Shop Safety

[Bigwoods]

My wife has been laid off from her job for a while and was called back for two days work. Her company molds parts for a Snowmobile company. She was helping out with a molding machine and it grabbed the ring on her finger. I got a call from the emergency room saying her finger was 'degloved." Ugly term!

Long story short, she received 20+ stitches. She will be fine, but has a mighty sore digit and will never wear another ring, anytime. I was just thinking about some of the machines we run that might cause problems with rings, hair or loose clothing.

I quit wearing rings years ago when I use to solder eyeglass frames. It was like a mini arc welder and I sorted it out and darn near welded a wedding ring to my finger. After that burn I swore off all rings.

Just a thought. Don't want anyone to get a ring or watch caught in a machine.

[halfdome, Danny]

I couldn't agree more. My wedding band sits in a drawer and my fingers stay on my hands.

[asianflava]

Sorry to hear about your wife. Ouch!

The only kind of jewelry I wear is a plastic watch. After we got married, I tried to wear my ring but it drove me crazy. I just never got used to it, I don't wear it at work because we deal with live machines and electricity on occasion. I would end up taking it off and putting it in my pocket. I figured that I should just leave it at home because I'll probably lose it.

One time I did wear it, I was laying out retaining wall bricks. Those bricks really messed it up. It got all scratched up from the bricks.

My wife decided to roll the coin in the change jar. She found my ring in there and started wearing it. At least this way if it gets lost, It's not my fault.

[Leon]

I had to have a wedding ring cut off my finger years ago so I don't wear one. I've been looking into getting a ring tatooed on my finger. I've been married 26 years so I don't think I have to worry about it not lasting

[BILLYL]

I too lost the ring after doing some electrical wiring and the circuit was hot (stupid me) It was my father's father ring. The electricity did a great job in melting some of it. Thanks to a great jewlery in town he restored the ring. Now it sits in a box and not on the finger.

Bill

[McTeardrops]

Speaking of degloving... I've got a four-inch Makita grinder set aside for use as a wire brush. I haven't been able to find a replacement brush that will attach without an adapter and/or fit itside the guard. Sooo.. I've been using it without the guard, just until it wears down enough to fit. Over the weekend it snatched the thumb off my right hand welding glove. Last night it jumped up and ate half my t-shirt.

There are a lot of things in the shop waiting to jump up and bite, if you let your guard down, or leave them unguarded!

[Chris C]

Back when I owned a plastic manufacturing faclity, we forbade our employees to wear ties (who'd do that anyway?) or gloves if they were working around any machinery which had a continuous revolving surface, i.e. drill presses, milling machines, bandsaws, table saws, routers, jointers, etc., etc., etc. Ties and gloves can be pulled into the cutting surface. I'd rather lose a little skin than a digit!

[Joanne]

Speaking of degloving... I've got a four-inch Makita grinder set aside for use as a wire brush. I haven't been able to find a replacement brush that will attach without an adapter and/or fit itside the guard. Sooo.. I've been using it without the guard, just until it wears down enough to fit. Over the weekend it snatched the thumb off my right hand welding glove. Last night it jumped up and ate half my t-shirt.

There are a lot of things in the shop waiting to jump up and bite, if you let your guard down, or leave them unguarded!

I also have a wire brush for my 4" angle grinder and I think it's probably the most dangerous tool that I used in my build. Even when I was trying to be especially careful it reached up and bit me a couple of times. Angle grinders + wire brushes = danger. Be VERY careful when using one.

Joanne

[Boodro]

many years ago , I was working in a small machine shop. I was using a surface grinder, I went to dress the wheel ( you use a certain kind of stone & lightly rub it on the spinning wheel) & jsut as I was about finished dressing it, the whell grabbed the stone & pulled my right thumb into the wheel! It removed the top 1/4" of my knuckle before you could even say OUCH! It did'nt even bleed, just burned like hellfire! It happens SSSOOOO fast , ya just hope for the best when it does.

[Chris C]

I know that feeling, Boodro! I dropped a finger in a jointer once........and yes, it was running full speed! Sort of put the hiatus on my violin virtuoso carreer!

[Sonetpro]

When I was a teenager. I was goofing off with some buds. Walking down the street jumping up to see who could jump high enough to touch the top of the stop sign. I won and the ring I was wearing caught the top. I was hanging from the sign by my finger as my buds laughed their a$$ off. I haven't wore a ring since.

[Chris C]

When I was in the Air Force, they forbade us to wear rings on the flightline. I found out why one day...................................one of the guys in my squadron forgot to take his off. He was up on a ladder on the side of an F4C. He started to fall, but grabbed something in the open cockpit. When he hit the ground, his finger, the ring, and about two feet of leader from up inside his arm was hanging from the cockpit. Makes a believer out of you!!!!!!! Talk about a stupid mistake!

[Nitetimes]

When I was in the Air Force, they forbade us to wear rings on the flightline. I found out why one day...................................one of the guys in my squadron forgot to take his off. He was up on a ladder on the side of an F4C. He started to fall, but grabbed something in the open cockpit. When he hit the ground, his finger, the ring, and about two feet of leader from up inside his arm was hanging from the cockpit. Makes a believer out of you!!!!!!! Talk about a stupid mistake!

That's pretty much when I quit wearing them too. It just got to be a pain to remember to take it off all the time, simpler to just not wear one.
I'm pretty sure I saw the picture of that more than once while in there too. I worked the RF4C's and they are pretty unforgiving jets.

[Chris C]

Seeing the picture and being there are two different things. Several of the guys on the truck lost their lunches!!!!!

[Spadinator]

I worked sheet metal on the Phantoms and F-16s and before we even could check out our tool boxes we had to have a jewelry inspection. A guy in another shop lost his finger when the ring got welded to the one of the batteries in an F-16.