 1" impact he wanted to borrow to break one of the mains loose, as it was inline with the axle, and this would fit in there nicely. This had a D handle on the back with the trigger inside...He didn't think about what would happen to his hand when the bolt came loose, and mashed it between the handle and the truck axle.

and then there was the time he blew himself up.....better save that one for later!

 

[JRSutton]

An old friend of mine was working with another guy who had very long hair. The guy with the long hair managed to get it stuck in the top of a drill press.

Fortuantely for him, he was able to hit the power switch before he got hurt too badly.

But unfortunately for him, my friend saw what happened and came to the rescue. He assumed the machine was still on so he flipped the switch - back on - thereby turning what was a very lucky break into an ER visit.

 

[JRSutton]

Ouch - I lost a finger nail to a sanding disk - it BURNS.

I was about 11 or 12. I was making little submarines out of wood scraps with a sanding disk mounted in a table saw.

Guess my dad didn't think a sanding disk was very dangerous and left me unsupervised. Can't blame him, I was probably on my 10th submarine.

Got too close to the downside of the disk with my index finger and it got sucked right into the gap.

Happened real quick, but long enough to sand my fingernail off and leave a blood streak on the disk! I remember the feeling of seeing that streak the most. I knew instantly in that split second what it was.

Like it was yesterday.

 

[john *.?-!.* cub owner]

You all are just not experienced enough. Every tool I have had in my hands was bloodthirsty at one time. That is the reason I work on red tractors.
don't have to go over them cleaning off blood spots.

 

[da.bees]

"Shorty"went at everything fast like he was putting out fires. One morning he showed up at work with a bruised face and swolen eye. He had ran to the hand operated pitcher pump earlier for water and pumped it real fast and let go to pick up the bucket. That pump handle "wupped" on his head. I don't know if it was the pumps or how deep the wells were but all those old pumps kicked a little,some kicked like a mad mule.

 

[BUTCH IN N.Y.]

I have my Grandfather's 1/2" all metal Cummins
brand drill, has been excellent at anything you
use it for until you get a drill bit hung up.
Then hang on and pray, it will give you a hell
of a ride. All I have ever
done to it is a new longer 3 prong lead cord.
And, oh yes, it has bit me occasionally!!!!