Unknown dangers in the shop

The wife joined me for a cuppa coffee in the shop this morning, while I was getting ready for the plow match in Virginia Beach. As she got up off of her shop stool she started walking towards the garage door to the kitchen, and caught her elbow on my 6 inch work vise. Well guess what,Not all stars are seen in the night sky. That is why I leave the handle loose.CM

Ouch

Thats one of the few things I remember from shop class some 50+ years ago - always loosen your vise when youre done so it wont hurt so much when you hit it!

Nice vise.

I wish the hitch on the back of my truck would do that

Gotta remember that.
My vise is mounted about crotch level.
Double OUCH.
Richard

If that would have happened in the factory I used to work in, The safety Nazi's would have made you put a guard around it so it didn't happen again. It didn't matter that you couldn't use the vise, just that it's safe.

Vice is going to be loose unless you leave what you were working on in the vice,if a person is careless enough to be running into to things in a shop a vice will be way down on the list of things that will butcher them up.

Drawbars too.

A good friend of mine was using an acetylene torch, had an aerosol can nearby, possibly WD-40. Anyhow, he brushed the flame by the can and it exploded, he died from the burns. The last few years before I retired it was forbidden to have any aerosol cans near any welding/cutting.

There's a Flip side to that situation. Years ago Dad had both his tractors, My Super H and His M parked in a 2 stall garage right next to the road with the doors facing away from the road, and towards the house. Dad wakes up about 2 AM, hears something running, idling outside. It's a car backed up in front of that garage, backed up to the locked gas barrel. Without turning any lights on or making any noise, squeeking doors, etc. He sneeks down into the attached garage, finds his 12 gauge on the gun rack, finds his last 12 ga shell, opens the entry door next to the garage. He was hearing someone stir around in the tool boxes on the tractors, he sees reflexions of a flash light looking around in the garage with the tractors in it. He loads his shotgun, aims it out across the road and fires, the gunshot echos across the barnyard, takes 5-10 seconds for things to quiet down, He hears one guy loudly whisper "Lets get the He-- Outta here!" He hears some rustling around, tools hanging on the inside of the garage doors jingling around because the door moved when someone ran into it. Then Dad hears the unmystakable sound of a FARMALL M swinging drawbar moving about an inch when it hits the pin preventing it from moving any farther as it's hit solidly by someone's shin. The other guy managed to get in the car, the guy in the garage had to crawl out of the garage, and into the passenger side of the car, the driver floored the gas pedal and pulled the car into gear leaving two trenches in the crushed rock up to the edge of the blacktop where the black marks started. The black marks were 70-80 ft long, an at about 50 feet there was a streak of oil between to two black marks.
Dad grew up neighbors to the County Sheriff when they were kids. Dad called him later that morning just in case someone filed a report that some crazy old farmer shot at them while they were changing a tire or something. He never had anyone snoping around in his buildings again.

So trailer hitches, even long extended exhaust pipes, or drawbars are good things. I had a long side exhaust pipe on my F250 diesel, exited ahead of right rear tire. I put about 250,000 miles on the truck with that exhaust. I gave it to SON, HE ripped the entire exhaust off from the turbo on back, put a larger downpipe on, full 4" stainless exh all the way back to the rear bumper which he had to remove my rear mudflaps, my DMI chrome 10" drop bumper, my spare tire would not have fit even if I could have found the hanger. So he spent almost $1000 because he bumped his shin on that exh pipe. I walked past the truck in my tight quarters of my shop for almost 20 years and never touched it!

This top tool box drawer will put you on the ground its about forehead level. I have hit it one time you can bet I never leave it open anymore...

Once in a blue moon I bump a vice on one of my work tables its elbow level..

Russ, that's a valuable lesson!

How many times have I welded with the anti-splatter can right there in reach.

Not sure what's in it, but the propellant is probably flammable.

I have the remains of the front mounted cultivator angle iron bar on our BN. It sticks out about 24 inches from the side of the tractor that I use as a bumper bar. I have walked past it in a tight spot going in and, more than once coming out have hit my thigh on it a hand length below the hip [ always the right leg]. One would think after the first time I would learn.

I put my vises where there is minimal walk by traffic.

That whole episode in terms of the farmer would not fly today. Today the farmer would be sent the bill for the thief having to go to the doctor for his shin. Also, the farmer would get a summons to appear in court for unlawful discharge of a weapon.

In high school days of industrial arts class you you cranked down a vice and the handle was standing out and UNCLE LOU caught you doing that it was and AUTOMATIC 3 wacks from the board of education , and he was NOT genital about it . only took one kid a year to keep EVERY BODY in line .

I think you are looking for the word gentle.

Does VA. Beach still have the soap box derby track that it had back in the 70s/80s?? I was stationed at Damneck VA. back in the 70s

Chuck, i am not trying to critical,because i got the utmost respect for Machinists,but that vise doesn't swivel, so it really doesn't have to be on a corner, i can see how it could grab somebody headed for the steps

Things happen so fast. I was using my 4 inch grinder. It became unplugged. I set it down, soon as I plugged it in, the grinder, under full power now came scooting across the shelf, and proceeded to put a gash in my finger, before I could move. Like you said unknown dangers in the shop. Stan

You talking about Mt Trashmore?

That'll learn her to stay out of the MAN CAVE!!! HeHe.
Loren

I would imagine anti-splatter is somewhat safe, you have to have it handy when your welding. I think some propellant's are non flammable, maybe Freon based?

I don't think I've seen a Ridge Tool vise before.
If it's anywhere as good as their pipe wrenches, it's got to be a good one! It looks very well built.

They have not used the Derby that track since 1999. As a matter of fact , it no longer is there. Over 85000 people a year came to visit it and literally ran it into the ground.CM