Did something dumb today.

[rusticretreater]

KAPWING!!!

[Old Greenhorn]

Most new guys leave a chuck key in a lathe chuck once. The way to keep them from doing it again is to allow them to take time out to machine a new and properly made replacement key. or so I have heard. It's the same way I learned not to leave the 3/4" box wrench on top of the drawbar for a Bridgeport collet, or so it has been said by some others (who by now I think are long dead or should be).
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Well today was another beauty that found me in the woods cutting some mushroom logs. After a couple of hours my back was shot and I had a stack of logs cued for pickup later (access is temporarily blocked, gotta move that bus). But instead of heading to the shop, I thought I would head to another section of the woods and collect some long dead and very sound ash for needed firewood. I really had to thread the needle to back the truck in to a spot where I could reach in a chain and yank the first log out to the trail and easy cutting and loading. Got the first one done and the second was even tighter, but I threaded the needle and the chain just reached, but I was REALLY close on the rear quarter panel. I gave the log a yank and it started coming, so I lair it on a bit. Then 3 things happened at once: A) there was a broken spur on the pull log that landed flat against a healthy and firmly rooted Hickory, 2) the forward movement of the truck stopped abruptly, and C) The rear of the truck was swung right up against a somewhat healthy and also firmly rooted 24" EWP. The edges of my taillight were imbedded in the bark. The rock the truck slid sideways on was sloped toward the tree. I was literally between a rock and a hard place.
Long story short, I ripped off the taillight in the process of getting the truck out. The body damage is tiny and will almost buff out. I lost the two little plastic retainers that hold one side of the assembly in. I just could not find them in the duff. I disconnected the blub carriers out the the assembly and let them hang and put the lens in the truck and finished cutting up the log and loading.
Came home and split the big rounds and stacked them. Then I got out the tools and was going to reinstall the assembly. But I found that the bulb and it's adaptor were missing. I can't put a bulb in without a socket. The assembly was fine, but that stupid little adaptor was gone, must have fell out on the way home. 2 miles of road and a half mile back in the woods. SOOOO, I get in the truck and drive the whole road. Yeah, what are the chances? But finding this stupid thing online is gonna waste an entire evening. SO I looked, and looked over the whole road. There are an AWFUL lot of pine cones that resemble that bulb socket, did you know that?  Got back into the woods and when I hit the trail that went back into the spot I parked and walked it, know I could NEVER see that thing in the duff and would run it over. Walked all the way back to my work area. No joy, I kicked around a bit where I was dealing with all this and cutting. No joy. SO I started to walk back out, resigned to a wasted evening looking for a replacement. I went about 12 feet and I FOUND IT and it was INTACT!



Clear as a bell, I don't know how I missed it the first time. Nearly dark when I got home, so I'll finish fixing it tomorrow morning. I also added a dent to my running board/step on the passenger side today (small WO in the wrong place). My truck is unfortunately starting to look like a 'crummy' a lot earlier than I expected it to. I have a lot of dents and dings on it and all but one are from trees.

[doc henderson]

so, I took the sawmill to Ketchikan, Ak as you all know.  it is 30 miles from me in Hutchinson KS.  BSA camporee in the winter, and thus Alaska.  I have a 30-gallon Sterlite brand tub that I use to cover the setworks on the mill.  I put that in the back of the truck, and to keep it from blowing out, I set about 3 gallons in a 6-gallon plastic gas can inside for weight so it would not fly out.  My daughter Monique rode along.  after the mandatory chat with other leaders and organizers, we went to drop the mill off in a good spot.  sure enough, no tub or gas can.  never heard anything or saw it fly out.  I told Monique we could look for it on the way home and it would probably be just picking up our liter.  wind was out of the north, and trip over was east, now going west.  Wow halfway home is my gas can on the north side of the highway.  cap and spout still on.  no holes. still half full of gas.  into the truck she goes.  did not see the tote but on the way back out in the am, it was on the south side of the highway.  so stopped on my way home to pick it up, but it had crack in it.  I was able to read the size and brand and Walmart still carries them, so I am good.  Hope that makes you feel a little better Tom.

[Old Greenhorn]

Wow, I have never lost anything that big or heavy out of my bed. I do remember the trip back from the LogRite open house with a bed full of legs padded with packing foam to try to keep them unscratched, that we MAY have lost a FEW pieces of the foam sheets here and there.  But something with weight to it, no, I can't recall that.

