Did something dumb today.

[DennisK]

That sounds like you installed the commutator plate 90* out.

[firefighter ontheside]

That would put the connections at 12 and 6.  They have always been 3 and 9, so the only possibility is that I installed it 180deg wrong.

[doc henderson]

FFOTS, all my big tools face the door to come in, and I have a leather strap with jingle bells hanging on the door handle.  

[Chuck White]

I'm with Doc on this one!

If possible, arrange the power tools so that when in use, you are facing the door!

At my sharpening bench, the way it's built-in, I face directly away from the doorway, (there is no door) so I mounted one of the large convex mirrors from an old school bus so that if someone steps into that area, I'll see them!

[Resonator]

Do you have short, dark green vinyl, "couches" in your shop too? ;D

[samandothers]

I've been mid rip with treated on one when my light bulb came on, happily it didn't trip but that was asking for it. Dad said they got one for the shop at the "old folks" community which was good to hear. I'm pretty sure when he was a shop teacher they went out to the pit saw.

Sounds like something my son would say.

[Crossroads]

I'm back 🙈 I was working with a friend yesterday and was hold a board in place with my right hand and running the nail gun with my left. (I'm right handed) anyway, the first nail hit its mark, but I got a bonus that was about an inch off and at an angle that was in perfect alignment with my thumb. Thanks to my cat like reflexes, I was able to rip it out sideways 🙈 will be sore for a few days, but shouldn't slow me down any on my way to posting here again 🤓

[Ron47]

I cringe while reading these miscues. Unfortunately, as a newbie, I think I have personally encountered every one, especially the left-thumb/right-thumb blunders. 🤪

[WDH]

I had two customers have horrific tablesaw accidents.  Both were experienced woodworkers.  The 2nd one was especially bad.  I thought about that for about a day, then decided life was too short, and so was my rest of the time on earth too.  I sold my Delta and got the sawstop.  Now I have two.  One in my workshop at my house and one at the sawmill 3/4 mile away.  

It is amazing how many times you need to use a tablesaw when it is 3/4 mile away.  

[sawguy21]

@Ron47  Welcome and stick around! You will learn all kinds of ways to hurt yourself and lots of other stuff too.

[firefighter ontheside]

Well, I didn't get far this morning before doing the dumbest thing I've done in a long time.  I packed up my gear to go load some logs on my trailer.  I put the battery in the truck.  I had to move around a big ratchet strap in the back and apparently I dropped the ratchet on top of the battery.  I drove down the road a couple miles and heard a pop.  I stopped and checked the trailer tires, because I thought maybe one had blown.  Tires all good I headed down the road and figured something had moved around in the back of the truck.  I got where I was going and went to pull the battery out and saw that it had blown the top off and the ratchet was scorched and part of the strap burned.  Not good luck.  Turned around and went back home, but stopped at O'Reillys and bought a new battery and battery case.  Luckily they took the battery from me.  Now to clean up the battery acid in the truck.


 

 

[Crusarius]

that'll get you attention in a hurry.

[firefighter ontheside]

It will also make you really angry at yourself.

[Crusarius]

I have plenty of wrenches and screwdrivers with scorch marks on them from setting on top of the battery and bumping them.

[Big_eddy]

I did something dumb yesterday and got away with it - does that count?
My wife and I work together. I cut blocks and she splits them into the tractor bucket. When cutting, I usually cut 3-4 logs from the face of the pile, then stack the blocks behind me at the end of the stringers in a "wall" for my wife to split from, then cut another 3-4 logs and repeat. She normally gives me a 20 min headstart so I can get a few blocks ahead, that way she doesn't have to stand around before splitting.

I was cutting away on the log pile, and had a 4' high 8' long wall of blocks built up. And the "vertical face" of the log pile was getting to the point that I was feeling  uncomfortable. Rather than play dodge-log with a running saw, I set my 562XP down safely behind the wall of blocks and grabbed my canthook. Standing well off to the side, I selected what was clearly the lynch pin log and gave it a twist. JENGA! The whole log pile came down as planned, and logs rolled out along the stringers nicely - right into the wall of stacked blocks, KNOCKING IT OVER!! Fortunately none of the blocks landed a direct hit on my saw. But it could have ended differently.

