Dumbest thing you've ever done in your garage...

Mr.Nutcase · Apr 30, 2009

Dumbest thing you've ever done in your garage/ working ... :bowdown:

Mine was knuckle buster, We were working on a 2000 Ford Mustang( tech school).
We were removing the front lower control arms. To remove you have move the rack.. when loosing the pitch bolt. That where it happend... My hand slipped off the ratchet and hit the fender wall, cut my self.... It was like 3/4 long... :bounce:

It hurt like hell........ it was not good.....
plus I think that day was before my birthday..... good luck right?
I have others too... :beer:

jshillin · Apr 30, 2009

Letting the grinder get away from me while I was cutting the bolt off of a front endlink on my old '99 Eclipse. Needless to say, it kicked into my forearm and tore me up good. Had to drive myself to the hospital for that one. I have a pic somewhere that I took of my arm while I was in the ER...

mkdive · Apr 30, 2009

Mine was when I slipped doing some metal work in the garage. Luckily for me the metal I was working with was extremely sharp which meant absolutely zero pain in the ordeal. Didn't even feel it at all. The blood squirting all over was what clued me in on the cut. Doctor who stitched me up said he couldn't have made a cleaner cut with a scalpel if he tried. :wtf:

Mr.Nutcase · Apr 30, 2009

mkdive said:
Mine was when I slipped doing some metal work in the garage. Luckily for me the metal I was working with was extremely sharp which meant absolutely zero pain in the ordeal. Didn't even feel it at all. The blood squirting all over was what clued me in on the cut. Doctor who stitched me up said he couldn't have made a cleaner cut with a scalpel if he tried.

Oh man.....

malibu101 · Apr 30, 2009

One of the dumb things I've done- I use a kerosene torpedo heater in the winter. Noticed a few times after using brake cleaner that the garage had an odd smell,not like the "normal" smell of brake cleaner.

I'm not stupid, the heater was off while spraying and I did ventilate enough to be sure no vapors were ready to explode but of course there were fumes in the air and residue evaportating inside the garage.

One day while a can of cleaner was sitting on the bench I happened to read the warnings on the back (I'm sorry I admitted that). It said that when the vapors are exposed to fire or any source of high heat that they decompose into phosgene gas. That's basically a nerve gas! I was gassing myself!

MXtras · Apr 30, 2009

Mine was breaking up a dog fight (literally - two dogs going at it). I was successful breaking the dogs up, but I came one bone away from completely losing my right index finger - bone, tendons - everything hanging out. I was working on my Jeep at the time and I had to finish putting the leaf springs back on before I could drive myself to the hospital.

Scott

T56 Impala · Apr 30, 2009

I was working on the rear brakes on a 79 Olds Cutlass. The brake tool slipped off of the spring and I hit myself in the mouth with it...HARD. I was already pissed (I have a bad temper) and that just made it worse. In a split second I rared back and punched the car. You can believe me or not, but I hit the car so hard I knocked it off of the jack stands.

Over the next week:

3 visits to the Dentist to put my tooth back into its proper position. (laid it flat in my mouth.

5 visits to the orthopedic surgeon. (Broke my scaphoid bone BADLY) Ended up spending the next 9 months in a cast.

3 visits to the body shop. One for an estimate for repairing the rear quarter, one to drop it off and one to pick it up.

1 visit to the bank to get the money to pay for the repairs to my sister's car.

I keep my temper in check these days. (another story)

klswvu · Apr 30, 2009

I was putting something in the bottom of my 7' locker (therefore I was knelling down) and bumped it enough to drop a jack stand down. The stand referenced earlier (weight 20 lbs.) fell about 4' and hit me in the head. In the ER, they stapled up my head and gave me a prescription for pain killers. For the record... I had a headache for 1.5 - 2 days.

No, there are no pictures.

Bubbles · Apr 30, 2009

I had an old couch,,,,,, I didn't want to make a trip to the dump with.