[doc henderson]

wind must of caught it just right!  

[Machinebuilder]

I worked with one tool maker for years. he was a very calm person.

One day He blew up on one of the maintenance men.

He had left the chuck key in the lathe, after being warned at least 3 times.

the chuck key was thrown across the tool room by the toolmaker that time.

I don't recall seeing him mad any other time.

[Hilltop366]

The chuck key for the drill press has a spring loaded pin in the centre so it can not be left in the chuck.

I was taught that when you are using the key it never leaves your hand and when you are not using it to have a dedicated spot for it so if it is not in your hand it is in it's place and if you don't see it there don't turn on the machine.

[Resonator]

The shops and factories I worked in had the chuck key connected on a chain bolted to the drill press. And the hand held drills with cords had a rubber loop holding the key to the cord. (It also kept the key with the drill and not get lost). Those at least prevented me from ever having a key go flying.

Now trying to start a gas engine with a broken pull cord, by spinning the flywheel nut using a cordless drill with a socket on the end, and having the engine torque turn opposite of the threads holding the chuck on the drill motor, unscrewing it and sending it flying off the running engine... that I may have possibly done before.

[fluidpowerpro]

I remember my metal shop teacher in HS preaching to never leave a chuck key in a drill press or lathe. Also the drawbar wrench on the top of a Bridgeport. Back in the early 80's teachers had more latitude to express their opinions to students of you screwed up, and he didn't minc words if he saw that you did.
I think of him every time I use my mill or lathe and if I even start to forget, I quickly remember for fear he will come back from the dead to berate me.
I must say though that this teacher was one of the best I ever had and is a big reason I developed an interest in metal work. I still use what I learned every day. I am by no means doing aerospace work, but I learned enough to do most of what I need to do.

[Ljohnsaw]

Yeah, my shop teacher was like that.  More than one kid got the back of his head smacked!

He used to let a few of us use some of the power tools unsupervised

One kid was a transfer.  I think his folks were ion the military or something as he said he had been in a lot of schools.  Anyhow, not the sharpest nail in the box.

He was making something small, using the bandsaw.  Managed to break the blade.  Then tried on the radial arm saw.  It grabbed his work and shot it into the wall, exploding it with shrapnel flying.  Still not deterred, he went on to the table saw.  Managed to slice his thumb just as the shop teacher came around the corner.  Wrapped it up quick and asked him if he was ok.  Yes? SMACK. Then sent him to the nurse.

[Old Greenhorn]

I had a drafting teacher in JHS that had a short temper sometimes. He would throw an eraser as a warning shot, if that didn't have effect, he would follow it with an architect's scale. When he progressed to throwing T-Squares, he got a subtle warning from the principal that this probably wasn't a good idea. He agreed, so he moved on to throwing shop stools. We had a pretty well behaved class.
I thought he was a great teacher and he was the guy that encouraged me to transfer to a Technical high School, which set me on my path. He taught me an awful lot about reading and creating drawings and translating flat drawings into 3D visuals in my head. I found out after I moved on to another school that he lived just around the crooner from me the whole time I was in his class, actually since when I was 6 until his passing. Good guy, Mr. Erlich was, temper and all. The only thing he ever threw at me was encouragement. Thank God for those wonderful folks that taught us real skills and thinking processes. I was truly blessed with the instructors I had in HS, they really did me well. Of course, at the time, the is a rumor that I may have been a little trying on them. Looking back, I'm sorry for that (well maybe just a little bit).

[WV Sawmiller]

  For me it was Mr. Ralph Caswell. It was his first teaching assignment and he was 21 y/o IIRC. He taught me 12th grade English and taught me how to properly do research, make an outline by shuffling and arranging my note cards then fleshing it out. It is hard to believe I had gotten that far without anyone communicating those skills to me but he reached me.

  He probably weighed 95 lbs soaking wet, walked erectly and looked like a little Bantam rooster strutting when he walked. I am sure he was paying back student loans and was dirt poor on an entry level HS teacher salary. He'd wear a white shirt and you could see 3" holes in the undershirt underneath. I would not have used the undershirts to wash my car.

    Of all the teachers I had in HS and professors in college he had the biggest impact on the rest of my life. My big regret is I never knew it till it was too late and was never able to tell him.

