Stupid things you've done in the workshop! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: IanJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 02:57:58 pm
content: Well I pushed the boat out and did something completely stupid in the workshop today.........so bad I had to stop what I was doing and just.......laugh!Sitting at the solder station fixing some pcb's..........then the wife comes in with a coffee and a bit of sponge cake for me. I was laying down an SMT part so couldn't turn to greet her, so I just said thanks and carried on......fixated at what I was doing with the pcb at that moment.Now it's easy done guys.......sponge cake and solder station sponge are a very similar colour........yup I half-glanced over to the solder sponge, or what I though was the solder sponge and..............well they were side by side guys.........oops!Ian.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 03:48:43 pm
content: Meh. Easy mistake IMHO... unless you then ate it.

author: Iwanushka
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 04:52:27 pm
content: My first tought reading first part was that you ate the real sponge.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 05:49:36 pm
content: Just as long as you did not mistakenly pick up the cup of coffee, and instead pick up a cup of mineral oil instead. Then take a sip, and swallow before your taste buds registered.Just saying.....

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 06:02:40 pm
content: I was cleaning something with methylated spirits in the shed and my dad walked in lighting a cigarette. Woosh! No damage or injury other than to underpants.I have a healthy respect for solvent vapour and ventilation now.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 07:13:16 pm
content: Quote from: MrSlack on April 18, 2016, 06:02:40 pmI was much younger and did that, but spray on skin is great, worked wonders on the burnt hand. Just had to use around half the can to keep the numb sensation going for the rest of the day. Next day red and slightly swollen, but I was able to hold a pen at school.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 07:17:58 pm
content: Tried cleaning my workbench with neat acetone, it started dissolving the surface. For now anti-static mats cover the blemishes but I plan to buy new worktops.

author: stmdude
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 07:20:03 pm
content: I was very young, and needed to use one of those pen-sized butane torches for something (long time ago).It was out of butane, as usual, so I took the refill bottle (same as you used to refill lighters), and tried to refill.Torch still wouldn't work, so my beautiful mind came to the conclusion that I should check if the refill bottle "worked".I pressed it against my leg, and gas came out. Felt a bit cold, but so-far, so good.Tried to refill the torch again, and when it came to trying it, out comes the lighter..One click, and my leg burst into flames.. "Some" panic ensued, but I put myself out pretty quickly..Didn't leave a physical scar, but my mind is now very much aware of how long gas can linger in an area..Yea, I wasn't a very smart kid sometimes...

author: canibalimao
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 07:20:36 pm
content: Quote from: Iwanushka on April 18, 2016, 04:52:27 pmGlad to know I wasn't the only one.Once uppon a time I was soldering something and needed a "third hand tool" to help me holding a PCB while I had the soldering iron (yes, just an iron plugged in the wall socket, not a station) laying on the table. I was so focused on the PCB that I picked up the soldering iron from the iron part instead of the plastic part. Yes, it did hurt and I just figured out the stupidity when I felt my fingers *a bit* hot (almost melting)...

author: IanJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 07:42:23 pm
content: Quote from: Iwanushka on April 18, 2016, 04:52:27 pmHe he he.....nope, but I did eat the sponge cake though.......after cutting out the burnt bit!Ian.

author: Cubdriver
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 08:17:53 pm
content: Quote from: canibalimao on April 18, 2016, 07:20:36 pmWas anyone there to take a stock image photo?-Pat

author: Len
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 08:58:09 pm
content: Quote from: Cubdriver on April 18, 2016, 08:17:53 pmWell, he's supposed to make videos of the stuff he works on... oops sorry I was referring to IanJ's original post.

author: LazyJack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 09:13:10 pm
content: I was repairing something, removed a large component, but some solder remained in the hole. So, being lazy to reach for the solder sucker, I opted for blowing out the solder. But since there was a large copper area around the pad, I had to heat it with the solder iron. Yes, you guessed it, I took a deep breath, and put my lips near the PCB, forgetting that the solder iron was already there. It did hurt, but the hardest part was to come up with all sorts of explanations, so that I didn't sound as a dumb nerd, who burns his lips quite badly with a soldering iron.

author: brabus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 09:49:06 pm
content: 1) "Why does this solder wire not melt? Let's crank the temperature up. mmmh, seems fine. OUCH!" --> Actual wire instead of soldering wire.2) hehe... n00bies always fail to connect the classic LM317, luckily I did it one thousand times... DOH!" --> wrong pinout in my mind - happena EVERY time!3) So... Negative voltage rail... have to check the caps... seems fine... BANG! --> old but gold

