Really dumb Thing

So I was changing the shifter cable on the mustang and I managed to take a HUGE chunk out of my right pointer finger. Big enough to require 7 stitches. Lately I have been very good about thinking ahead about busted knuckles and have prided my self in that I have not got my self for quite some time but this was different. I was using a 18 mm open end wrench wedged over the end of a 10 mm open end wrench to get a stuck bolt off the trans and some how they separated and the open end of the 10 mm wrench got me. I was so mad (and I was bleeding all over the place).

Just wen you think you have figured out all the ways to hurt your self while wrenching not I have to be careful of the wrenches.

The good side of things is I finished the job and the trans now shifts like butter.

Anyway no real reason to post other than I have never had this happen before. I have cut up and banged up my hands pretty good over the years while wrenching but this one is a first.

I ripped a finger open while loosening the drain plug on my RX7 transmission. Using an open-end wrench and it slipped off when the plug broke loose. It seemed like it was torqued to eleventy hundred ft-lbs, but less than half a flat's worth of turn to loosen to finger tight.

How you get the end of an 18mm wrench over that of a 10mm.. is a story onto itself.

Bubba-wrench torque multiplication is the fastest way I know to injure yourself this side of using an air grinder without eye protection.

I'm just eleventy billion times more likely to bubba wrench than do the first one, though.

I think your wrench ratio was off. If you're going to combine wrenches like that, you need to use an extender wrench that's closer to the size of the engaged wrench. For a 10mm I'd use no larger than a 14mm.

Ouch!! I've been lucky lately and haven't busted anything lately.

The last one was a big chunk out of my middle finger with a 4" grinder and a cutoff wheel.

mad_machine wrote: How you get the end of an 18mm wrench over that of a 10mm.. is a story onto itself.

Not much to hang on to, but it hooks.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll25/RealMiniDriver/2011-11-14_07-42-40_78.jpg

Yes, I know it's a 3/8, but that's damn close to 10mm.

If it makes you feel better, my buddy once had a truck on a lift, working on front suspension. He was bearing down on a stuck fastener bolted upward into the chassis, and when it let go he punched himself square in the jaw - put himself down on one knee.

Stitches suck for sure, but at least you still don't know from firsthand experience how hard you can throw a punch.

RealMiniDriver wrote:

mad_machine wrote: How you get the end of an 18mm wrench over that of a 10mm.. is a story onto itself.

Not much to hang on to, but it hooks. http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll25/RealMiniDriver/2011-11-14_07-42-40_78.jpg Yes, I know it's a 3/8, but that's damn close to 10mm.

I've used a similar set-up to get bolt joint bolts loose from the front sub frame on MINIs, since little else fits.

I had a good scare this weekend. I was using a 6" hole saw to cut a vent opening and the saw jambed in the siding, ripping the 1/2" D-handle DeWalt corded drill I was using out of my hands, but not before slamming my right forearm into a neighboring joist. For a few minutes, I really thought I'd broken my arm. The swelling has gone down, but it's still pretty tender.

This was the second drilling incident I've had recently. Last w/e I was cutting a 2" hole with my 18v Dewalt and the same thing happened, with the drill swinging up and splitting my chin open.

4" grinder is the Devil's tool. Big, D handle drills right behind.

cwh wrote: 4" grinder is the Devil's tool. Big, D handle drills right behind.

Yeah... Both times I was hearing my g/f's uncle mentioning how he doesn't use corded drills for this reason - I also have a big honkin' 5/8" chuck, right-angle drill for making holes in studs. Oddly enough, the big RA drill is so powerful and heavy that is doesn't jam up as easily.

I have done some dumb tool things before, too many to go into here. Let's just say sometimes I am surprised I still have two hands worth of fingers.