[Nebraska]

Well I used some mechanical skills and put one of the original roller guides back on my mill quick. The adjustable Cooks  guide  on the drive side of the mill had come loose and try as I might I couldn't get enough down pressure without the roller being wonky. I took the fabricated mount arm to a machine shop and had them mill a little more adjustment in the bolt holes. Yes I could've done it with my drill press but, we take care of dogs and cows for them. So I give them business and buy some steel here and there.  So after I got the old roller guide on and adjusted close I needed to finish a red cedar I was sawing into 5/8" closet liner.  All seemed good, blade was riding about right on the old roller so I made a couple passes to edge two flitches against the cant and all was good.  
Predator Motor wasn't running the smoothest..  It was pretty much dark out so I turned my lights on and started the first cut on the cant. I could smell oil too much. but in the light I could see a stream of white smoke trailing South.  I quick backed out of the cut I had barely started and looked more closely.  Smoke was pouring up out of the top of the motor on the idle side cylinder,  crap did I loose a head gasket.
I shut it off.
Why was white smoke not coming out of the muffler where it's supposed to????  I step up on the mill to look down at the top of the engine and......, the oil  fill cap was missing.??????   
  I guess I failed to tighten it or cross threaded it the last time the stupid Predator blew the oil cooler hose clamp off and I needed to add more oil. 
The cap was laying about four ft down the track laying below the chain turner, I cleaned it with a grease rag and back to sawing I went.
I did get my forty or so square ft of cedar sawn eventually but as usual it was a bit of a struggle. 

[Don P]

I did get my forty or so square ft of cedar sawn eventually but as usual it was a bit of a struggle. 

About then I usually hear "Wouldn't have it any other way  ".

Resawing and mention of band sizes elsewhere made me remember an old resaw in the corner of one shop when I was about 18. It stood around 10' tall to the top of the spoked iron and wood wheel. The 4" wide blade was reposing along the wall beside it. Happily the shop down the street let us use theirs the few times we needed one, usually for closet lining or chip and dale ears.

[Nebraska]

Struggle continues, cow disaster to start my day, went poorly. (Long story)..... ends with five sutures in my left index finger. (Left handed) makes doing surgery now interesting.  Didn't really do anything dumb just "stuff" happens. 

[Jeff]

Struggle continues, cow disaster to start my day, went poorly. (Long story)..... ends with five sutures in my left index finger. (Left handed) makes doing surgery now interesting.  Didn't really do anything dumb just "stuff" happens.

Ugg!! You didn't sew yerself to a cow agin???

[doc henderson]

well usually an accidental cut is to the non dom. hand.  need to hold that knife in the Left.      I look forward to hearing the rest of the story.  Was Paul Harvy from Nebraska?

[doc henderson]

also hard to suture your non. dom. hand yourself.        

[Old Greenhorn]

Pat, really sorry to hear this. Hope it heals quick since you're a southpaw. Hope the cow survived the aftermath.

 Jeff, just what do you mean by "Again"?

[aigheadish]

Doc- You're a doctor, Nebraska- feel free to chime in on this as well. 

This is the "did something dumb" thread so I'll ask about a "May do something dumb in the future" thing. 

I've had stitches several times. I'm not too squeamish in those situations and I typically try to watch what's happening when getting stitched up, or most recently, several years ago, watching my son get stitches. 

How dumb is it to stitch yourself up? What kind of trouble, beyond obvious infection, could I get in? I vaguely recall spending a pretty crazy amount of money getting something stitched that I feel I probably could have done myself. I understand there will be pain involved without any pain relief too...

[Jeff]

Just saying  going into this! 

No graphic injury photos on the open forums. Go in a members only area to post please if you must. One of Doc's finger severed photos got our ads turned off for 2 days the first week we were testing. 

[doc henderson]

I am not sure whether to be proud (doctor in me) or sorry (forumite in me), but message received.  I have sewn up my own knee, face is hard. It is usually ripped open by something outside so the whole sterile thing is over played.  we use vinyl clean gloves now not sterile.  I still use sterile caause they fit better.  enter at your own risk.  It is not hard, but there are obviously some tricks to the trade.

not trying to be smart, but the young man's fingers have made a full recovery, and he lives to be more careful in the future.

[Jeff]

All I did with it was made it clickable with a spoiler tag.

[doc henderson]

that is even better.

[Old Greenhorn]

Guess it's my turn.


Stupid spring branch while limbing. Never saw it coming.