I beat apart and threw the cloth/sponge in garbage bags, cut the springs with bolt cutters threw in a box for trash.

Started burning the wooden frame from the couch in the stove, got lazy and pushed one of the cushions in...... 2 feet of flame was coming out of the top of the chimney and the stove was blood red. Smoke so black you could not see any houses, I sat there with the biggest fire extinguisher i could find praying the stove didn't explode.

tpolley · Apr 30, 2009

my first week working at firestone twice i'd get in a car to move it and someone would have left it in gear (manual ******) and the car would lurch forward and bump into a work bench. i drive a stick, i never leave it in gear unless i'm on a hill so i wasn't used to checking to see if the car was in gear before letting off the clutch. not sure if that was may fault or the guy that parked it or both. either way they learned not to leave the vehicles in gear after that and i learned to check the gear position first thing.

rsanter · Apr 30, 2009

I had just installed a VEGA fence on my table saw. I was making some test cuts and measurments to verify the parallel of the install.
it was close but not quite right, the rear of the blade was still just a smige closer to the fence than the front. I was impatient and wanted to get going on the project so I grabbed the long trim piece I was wanting to rip and went to run it through the saw.
as I fed the piece through the saw was wanting to pick the back of the piece up a bit so I put my left had on the piece (behind the blade) to hold the wood down while feeding with my right hand. about half way through the cut the piece of wood was kicked back and thrown from the saw. it took my left hand, curled my fingers and pulled them across the top of the blade. fortunatly I only had the blade a little over the top of the wood (like you are suposed to). the blade removed a swipe of meat from 3 of my 4 fingers. I went in to try to wash the wound out so I could see how bad it was but I was bleeding bad enough that the running water would not flow enough of the blood away for me to see into the wound. grabed a clean kitchen towel, wrapped it tightly around my hand. grapped a large salid bowl and with my hand in the bowl I dumped the ice from the ice maker into the bowl and my girlfriend drove me to the hospital. when we got to the hospital I was getting chilles and a bit shakey on top of the general bad attitude I had at this point. they did not delay getting me into a room.

fortunatly they had their 'hand specialist' there at the time. I watched as he did his work even though they recomended that I did not. I told them that if I see him make a mistake it was in my best interest to point it out, so Im gonna watch.
their 'hand guy' told me before he started that I would have some scars. I told him that the scars I dont mind, I just want them to work.
after all was said and done, everthing works 99% or so and the scars are not overly noticable.

this happened when I was redoing my first house. going to work for 9-10 hours a day and then comming home and working on the house stuff for another 5 or so hours day after day led me to a lapse in judgement that I had never done before and have avoided since

bob

Jack Olsen · Apr 30, 2009

Leather work gloves. Drill press. Inadequate clamping for the piece of aluminum I was drilling. No injury, but some very sudden twisting and compression. It gave me a glimpse of how quickly an ordinary moment in the garage can lead to a sudden reduction in your ability to count with your fingers.
________
Yamaha SR250

Mike83 · Apr 30, 2009

rsanter,
Just wondering, was it necessary to put your hand in ice? I always though that if you severed your hand, finger, *insert appendage here* that it should be packed in ice on your trip to the ER but not if you cut it badly.

Maybe to numb it?

snapmom · Apr 30, 2009

Stuck a screwdriver in a 220v outlet to see if it was hot. It was.

dfndr · Apr 30, 2009

Wasn't me-but I had a friend who hit the underhood starter on his MG thinking it was in neutral. It wasn't. Car went through wall and ended up in family room. No one hurt but wife very pissed off. To this day noone can figure how it went so far.

Marty256 · Apr 30, 2009

Years ago when I was employed at a Goodyear dealer I was replacing the rear axle seals in a GMC van. I was putting it the spider gear shaft back into the carrier and was having a hard time lining the spider gears in the hole to get the shaft inserted. I asked one of the tire changers to twist the axle a bit to assist in lining up the gears. I had my left hand above the carrier with my index finger inside the carrier hole to detect when the gear was properly aligned. The kid took the axle flange and gave it a good twist causing the spider gear and its razor sharp shim to slice my left index finger to the bone. I don’t know who I was angrier with the kid or myself for being that stupid.