I thought I was the world's biggest klutz until I read an article in Cycle News several years ago, it seems this guy had dinged up the hood on his Toyota pickup which made it really hard to open. Our intrepid hero decides to just bash it out so it can be opened reasonably easily. He yanks the latch support out and now has to beat the bottom of the hood out so everything will line up. He starts out swinging from the side, no joy. So he puts two short pieces of 2x4 on the fenders to hold the hood up, then stands in front of the truck with a carpenter's claw hammer in both hands and swings TOWARD HIMSELF. The hood jumped up, the hammer came out from under the edge and he nailed himself dead center of the forehead. He drops the hammer and goes in the house, there's a red oozing circle with the hammer 'non slip' pattern on it. His GF freaks, puts him in the car and takes him to the ER where they Xray his head and see that nothing's fractured, thankfully. But of course he has to tell them how it happened and he realizes as he's telling this just how dumb it sounds.

I felt a good bit better about my klutziness after that.

Do you guys not wear gloves? I have Hyflex "electricians" gloves that are thinner than those $30 "mechanix" gloves, but offer protection against any cuts/gouges you'd get (and because of how thin they are, they are very easy to use).

One thing I've learned having worked in fast paced lube/tire shop is that before you go applying any amount of force (mechanical or pneumatic) to something that is stuck is factor in two thing:

1) When this breaks lose, where will my hands be?

2) If this doesn't break lose, what will the fly pattern of the drill/gun be?

I once have the "double wrench" system set up on a tight bolt, and before going to town on it I said "I should keep my hands open". Sure enough, the bolt took large amount of torque and let fly suprising, with the wrenches making a solid "clank" against the lift. Busted knuckles, avoided.

I usually do wear gloves. Either mechanix gloves or flock-lined nitril gloves.

I wear gloves too... doesn't stop me from getting hurt though. I recently put a long scratch on my forearm when when a bolt let go and I had to take a step backwards.. and ran my arm over the sharp edge of a ziptie that was holding wires in place

Never push, always pull. Cuts damage by 50%.

mad_machine wrote: sharp edge of a ziptie

This is one of my pet peeves. If a ziptie is to be cut, it should be cut flush.

iceracer wrote: Never push, always pull. Cuts damage by 50%.

Just don't pull towards your face while making a fist. See my above post.

Need photos of Mustang and finger.

Toyman01 wrote: Ouch!! I've been lucky lately and haven't busted anything lately. The last one was a big chunk out of my middle finger with a 4" grinder and a cutoff wheel.

I haven't done that in a while, but it hurts like the dickens

Curmudgeon wrote: I have done some dumb tool things before, too many to go into here. Let's just say sometimes I am surprised I still have two hands worth of fingers. I thought I was the world's biggest klutz until I read an article in Cycle News several years ago, it seems this guy had dinged up the hood on his Toyota pickup which made it really hard to open. Our intrepid hero decides to just bash it out so it can be opened reasonably easily. He yanks the latch support out and now has to beat the bottom of the hood out so everything will line up. He starts out swinging from the side, no joy. So he puts two short pieces of 2x4 on the fenders to hold the hood up, then stands in front of the truck with a carpenter's claw hammer in both hands and swings TOWARD HIMSELF. The hood jumped up, the hammer came out from under the edge and he nailed himself dead center of the forehead. He drops the hammer and goes in the house, there's a red oozing circle with the hammer 'non slip' pattern on it. His GF freaks, puts him in the car and takes him to the ER where they Xray his head and see that nothing's fractured, thankfully. But of course he has to tell them how it happened and he realizes as he's telling this just how dumb it sounds. I felt a good bit better about my klutziness after that.

A buddy of mine was working the fender lip on his car with a pointed body hammer. He just got a red dimple. We laughed.

Never ever use the trigger lock on a drill. It keeps spinning and spinning until it flys off, guess what direction that will be. Or all the cord gets wrapped up and pulls the plug. Murphy dictates that you must have a cutting bit with exposed teeth still in motion so that the insulation on the cord gets cut and shorts out. Ask me how I know this.

By the way this post is useless without pictures.

The packaging machine at work has been slowly, but steadily trying to eat my hand. It's winning. I use gallons of this: