stall

I did a stupid thing in my barn and ended up with stitches and a big bandage. I was wondering just what was the stupidest garage / barn accident committed by my forum
Buddies??? I don’t want to be the only guy feeling stupid. Pictures welcome.

Oh yeah, my latest bout with carelessness; I wanted to drill a piece of sheet metal with my floor drill. Of course I didn’t clamp the piece nor did I walk the 3 feet to my toolbox and get the sheet-metal drill; I just used the 60-degree drill already in the chuck.

To review, metal not clamped and split-point drill attached to high torque drillchuck easily results in spinning sheet metal with sharp corners, end result a large gash in wrist.

Kensmith

If ya hold the sheet metal with your hand, you won't slash your wrists! Hands heal a lot better and a lot less blood. Ask me how I know!

Hugo63

Putting a new ceiling in one of my garages this week and the plaster lift fell over....
Right onto my foot, only wearing sneakers so my right big toe is crushed

Xrays show squished toe and broken bones in the foot three-four weeks until I am back on top. Worst thing is I cant drive

Bill Irwin

As we used to say in German.. Passen sie auf. Which means in English Dumkoph. Glad it was not that bad. We all learn, someday maybe it will sink in. Bill.

prestige6

Here' one took my truck to a car show bout a month ago, Electronic ignition,crapped out about half mile from the show. Called a flat bed to tow home to my house.Pulled my 58 out of the Garage when we got there.Told the guy to back the tow truck up and winch it into my garage.I was standing on the drivers side the door for the truck was open and the cable snapped,the truck shot off the flat bed like a bullet,pinning me against my brick garage front,door bent all the way back launced me into the garage,ripped my watch off me tour my arm apart,cut my back arm and legs,then hit one of my vettes.Plus ripped my new car cover and screwed up my driveway.UPSET NO IN SHOCK!!! The driver asks me what to do.I told him to call his boss.I spoke with him told him I would talk to him Monday when my head cleared,I'm not one to Sue any one when I started to talk to him on Monday he started to give me a hard time,Until I Told him his driver almost killed me and my buddy who was with me was an eye witness and my neighbor also saw it happen.Told him to call his insurance get these cars fixed to brand new like I had them,IT wasn't an hour went by before his insurance called me told him I wasn't paying anything out of my pocket.Well they all fixed perfectly plus my driveway and car cover and watch. and now I'm working on the 66 Original big block I just picked up....

babylonvette

years ago i went to a wedding and yes there was booze involved , i let my girlfriend drive the vette home in the rain ,when i woke up a few hours later i saw the car in the drivway ,i went out opened the door and got in the car ,started it and put in gear ,i guess i was still a little tipsy cause it went right threw the back wall to the back yard i went back to bed figuring it was just a bad dream ,when i awoke in the morning it was still in the backyard

67L36Driver

On my back under my truck trying to line up the rear tranny mount bolt holes so I wedge my back against the trans and my right foot on the frame rail. (Yes, I'm only 5'-4" and limber) Give it a mighty shove and blow out my right knee. Orthoscopic surgury etc.

I have a porta-power but nooooooooooo......I can do it.

3JsVette

Not a personal story but a Hagerty Agent told me 90% of their claims happen in the owner's garage and are owner inflicted. Scarey huh? So don't feel foolish you are certainly not alone. As they say "it could always be worse".

59 navy

With my wife in front of my 59, I drove it up on ramps. Next I jacked up the rear end using the differential as a lifting point. Before I could get jack stands under the frame, my car just rolled right back down the ramps using the jack as a "third wheel." The car rolled over my wheel barrel and crushed it against my van. The van was dented and the wheel barrel flattened. My first thought was, "oh man, there goes 12 years of work to keep this thing original." I was lucky...no damage to the vette...just a feeling of being really stupid. Then there was the time that I burned rubber showing off in front of my wife. I hit the garage that time. Another Story. 59 NAVY

Jimbo64

played golf =lost two good *****-stepped on a rake in the rough where i spend a lot of time---grooming rake

KC John

Nothing bad happened with the Vette yet, but I did have an incident with my '55. I was welding a bracket for my exhaust system and started the interior on fire.

The car was on a lift and I was underneath it, so I didn't know it had caught fire until my M-I-L who was visiting came into the garage to call me for dinner.

By the time she came out, the top 5 feet of my garage was completely full of smoke. I didn't know because I was under the car.

$6,200 worth of damage to the interior. The whole thing had to be replaced because of smoke damage and fire.

I like my new interior, but there was nothing wrong with the old one. The lesson I learned is that the small fire extinguishers that hang on the wall and I carry in my car are only good for VERY small fires. Good thing there was a water hose hooked up in my garage.

obx2323

Drilling boost ports in my 125 MX bike. Drill bit broke remaining enters wrist at about 50lbs of pressure. No major veins hit but did knick the bone, TREMENDOUS PAIN. Not much bleeding. Gause and duck tape it up, finished the port job loaded up and went racing for the weekend.

obx2323

Sorry but....:ro fl:

stratplus

I guess now I will talk about it. I was going to post this when it happened so others would not get hurt and do the same stupid thing. But I thought well, who else would do this or who wants to listen to my acts of stupidity.

