Funny events while trying to fix

ola_bitchola1, Jun 14, 10:11am
I remember my first day as an apprentice my boss showing me how to cut this large steel plate with a 9 inch grinder on the ground i stood there and watched as he unknowingly set his sock on fire he rapidly dropped it and started dancing round funneyst thing id ever seen

tigertim20, Jun 14, 10:12am
i have a few.
as a green newb, I set myself on fire doing overhead welds. workmates stood there and laughed at me running across the yard, left leg of my overalls on flames up to my thigh, to the water-drum we had that we used to dunk stuff in that we wanted to cool quickly after welding.

forgot to put an item in the vice on a drill press. turned it on, lowered the bit, threw the item across the room, where it promptly went straight through the wall.

brapbrap8, Jun 14, 10:13am
Yes, I know someone who did the same thing.
Working under a trailer when he lost his grip and dropped the grinder onto himself, cut his thighs up pretty good.

tigertim20, Jun 14, 10:21am
not a really bad one, but one of our favourite tricks on each other used to be, wait til someone was setting up a weld. get everything lined up, tacked into place, lower the welding helmet, then right as they wwere about to pull the trigger, someone would walk past and turn the wire feed up to max.

used to get some interesting responses from some of the guys

sr2, Jun 14, 10:32am
Great thread; I'm happy to admit to have only duplicated about 50% of the disasters so far described.

h.e, Jun 14, 9:40pm
I had a workmate do something similar to me. I stabbed him in the ass with the glowing end of the mig wire, boy did he scream. He didn't find his joke so funny after that but me and everyone else did

h.e, Jun 14, 9:53pm
I had a 5mm sheet on a couple of tressles was cutting large wedge shape off, the wedge to be cut was only on one of the tressles but I had it all figured the pointed end which I was cutting towards was going to fall down. Wrong the larger end went down forcing the glowing end up, had my face far to close. A bad burn from my bottom lip to my chin with a hole right through and a chipped tooth

newtec1, Jun 14, 10:04pm
Nasty and easy to do.I know of a guy working in steel recycle who cut up lpg tanks to be broken down,They would all be tested and stamped clear before the gas axe was involved ,except one marked clear by mistake which he attacked with the gas.Not a pretty sight and two weeks in hospital,OK now with just a few scars to show.

tony461, Jun 14, 11:09pm
Picked up a cheap B&W telly for the flat at the markets. Getting it home, I was keen to test it, unfortunately it was that cheap that a plug was not included. Being a resourceful kiwi lad, I wound the wires around the prongs of a plug for the toaster. With safety first in mind, I didn't want to handle this contrivance and used a screwdriver to push the plug in. Unfortunately the toaster plug was a double plug and the screwdriver slid neatly into the live wire hole. Is there a prize for an involuntary backward long jump?

2sheddies, Jun 17, 10:35am
Haha. reminds me of the similar one my Dad told me about during his time as a coach builder in the 70's. They had a few older guys there who, having been of the previous generation where everything was built using woodworking techniques were new to arc welding and having some difficulty picking up the new skill. Their favourite stunt was to wait until the old dudes got all organised, moved their screens into place, work piece ready, helmet on etc, then sneak over and switch the amps to a low setting.

You'd then hear the tap tap tap of the rod, then a bit of a fizzing noise followed by silence. then more tapping and fizzing. then swearing coming from behind the screen because the arc wouldn't strike, until they realised what was wrong. Used to piss them off no end haha!