Treeman · Apr 30, 2009

Stories at my workplace:

Someone drilling overhead in a greenhouse....through his own hand.

Someone ran a nut onto his finger playing with an air wrench.

Some jokester stuck an air compressor nozzles up someone's **** (through the pants) and ruptured his intestine.

Major Ramifications · Apr 30, 2009

Lets, see... the dumbest thing I have ever done in my garage. I would say it would have to be my wife. :lol_hitti

Just kidding, of course. I wouldn't have married a dumb girl. That and we have never been intimate in the garage.

rsanter · Apr 30, 2009

Mike83 said:
rsanter,
Just wondering, was it necessary to put your hand in ice? I always though that if you severed your hand, finger, *insert appendage here* that it should be packed in ice on your trip to the ER but not if you cut it badly.

Maybe to numb it?

I am no expert at medical emergencys but it was my thought at the time that the I could/would numb my hand or at least reduce any pain that might come. when it happends I did not feel a thing, the first sign of trouble was that I cot hot with a little of the cast off of blood on the blade.
I also thought that the bowl would provide a 'catch' for any continued bleeding.

just did what I thought seemed reasonable at the time

bob

mkdive · Apr 30, 2009

Treeman said:
Stories at my workplace:
Someone ran a nut onto his finger playing with an air wrench.

Some jokester stuck an air compressor nozzles up someone's **** (through the pants) and ruptured his intestine.

I don't care if this thread gets to be 40 pages long, those have to be the 2 worst things i can imagine. PERIOD! :scared:

Beside those nasty pictures of "the lathe accident". Those were bad.

rsanter · Apr 30, 2009

its not really a dumb thing I did ant it was at the machine shop in college.
I was running the Wells index mill and had a fly cutter in the machine. I wanted a really nice finish so it was a light cut, slow feed and I fliped the lever on the power feed and sat back against the bench. part way through the cut the sound changed a bit so I got up to get a little closer to the machine to see what the problem might be. the bit flew out of the cutter and hit the steel door near me and pit a nice dent in it. missed me by about a foot.

bob

jjkrjh · Apr 30, 2009

Tried removing a rubber cover from a parking brake handle with a screwdriver. Slipped with the screwdriver and ran it completely thru my bottom lip.

While working at a car dealer, I had a new guy helping me. He went to the parts department to grab a flexplate, while I was sliding the transmission back. He comes back spinning the flexplate on his finger. Totally unaware that he had cut his finger down to the bone, completely around. The end of his fleshy part of the finger could be moved in and out like it would fall off. He felt no pain at all.

Kevin54 · Apr 30, 2009

Someone ran a nut onto his finger playing with an air wrench.

I know some dummies that would probably do the same thing. :lol_hitti

307WYLD · Apr 30, 2009

Kevin54 said:
I know some dummies that would probably do the same thing.

Depends on the size of the nut. I have done this with a 1" nut on my index finger and all it did was leave imprinted flesh "threads". I can imagine anything smaller would cut to shreds, unless the person had tiny fingers...like children and some women.

mkdive · Apr 30, 2009

Couldnt even imagine getting the nut off the finger. Grinder, nut spliter, some pb-blast?? (jk) The thought of trying to un-thread it makes me cringe.

mkdive · Apr 30, 2009

I have saw some pretty gruesome fishing hook & eye mishaps. Good thing I'm always wearing sunglasses!

307WYLD · Apr 30, 2009

mkdive said:
Couldnt even imagine getting the nut off the finger. Grinder, nut spliter, some pb-blast?? (jk) The thought of trying to un-thread it makes me cringe.

