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-   -   First Blood (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=69920)

longranger 03-20-2011 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bret (Post 524928)
I cant believe I made it this far in the build with out any injuries, and to Finlay get blood from S.S. safety wire? I was cutting lengths to hang control surfaces for paint and jabbed my thumb, but it kept on bleeding and bleeding, the sharp end is like a needle that must have gone in deep, am I the only dork to do this?

Bret, I'd say you went injury-free longer than most. You're not out of the woods, though. It's not a "those that have and those that will" thing, but just the first of many. I've been an airplane owner over over 28 years and I still expect a bit of blood sometime between when the toolbox opens and the time it closes.:rolleyes: Be glad you aren't a Cessna guy; many of us have little diamond-shaped scars on our foreheads from walking into the trailing edge of the wing...


Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim P (Post 524935)
Just wait until you pick up the wrong end of a soldering iron! Sizzling bacon comes to mind..:eek:

That's only funny if you done it... it made me laugh out loud, Jim! I WISH it smelled as good as bacon.:eek:

bret 03-20-2011 12:16 PM

Been a Heavy Equipment Technician for a couple decades and had my share of head banging, bleeding, smashed, cut, and even a ( here hold this, oops sledge hammer in the mouth thing ) thats why I was, really! a wire pierce and lots of blood?

John Courte 03-20-2011 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvmike (Post 524941)
Wait till you put a #40 into a finger, safety wire is easy.

Been there. The most disconcerting thing is the tingling sensation from the drill bit wiggling around next to a nerve.

BSwayze 03-20-2011 01:07 PM

Creative ways to injure yourself...
 
I've barely managed to avoid drilling myself. The closest I came was a spinning drill bit that just slid across my finger nail, gouging out a trail as it went. No blood, fortunately.

There are plenty of other ways to injure ourselves, though. See that gnarly-looking scar on my left thumb? Wanna know how that happened? Let's just say that scotchbrite wheels are meant for metal, NOT SKIN! They will take your skin off in a hurry, and healing takes a long time for some reason.



Here's another lesson learned, the hard way. See the bubble wrap taped around my steps? It's not there for decoration. My nephew was over visiting one afternoon and as he was staring at my steps, he said "those are at about the same height as a trailer hitch ball, aren't they?" I knew immediately what he was talking about. I said "oh, do you have scars on your shins, too?" He knodded in agreement.



It was that afternoon that I bubble-wrapped my steps. I figure I'll be putting on some miles walking around these steps before the wings go on for good, and this will save some of my blood.

AltonD 03-20-2011 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvmike (Post 524941)
Wait till you put a #40 into a finger, safety wire is easy.


A #40 drill bit in a pneumatic drill goes right through a thumb and it only takes the blink of an eye. It only hurts for a little while.

bret 03-20-2011 05:19 PM

All this talk of drilling fingers gives me the heevy geveys, last year my co worker drilled the palm of his hand with a 1/2" drill bit, not a clean hole but flaps of torn flesh. I hope I am not jinxing myself with this thread.... has that coat of paint flashed yet.....back to work.

DonFromTX 03-20-2011 05:57 PM

What a sissy! I used a #30 clear to the bone! Was really Van's fault, nowhere in the instructions did it say NOT to hold your finger on the backside of a drilled hole. :mad:

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvmike (Post 524941)
Wait till you put a #40 into a finger, safety wire is easy.


Michael Burbidge 03-20-2011 06:14 PM

Pneumatic squeezer...
 
Am I the only one to squeeze a finger with a pneumatic squeezer? Fortunately it just clipped the pad of my index finger. But it took out a large chunk of skin and attached guts. It took a while to heal. It happened so quickly, I was shocked and it took a few seconds before I knew what happened and could access the damage. I still have a calus-like lump after it healed.

Michael-

aerhed 03-20-2011 06:26 PM

Mmmm, those are all tasty methods. How about a VOR antenna through the lip, along the bone to just below my eye? Couldn't feel the left side of my mustache for a month. Now I'm terrified of antenna elements, I could swear they're out to get me.

java 03-20-2011 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonFromTX (Post 525160)
What a sissy! I used a #30 clear to the bone! Was really Van's fault, nowhere in the instructions did it say NOT to hold your finger on the backside of a drilled hole. :mad:

Guilty of a #40 through the nail and into my finger :eek:.

Really, these should all be avoidable. At work, I coach my guys to do an FLRA (Field Level Risk Assessment). Stop, look around, think, consider the hazards, the risks arising from those hazards, and the controls you can put in place to mitigate the hazards.

Sure, maybe it's only a bandaid you suffer, but maybe not. There are any number of things during construction that can cause either pain and extended recovery, or worse. Whatever you do, PLEASE wear appropriate safety glasses. There are a lot of high speed tools we use that could easily cause serious eye trauma. Cutting disks in my Dremel scare the dickens out of me. When they go, it's too fast to react. Drill presses are known to do major damage (no loose clothing). We also use quite a few chemicals that can pose problems.

It would really be a shame to always file a flight plan, fly conservatively, check weather ALL THE TIME, etc. and suffer due to something in the shop.

OK... off the soapbox.


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