So I was droping the gas tank on the Biscayne today.. was supporting it with a jack, which doesn't have a handle anymore.. you have to use a tire iron to drop the arm.. so anyway, the tank drops, hits the tire iron, which hits me in my forehead and scrapes the skin up from my forehead to my nose.. it knocked me out momentarily, then the tank hits the can of wd40 that I was using to break the rust on the bolts, which sprays me in the face.. Tasty! So what's your worst garage knuckle buster?
good grief, that's a good one! I sucker punched the edge of a frame rail taking a shock off once, I was pretty sure I broke all four knuckles, but it just felt like I did. That kinda sick feeling, like you're gonna puke. I got sprayed down head to toe in warm hydro fluid once.. dad was using his old backhoe to pick up a frame clip for me, it was too much weight, and it blew a hose... the one I was standing 4 feet away from. Luckly the tractor hadn't been running long, or I would have gotten seriously burnt. Contrary to popular belief, hydro fluid doesn't taste that bad.
my worst "garage moment" was when helping my dad build his 3 car 2 deep garage. . . Dad: "Son, come here and hold this board while i snap in a few nails to get it tacked in. . ." i hold it, my cell rings, i answer. . . dad grabs the nail gun and starts poppin away. . . blasts a 16d right through the top of the palm of my left hand and SOLID into the 2x6 i am holding. . . i scream, drop my phone, but for some reason i didnt do the "reflex" thing and try to rip my hand off the board i was holding that is at this point holding ME! ME: "JESUS DAD! WTF!?!?!?! GET MY HAND OFFA HERE!!!" Dad: *pisses his pants laughing at me for five minutes or so, then gets a bolt cutter to cut the head off the nail so i can slide my hand off the freekin thing, then procedes to bitch about all the blood i got on his new garage* what are dads for i guess...
I'm glad your ok dude! Funny. I had a 'driving moment". When I was 19 I had a job at an autoparts wearhouse. We delivered parts in a Ford Courior(sp?),which the hood is hinged at the front. When leaving the driveway,I noticed the hood was popped open,I reached around,and slammed it closed....catching my thumb! I felt pretty dumb, when I had to try to stop people,and ask them if they could pop the outside hood release. Sparky
Worst garage moment for me is a tie. 1. Was trying to drive out some broken lug bolts from the brake drum in the driveway, 6inches of snow and freakin cold. Couldnt find the proper tool so I was using an old splitting maul head, missed the bolt and hit my thumb dead center. Not only brusied it but ripped the skin open from the impact, still have a scar. 2. was removing the engine from an old vw thought we could save some time and cut it out, everything was going good but I didnt wait long enough for the cut off steel to heal before trying to get ahold of the engine and got a nice second degree burn about the size of a quarter. Worst driving moment was when I was driving my 70 cutlass with the 455 and decided to punch it going through town, the return spring broke, blew through 3 red lights and nearly had to change my pants by the time I got it stopped, man that sucker could move. Paul
Got my hand buzzed buy a radiator fan. I was setting a carb and the truck wouldn't stay running. I would start it then run around to adjust. Got it started, was running good, went to put my hand on the radiator, looking at the carb not where I was going to put my hand, and missed the top of the radiator. BBBBRRRRRRPPPPPPPP. Thats kind of the sound it made. Luckily, it had a clutch on the fan that worked and I didnt loose a finger. Dislocated three fingers, lost two fingernails, and a ton of blood. Truck got parked about a month later. Three years later I got it out of storageand got it running again. I bought a shroud before I messed with it, tho.
MINE WAS GREAT!!!, i was was boxing in the rear frame of a car...i had some long shaped 1/4 plates satcked up because i was test fitting them and making adjustments...well the last time i was test fittin one i leaned it against the rest of the plates (keep in mind these are like 4 1/2 feet long pieces of 1/4 inch) i started welding one piece, well the rest of the plates fell on me knocked me out for about five minutes.....my ol lady says all she heard was a loud noise so she came out to the garage to see what happened and i was on the floor unconsious with the welder just going to town on some steel that wasnt supposed to be welded!!!!!!
Insurance company asks a man for more info on an accident claim; this is his response (yeah I know it's probably an urban legend, but it's still funny as hell)
Several years ago: I jacked up my 51 Vicky and slid the swivel-head stands under the frame...almost back to the level portion of frame behind the front kick-up. I was working in my little garage with a slick concrete floor. I was on my creeper with my hands up under the car,,,running brake lines I think.... My arms got tired so I stretched them above my head and closed my eyes to catch a break. I was almost asleep when I heard this LOUD noise and felt a little wind on my face. I opened my eyes and was astounded to see the oil pan 1 inch from my nose! The stands had slid up the frame kickup until they stopped against the lower a-arm mounts. I was untouched, physically. I had to roll off the creeper to slide out from under the car. I went in the house and didn't get under that car for a week! Thanks, God. In high school shop class I was a dumbass....ran the 7 inch grinder across my thigh once. Still have the scar.... In Junior high shop class I was dragging a stick across the drive belt of some piece of power equiptment. It reached out and bit my hand...dragged it into the belt and whipped my wrist around the drive pulley, under the belt in a heartbeat! OWwwwwwwwwwwww!
