Worst accident you've ever even heard about?

Had a close call with a belt grinder not too long ago, finish grinding on a not sharp, but damn near chefs knife. I guess I just didn't have a good enough grip and the belt caught, ripped it out of my hand and down into my dust collection funnel. It ricocheted right back at me at a rate of speed that still makes me shutter. It missed, but it was one of those things that doesn't cross your mind until it happens.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
The worst accident I ever saw was not knife related. At the Ford plant back in the 70's,I was working as a stock checker and my Dad did the medical there. There was a supervisor who was out in the stock yard to count how many frames of certain model truck we had. I was counting other parts nearby. They were in two tall stacks up against the building wall. Because of other frames stacked on both sides he could only see them from the front. After counting the front one he had a forklift driver pick up that stack and pull it back. The driver lifted the stack about up and pulled back about ten feet. As he did, the supervisor stepped in to count the frames. When the driver stopped, the frame stack rocked .... and collapsed ... over on top of the supervisor. FUBAR doesn't do justice to what he looked like. I was working nearby and went to help when it happened. Dad had seen a lot of bad stuff in the war and in industry but this was the worst he ever saw. It was certainly the worst thing I hope to ever see.

The point is that this tragedy was caused by haste and by something unexpected happening. "I have done it before and nothing happened." won't help if parts of you are are red mush ( or all of you). If the man had waited thirty seconds more until the driver set the load down, he would have had dinner with his family that night.
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I worked in the steel mills for a few years, and some of the stories you’d hear would make you wanna stay home.
When I worked at what used to be Bethlehem Steel, they’d have a plant wide safety day once a year. At the beginning of the day, we’d watch a video that went through a list of names, of people who were killed on the job since the mill was opened. There’d also be a memorial service near the main entrance where they had a little yard filled with crosses to represent the deceased (this stayed up and was maintained all year round). It was very sobering.
One thing I noticed, as the years of birth and death were listed next to every name: they were either quite young, or near retirement age, in many cases.

In some cases, usually during various safety related classes throughout the year, someone (usually the head of the union, or one of the safety supervisors) would share a case study of how somebody had been killed. Sometimes it was due to ignorance or inexperience, but most often it seemed to do with impatience or complacency, or to put in bluntly, cutting corners.

I’ll never forget one OSHA rep opening a class with the following words: “THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS AN ACCIDENT.”

What he then went on to explain is that there’s really no such thing as a truly non-preventable accident, outside of an “act of god”, and even AOGs can usually be planned and mitigated for.

Most often, being safe is really just a matter of being mindful of what you, or others around you, are doing.
 
E.Carlson said:
Had a close call with a belt grinder not too long ago, finish grinding on a not sharp, but damn near chefs knife. I guess I just didn't have a good enough grip and the belt caught, ripped it out of my hand and down into my dust collection funnel. It ricocheted right back at me at a rate of speed that still makes me shutter. It missed, but it was one of those things that doesn't cross your mind until it happens.
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Had similar but my sharpening rig was horizontal and belt going away from me. Not sure why, been a few years, but the blade got grabbed and thrown into the Lexan backstop. Scared a few gray hairs and probably a bald spot on me.

Had a sharpened cimeter fall off the table, went point first through the shoe and bounced off what I can only assume was the bone. Ripped off the shoe and sock, grabbed a wad of paper towels, and waited 20 minutes with pressure applied. Was my right foot so wondered how the heck was I going to drive my stick shift truck to a hospital.

The bleeding stopped and many butterfly bandages to close it I was OK but wiser.

Jim
 
mete said:
Longhair ? That's been around for many years .In WWII with many women working making military things .They had no experience with machines so they trained them such as posters using Veronica Lake and other movie stars , showing dangers !!

Table saws - there has been , for a number of years , a gadget that will stop a table saw that will Instantly stop if you put your finger in it ! IT WORKS ! I know some of the people who developed it ! They demonstrated it at trade shows with a hotdog , stick a hotdog into the blade and it STOPS !
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I've seen that thing work and it's amazing. I do believe you have to buy a new blade after using it though. Still, much cheaper than surgeons and hospitals.
 
been lucky in the shop, busted knuckles, sanded finger tips, blade caught by buffer and slung across the room. finishing installing new chimney cap, on last trip down, ladder slipped and i fell 8', broke wrist. wrist rebuilt with 3 plates and 15 screws. spent my vacation with right arm in a cast.
in navy had an over loaded helo crash on deck(confusion was cargo weight pounds or kilograms), impact to fire out was about 2 minutes. helo destroyed, several other aircraft damaged enough they were crane offs. i watched this accident movie about 100 times while teaching at navy fire fighting school
USS Forrestal fire. Senator John McCain can be seen jumping from his aircraft and escaping the fire.
i guess you watch and listen about folks mistakes and try to avoid making them yourself. is saving a minute or two worth losing an eye or finger or your life?
 
