My first Cobra injury.. Any others?

[boxhead]

I have a few from days as a mechanic.

Only one proper one from the Cobra, My original quick bolts used to be big wood bolts, they had domed caps with no slot for a screwdriver or allen key,they did have a square molded into the underside to bite into the wood. To get them to sit flush on the quick jacks I had to remove the square piece from under the head.
I was doing this on a bench grinder, well I was pushing a little too hard and teh bolt caught the grinder and was ripped from my grasp.
Well my fingers did not go into teh grinder (I am sure you are all thinking that) but the threaded end of the bolt whacked the back of my third finger (not sure what that one is called) and it now has a scare that is earily like a bolt thread, and yes I did loose the nail.

Doesnt look like much but at the time it hurt alot.

Now for car injuries whilst being a mechanic.
Back in my 4th year as an apprentice I was working on a 323i Beamer (early 80's version) and tightening a hose clamp from underneath, I had teh car on a hoist and could only fit one hand through the small gap, I was using my left hand (I dont know why now as I am right handed) So I was pushing with moderate force as well as turning to keep the screwdriver engaged in the slot, well teh screwdriver slipped and my hand pushed up into the tight area, and in doing so the back of my hand scrapped over the tag end of another hose clamp, ripping the back of my hand open.
That took 6 stitches to close up.


Then I was replacing a ball joint in a VC Commonwhore, well instead of doing it properly I tried to take a short cut by not removing the lower control arm and using a press.
I got the old one out no worries then chocked the control arm so it would not go up, I placed the ball joint in its hole and found a socket that cupped the edge of ball joint.
Holding teh socket in my left hand I proceeded to whack the socket with a FBH, well inevitably the hammer missed the socket after a few blows (I was swinging hard as confidence was high I was hitting the target) My finger became the target and when hitting a finger that is between a hammer face and a control arm, let me tell you the finger is the first thing to give.
I hit it that hard that the finger joint "popped" out the side of my finger.

That finger gets very sore in cold weather now.

[750hp]

I couldn't sit down for a while after Customs bent me over.

[Blair]

Originally Posted by 750hp

I couldn't sit down for a while after Customs bent me over.

Hahahaahaa

Man don't I know that feeling! Well said 750hp

[acecob]

Back in the days of a mehanic I had my little cousin as an apprentice
he was doing something leaning into the boot of a car, a cabbie pulled up outside the workshop, there was a little downhill slope on the driveway he got out and the cab started rolling into the workshop, abo,my apprentice wasn't looking then I saw these two cars come together, I nearly died thought his legs were snapped in half so I ran over and pushed the cars apart, he looked at me and just walked away not a mark.

I could tell story about a bloke doing a clutch on a Escort Van working with car stands, he shook the car so hard trying to put the box back in the whole car droppeed on him lol but i don't have time now......... no It wasn't me neither

[OZVENOM]

An un named cobra owner trying to change a front spring popped the ball joint with his hand trying to hold the lower arm up . and found that holding compressed 600 lb spring is not possible and ended up loosing 1/2 of one finger and 1/4 of another .
A simple mistake with devastating results.
I learnt the same thing as a teenager working on the same type of suspension and sitting spread eagled on the drive nearly lost my willy and his two mates . That really got my attention. gaining experience can be painfull but you normally learn from it. do it once is experience do it twice is just plain stupidity.

oz

[Rob. Smith]

I'm so used to getting cuts and barks that I now regard a job well done as one that has blood on it. My biggest injury involving the Cobra was slipping and falling with the foot wedged between cobra suspension parts...broke three bones in the ankle. It was 90 degrees to the leg facing forward. ( It looked so wrong ) Twisted it back into the right position and went to hospital. It gave me three months off work to play with the Cobra. Funny thing it didn't hurt. Another weird thing... I was tidying up so "I didn't trip and break my neck" Lesson.....don't clean up.

[hogster]

Doing a main bearing change on a landcruiser once, lying under the car trying to put the main caps back on.

Put the main cap in position but couldn't reach the bolt, so I slowly took my hand of the bearing cap - it didn't move. I still didn't trust it. wriggled it with my fingers - it didn't move.

So I rolled to the side and turned back just in time for the falling bearing cap to turn half a turn and punch a hole into my cheek bone with the machined edge.

Worst part of it was knowing how stupid it all was......Doofus

[trularin]

I have the same problem as Gregg, I dripped all over the car.

My wife took stock in Johnson&Johnson.

Lucky, my blood is that thin easy to wipe up stuff.

[Zedn]

This has turned out to be an entertaining thread.

Here is a pic i took. Doesnt look that bad in the pic. But the left side of my nail that is sticking out is over the top of the skin. No skin is missing.

[Merv and Sharon]

What a list! And we are all skilled too! Imagine what amateurs could do ... My only Cobra injury was with the engine-less car and rolling it around the garage ... and over my toes. Hardly hurt at all. My wife loved the moment however.

[Wazza]

nearly lost my willy and his two mates .

Creedence Clearwater even did a song about them....Willy and the Poor Boys !!

[jcraigau]

No one ever told me about the force that those front ends explode with when you get down to the last couple of turns. Surprised the hell out of me and ripped the spanner out of my hand shooting it across the garage floor. Luckily it missed everything and all I got was a graze on one knuckle as it bounced off the garage floor...

The other side I was prepared for and was sitting on the cross member with the bottom plate facing down, as it got to the end all it made was a dull thud as it decompressed against the brick I had it on. Hopefully there won't be a next time!

