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We’ve all had that feeling: starting some project knowing deep down that we’re about to do something stupid. But heck, last time that feeling erupted, I escaped unscathed, and the time before that, and the time before that it was only a couple of stitches.
Heck, you worry to much. Go for it. Besides, you only have 20 minutes before you’ve gotta go, and it’ll be ok. Just keep your arm down low as you spray the lubricant on that noisy roller at the back of the clothes dryer cabinet. If you’re careful, your arm (or sleeve) won’t get grabbed by the drive belt and suffer unspeakable consequences. Besides, you’ve got your cell phone if something happens, and how hard is it to dial 911 one handed with your other hand and arm twisted up into the hidden valley of death somewhere inside that dryer? You don’t need to actually stop the dryer. Its not
i that
stupid!
Well, I was right. My arm didn’t get grabbed and pulled off at the socket or anything.
Of course, if I’d really thought about it, I’d have realized that 15 years of collected lint floating around would flare up nicely after the gas flame ignited the lubricant when I shot from a bit too far away!
So, when you’re about to court disaster, stop and think about it a bit more; the odds are it’s even stupider than you thought!
Replies
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My worst one was lying on a piece of cardboard working on my car (can't get dirty down there) with barely enough room to slither my fat butt in. Welding my exhaust system.
Can't see a thing with my welding hood on and no room to take it off. Suddenly, I feel hot...reach above my head and it's real hot. Cardboard's on fire and it's been burning for a while from the size of it.
Hood stuck on frame, chin stuck in hood, can hear the fire now, still blind from the welding helmet.
Of course, I got away and put the fire out with my hands. A friend was there and went for the fire extinguisher. I wouldn't let him use it because I might need it later....It's hard to think right sometimes.
*I've got the same problem, squirt the roller every month, cept mines electric.
*Do you still have hair on your arm?For a minute I thought this thread was about me...Rich Beckman
*It's Pippin got no hair left I think.
*Just last week I was doing some framing . looking intently at my my thumb i wacked it with the hammer..man what a leaker. At least I miss most of my finger nail not going to loose it. But what a leaker
*Worked for a guy about 30 years ago who had just bought a new framing hammer. He was reeeel proud of that neat new i SHARPcross hatching. We were kidding about what it was gonna do to his thumb........about 3 minutes before it happened. Joe H
*Don't feel bad Ron, one time I watched a buddy cream his index finger, howl a moment or two, then cream it again on the next swing. He got real quiet. Split that hummer wide open, leaked like a sieve. You'd think he would of learned on the first whack, like you or I...
*OUch!! My first day as an apprentice, it was about 15º f. I was driving nails through the truss gangs, attaching hurricane clips, wood was frozen and holding my glorious 32 oz fully hatcheted framing hammer.Those gang nails are tough to drive a nail through, even a hardened one. They'd bend, I'd grab a new one and swing a little harder, a little harder...I left a nickel sized patch of my thumb skin pasted to the bottom chord or a truss, and the guy next to me startsi laughing.I'm trying to keep myself from hatcheting his mouth, when I look out a window and see his jalopy flying down the street sans driver, silently run a stop sign at 30mph, and pile into a bank across a culvert. Instant justice.
*How 'bout plain and simple stupidity... Last Monday, backhoe was late, worked all evening getting a conduit in and wired in a 3' deep trench, working fast to finish before dark, inspection imminent. Got it done! went inside to clean up, grab a beer, walked outside in the pitch black and fell right into the trench.
*And then there was the roofer who stepped back to admire his work.JonC
*My impatience is usually what gets me down the wrong road...Last week: blade guard on my 50yr old skilsaw was a little bent, and would've rubbed on the new 8.25" blade I was changing. Sun was settingOnly 4 more cuts to be madeDidn't want to go back the next day...blah blah blahDecided I could "adjust" the guard quickly with a hammer. First whack and I was reminded that it was made of cast aluminum. Shattered into 4 peices. DOH!Pissed that I busted up my trusty saw. That things a champ. Now it's a TRUE cordcutter if ever there was one.
*What about this guy?
*A coupla years back I'm finishing up a rear brake job, and I get to the point where I've gotta snap the springs over the pivot pin between the shoes. I look at the pliers sitting on the lift arm, and I look at my toolbox all of 12 feet away and instantly decide it's too far to walk to get the tool I need and heck, how many years have I been doing this?, I can just use the pliers. So grab the spring and give it a pull, and OF COURSE just before it latches on the pin, the pliers pull off and make a bee-line for my nose. I dropped to one knee pretty quick after impact and it took a good 20 seconds for my vision to clear and me to wiggle my nose to make sure I didn't feel anything crunchy. No black eyes either.I still get a chuckle out of it now.
*Almost had an impromptu shop-warming party a couple hours ago: my mini-lathe came in today and i discovered the arbor for the drill chuck wouldn't fit until the tang was removed. The 12" disk sander worked like a charm and i was back to cleaning and setting up the machine. (Cutest little tool rests you ever saw!) Then i decided to take off my respirator for a break (i've been spraying lacquer, which may account for some of this) and smelled smoke. Luckily, i hadn't already dumped the container of water for cooling the metal...
