Ever have one of those "That was really stupid" revelations?
- Thread starter Mattlt
- Start date
LAROKE
Banned
Shocking, I say! Simply shocking!
BigAl62
Well-known member
20/20 hindsight! At least you didn't learn the hard way! 
ddawg16
Well-known member
That is a dual purpose screwdriver.....it can also be used as a shorting bar.
e30bradley
Well-known member
I just came inside from removing the gs tank from my f250.. With an O/A torch. I didn't think it was stupid though. Its been empty for years.
rburke65
Well-known member
That photo is electrifying !
aka rotten
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2012
- Messages
- 154
Guess i,v lived a sheltered life,i,m in 70,s and dont recall ever seeing a screwdriver like that!Great idea thou.Paul
Paul1956
Well-known member
Sure...
Like many years ago me giving the blocks in the wood stove
at the cottage a good dousing of Coleman fluid... then shutting
the door to let it soak in before approaching with a match.
Sure, the fire started... but not after an explosion and me
knocked against the back wall.
Fortunately, the cottage survived. I knew better, but not on
that particular chilly morning.
Like many years ago me giving the blocks in the wood stove
at the cottage a good dousing of Coleman fluid... then shutting
the door to let it soak in before approaching with a match.
Sure, the fire started... but not after an explosion and me
knocked against the back wall.
Fortunately, the cottage survived. I knew better, but not on
that particular chilly morning.
Fishplate
Well-known member
The time I laid my hand on the table saw blade. That was really stupid. In fact, that was my first thought: "That was really stupid!" Only then did I look to see if I still had any fingers.
LAROKE
Banned
I was trying to loosen up a road draft tube where it entered the engine block with a MAPP torch when I realized the place I was heating up was a few inches away from the mechanical fuel pump!!!
Jumped back and looked up to the sky as I thanked the great mechanic of the universe for the mulligan he gave me.
Jumped back and looked up to the sky as I thanked the great mechanic of the universe for the mulligan he gave me.
DRP6833
Well-known member
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
My dad, for some reason would buy tools, but never would buy a decent set of screwdrivers. On day I stopped at his house and he was working on his truck. He said it wasn't getting spark, so he asked me to hold the screwdriver that he had stuck in a plug wire against the block to see if it was getting spark. Well his wood handled screwdriver had a split handle. Once I just about pissed myself and hollered like a little school girl, he looks at me and says, "well I guess it's getting spark". Here's my sign!!!! And just to let some know, when I helped him on his lawnmower......They bite just as bad as a car does. :tard:
And just to let some know, when I helped him on his lawnmower......They bite just as bad as a car does. :tard:Sureshot
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Reminds me of this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y9yu2zat6zx7pi7/Boom.wmv
I used to work in the explosives business and this made the rounds. I still crack up at "HOLY SMOKES,...a little to much Magnesium I guess........I won't do that again!! Sorry about that"
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Falcon67
Well-known member
Man, that vid is an oldie. "A little too much magnesium I guess" 
For my next trick, I shall lick this pure sodium.
For my next trick, I shall lick this pure sodium.
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If I have only one per day I'm doing pretty good. Year back I was installing a Ionizing Blow-off Gun These guns have a grounded tip at the end and a tip inside that is charged somewhere in the 3-7kv range. I pulled out the trusty Fluke to check continuity and when I touched the probe to the end of the nozzle it drew a spark near an inch long. I was amazed and looked at the meter and it blinked a couple of times but looked OK. I thought that was neat and touched it with the probe again. This time it fried the meter. Luckily the meter was repaired under warranty. I just thought to myself afterwards 'what a ******* to try a second time.'
lg
no neat sig line
lg
no neat sig line
Exceller8
Well-known member
Using a wire wheel without a face shield is about as stupid as I've done. It almost cost me an eye. 
On your choice of screwdriver:
On your choice of screwdriver:
machine_punk
Well-known member
Yes! Drilling out a lock on a tool box (it was mine, I bought it for cheap from HF, with the keys locked in the box). I thought, "Oh, this is only going to take a second, I don't need safety goggles." Of course, the drill caught on the uneven surface of the lock and it schrapneled...with a piece hitting my cheek, just a couple inches below my eye...and drawing blood. That would not have been a good day.
Kev
Kev
LX-Markham
Well-known member
LOL, i enjoyed that, it was like a cartoon!
I used to work in a foundry and we had bags of "remag" (mostly magnesium) on wooden pallets. Some poor old guy scavenging around for old pallets to burn in his stove picked up some of the remag pallets. Blew the doors off his stove.
I was helping a friend of mine weld up some brackets for hanging a series of power tools in the shop we worked in. We needed something to prop one of the pieces on near the floor. So we grabbed a handy dandy bbq propane bottle, grounded the piece to it and started welding away.
about a minute later, my friend dropped the stick and ran outside like he just got stung in the *** by a swarm of bees. I followed him outside where he informed me of our stoopidry. We didn't go back inside for a half hour on shock factor alone. We just sat outside reeeeallllllyyyy quiet like.
about a minute later, my friend dropped the stick and ran outside like he just got stung in the *** by a swarm of bees. I followed him outside where he informed me of our stoopidry. We didn't go back inside for a half hour on shock factor alone. We just sat outside reeeeallllllyyyy quiet like.
Vegaman_Dan
Well-known member
Drilling out a lock on a security alarm system box (decommissioned) to remove it from the wall. Lock was giving me a lot of trouble so I had to put my hand on top of the box for bracing only to touch the key that was laying there.
D'OH!
D'OH!
v7john
New member
A life time of muppetry.
Many years ago I needed to move a 4 x 4 foot piece of sheet steel I had bought for car body repairs. I picked it up in both hands, carried it across the garage to the new spot, then dropped it to the ground the last 6 inches through my hands!
My brother knocked a wood chisel off the bench and went to catch it. He got less stitches than I did.
I had been doing a clutch change on my old BMW 2002. The lead lamp, a bulb in a metal cage with a clamp, was under the jacked up car. I dragged it toward me by the cable. It snagged a bit so I reached under the car to get it. The shock made me try to stand up under the car and I saw stars. Luckily I dropped the live lamp.
A job, I forget what, wasn't going right so, in temper, I hit a big metal plate I used to whack things on with the ball pein hammer I was holding. It bounced back so hard it hit me square in the forehead.
Finally, a 2-stroke Yamaha I had went down to one cylinder when I was out riding. I took my glove off to feel which exhaust header was cold. I found the hot one.
Many years ago I needed to move a 4 x 4 foot piece of sheet steel I had bought for car body repairs. I picked it up in both hands, carried it across the garage to the new spot, then dropped it to the ground the last 6 inches through my hands!
My brother knocked a wood chisel off the bench and went to catch it. He got less stitches than I did.
I had been doing a clutch change on my old BMW 2002. The lead lamp, a bulb in a metal cage with a clamp, was under the jacked up car. I dragged it toward me by the cable. It snagged a bit so I reached under the car to get it. The shock made me try to stand up under the car and I saw stars. Luckily I dropped the live lamp.
A job, I forget what, wasn't going right so, in temper, I hit a big metal plate I used to whack things on with the ball pein hammer I was holding. It bounced back so hard it hit me square in the forehead.
Finally, a 2-stroke Yamaha I had went down to one cylinder when I was out riding. I took my glove off to feel which exhaust header was cold. I found the hot one.
Lol this is something I would do. Nice to know I'm not the only ******* out there.
Now that is funny!!!
rubberrodder
Well-known member
Damn near every day.
ZRX61
Well-known member
Not me, but a guy I worked with... At the time we were working on a few M2's & there was some ammo around. One of the boxes on a bench next to the BIG belt sander/grinder was full of spent blanks.
He was sanding something & it got a bit warm so he reached in the box of spent blanks & used one as a push stick (according to the story I heard later).
Except it wasn't spent it was live & cooked off in his hand.
I came into work just after this happened to find an empty hangar & a scene that looked like someone had tried to slaughter a cow & then chased it around the hangar as it bled to death. There was blood EVERYWHERE.
I walked up to another hangar & the gal there said her husband had just taken the guy to the hospital. He wasn't that badly hurt (considering) just a few stitches & a clean up
When the round cooked off he got pieces of brass through his hands & stuck in his face. What's left of it is still sat on the windowsill in the office at the hangar, I'll try to remember to get a photo of it next time I'm by there.
He was sanding something & it got a bit warm so he reached in the box of spent blanks & used one as a push stick (according to the story I heard later).
Except it wasn't spent it was live & cooked off in his hand.
I came into work just after this happened to find an empty hangar & a scene that looked like someone had tried to slaughter a cow & then chased it around the hangar as it bled to death. There was blood EVERYWHERE.
I walked up to another hangar & the gal there said her husband had just taken the guy to the hospital. He wasn't that badly hurt (considering) just a few stitches & a clean up
When the round cooked off he got pieces of brass through his hands & stuck in his face. What's left of it is still sat on the windowsill in the office at the hangar, I'll try to remember to get a photo of it next time I'm by there.
lotsoftools
Well-known member
When I changed the body mounts on my Suburban, I had the back of the body lifted up with a bottle jack. At the moment I figured the best way to get the new mount in was to reach over the bumper and under the body. I got the first one done, as I was putting in the second one I realized if the jack failed the body and bumper would have acted like a guillotine on my arm.
wbrian63
Well-known member
Welding a project in the shop. Had cleaned the tubing with two red shop rags, one with paint thinner, the other dry, to clean up. "Usually", I make sure to move this type of potential fire hazard out of the welding room.
