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First Blood

bret

bret

Well Known Member
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?
 
Yes, I am sure you are the only one to have done this.:rolleyes:

Do you know why they curl the end of safety wire in when they are done? Someone found out they are sharp! :D

When I was setting up my shop I thought I was ready. After a week I had my bride pick up a box of bandaids and a tin of Bagbalm.
 
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Just wait until you pick up the wrong end of a soldering iron! Sizzling bacon comes to mind..:eek:
 
Safety wire poke...check
drilled my finger...just barely but check
skinned fingers twisting stripped wire...check
smacked head on various sharp things while getting up from under something...double, triple and quadruple check...

It is a testament to the builders' imaginations the number of ways we can hurt ourselves. The good news is they have done an actual scientific study and verified that cursing loudly increases our ability to deal with pain...honest to goodness:D It was even double checked by Mythbusters!

I cleaned up all the sweat that dripped in the project during construction (corrosive) during the 108 degree summers in Livermore but there are a few choice drops of blood that I REALLY earned that I left in there for posterity. Pulling the recalcitrant dummy wing spar bolts just next to the sharp floor ribs for example...

It makes it all the more real in hindsight:D

Jeremy Constant
 
Airplanes are dangerous...

...to crawl under. That's what I tell all visitors and my employees. Just look at all the protrusions that you can get stabbed with...propellor blades, pitot tubes, flap hinges, antennae....etc.

Best,
 
Put an unnoticed blood spot on the leading edge of one wing while doing paint prep, and sure enough, it bled up through the color coat. If you look close it's right there, preserved for posterity under the clear.
 
I'm not particularly superstitious but I give blood to all my vehicles. My theory is if I give them little amounts regularly, they won't demand great amounts all at once. I manage to skin a knuckle or cut a finger or stab myself as Pierre has done, and I make sure the blood is smeared inconspicuously somewhere on the vehicle. On the exhaust is a favorite location but the RVs have blood on the airframe (the -10 is difficult because I have to make sure it's over primer; I don't trust it on alclad). As I said, a silly superstition but I have never been seriously hurt in an accident (no broken bones yet for this old man) even though I risk life and limb on motorcycles. Only one aircraft accident so far, but the RVs seem satisfied as well. ;)
 
flion said:
I'm not particularly superstitious but I give blood to all my vehicles. My theory is if I give them little amounts regularly, they won't demand great amounts all at once. I manage to skin a knuckle or cut a finger or stab myself as Pierre has done, and I make sure the blood is smeared inconspicuously somewhere on the vehicle. On the exhaust is a favorite location but the RVs have blood on the airframe (the -10 is difficult because I have to make sure it's over primer; I don't trust it on alclad). As I said, a silly superstition but I have never been seriously hurt in an accident (no broken bones yet for this old man) even though I risk life and limb on motorcycles. Only one aircraft accident so far, but the RVs seem satisfied as well. ;)
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(Only one aircraft accident)? Ok you got me beat, glad you are still here with us.
 
I sawed into my thumb knuckle with a bandsaw while cutting a piece of nylon block and it slipped off the blade... all the while thinking that I should've been holding the part with a block of wood as a push-piece instead just before beginning the task. And it happened just exactly the way I was worried about as I was sawing the nylon. Lesson learned is you really do need to trust and obey your better judgment when using power tools and don't dismiss those what-if thoughts.
 
bret said:
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?
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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...


Jim P said:
Just wait until you pick up the wrong end of a soldering iron! Sizzling bacon comes to mind..:eek:
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That's only funny if you done it... it made me laugh out loud, Jim! I WISH it smelled as good as bacon.:eek:
 
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?
 
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.

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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.

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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.
 
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.
 
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:

rvmike said:
Wait till you put a #40 into a finger, safety wire is easy.
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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-
 
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.
 
DonFromTX said:
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:
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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.
 
I'm thinking the VOR antenna through the lip may just be the winner on this thread for sure!:eek:
 
For all who drilled themselves, I hope you all followed proper procedure and clecoed each hole after drilling...:p
 
Lost Blood

I left plenty of blood on Don Mc Namara's shop floor before I learned that he failed to debur the razor sharp holes in his stainless steel firewall. He drew a circle around the blood spots, and put my name on them. What a guy!
 
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I've spent 11 years on my build and have done all of the usual things. However the one that still hurts after several weeks is when I was trying to drive out a temporary wing bolt with a pin punch and heavy hammer. I missed the punch and hit myself in the hand. It hurt too much to curse!
 
It's all part of the fun!

While working as an A&P years ago (in the ?70s) I dropped something between the cylinders of a Cherokee I was working on. So, I uncoiled a length of safety wire, and bent a hook in the end to retrieve the part, I THEN straightened the coils out and somehow got the ?hook? in the meaty part of my thumb, well past the bend. I couldn?t get it out, so I cut the long end off to about 6 inches, and went to our parts man, and repeatedly pointed out that it was bent into a hook. ?Look, you push it down here and you can see the end of the hook over here, it?s bent into a HOOK it has to come out like this, got it.? ?Got it? yank! ?Damn, that was bent into a hook!? about that time my boss walked in and said, ?you look a bit pale, maybe you should sit down for a minute.??. I wish I could say that, that was the worst thing that ever happened to me working on airplanes?.ya, I wish?.but we?re talking about safety wire.:p
 
While installing the plexi lenses for my Duckworks landing lights, I was pulling with all my might on the tape handle they have you make in the instructions, when SNAPPPP it came loose and I took a good shot from my own right fist square in the forehead and across the bridge of my nose. Couldn't remember my own name for a second, but recovered....I think.