*Then there was a friend of mine, a welder, whose boss asked him to take a cutting torch and shorten some anchors sticking out of a foundation.sparks flew, and Buddy never noticed he'd lit the frame up 'till he was dragged away by the guys on the crew.
*Stray, that's how I do my new saws. I get rid of that guard, with my hammer before the first cut! My ole' boogerin' buddy taught that trick to me.blue
*Construction guys don't have a lock on stupidity.One hot summer day, I was sitting out on my deck, reading and smokin' a butt. Boy, was it hot!I heard a kind of rustling sound from under the deck — and thought "the cat must be playing around under there".Back to reading. Then I started to smell smoke and thought "Guess the neighbors are firing up the grill".Rustle... rustle ... smoke ... smoke. Boyoboy is it ever hot!!!!Finally wake up and glance down below the chair to see flames shooting up between the deck boards under my chair. Leapt off there like a shot, grabbed the hose and put out the flames.What a dunce!!
*I was out in my shop making some wood chips and my dc lost most of its suction. so i checked the bag and it was full. in fact the chips went into the upper bag. so i emptied the bottom bag an it didnt improve. so i take off the top bag and noticed the inlet was clogged. So what do i do. I fire up the dc thinking it will suck the chips into the bottom well chips and dust blew all over the place (there were alot of chips) and looking up covered with chips from head to toe and the shop is the same and I see wifey looking at me laughing, she saw the whole thing. buy the way that was about 4 months ago and shes still telling my buds about it and Im still finding dust around the shop and having to clean it up...sometimes i think my one brain cell(the only working one left) isnt operating properly....
*Cynthia, I wish you had a pic of that driver....I'd love to see what he looks like.
*Here he is...
*Probably about the same result as stepping back to admire the sponge painting I was doing in the stair well!
*had a Corps of Engineer resident inspector on a job down the Cape... way too thick to be irish.. and never sober after 10 am...he also had an inspection of the Bourne Bridge painting.. well.. he could really get under your skin...he was telling the Painting contractor that his men had skipped a whole section of the understructure...the contractor got so agitated he said "bullshit, i'll show you we painted the damn thing " .... then he jumped over the rail onto his staging, which, of course ..... was no longer there..100' to the rocks....
*An American couple, driving along the road across the desert from Riyadh to Dahran, saw a 10ft diameter dust-devil approaching down the centre of the road.They decided to drive thro' it -- and did so, to collide head-on with a Pakistani driving a road-sweeper.
*Mike, why are you posting pictures of AJ and his brother?bluePs those pics are classic. Thanks for the laff.
*Are you sure he wasn't just thinking about getting across the canal on the drive back to Boston on a Sunday afternoon on the end-of-July change-over weekend?
*mid-cape.... love it or leave it
*Local bank up here was robbed at the drive thru. Video surveilance showed the car, and tags. Police checked the owner of the car and found out the recently employed 18yr old teller at the drive-thru, had his girlfriend drive HIS car up to the bank for the heist.Both confessed, and were prosecuted for the theft and gross stupidity.
*Anyone hear about the guy driving the motor home who turned on the cruise control and got up to make a sandwich!!!???
*ON a friends crew a few years ago I heard the story of one guy who had the job of making window headers. He cuts all his stock and picks up a stack and slams it down on the saw horses. It's summer and hes wearing thin shorts so as he slams the lumber down he kind of pushes it with his lower torso area at the same time. Well the boards bounce a little and the very tip of his, ahem, johnson gets caught between 2 of them and caused him considerable pain. The story goes he grabbed his crotch, fell to his knees, unzipped,pulled his pants down and when he saw the damage, a good sized blood blister, he passed out and fell over backwards. His buddies took his hat off and strategically placed it over the damaged unit until he awoke and they took him to the E.R. Ouch, I'll take a broke thumb anyday!!!cc
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We’ve all had that feeling: starting some project knowing deep down that we’re about to do something stupid. But heck, last time that feeling erupted, I escaped unscathed, and the time before that, and the time before that it was only a couple of stitches.
Heck, you worry to much. Go for it. Besides, you only have 20 minutes before you’ve gotta go, and it’ll be ok. Just keep your arm down low as you spray the lubricant on that noisy roller at the back of the clothes dryer cabinet. If you’re careful, your arm (or sleeve) won’t get grabbed by the drive belt and suffer unspeakable consequences. Besides, you’ve got your cell phone if something happens, and how hard is it to dial 911 one handed with your other hand and arm twisted up into the hidden valley of death somewhere inside that dryer? You don’t need to actually stop the dryer. Its not
i that
stupid!
Well, I was right. My arm didn’t get grabbed and pulled off at the socket or anything.
Of course, if I’d really thought about it, I’d have realized that 15 years of collected lint floating around would flare up nicely after the gas flame ignited the lubricant when I shot from a bit too far away!
So, when you’re about to court disaster, stop and think about it a bit more; the odds are it’s even stupider than you thought!