This time I didn't. I put them on top of the vise on my cold-cut saw, which was on a roll-around platform about 18" off the ground. To gain some working room, I moved the saw out from its usual position to a spot near the door.
My typical welding outfit, summer or winter is RedWing pull-on boots, blue jeans, t-shirt and a Hobart welding jacket. If the welding is light, I use a pair of tig gloves. If heavy, a pair of lined gloves.
The project was a long frame for an above-the-garage-door shelf at my mother's house, and it stuck out of the door of the welding room into the shop proper. The last weld required me to squeeze into the door frame, standing right next to the cold-cut saw I'd relocated earlier.
As I'm finishing the last weld, I notice it's getting really hot all of a sudden. I'd been welding for a while, so it was already uncomfortable with the gloves, hood, jacket, etc - but this was HOT.
I look down and see a blaze basically at knee high, right on the saw.
I reach down with the gloves and pull the blazing rags off onto the floor and attempt to stomp out the flames.
Even my size 13 boots didn't have an effect - the mineral spirits were fueling the fire.
I reached down and separated the rags - now I've got two fires...
One does funny things when "more or less" insulated from getting burned - heavy-soled leather boots - cotton blue-jeans, welding jacket, welding gloves - all of that will burn eventually, but there's minimal risk of catching fire just by brief exposure.
There fire was contained to the rags, but it was burning aggressively - lots of smoke, etc. Didn't look like the fire was spreading and I didn't want to waste the fire extinguisher, so I rapidly went looking for the pump sprayer I keep handy for cooling welded parts and other duties.
Naturally, couldn't find the damn thing anywhere. "Where the f_ck is it!!!" I yelled more than once (note that I was alone in the shop...).
Tried the stomp it out trick again. I got the clean-up rag out, but it really didn't have much in the way of fuel. The other rag - no dice.
Finally grabbed a big trash can and used that to snuff out the flames.
stupid-Stupid-STUPID I though afterwards.
Went upstairs and put some water in a bucket - pulled all the scraps of what was left of the rags and dumped them in the water.
When I was coming down the stairs, I saw the spray bottle - right where I'd left it the day before...
Used it to spray down the floor in the wide area surrounding the scene of stupidity.
After it was all done, I noticed that I'd also left the quart of mineral spirits in the welding room - not terribly far from where the fire started...
Didn't burn up the saw, but the plastic guard that projects out from the motor below the handle was toast, and there was some small scorching of the plastic case on the armature. I intended to replace the plastic guard, but having used the saw without the guard, I can't tell that it was really doing any good at all, so it remains on a counter where I can see it on a regular basis to remind me how close I came.
I've since purchased a pump can (boy is that a neat tool!) after reading another thread here on the forum, and am far more careful to scan the working area before cutting, grinding or welding.
This time I didn't. I put them on top of the vise on my cold-cut saw, which was on a roll-around platform about 18" off the ground. To gain some working room, I moved the saw out from its usual position to a spot near the door.
My typical welding outfit, summer or winter is RedWing pull-on boots, blue jeans, t-shirt and a Hobart welding jacket. If the welding is light, I use a pair of tig gloves. If heavy, a pair of lined gloves.
The project was a long frame for an above-the-garage-door shelf at my mother's house, and it stuck out of the door of the welding room into the shop proper. The last weld required me to squeeze into the door frame, standing right next to the cold-cut saw I'd relocated earlier.
As I'm finishing the last weld, I notice it's getting really hot all of a sudden. I'd been welding for a while, so it was already uncomfortable with the gloves, hood, jacket, etc - but this was HOT.
I look down and see a blaze basically at knee high, right on the saw.
I reach down with the gloves and pull the blazing rags off onto the floor and attempt to stomp out the flames.
Even my size 13 boots didn't have an effect - the mineral spirits were fueling the fire.
I reached down and separated the rags - now I've got two fires...
One does funny things when "more or less" insulated from getting burned - heavy-soled leather boots - cotton blue-jeans, welding jacket, welding gloves - all of that will burn eventually, but there's minimal risk of catching fire just by brief exposure.
There fire was contained to the rags, but it was burning aggressively - lots of smoke, etc. Didn't look like the fire was spreading and I didn't want to waste the fire extinguisher, so I rapidly went looking for the pump sprayer I keep handy for cooling welded parts and other duties.
Naturally, couldn't find the damn thing anywhere. "Where the f_ck is it!!!" I yelled more than once (note that I was alone in the shop...).
Tried the stomp it out trick again. I got the clean-up rag out, but it really didn't have much in the way of fuel. The other rag - no dice.
Finally grabbed a big trash can and used that to snuff out the flames.
stupid-Stupid-STUPID I though afterwards.
Went upstairs and put some water in a bucket - pulled all the scraps of what was left of the rags and dumped them in the water.
When I was coming down the stairs, I saw the spray bottle - right where I'd left it the day before...
Used it to spray down the floor in the wide area surrounding the scene of stupidity.
After it was all done, I noticed that I'd also left the quart of mineral spirits in the welding room - not terribly far from where the fire started...
Didn't burn up the saw, but the plastic guard that projects out from the motor below the handle was toast, and there was some small scorching of the plastic case on the armature. I intended to replace the plastic guard, but having used the saw without the guard, I can't tell that it was really doing any good at all, so it remains on a counter where I can see it on a regular basis to remind me how close I came.
I've since purchased a pump can (boy is that a neat tool!) after reading another thread here on the forum, and am far more careful to scan the working area before cutting, grinding or welding.
I had a ******* attack like that once. I was trying to weld on subframe connectors on the Mustang. I was wiping the crude off with lacquer thinner before welding. I made sure to get the rags out of the way. I never thought about the suede gloves soaking up the lacquer thinner.
As soon as I started welding, I thought damn this glove is hot. I stopped welding to find my glove had caught on fire since it was soaked with lacquer thinner.
Paul1956
Well-known member
Ah yes, another one of my stupid moments...
Again at the cottage, I was using the rake with stiff tines to
cleanup some debris around the cottage. Threw the rake on
the ground with the tines facing upwards.
Went to pickup the rake and stepped on the tines... instead of
my boot going through the tines it created enough force to lift
the rake up and hit me smack in the face with quite a force.
I literally saw stars that time. I learned my lesson.
Again at the cottage, I was using the rake with stiff tines to
cleanup some debris around the cottage. Threw the rake on
the ground with the tines facing upwards.
Went to pickup the rake and stepped on the tines... instead of
my boot going through the tines it created enough force to lift
the rake up and hit me smack in the face with quite a force.
I literally saw stars that time. I learned my lesson.
Sureshot
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I was Moose hunting one time up this trail in the forest. There were some muskeg holes and people had thrown logs in the wheel ruts to keep you afloat. I hit it pretty fast on the way in and it was crazy rough so at the end of the day I slowed down to cross it and of course got stuck. One of the logs had gotten under the diff housing and left me hung up.
I wrestled with trying to get out for a little bit then decided to pit in for the night and get some firewood with what light I had left so I could warm some supper. Being in the heavy forest I piled the wood on the trail between the ruts and grabbed my spare fuel and gave it a drink. I put the fuel can safely away and went back and threw a match. The fuel had run into the ruts which had water in them and I stood there and watched as the flames ran down both wheel ruts right to the tires then went out.
I wrestled with trying to get out for a little bit then decided to pit in for the night and get some firewood with what light I had left so I could warm some supper. Being in the heavy forest I piled the wood on the trail between the ruts and grabbed my spare fuel and gave it a drink. I put the fuel can safely away and went back and threw a match. The fuel had run into the ruts which had water in them and I stood there and watched as the flames ran down both wheel ruts right to the tires then went out.
Paul1956
Well-known member
Just had another revelation...
Must stop posting all my stupid moments in here otherwise
will quickly develop reputation as a royal klutz.
Must stop posting all my stupid moments in here otherwise
will quickly develop reputation as a royal klutz.
Pilgramspirit
New member
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2014
- Messages
- 1
Definitely a voltage detector.
ltcmontana
Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2010
- Messages
- 11
Try lubricating a paper shredder (with sealed shred compartment) with WD40 while running the tines to get the blades well oiled.....BOOM! Singed all the hair off my face and left paper shreds all over a 22X30 shop.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
A gas tank/can is NEVER truly "empty" once it has had gasoline stored in it. There will always be fumes.
roofster
Well-known member
My satellite dish had iced up, so I thought I'd spray it with some rubbing alcohol. Then I decided to par-boil my spray bottle as warm alcohol should work better. After a few minutes on the kitchen stove (gas), I noticed a reflection on the nearby door and realized I had a fire. A fire extinguisher solved that problem, but made quite a mess. The only long term damage was a slightly melted lamp shield on the microwave above the stove.
Another time I was trying to diagnosis a suspected fuel pump problem and had must have had one of the lines off it and the coil wire too. Had the wife crank it over and whoosh; a big flaming ball of fire under the hood. I think I grabbed a extinguisher for that one too.
Then there was the time we knocked a space heater over in our wall tent, but that's another story.
Another time I was trying to diagnosis a suspected fuel pump problem and had must have had one of the lines off it and the coil wire too. Had the wife crank it over and whoosh; a big flaming ball of fire under the hood. I think I grabbed a extinguisher for that one too.
Then there was the time we knocked a space heater over in our wall tent, but that's another story.