Tools/Equipment that you're afraid to use?

[ericedelman]

Anyone else shy away from doing things because the tools or equipment frighten them?

Radial Arm Saw: I like my fingers.
Plasma Cutter: I own one of these and when I found out there was 30,000 degree air coming out of it I decided I didn't like it as much.
Shopsmith: My father almost lost two fingers on one of these. They are not the best design for safety.

 

[gatewaysysop]

Anyone else shy away from doing things because the tools or equipment frighten them?

Radial Arm Saw: I like my fingers.
Plasma Cutter: I own one of these and when I found out there was 30,000 degree air coming out of it I decided I didn't like it as much.
Shopsmith: My father almost lost two fingers on one of these. They are not the best design for safety.

See those Shopsmith's on CL by the dozen out here, maybe that's why?

As for me, probably really large angle head grinders. Not really forgiving of slip ups and pretty easy to mangle yourself (or someone else) with one if you're not paying attention. Seen it happen more than once, never pretty. Wire wheel accidents are no fun either.

 

[ptschram]

My table saw. Scares me spitless every time I use it and my dad has provided me with a bag of push sticks.

I use my plasma ALL the time, a life-changing tool purchase. In fact, I should be using it right now. Come to think of it, I'm up to three plasmas now-LOL.

 

[jim2664258]

I own all kinds of saws - table saw, miter saw, recip saw, circular saw etc and none bother me at all. A radial arm saw would scare me only because it is so, so easy to make a mistake costing you some digits.

But the one saw I do not ever like to use is a chainsaw.

 

[jamesemery728]

My Dad had a radial arm saw. I always hated that thing, never would use it.

 

[geologist]

I ground part of the knuckle of one of my thumbs a few years ago while trying to one-hand an angle grinder. I also once shot a piece of metal through a bench grinder and embedded it into the shop ceiling of my dad's garage. Needless to say, grinders are my worst enemy.

 

[Monte]

8" Bench grinder with wire wheel

 

[waggie]

I'm deathly afraid of air compressors. Had one blown up around me when i was around 4 years old, so i'm scarred for life. I have an IR 5hp/60Gal (good brand, supposed top quality... blah blah blah. no matter, I'm still deathly afraid of it). As an atheist, I say a little prayer every time before i bend down to crack the water valve at the bottom of the tank.

Also afraid of O/A tanks. Funny, I started my welding hobby with O/A... it's one of those things where, the more I learn about O/A, the more I was afraid of it. Now i tig, and cut with plasma.

 

[yasha32]

I hate spring compressors. Everyone i've used has had minimal safety in the tool and in the end required a chain to make feel a little better. My significant other even fears them. Same with airbag servicei get that when its disarmed its fairly safe, but I still take that assembly out before I touch anything yellow.

 

[twincam00]

+1 for the spring compressor, borrowed one from autozone and was deathly afraid that the spring would shoot out at me, '96 caprice springs are whoppers

 

[5lima30]

"Bow type" of chainsaws and sickle bar mowers (like Gravely's) are at the top of my list.

 

[wreckerman5357]

Add me on to being afraid of spring compressors, never used one that was not America by, they have to be respected. Had a friend in high school that had a bad accident with one.

Another terrifying piece of equipment is the Hi-Lift jack. You can jack something up 3-4 feet in the air with this jack that has about 4"x6" footprint. I have owned one since high school. My grandpa gave me his old one and I have used it quite a bit. I'm a tow truck operator and consider myself an expert in vehicle recovery and these Things are terrifying.

 

[gatewaysysop]

...Another terrifying piece of equipment is the Hi-Lift jack. You can jack something up 3-4 feet in the air with this jack that has about 4"x6" footprint. I have owned one since high school. My grandpa gave me his old one and I have used it quite a bit. I'm a tow truck operator and consider myself an expert in vehicle recovery and these Things are terrifying.

Heard many stories of people cracking themselves in the jaw with the handle too, to say nothing of all the horror stories about lifting "incidents". If I were going out into the sticks I'd take one to use as a last resort, but I don't go looking for reasons to use one.

 

[jjjrmx5]

My table saw. Scares me spitless every time I use it and my dad has provided me with a bag of push sticks.

Yep.

I own both a very nice old-skool Delta contractors saw at home and a Delta Uni-Saw offsite and both I give the utmost respect .

Outside of that and dealing with electricity in the 110v and 220v range when fixing things or handling bare wires--- using gloves, welders sleeves or welders coats, face shield and saftey glasses solves most of my Uh-oh and oh-hellz-no issues./

 

[Olafur]

Gear driven drill presses need respect. I am afraid of them because I have seen how many people do not realize just how dangerous they can be.. drilling without clamps or vise.

 

[bobcatdan]

Before I knew how to use them well, the torch and welding. It took me longer then most by my opion to learn how to propperly adjust and use a torch consitinly I learned welding on the tombstone and sticking the rod always happen and then happen again. Once I got good good at both of those, nothing eles tool wise ever really bother me. I enjoy a lot of stuff built before saftey was invented.

 

[mbatarga]

As long as you have a "slight" fear of ALL woodworking or metalworking machines, you're probably not going to get injured. It's when you have no fear and get careless when the accidents cause lost fingers!

 

[jjjrmx5]

Another terrifying piece of equipment is the Hi-Lift jack. You can jack something up 3-4 feet in the air with this jack that has about 4"x6" footprint. I have owned one since high school. My grandpa gave me his old one and I have used it quite a bit. I'm a tow truck operator and consider myself an expert in vehicle recovery and these Things are terrifying.

You want worse, I worked on a architectual/design build in Guatemala many years ago.

Ceiling was 30' tall with no lift to fit or meet the hgt. of the ceiling and getting to fixtures and hanging exhibts and fluff in the building .

Locals drove a narrow wheelbase fork truck under a Genie scissors lift and the two were lifted to capacity hgt. Sadly, close but not enuff. Locals put a 4x8 sheet of ply on top of the Genie lift metal safety rails and then stood on it via a hole cut in the center with a jigsaw much like a meerkat den hole.

Priceless, yet dangerous as &^%$.

Totally amazing and nothing I would have ever come up with as a "safe" solution.

 

[franzdom]

OBI punch presses kind of freak me out. They even look strange, very top heavy. They are known to have removed many fingers. I worked at a sheetmetal house for a while, and the regular press brakes are kind of scary too, considering their safety record.

 

[hotrodmetalgarage]

I am very wary of zero tolerance machines. Big press brakes- the old kind-once you hit the button, it doesn't stop. Any kind of powered shear is trouble with the wrong guy using it.

I like bandsaws, but I am very careful with them. They are one of the most dangerous machines in a shop In my opinion.

 

[kes242]

Jointers and gas powered chop saws.

 

[JSBriggs]

Electric die grinders. Air powered are no problem, but the electric ones can have quite a kick to them, even if you are careful.

-Jeff

 

[greasemonkey44]

hydraulic press; the H frame and jack wants to spit out whatever youre trying to press together or apart at your crotch

 

[stephen4785]

The only tools that Iv ever hated to use are the universal spring compressors. Seems like all of them are pieces of junk that bend or the bolts strip out. Cheap transmission jacks are another tool I cant stand using. Flimsy, piece of ****, stupid slimy cat, god forsaken cheap transmission jacks. Satan invented them.

 

[adcrawfo]

I hated my table saw so much that I sold it only after 3 uses. I cut all the trim in my kitchen with a circ saw.

I'll second gear driven drill presses. We have one at work that has been known to latch onto 200 pounds worth of aluminum tooling and spin it around like it was a rat on a stick. That happened years ago and to this day there is a ban on drilling any type of tooling on that drill press. It either goes in the belt driven or bolted to the radial.

 

[Outlawmws]

Not scared per se, but anything power has to be respected. I make sure I understand to only the proper use of the tools but their danger points. The worst I've been injured so far (Not counterfoil minor scrapes cuts and burns) is:

Smashed thumb from an older Hi-Lift/ranch jack lowering a tilt cab. As the weight decreased the jack handle started to go faster, then whip back and forth, and slipped from my right hand and smacked my left thumb (I was holding the top if the jack). This one has a 36" wood jacking handle and I was standing almost four foot off the ground in the flat bed, and there were tools and junk all over behind me on the ground. My body wanted to flail backwards and stopping that reaction was one of the biggest feats of self control Ive ever done. (I did straighten up and teetered on my toes before stopping) Forced my body to not move while it was saying "JUMP! YOUR HURT"... (I had to go to the ER later that night as my thumb swelled up and they had to punch a hole in my thumb nail to relive the pressure)

I was (foolishly ) drilling a hole in some plumber tape with a hand drill and holding the tape with my left hand, the drill caught, wrapped the tape, and my thumb and for finger cutting both pretty good. Just a split second before it caught, I thought to my self "this is stupid, stop and get some pliers"...


Then there was the bicycle incident, but that wasn't a power tool.


Probably the tool I'm the most careful with is a router when using it by hand. Exposed bit and 8-10K rpm...

That and the rest of my power tools; Radial arms, DP, table and band saws, lathe, mill, etc... Not to mention innumerable hand power tools, I stop and look before hitting the switch or starting a cut...

 

[jim2664258]

I've never used one, but surprised not to hear any votes for a planishing hammer yet.

I also add spring compressors to my list.

 

[wreckerman5357]

Heard many stories of people cracking themselves in the jaw with the handle too, to say nothing of all the horror stories about lifting "incidents". If I were going out into the sticks I'd take one to use as a last resort, but I don't go looking for reasons to use one.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with the Hi-Lift, and I have seen quite a few. I have seen people get smacked with the handle, I have seen them tip over, and have sheared the bolt that holds the foot to the actual mechanism on mine. That bolt took off like a Godamn bullet.

You are absolutely right, last resort only. I keep mine in the toolbox in my pickup and hope to never need it again.