Lesson learned - a wall of stacked blocks is not a suitable barrier to protect anything behind!  

[boonesyard]

Batteries and metal, hmmmmm

Almost 40 years ago, my business partner then, built a boat. He took an old fiberglass 16' hull and completely rebuilt it. New teak gunnels, seats, flat floor, storage, carpet, did a real nice job. Found a good 35 hp Johnson Seahorse tiller for it, rebuilt a roller trailer to fit and we were set. Maiden voyage, loaded our cooler, tackle, rods and headed out for the day.

The lake was about 1 hour away, beautiful day. We're about 40 minutes down the road, on a 4 lane, and someone pulls alongside his truck waving frantically and pointing back. Looked in the mirror to see flames and smoke behind us. He got pulled over, and by the time he got the fire extinguisher out of the truck, the fire was really going. He got it put out, but by that time, the back half of the boat was gone, the tires had burnt off the trailer, and everything in the boat was toast. The starter battery for the motor had side posts, and the fuel tank had rubbed up against it, game over!!

[SawyerTed]

Oh No! Yikes and Yikes!  

I've only had one battery explode, a friend borrowed my truck and tried to jump start a 24V tractor with it.  He called to tell me my truck wouldn't start.  I went over and checked it out.  The side of the battery was blown out.  He said something like, "I wondered what that explosion was."  We both learned something that day.  I learned not to loan stuff to that friend and he learned that truck batteries are expensive!

Glad the wife wasn't near the logs that rolled!  When my wife is helping around the sawmill, with firewood or on the farm, my biggest fear is that she gets hurt.  Even bigger is that she gets hurt by something I do/don't do.

Cover those battery posts!  Battery boxes are worth every penny.  A buddy of mine had something similar happen but he caught it before it was very bad.  His battery box on his boat has some external connections to allow connection of house circuits. If I recall correctly his fishing pliers shorted across those external connections on the box.  He caught it before it was a fire but the pliers were very hot and smoking.  He found that out when he reached in to move the pliers.

[firefighter ontheside]

i definitely plan to use the new battery box cover!

[sawguy21]

When I was in voc ed the instructor took us to the automotive shop. A student with a cigarette in his mouth had leaned over a charging battery to make sure all the cells were bubbling. He was badly burned but his goggles saved his eyes. What a mess! I have no idea why he was smoking in the shop but it stopped after that.

[firefighter ontheside]

Hydrogen gas will do that.  Ouch.

[rusticretreater]

Yeah back in my poor days of college, I had a cheap battery in my car.  The kind that only lasted half of what they said it would, then pro-rated and replaced with another just as crap battery.   I was jump starting it and applied the clamps like I always do when the top flew off the battery and acid rain happened in my engine compartment.  Everything was speckled with acid damage.  I knew enough to hold my breath and move away. To this day I still apply the jumper clamps at arms length.

[sawguy21]

Connect the ground last and disconnect first.

[K-Guy]

Connect the ground last and disconnect first.

I though you first tested them by touching both to your tongue together!! smiley_jester say_what

[Hilltop366]

If you can connect the ground (last) on the vehicle being boosted to somewhere other than the battery it is the safest option then you are not creating a spark at the battery.

[doc henderson]

I'm back 🙈 I was working with a friend yesterday and was hold a board in place with my right hand and running the nail gun with my left. (I'm right handed) anyway, the first nail hit its mark, but I got a bonus that was about an inch off and at an angle that was in perfect alignment with my thumb. Thanks to my cat like reflexes, I was able to rip it out sideways 🙈 will be sore for a few days, but shouldn't slow me down any on my way to posting here again 🤓

I have had about 3 patients come in that shot a framing nail through their hand and into the 2x, and the team had to cut a few feet of a 2x4 off the wall.  the pt. comes in with the nail still holding the wood to their hand.  local and systemic pain meds, and some pliers.