Help my heads on fire and other shop attrocities

You're calling the dog stupid?

 

This didn't involve injury, other than slapping myself in the forehead: moving the body mount on an off-topic frame. Carefully marked everything, cut the mount, cut an equal-sized portion of the frame rail, moved the mount, welded it back in place, spent the next hour welding and grinding. Stand up and notice something doesn't look right. Measured it up and I moved it forward three inches instead of four inches. Cursed at myself for a minute, then sat back down and did it all over again to move it one inch further forward.

About 25 years ago as a teenager I decided to use my dad's torch to burn off the sway bar end link on a car (probably a '68 LeMans but I can't remember which car it was). At some point the grease on the lower A-arm caught on fire. I tried to blow it out and all my breath would almost blow out the flames, which would pop back up as soon as I stopped to inhale. So I am laying on the ground hufffing and puffing as hard and fast as I can while trying to yell for my brother between breaths. He came all the way out of the house saying "WHAT?" over and over because he kept hearing me say "Get wat..." over and over. (I was trying to say "Get water!") Finally he figured it out. One little glass of water later and all was well, no damage at all except I was dizzy for a few minutes. Another few puffs and I probably would have blacked out. Good times.

 

Last week I started tearing down the wifes 86 Vette that dropped a valve. Just going to pull heads off in car to see if pistons are OK instead of pulling motor out first. It's a tune port, so you have to disasemble the intake on the motor before you can take it off. After I got it down to the base, I remembered I hadn't set it to TDC yet, so I got in and bumped the starter a time or two. I forgot about the electric fuel pump running as soon as you turn the switch on, it shot gas onto the intake. I also forgot to unplug the dizzy. After two or three starter bumps, whoosh, the intake is on fire! There must have been enough fumes left in the intake that when one of the plugs sparked, the flame went right out the intake to the gas puddled up there. Here I am, no fire ext handy, [note to self, get fire ext refilled], running around looking for something to put out the fire before it gets any bigger and I lose both the car and the house! Pick up a rag, try to smother it out, rag catches on fire! Throw it out into yard, run around, find another rag, smother out the fire on intake, gas line is still flaming! Smother it out with rag, step back, all the fire is out. Sit down on tire to catch my breath. After smoking a cig, I decided that was enough excitement for the day!
I did go back a few days later and get the intake off, now gotta pull the exhaust so I can get the heads off.

 

I was welding patch panels in a truck, cab corners to be exact when I realized I was dumb enough not to remove the back seat or door panels...After noticing smoke rolling out of the cab I grabbed a fire extinguisher (which was dead) to put it out! Long story short I was luck to have a garden hose nearby

 

Hey Beaner-at least she didn't try to put the fire out with a hammer!

 

I've learned not to use the plasma cutter while wearing only shorts and tennis shoes. Those suckers throw hot molten sparks everywhere and they find their way into the worst places !

Don

 

wow all I can say is thanks for the laughs guys. I have not laughed like this in a while. I like this thread and will enjoy reading some more of these. I will post some myself here soon.

 

One of the dumbest things I ever did, was a few years ago my son and I were cleaning the BBQ out in the spring. I sprayed down the grill with lighter fluid to burn off the crud that was growing on it. Ran out of fluid before I got it cleaned, so I poured some gas on it. That stuff is explosive. Blew the lid open on the BBQ, the boy dove one way, and I went the other way.

 

I worked at a place that kept gasoline in 55 gallon drums once. They also used 55 gallon drums cut in half poured full of concrete for anchors for floating boat docks.

I needed to cut some drums but they didn't know what had been in the drums so they gave me a chisel and told me to get after it. I figured it would be faster to cut them with the torch so I poked holes in several drums and then I was just going to burn them out and cut them with the torch. I figured it would be pretty easy, I put a thinner soaked rag on about a 10' piece of rebar and lit it. I went to light the first drum and discovered 3 things, a 10' bar wasn't long enough, one drum going off set off several and the seams in 55 gallon drums are not very solid.

It was pretty funny, the office for this company was about 3/4 mile up this twisty dirt road and the boss head them going off clear up there.

I cut all the spilt drums with the torch banged them together and welded them. And learned a new rule, "donot let Benno figure out a quicker way to do it, never!!!"

Cory,
My big stump tailed cat used to help me work on the car all the time. When she got aboput 14 years old I was working on some brakes squated down and she was sitting on my leg. I felt something warm on my leg and all it ment was that she was getting old enough to loose control.

At least I wasn't on fire I guess.