[wetdog]

2 weeks ago I was cutting a piece of aluminum for the lower oil cooler ...had thee piece in the vice and was cutting it with a air shear , it was cutting like butter until the last 1/16 of an inch it hung up ....yep it finally broke through and I ended up slicing up my wrist. No stiches but I will ,and should have had my gloves on when working with sheet metal, the garage floor looked like an episode of CSI ...WD

[Mrs flatchat]

Nearly lost me left hand under a slab mill --long story -- you won't understand.
Bottom line is, you can sit back and sip Lattes and tell every one how economical it was by hiring a Qualified trades person to do the job properly.
They have liability insurance, they're qualified, they (specialists) have the gear, WPH&S etc etc. (when you find the right one) Get organised --you'll be better off in the long run
And for those that have a bit of bark off there digits -- its just a scratch, stop crying and get back to work-- ya pussies

Mr P

[Zedn]

They have liability insurance, they're qualified, they (specialists) have the gear, WPH&S etc etc. (when you find the right one) Get organised --you'll be better off in the long run

I was doing an OHS audit on a building site today in Sydney. They are a reasonably large building company and it was a $5m project.

I watched a guy using a metal cutoff saw to cut pipes for the fire system. He was using a drop saw with a cut off wheel and had no safety glasses. To protect his eyes he was operating the drop saw whilst turning his head and looking behind him . Seems he valued his eyes more than his hands! Not all companies have WPH&S in place.

[hodson]

Like most on this thread, I have many experiences, scars etc to remind me of the many scrapes that I have endured over the years. All of which have instilled the experience that I think I have today. The thing that frightens me is that I have spent many years accumulating this experience from real accidents and when I try to pass on this wisdom to my apprentices (fitters & machinists) they just look at me with glassed eyes and I believe they think that "I'm just a silly old man telling stories".
I'm also a safety auditor as well as an expert witness for the Coroner and Qld WPH&S. I see many workplaces and speak with many experienced tradesmen and they all seem to have the same problem. It seems when you are 19 you are 10ft tall & bullet proof, when you turn 30 you are a bit wiser but still trying to prove you are tougher than the 19 year olds so still takes risks, when you turn 40 you are really starting to learn but still think you are tougher than 19 year olds so still takes risks (because you can because you are experienced now) and then you turn 50, you suddenly realise that your not 19 anymore and accidents hurt a lot. You decide that it would be a good thing if you tried to pass on this experience to younger workers/apprentices etc. This is when reality hits you and you realise that you are just a silly old man telling war stories.
The moral of this story is that the majority of the young will only ever learn from their own experiences.
So just forget about being silly old men telling stories and go drive your Cobra's like young people try to but only silly old men have the experience to do.

Regards
Colin

[Zedn]

Interesting Colin, Sounds like we are in a similar game.

As for age.. did i mention i am under 30? (well for another couple of months).

Unfortunately i have just as much trouble with the old guys that are set in there ways as i do the young risk takers.

I think this thread has been benificial in reminding us that accidents happen and they happen quickly. Take care!

Regards
Liam.

[PoppyMod]

Here's my tale of woe...
Hi, I just new this subject would surface on day, and it did. Read on....
One fine spring day a few years ago, I'm getting my other ride (1967 EType Jag) road worthy. So, I'm changing the coolant. I have on my favorite sweat shirt (Verizon), from wince I retired in 2003 (after 35 years, and at 55 years young). I'm on the driver's side reaching across to touch the upper rad hose feeling for heat, thus the "T" stat is opening. While doing this I have to reach across the top mounted Alternator, which, took a liking to my dangling sweat shirt sleeve....Well what do you think happened next?
Well, the next thing I knew, I was in a battle for my arm with the alternator pully whic was trying to reel me in by the attached sleeve. Before I could pull myself free, the fins had dug the flesh from my are exposing the forearm muscle tissue. My Wife was out doing her real-estate thang, so there I was, bleeding, in slight shock, but thinking, I did win the tug-of-war with the pulley. It only ate the lower half of my sleeve! So, I gathered my thoughts looked at the fore-arm damaged and thought "this is far more serious for a band-aid application, so quite calmly, I drove the Jag back into the garage, Grab the keys to the caddy and proceeded to drive to the emergency room of the nearest hospital. Don't you know, I got every red light and even, was stuck behind a school bus for part of the way. My worse nightmare I was going into shock! But, I made it to to the E-room, walked up the the Triage nurse and gave her my story, seeing the blood dripping down my arm from beneath my tee shirt wrapped forearm, she sent me right back for a "look-see" . So, up walks a young resident, who takes a look at the exposed muscular forearm and says "you need a more experienced attendee" I immediately thought of the passage from JAWS! You know that passage, I think we need a bigger....! Well 33 stitches latter an a few months of follow-up, I'm good as new. To this day, 5-6 years later, I still have the scared reminder of a very stupid thing I did. Now I am armed (no pun) with a new mantra: "safety first", no baggy clothes, no jewelery, etc. when I work on my junk. BTW, the yellow tail in my avatar was the culprit!

[Merv and Sharon]

I fully agree Colin. Reminds me of an insulation scheme where people used foil and nail guns ...

[Rob. Smith]

OH & S ha ha ha. I have been working in the power generation industry for 90 % of my working life. I'm 52 and since they introduced mandatory wearing of hard hats I have belted my head on things numerous times....simply because the hard-hat prevents me from seeing hazards from above. We also wear glow in the dark clothing...doesn't make much difference when your are the only bod walking around at 2:55 in the morning.