Definitely don't try it with a coarse thread nut. And size accordingly as all fingers are different

Actually as long as you don't go past the second knuckle it just "un-threads". I had stopped right on the second knuckle and I had a few seconds of claustrophobia, but once I calmed down I just backed it off.

Old Donn · Apr 30, 2009

Two things, both involving ramps. 1) Drove my old Crown Vic right over & off the front of the ramps. Didn't hurt anything but my pride and it was in the garage so there were no witnesses. 2) Had the old Chevy pictured at the left on ramps, installing a new starter. The + battery cable was off, but my actions underneath caused it to slide over and engage the + post. While tightening the hot wire, my wrench grounded on something which tried to start the engine, (of course it was in gear), and drive off the front of the ramps. Luckily, as this post proves, I dropped the wrench and broke contact. A second longer and I would've become one with the garage floor.

GearWrench Brand · Apr 30, 2009

I tried to hoist my motorcycle up (to the rafters) using ratcheting tie-downs.

Not a good idea.... the flimsy tie-downs snapped and bike dropped on its side. Fortunately, not on top of me.

Steve

Joelfke · Apr 30, 2009

the dumbest thing i ever did was:

while restoring the 1970 impala im working on...my dad and i pulled the engine/trans while on an incline our driveway is on an incline...even though we coulda done it in the garage which is level we chose to do it on the incline driveway...cherrypicker on top of hill...car going down the hill...we coulda really hurt ourselves lol

e-tek · Apr 30, 2009

Two for me -
1) Long time ago I was an apprentice in a Tech School for BodyWork. On Monday mornings we took the cars out that where parked for the weekend. I hopped in an old Plymouth to warm it up, one leg in, one out. Pumped the gas a few times. Turned the key. The column shifter was loose, it slips into R and peels backwards, through the (closed) overhead door - which came crashing down on the car. Of course the car door was also open, which dragged down the side of a feshly painted Cadillac. Of course I wanted to quit right then and there, but I stayed and spent the next 14 hours reparing the door and both cars....

2) LAST WEEKEND - The Galaxie was on the lift all winter and it was finally time to get it down. Turned on the compressor and attached the hose to the lift. Moved it up a bit to unlock the ladder locks and then tried to lower it. No go. Lifted it again, no go. Tried a third time, each time thinking I had to go a little higher to get the locks to clear the ladder and snap off....well the fourth time I hear a POP!!! My heart SANK! - It was the tow Flourescent lights on the ceiling being crushed....
So I check everything, go up on a ladder to see I'm RIGHT at the ceiling and am thinking I have no more room to go up now!! I found that the air line had popped off (didn't push the coupler hard enough) and the locks where never going to disengage. Once I re-attached the line I only had to move it up an inch - which was only possible because the Galaxie is a convertible and had some give. A hardtop would have been ruined totally. As it was I thought I tore the top but it came down unscathed.

Never too old to EF something up!

Garage_Mahal · Apr 30, 2009

Grind metal without eye protection, just squinting. The piece of metal fell out before I got to the doctor, but it left a scar on my eye.

Joelfke · Apr 30, 2009

Garage_Mahal said:
Grind metal without eye protection, just squinting. The piece of metal fell out before I got to the doctor, but it left a scar on my eye.

daamn! i dont wear ear protection sometimes and blast rock music so my ears are on their way out anyway but i would NEVER forget eye protection lol

trackwelder · Apr 30, 2009

I have several lets just say sometimes you just got to learn the hardway.

1- I was installing a sliding 10x10 door in a partition wall and while on my knees I was shimming it up and the 2x I braced it with slid down and hit me in the head of course with the crisp sharp corner. I realized at the Er that they could not real stitch it up and just sat there with pressure on it. It took several hours just to get the bleeding to stop. They wanted to shave my head and put gauze and tape on it...Fluck that.

2 Quick welds in the shop why wearing sandals...Ouch

3 Setting stuff on fire while welding...note to self sweep area for potential fire hazzards.

Joelfke · Apr 30, 2009

trackwelder said:
I have several lets just say sometimes you just got to learn the hardway.

