Gene Kearns wrote:
On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 20:00:11 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:


Gary Brady wrote: (clip) that red button was covered in the same green
paint that covered everything else. it had flaked a bit, revealing a hint
of red.(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Gary was referring to the reset button on his old compressor. This is a
good candidate to start a new series: "The dumbest, most unmechanical thing
I've ever seen anyone do."



Worst one I recall was in a machine shop that was segmented into
departments. One of the (new hire) denizens of the "Drill" department
running a large railway drill (which was dangerous enough by itself)
needed a tap with more taper. Not being able to satisfy himself with
what the tool room could provide, he sauntered over to the "Turret
Lathe" department (fortunately passing up a #5 Gisholt) and popped the
tap into the chuck of a Warner and Swasey #3. Spinning the lathe up to
speed he proceeded to "file" a more pleasing shape on the end of the
tap.

All went as well as could be expected as 60 hard met 60 hard.... until
the fateful flapping of his long sleeve cuff became tangled in the
machinery. As cloth rent and his nose came closer and closer to the
work, our mechanical genius reached over his head for the clutch lever
with his free right hand.... only to have that dangly sleeve snatched
up in the works, as well.

This nitwit actually stalled a turret lathe using his body and his
clothes as tools!

About 8 weeks later, the doctor released him to come back to work and
he still looked like he had impugned the sexual orientation of all of
the patrons in a large biker bar. The stitches were out, but there
were scars. Luckily there were no broken bones, but his neck still
held the bruises of where his clothing had pulled him into the works.
The weave of the cloth could still be seen on the back of his neck.

Predictably, after all of the pain and suffering endured, he was
fired. They couldn't have kept him on.... he was as great a danger to
the rest of us as he was to himself....


I learned my lesson the same way, about 55 years ago in my Jr. High
school metalshop class.

Why the hell the shop instructor let us wear shop coats with long
sleeves I'll never know. And maybe he warned us to roll up the sleeves
around moving machinery, but it hadn't sunk in.

I was making a little "all metal" cross peen hammer and was smoothing
the tapered part of the handle with a file while it was spinning in a
lathe, driven by a lathe dog.

Predictably, the square head screw on the dog cought the left sleeve of
my shop coat. It must have been weak cloth, or maybe the same guardian
angel who kept me from killing myself in a car was on the job, 'cause
the whole sleeve ripped off, and all I suffered was shock and embarrassment.

I completed making that little hammer and it is still hanging on my home
shop wall. I can't look at it without remembering how lucky I was that day.

I've save a whole bunch of J.R. Williams' "Bull of The Woods" cartoons
in digital form. One of them is very OT for this thread. Lookee he

http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/lathe_dog.html

Jeff
--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."