Re: What have been the worst home handyman accidents you've had,or seen so far ?

I posted a question earlier about the feasibility of using two step

> ladders and a board for scaffolding... I think I've changed my mind > about trying that ;)

I missed your question, but I've done that many times. I don't recommend it unless you're really careful. On most surfaces you'll still want to either:

1) nail a brace to the wall you're working on, C-clamped or whatever to one or both of the stepladders; or 2) prop the stepladders with a long 2 x 4 from behind. I put a stake in the ground, nail the 2 x 4 to it, and clamp the 2 x 4 to the stepladder. I use two braces, one to each stepladder.

Using stepladders that way has long been a way to set up a low scaffold, but you'd better have good balance and not try to get too high with it. It does work, however. Using the braces slows the whole process down. It's a question of how you feel about broken bones.

I've also built homemade scaffolds and it's a real PITA, in my opinion. I use 2 x 4s for the verticals and 1" electrical conduit for diagonals. Never count on those diagonals to handle compressive loads; use two, crossbraced, so the load is always in tension.

The slickest solution I've used is two regular ladders with ladder hooks for a scaffold plank. I'll go up about ten feet with that, but no higher. Again, you want to nail a brace to the wall. Use a short plank or else make sure you're using genuine scaffold plank, which is undressed and thicker than framing planks.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress
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I'm with you. It's scaring the pants off of me.

I'll tell you one thing: I'm going to make darned sure I keep my hair cut short...

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

"Ed Huntress" wrote

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a deputy sheriff. He used to have a handsome head of hair. Until the night he got involved in an altercation with a crazed, very intoxicated woman. She grabbed his hair in a death grip and they could not pry her loose for several minutes. By that time, she had torn much of his scalp loose from his head.

The resulting injuries were very painful and took awhile to heal. They shaved his head before they did the surgery to reattach his scalp. He had to keep it shaved during the recovery. It has never been more than a half an inch long since.

He said if he retires or takes up another line of work, he might grow some hair agin. But as long as he is a law enforcement officer, he will go with a buzz cut.

Reply to
Lee Michaels

'Sounds wise to me. When I hear these stories I have to wonder why some do-gooder group hasn't done PSAs on television showing how your scalp can get peeled off if your hair is long and it gets caught in something.

Spiro Agnew would have liked those.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

on 9/10/2007 2:11 PM Ed Huntress said the following:

My hair has been cut so that it is no more than 1/2" long. The one tool that I use that I have the most respect for (read scared of) is the radial arm saw, especially when ripping. Somehow, the blade over the table is more respected (read scared of) than one under the table. The others, I'm just merely careful.

Reply to
willshak

That's a very good idea. . .uh. . .just tell me where you live and I'll take all those dangerous things away for you. No charge at all.

Reply to
no spam

They're in a dark and dank basement where no civilized person has been for

20 years. Even the meter-reader asks me to go read the meter for him.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Yeah, I've got to stop wearing those necklaces and neckties when I'm running the lathe, too. And the charm bracelet...

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Short hair, no rings, no necklaces, no body metal, no ties, no wristwatches and I have all my fingers left ;)

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

Reply to
nick hull

That's all very well, but what about injuries sustained from electric hair clippers, especially when used in bathrooms?

Owain

Reply to
Owain

Mine are cordless.

Reply to
willshak

I don't know what a buzz cut is, but I suspect that it is a cut of the hair that can not be grabbed/held.

Most police officers in the UK have the same short cut, for the same reasons.

Dave

Reply to
Dave

My uncle went to the hospital with 109 bruises and 16 contusions. What happened, you ask? He hit a golf ball in a tile bathroom. yuk jo4hn

Reply to
jo4hn

But what about the ones that were on your right hand?

Reply to
Joe Pfeiffer

Back in the early to mid 70's when I was living with my grandparents and had grown my hair to about my belt loops, Grandpa and I went to the store one evening. Saw the ugliest looking person you ever saw. Grandpa asked him, "What happened to you?" The guy answered, "I got my ponytail caught in the lathe at work!"

Yikes

5 minutes later and several aisles over, Grandpa told me, "I ain't gonna ever tell you to get your hair cut again."

Didn't have long hair very much after that.

Reply to
user

Man, these stories are piling up. My 1943 edition of _How to Run a Lathe_ doesn't say anything about it. d8-)

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Mine has not been that long in a couple of years now. 1/6" on the sides, uh, even less on top. Eliminates a lot of problems and is easy to style in the morning.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

G'day all, While at Tech, doing my apprenticeship we where warned never to wear jewellery, including rings in the work shop. (Although some of the instructors wore ties). To drive home the message several large posters of photographs were displayed. One that I've never forgotten was of a finger with a wedding ring and a long piece of string like stuff protruding from where it had been torn from a hand. This was a tendon that had stayed attached and pulled out from the shoulder. No use or very little left in the blokes arm. My wedding ring was worn on my wedding day and has stayed in a box at home ever since.

regards John

Reply to
John B

A kid at the highschool where a friend's wife teaches always wore baggy track pants to school - regimental. Thought he was IT.

One day he somehow got his drawstring caught (wrapped around) on the wood lathe. Got a few good wraps of the track pants wound up too. They got the lathe stopped in time to save "the boys" - but JUST. Didn't faze the idiot at all - - -

Reply to
clare at snyder.on.ca

(((snip)

Well, being in high school, he probably hadn't reproduced yet. So this counts as interfering with natural selection?

aem sends...

Reply to
ameijers

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