2 Quick welds in the shop why wearing sandals...Ouch

3 Setting stuff on fire while welding...note to self sweep area for potential fire hazzards.

hahaha ive done that before mig welding..what fun....weld and OW OW OW oh yea! sandals!

and then of course you weld..and go man thats a nice weld...*sniff*...fire?

rustbucket49 · Apr 30, 2009

Three events that come to mind:

Number 1: I was adjusting the disc brake on my son's bike. I somehow got my left index finger caught in the rotor. It cut through the fingernail, the finger and the finger bone. I had about 1/4" of skin holding the end of my finger on. I thought I could just tape it back on, but my wife hauled me to the ER. They ripped off the rest of my fingernail, gave me about 5 shots to deaden the finger, 10 stitches to sew the finger back on, a splint to set the broken bone, a tetnus shot and a huge, very painful antibiotic shot in the ****....

Number 2: Grinding rust w/ a 4.5" grinder w/ a big heavy wire wheel. Thing slipped off the door I was grinding, the wheel ran across my wrist and embedded in my chest. I was not wearing gloves (first mistake) so it about cut my arm off before tangling up in my shirt as it dug into my chest..... ouch....

Number 3: Was screwing in a phillips head w/ a drill. The bit slipped off the screw and went through my thumb nail into my thumb... ouch again.....

307WYLD · Apr 30, 2009

rustbucket49 said:
Three events that come to mind:

Number 1: I was adjusting the disc brake on my son's bike. I somehow got my left index finger caught in the rotor. It cut through the fingernail, the finger and the finger bone. I had about 1/4" of skin holding the end of my finger on. I thought I could just tape it back on, but my wife hauled me to the ER. They ripped off the rest of my fingernail, gave me about 5 shots to deaden the finger, 10 stitches to sew the finger back on, a splint to set the broken bone, a tetnus shot and a huge, very painful antibiotic shot in the ****....

Number 2: Grinding rust w/ a 4.5" grinder w/ a big heavy wire wheel. Thing slipped off the door I was grinding, the wheel ran across my wrist and embedded in my chest. I was not wearing gloves (first mistake) so it about cut my arm off before tangling up in my shirt as it dug into my chest..... ouch....

Number 3: Was screwing in a phillips head w/ a drill. The bit slipped off the screw and went through my thumb nail into my thumb... ouch again.....

Maybe you shouldn't be allowed to play with tools anymore *quietly replacing your Snap-On with PlaySkool plastic tools*

Mr.Nutcase · Apr 30, 2009

Treeman said:
Stories at my workplace:

Someone drilling overhead in a greenhouse....through his own hand.

Someone ran a nut onto his finger playing with an air wrench. LOLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAAAA!!

Some jokester stuck an air compressor nozzles up someone's **** (through the pants) and ruptured his intestine.

Idiots....

bgott · Apr 30, 2009

I have seen a bunch of them. One of the best that comes to mind...I'm working in a shop, years ago, next to a guy working on a late '60s Ford pick up. Those old Fords had sloppy steering columns that had a tendency to drop out of park. This guy is bent over under the hood screwing with something with the truck running, it drops out of park into reverse. The truck backs out of the bay and dumps him on his face, I chase the truck down before it can cross the street and take out a row of cars. He pulls it back into the bay and decides that he will leave it running in neutral with no e- brake on or blocks in front of the wheels, naturally. Back under the hood, he blips the throttle, truck drops into drive and I manage to kill it before it pushes him through the wall. The look on his face, both times, was priceless! :lol_hitti

Mr.Nutcase · Apr 30, 2009

307WYLD said:
Maybe you shouldn't be allowed to play with tools anymore *quietly replacing your Snap-On with PlaySkool plastic tools*

Yep, I agree with 307WYLD...

Dumbest thing you've ever done in your garage...

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