Dag on ive had some close calls but thankfully i was taught quick by my original mentor wear safety equipment, one time I was using a 60 grit sanding belt and the blade caught the seam and the belt snaped and smacked me in the face, neck, and chest, thankfully i had on safety glasses, and another time i was grinding the outlines on a stock removal knife and it got caught in the bench grinder and was thrown down and driving a 1/8 inch into the steel toe of my boot and left a 1/2 inch dent as well and stuck, needless to say it put a scare in me

My wost injury to date was the first week of January thus year, i was melting alluminum for casting and some trash got into the propane burner and lit the surrounding grass on fire and long story short caught my steel toe short boot on fire and I got second and third degree burns wraped around my ankle
 
A few years ago I was rough grinding, running my work rest real close to the belt. I was wearing gloves so I could grind a little longer before dipping the blade. Well, my grinder was nice enough to give me a gentle warning, it grabbed the glove and sucked it through the 3-4mm gap between the belt and the work rest. I got SUPER lucky that the glove ripped and my finger didn't get sucked in. I will never forget how quick it happened! I took this pic to help remind me to not be a dumb ass. BTW, I don't wear gloves anymore.
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Mine was vs a wood chipper. It was so painful I instantly knew I made a huge mistake. Local police who responded to 911 call did find my finger.... In the portion of glove. In the pile of chips!
 
My accident was pretty minor but still reminded me to pay attention.

I had just re-handled an ax, re-profiled it, and sharpened it on my belt grinder. I propped it against the grinder with the handle on the floor and the head up. I had just turned away when I felt a great smashing pain on my toe. The ax had tipped over and the head had landed squarely on my big toe. Obviously if it would have landed blade down I would have lost my toe. I'm sure my toe was broken, but after a few weeks the pain went away.

I teach ax safety to boy scouts and have them practice handing an ax off with the head down. The little voice told me to put the head down when I propped it up, but I ignored it.

Ben
 
Industrial accidents are severe mishaps that result in injuries to people and damage to property or the environment.

But in my case it was somewhat different, I was working in my Welding Industry with the same routine and equipment's which I daily use to work.

Although we have less space in our Industry so we divide the space with the help of Warehouse Separation Curtains. which have different categories for different purpose at different areas.

The mishap happened was a mistake by our co-worker, instead of Plastic Welding Curtain some other type of curtains were used at welding area.

So,when the process started the curtains caught fire and huge damage took place in the Industry. But all the workers were safe.
 
Drew Riley said:
That's gonna leave a mark.
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You don’t think it will buff out??
LARRYZ10 said:
Most of you have heard of the "helicopter blade" on a drill press. It happens when you don't secure your blade to the drill press table before drilling hole...especially a 1/4 inch hole. You can't hold on to the blade and it cuts you in a millisecond. Here are two photos which show the problem and the solution. Larry

bD2mZnXl.jpg
8Okb0Mvl.jpg
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I have about a 2.5” scar from the first knuckle to the second from the same issue! That helicopter of Death! The ER doc said, Well Mr Segal! You must make excellent sharp knives! Perfect surgical cut! :rolleyes:

flatblackcapo said:
A few years ago I was rough grinding, running my work rest real close to the belt. I was wearing gloves so I could grind a little longer before dipping the blade. Well, my grinder was nice enough to give me a gentle warning, it grabbed the glove and sucked it through the 3-4mm gap between the belt and the work rest. I got SUPER lucky that the glove ripped and my finger didn't get sucked in. I will never forget how quick it happened! I took this pic to help remind me to not be a dumb ass. BTW, I don't wear gloves anymore.
14835927771_04632027c8_b.jpg
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That’s why I invented my Finger Skins! Gives you a bit longer to hold on before dunking! Gloves can suck your hand right into the Machinery! You are very lucky! :thumbsup:
 
I had the cutoff from a 7' long piece of thin aluminum get picked up by the table saw blade and wrap it around the blade shaft. I was wearing eye protection and using push sticks, my hand was a foot away from the blade. Anyhoo, when the blade got hold of the aluminum strip it pulled about 3' of it between my index and middle fingers, cutting the web between the fingers more than an inch deep. After my mishap the table saw accident stories started coming in, best one was this guy whose grandfather cut a finger off with a table saw. 15 years later he was showing someone how he did it and cut off another one.
 
IMG957430.jpg Bigfattyt, that's horrible. I know the feeling.
This is my finger when I got to the ER.
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
That’s why I invented my Finger Skins! Gives you a bit longer to hold on before dunking! Gloves can suck your hand right into the Machinery! You are very lucky! :thumbsup:
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Ya know, I have been meaning to buy some of those finger skins for probably 2 or 3 years now. I remember standing in the shop, grinding a piece of Ti, it went from cold to the touch to why is my thumb sizzling, in about half a heart beat. I told myself to buy some of those Finger skins that time too.... Maybe this is the year that I finally get tired of burning my finger prints off.
I am super grateful to the grinder gods for such a gentile lesson.
I fully realize how lucky I am.

Be safe in the shop folks. :thumbsup:
 
I had a little mishap with my rotary platen several months back. No harm no foul, but it surely raised my awareness level significantly.
I was dunking my blade and bringing it back to the platen when it went on the inside of the platen to the rubber belt instead of the grit side. The tip grabbed and the rubber belt threw it straight to the floor in a snap.
Thankfully nothing soft and fleshy was in the way.

I reckon the same could apply with a rubber contact wheel.
 
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