aemeijers wrote:
Bob F wrote:
Pete C. wrote:
" wrote:
Jim Elbrecht wrote:
stan wrote:

-snip-
So why DIY got such a bad rap is unclear.
Maybe the construction trades were behind it? As far as shooting
yourself with a nailgun. . . I've seen dozens of these guys on TV
with spectacular close-calls. Nails in hands & heads & feet----
and none have been DIY guys.

Jim
It wasn't DIY, but I read recently about a guy in Indiana who was
taken in by a chipper, a la "Fargo".
Yea, I read that story. Having spent some time with wood chippers of
that size, I'm not buying the accident part. My take is suicide by
chipper so his family can collect on his life insurance and keep the
house. The only other possibility would be some sort of seizure
disorder that disabled him. Of course the autopsy should be able to
determine that... not.

I watched a guy on a chipper crew pushing branches in with his foot
while standing on the chute. His pushing foot was within inches of the
feed cogs. Until his "boss" yelled at him, that is.



Boss shoulda fired his ass on the spot, as an example to everyone else
on the crew. Or at least sent him home for a day without pay. I grew up
on construction sites, so the big yellow iron doesn't scare me. But you
do have to treat it with respect. Industrial equipment will kill you in
a heartbeat, and it won't even clog or slow down in most cases. My
father was the one running most of the sites I worked on, either
directly or as the company owner. Safe work practices was something he
was always a real hardass about.

--
aem sends...


I was downtown shopping a while back, driving very slowly through area
with sewer construction being done. Four lane street normally, down to
two because of constr. There was a front loader - thingy with a scoop
like a steam shovel on the front - in second lane from curb and the
excavation was in the lane next to the curb. Traffic was stop and
start, so I watched the operator digging down into the trench. The
machine was alongside the deep trench, so he was digging alongside his
rig, not facing toward the trench. Each time he took a scoop, the
machine tipped toward the trench. He was scaring me to death, and it
was a young hispanic guy, so I parked as soon as I could and found
someone who looked like they might be in authority (older guy with hard
hat). I told the other guy what I had seen and he asked if I thought it
to be a safety hazard. I told him it did. I wasn't pleased with his
reply, so I went over to the construction trailer a couple of blocks
away and asked to talk with the person in charge. The clerk went into
the office, and out came the supervisor, along with the guy I had first
talked to. He was very terse, said things were under control. I didn't
think heavy machinery was supposed to tip while operating )