Had a vw beetle with a bent rear bumper. parked it over a 1/2" step where the road ended and the parking bay started. Put a 5 foot length of 2X3 timber down behind the bumper, anainst the little step so I could pull it hard to straighten the bumper. Well that bit o timber had a weak spot, broke and I whacked myself on the forehead with it. I saw stars, went dizzy and staggered about a bit. Looked up to see the neighbour pissing himself, watching me from the bedroom window. How I laughed. Mart.
I don'nt even remember what it was I was working on but I was trying to clean something from under the car with some carb cleaner. I was wearing a t-shirt with no sleaves and a cut down neck line. After sprayin some of the carb cleaner I needed to reach a wrench that was under the car and I rolled through the puddle of cleaner on the floor and it was like some one had just held a torch to my back and shoulder. I went flying out into the back yard for the hose. I have not used carb cleaner since. I stick to breake cleaner for everyathing now.
I was using a Snap-on centerpunch to remove a drift pin..., I hit the punch with the hammer and suddenly felt my hand jerk away from me. Puzzled by this..., I gazed into the palm of my hand and saw a little blood..., I just thought I had somehow got a sliver it there and proceeded to cut away at my hand to find it and started to dig deeply into the incision until I lost feeling in a couple of my fingers...! Now instead of a trickle of blood..., I had a spurting fountain hemoraging all over myself and the floor and a semi-paralyzed hand...!!! After the "Hand specialist Dr." operated on me for 2 hours..., he had recovered a small piece of the center punch which traveled 95% of the way through my hand only to be stopped by a tendon...!!!! I am so fortunate that it didn't go in my eye...!!! Always wear saftey Glasses..!
I was raising a car with a bumper jack preparing to lower it onto jack stands. I clicked the handle down and knelt to look under the car. I didn't realise how close my head was to the jack until the handle snaped back up from the load and caught me flush under my right jaw bone. The blow absoulutely stunned me. I think this is what is known as "having your bell rung". My entire posture had been pointed downward. I couldn't form a thought or even move. I just knelt there for a few minutes as I went from surprise to shock to fucking pain to the feeling that I had been betrayed by a cold and heartless shank of iron. I actually took it personally. Bumper jacks should never actually be used for anything.
I was 15 when I did my first top chop, on my '53 Ford 2S that I still have. I have bashed my head with full force on the roof getting in and out of it at least 20 times in the 9 years since. I never learn. A friend of mine who I worked with at a restoration shop was using a barrel sander to fit wood parts onto a '49 Ford wagon. After about an hour my boss realized that he hadn't seen Sean for awhile. He went behind the car and saw him passed out cold with a bruise between his eyes. The barrel sander flew apart, hit him in the head and knocked him out cold. Same guy had 2 Coker wide whitewall tires (separate occasions) blow their sidewalls out on the tire changer a foot or two from his face. First time it happened, everyone in the shop heard a bang that sounded like a gunshot. We all rushed into the tire room to see poor Sean sitting on his ass on the floor, about 5 feet from the tire changer. Jewel's body shop no longer buys Coker tires under any circumstances.
My friend had a pimple in the center of his chest that wouldn't heal. Around the same time he started to experience chest pains. The DR was unable to identify why he had the chest pains as his tests came back fine. After about a week and a half the pimple still wouldn't go away so he decided to pick at it and try to drain it. Well...turns out the "pimple" was caused by a 1" long strand of steel wire, from a bench mounted wire wheel, that had entered his skin thru his coveralls and a shirt! He said he just pulled on what appeared to be a little sliver of metal in the middle of the opened pimple and the wire just kept on coming out!!! No chest pain since...must have been contacting a heart muscle or a nerve or something... Wire wheels scare him now.
A fella I used to work with was using a punch just like you. Only it went into his eye (no glasses) and he still doesn't have any vision in that eye..... I try my best to ALWAYS wear safety glasses. I bought a whole box of them off of eBay and they are laying all over my garage..... Just like the fire extinguisher thread, the best $30 I've probably ever spent....Hope that i'll never know!
Let's see how the jack likes the original liquid wrench! it may just make you feel better...... Can you spell acetylene?
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