The exact same thing happen to me on my 60.

I came within inches of being run over. I drove my car up on a ramp, went in back and jacked up the rear to put stands underneath. As the car was up I started to go underneath to put in the jack stands. Like a bullet the car rolled down the ramp, I had to roll out of the way, the car proceeded to roll out of the garage, and into the driveway for about 5 feet. The car rolled straight, luckily I didn't have a car door opened otherwise it would have been ripped off, luckily I was in a position to quickly move out of the way, and luckily I didn't have the other car parked in the driveway as I usually do.

After this happened, I don't do a thing now without using 2 wheel chocks. Harbor Freight has some great rubber ones for $8 each. Part# 96479

Thanks 59 Navy for your post. I hope that someone other than you and I will learn something from this post.

emccomas

OK, I have all of you beat.....

About 8 years ago, I went out to the garage to back the 90 coupe out so I could wash it.

As I walked to the garage, I made a mental note to move my daughter's 2000 Grand Am, as it was blocking the exit to the garage.

I opened the garage door, got in the 90 coupe, and backed it right into the nose of the Grand AM. Fortunately no damage to either car.

I pull the 90 back into the garage, and moved the Grand AM. On my way back to the garage I see the set of Cosworth Vega wheels that I have been meaning to clean up. OK, why not now.

I move all of the wheels to the driveway and head back into the garage for the cleaning supplies. Then I remember that I was going to get the 90 coupe out and wash it.

I get in the 90 coupe, back out of the garage, and run over the Cosworth Vega wheels. One wheel is stuck under the car, so I have to jack the car up to get the wheel out from under it.

I got the wheels from under the car, and put them back in the garage. I then pulled the 90 coupe back into the garage.

Went back into the house and called it a day. It was now just 7 am.

I do, however, have an excuse for all of the above. I was on 60 mg of Prednisone a day, and had been on that dosage for months. Steroids and cars do not mix.

stall

OK, I have all of you beat.....

About 8 years ago, I went out to the garage to back the 90 coupe out so I could wash it.

As I walked to the garage, I made a mental note to move my daughter's 2000 Grand Am, as it was blocking the exit to the garage.

I opened the garage door, got in the 90 coupe, and backed it right into the nose of the Grand AM. Fortunately no damage to either car.

I pull the 90 back into the garage, and moved the Grand AM. On my way back to the garage I see the set of Cosworth Vega wheels that I have been meaning to clean up. OK, why not now.

I move all of the wheels to the driveway and head back into the garage for the cleaning supplies. Then I remember that I was going to get the 90 coupe out and wash it.

I get in the 90 coupe, back out of the garage, and run over the Cosworth Vega wheels. One wheel is stuck under the car, so I have to jack the car up to get the wheel out from under it.

I got the wheels from under the car, and put them back in the garage. I then pulled the 90 coupe back into the garage.

Went back into the house and called it a day. It was now just 7 am.

I do, however, have an excuse for all of the above. I was on 60 mg of Prednisone a day, and had been on that dosage for months. Steroids and cars do not mix.
======================================== ==========

OK, now I don't feel as stupid as when the nurse was bandaging me.
I know I'm prone to rushing and in the past acknoledged that by specifically excluding things like radial arm saws that given my inherent carelessness whould make me an amputee

MasterDave

Too lazy to unplug extension cord properly, yanked on it instead. Plug flys across garage and right thru the screen of my 48" rear projection TV! Still works fine though.....

Bluestripe67

About '85/'86 I was a member of the Ram Rods in Gaithersburg MD, we had a very large shop, but no lift. I had my '66 coupe front up on jack stands and I was under it checking the rod bearing for a noise. Had the remote starter in hand and hit it, OH SH_t the car was in gear and moved forward about 4 feet. The jack stands actually slid on the smooth floor and stopped after my car bumped into a '40 Ford. I moved faster than greased lightening. I was the only one in the shop then and had this gone the other way, I don't think I would writing this. LUCK!!! After that day I have taken safety for all things to a new level, especially in my own garage. Dennis

rayvaflav

I had a shop in an industrial park years ago, one of the types with the corrugated thin metal walls (remember this part of the story). I had just rebuilt the automatic transmission valve body in my 1959 Cadillac Limousine. You know what a 1959 Cadillac looks like from the rear, don't you ? (also remember this part of the story). Well, the oversize late '50's behemoth was running as I was adding the transmission fluid I must not have had the shift pawl in park and....Let's just say that the car must have been in reverse and as the transmission fluid was added the car started to slowly move in reverse. I couldn't get around the door to hit the park brake so I "held onto" the core support to keep it from backing up. Something did finally stop the car. The back wall of the shop. Now remember, this is a thin metal wall and the fins of a '59 Cadillac are metal and in no way thin. The outside of the shop had two perfectly "fin shaped" outward bulges with no damage to the car, only my pride.

This happened around 20 years ago and I have since moved back to the same town. I think that I'll go by this week and see if the symmetrical pointed convex dents are still there !
Ray

mashinter

It is possible, and I have the scar on my wrist to prove it...