 

[NUTTSGT]

As long as you have a "slight" fear of ALL woodworking or metalworking machines, you're probably not going to get injured. It's when you have no fear and get careless when the accidents cause lost fingers!

I believe respect would be a better word.

Before I had my table saw, I would rip boards with my radial arm saw, that tended to get somewhat leery. I did it for about 6 months and finally told the wife, I need to get a table saw. When she asked why I needed one if I had been using the radial arm saw, I told her I liked having 10 fingers.

 

[JMcFly]

Band saw in the meat dept when I worked in the meat dept. if that thing can go through a leg of lamb or t bone like it's butter I do not want to find out how easily it will saw my arm off.

 

[Jawn]

There is much I'm very apprehensive about.

Just about anything with an exposed cutting blade more powerful than a Dremel, or anything with more than a few dozen pounds of clamping force or pressure, or greater heating potential than a soldering iron.

 

[metaldad]

using a milwaukee hole hawg rite angle drill, doing a 'hot tap', driving a hole saw, on a 10' step ladder, leaning on it to 'get er done'.
the saw 'dug' in, causing the drill to knock me into tomorrow.
saw stars after i came to.
it's a wonder i didnt fall off the ladder.

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Chain saw. Scare the heck out of me every time I start one up.

Radial arm saws don't bother me. I've been using one since I was tall enough to reach the handle.

 

[kapster]

Plus one for chinese spring compressors.

Some of the low geared milwaukee hole shooters at work freak me out, if the bit catches, the drill takes you're wrist for a spin. same kind of thing as the geared drill presses.

Not really a tool but i'm pretty gun shy of car batteries now. Was looking at buying this truck, the guy had to put a battery in it and decided to use a 12" adjustable wrench. touched the pos terminal to the engine block with the negative on and blew a 3" hole in the top. My ears were ringing and he ran inside to wash the battery acid off. I didn't buy the truck..

 

[garboui]

1. strut spring compressors - especially the store loaner ones. they even make me more nervous when people feel the need to hover around and stand in the line of fire.

2. large power hand drills - last time when boring a 1" hole in some steel plate had a mighty sprained and bruised wrist and hand. I was drilling next to a steel post and every time the bit 'caught' when about to blow through i would get twisted around and smushed between the drill and the post. I also think this is the time when i was questioned about how I managed to bend a 4": long 1" drill bit.

Edit: CHEAP MULTIMETER PROBES!!!! - many times cheaper probes will break/expose conductor where the cable meets the probe handle.

 

[A_Pmech]

I've never met a good machine in good working order that I can honestly say I was afraid of using.

 

[1984Datsun]

Not many that I'm actually scared of. I just respect them.

Chainsaws are awesome... I got quite a few of them. They make short work of firewood.

The most important rule with a chainsaw is keep that upper 1/4 of the bar tip the hell away from anything... and keep the chain and such away from body parts. Take your time and do it right.

An engine turning 9,000+ rpm spinning a chain at around 5000 feet per minute can and will do serious damage in a very short amount of time...

I will say using a router table with no fence with a roundover bit to edge a small curvy piece of some project scares me quite a bit... radial arm saws and those flimsy portable table saws scare me a bit as well.

I try to be and usually am careful, but that assclown known as Murphy still performs a drop kick on me every now and then...

Last time that happened, I about lost the tip of my thumb. Previous time, I lost a boot full of blood from a massive cut on the side of my leg. (no, wasn't caused by a chainsaw)

 

[theoldwizard1]

But the one saw I do not ever like to use is a chainsaw.

I have only used an electric chain saw for a short time for cutting some firewood, but I have great respect it !

The worst thing is watching an inexperienced person using a gas chain saw with a dull chain (a pro would never cut with a dull blade). They start leaning on it or twist it and bend the bar.

I saw a neighbor taking down a large tree. After watching for a few minutes I had to walk away. I told the wife, "Some one is going to the hospital !" They lucked out. They had a large limb roped off from above and were cutting it near the trunk while standing on a 6' step ladder. When the cut went thru, the limb swung around. The guy saw it coming and jumped off the ladder (with a running chain saw in his hand) just as the limb took out the ladder.

The final cut at the ground must have taken over 30 minutes because the chain was so dull and it was inches from a chain link fence !

 

[DrkMtnDew]

i dislike using cheap coil spring compressors, handy man jacks, and the big electric 1/2'' drills.

 

[DaleK]

Not the tool itself so much as the tool combined with the job, trimming hooves on cows with an electric trimmer (basically a modified wood-chipping disk on a 4.5" angle grinder). Doesn't matter how careful you are, when you're dealing with a 1500lb animal combined with something that can tear your face off in a hurry and no matter how well you restrain the cow, they can still kick a bit, and every once in a while they get a foot loose and kick hard. When one gets loose and kicks the blade on the grinder you're holding 2' out from your face hard enough to break the grinder housing in half at the angle while it's running, it'll remind you why you're wearing a face shield and as much leather as you can stand to wear...