Drilled fingers...a few times.

Cracked my shin open on the RV-10 step.

Was changing bits in my Sioux drill with the hose still on. Really was tcranking on the chuck key to get the #40 bit to stay put when I bumped the trigger. 3/4 rotation of my hand around the chuck and I fortunately got away unscathed.
 
How smart am I?

When I first got my pneumatic rivet squeezer and was trying to figure out how to defeat the trigger safety??somewhere I?ve got a picture of my black thumb nail. Fortunately I didn?t have it adjusted, so the closed gap was such that it only mashed my thumb, instead of crushing it, the way it would if it were adjusted for most riveting situations. I?ve left safety in place, but still catch myself changing dies now and then with the air still hooked up! Makes me wonder if I should be allowed around airplanes, sometimes. :eek:
 
Blood, dirt and aluminum

I have an acquaintance that is a retired commercial airline pilot. He is fond of saying that in his entire aviation career he never mixed blood, dirt and aluminum! After hearing this SEVERAL times, I had to retort, ?I do that EVERY WEEKEND, building my plane.? :)
 
Well, SECOND blood, but first with photo evidence

It doesn't take a big change to the landscape to totally change the danger level. When I crawled under the panel and installed the Throttle/Mixture/Foot Heat bracket under the bottom of the panel, I specifically reminded myself to watch out for that thing...don't smack it with my head.

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The view from under the panel...
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How soon we forget. Smack! It got me...
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Vampires

In my experience, reinforced by many years of playing with British sports cars and a hot rod or two, airplanes are just like cars. They will never cooperate with you until they draw blood and make you cuss! I have done the hitch ball in the shin more times than I care to remember, as well as the safety wire in the finger, so I guess I am a member of the club in good standing..
 
Blood

My Lucy must feel sorry for me. (Knocking on my wooden head) Only a few little bumps into to the scotch brite wheel and drill bit bites. I use safety glasses, hearing protection, respirator and gloves now.
I do agree with others and used to expect to draw blood before I could make any progress. Most stitches came from carelessness working on cars. Most accidents were pure arrogance thinking it would never happen to me. My poor Sweetie has become all too familiar with the words, "can you take me to ER".
So it would seem my stupidity lies in the area of general recklessness outside my shop.
My current broken leg is broken bones number 5 and 6 and had I been more cautious of ice, would never have happened. Numbers 1 through 4 were other lessons in stupidity I just never seemed to learn.
 
Sid I heard you spent some time in the military it means your bones are reinforced, trained and thick. You better check for damage on that bracket. Don't worry about the forehead it will grow back :D
 
Bracket

Vlad said:
Sid I heard you spent some time in the military it means your bones are reinforced, trained and thick. You better check for damage on that bracket. Don't worry about the forehead it will grow back :D
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The bracket made it OK, but my wife's ears needed repair from the language...
 
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My arms from a previous thread on mechanical fuel pump replacement. Zip ties are the culprit.
 
Other than drilling small holes in my paws, my worst gouges have come from Adels, where I forgot to completely remove the safety wire I used to hold it shut while I put the bolts in. Just one clipped-off end of saf-T wire protruding a tiny bit from the Adel is all it takes to get really nasty 3" and 4" long cuts on hands or forearms. And yes, it's 100% my fault ... nobody to blame or cuss at but me.
 
And the hits keep coming...

...OK, you know those steel plates we bolt to the side of the fuselage? They're flat, stick straight out, and we bolt the other end to the wing/fuel tank? Dude, they're sharp! :eek:

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I guess I need a helmet.
 
scrollF4 said:
...OK, you know those steel plates we bolt to the side of the fuselage? They're flat, stick straight out, and we bolt the other end to the wing/fuel tank? Dude, they're sharp! :eek:

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I guess I need a helmet.
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OUCH! and they don't give much.
 
Ouch is right. It's so-o-o-o easy to bang your head on stuff around the airplane ... it's cuz we're thinking so hard about the immediate RV task at hand that we forget about the simple head bangers that lurk everywhere in the shop.
 
It was routine for me to bump my head... More than regularly. I'm follicle sparse so no curb feelers!

I had my hound dog eyelids reduced and you'd be surprised at how much I now see right above me now. Much less head injury.

And oh yes, I have put safety wire all the way through my thumb, just like a needle.

Don
 
It hurts when you drill your finger. It hurts worse when you drill your wife's finger...

PJ Seipel
RV-10 #40032
 
PJSeipel said:
It hurts when you drill your finger. It hurts worse when you drill your wife's finger...

PJ Seipel
RV-10 #40032
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WHAT? you drilled your wifes finger? how did you ever make up for that? O, and I did join that, drill a hole in the finger club last year.
 
So far, the worst has been an aluminum shaving in the ball of my foot, that got slightly infected and sore. Serves me right for walking around barefoot in the garage, tempting fate! ALWAYS wear safety glasses when grinding, etc. My friend recently had to go to the doctor to have a metal fragment plucked out of his eye.
 
My best injury to date was a #40 in my middle finger right at the base of the nail. It felt awful going in but then didn't hurt that much but sure bled a lot. I wrapped it tight with a Band-Aid to stop (actually, soak up) the bleeding while I continued work and tended to it later that evening when I got home. The soak in hydrogen peroxide was actually pretty entertaining. Where DO all those bubbles come from?

A week later and it is almost fully healed.

I just hope I am never that dumb flying.......
 
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