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 11:01:21 pm
content: Many moons ago I was in an EE lab on autoformers. The procedure is to turn the output nob to the lowest output, connect the primary to the switch and then turn it on so we can read the output voltage on the meter.Two tables away, this guy followed the instruction but connected the secondary to the switch and switched on the autoformers.It has to be the loudest bang I have every heard, following by this autoformers bouncing off concrete floor.Everyone was frozen in time, no screaming, no yelling, no running, just complete silence, and lots of blue smoke.The fellow was so tramatized by the experience that he switched major after that.BTW, that autoformers was like 10 to 20 pound of pure copper, and the size of a Mellon. We were incredibly lucky that everyone walked away uninjured.I learned a lot from that experience. So much so that I am a huge advocate of whimmpy power supplies,

author: Skimask
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 11:12:00 pm
content: Working on my '98 Nissan 200SX a few years ago, changing out the timing chain set, sprockets, guides, etc.Was installing the front lower timing chain guide when the wife walks into the garage with the phone and I have to take a phone call.Get done with the phone call, finish the timing chain job.Fast forward 2 days and I'm taking the car out for a test drive with the wife following me in another vehicle.8 miles into the test drive, I'm pulling away from a stoplight, upshifting into 3rd gear, the engine goes BANG and dies. Coast to a stop, try to restart...hang my head in shame.Rewind 2 days when the wife walked in with the phone...I was installed the front lower timing chain guide, specifically in the process of threading the 2 bolts that hold it in.I didn't torque them. They were only hand tight.When I opened the engine up again, I found 2 broken timing chains, 3 wrecked timing gears, and found 2 uninstalled wrecked bolts from the front lower timing chain guide laying next to the crank sprocket that had wrapped themselves between the sprocket and the chain. In addition, as this particular engine is an 'interference' engine, I found 4 bent exhaust valves.Moral of the story... Dunno... Can't blame the wife, can I?

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 11:19:59 pm
content: Quote from: IanJ on April 18, 2016, 02:57:58 pmI never buy grey hookup wire for a similar reason. It looks too much like soldering tin!

author: Mr.B
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 11:40:52 pm
content: Many years ago I was using a scalpel to remove some particularly stubborn and tough silicone from a PCB.I looked down and it went through my head “You bloody fool. You are going to stab yourself in the hand”.So I put the scalpel and PCB down on my workbench and leaned over to grab my pana-vise to hold the PCB.I then inadvertently knocked the scalpel off the workbench.Utilising exactly the same laws of physics that determines which way buttered toast lands on the carpet, the scalpel fell directly vertical and stabbed me clean through the foot in the soft tissue between my big toe and its neighbour.Extreme pain… Followed by… Extreme pain.Since then I have had one simple rule about scalpels: If it is not in my hand it is in the special holder I made that is screwed to the wall at the back of my workbench.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 11:52:46 pm
content: I used a thin metal-tipped screw-driver to try and adjust the focusing pot on an old oscilloscope CRT high voltage board while it was still powered on. I somehow accidentally touched something else with the screw-driver, saw a spark and heard a nice "pop". I am sure I damaged the pot and a few other components. The CRO still powers on but the display focus is now quite out of calibration and I'll have to test every component on that board and see what was damaged.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2016, 11:58:13 pm
content: And the old classic of welding something, get distracted......pick it up, ouch that's not cold yet.Done that a few times, should have learnt that trap by now.

author: peteb2
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 12:02:38 am
content: Reminds me of theonetime i brushed a spare new 16pin DIL i.c. off the bench. Immediately i holstered the soldering iron, backed my chair out and away from the bench as i looked below me. No sign of the device so i launched myself out of the seat and down into a crawling pose on all fours. For all of the next two seconds the i.c. was nowhere to be seen then crunch... a feeling i never had in my life or ever experienced.That was kind of sore to say the least as i rotated to bring the 'attacked' knee into a position to view. There perfectly mounted deeply in a knee cap was the i.c. all 16pins. For another two seconds i thought the pins would be folded over and just scratching into the skin. I tried to pick it of.... but it wasn't having it... I had to stand find a small screwdriver and LEVER the thing out of knee-cap tissue, all pins were still perfectly straight!Nothing more than a small band-aid sorted things and yep, the i.c. soldered in ok and the circuit worked perfectly! From that day forth i opt for the process of keeping all parts in tray or container so they can't slip off the bench!

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 12:12:30 am
content: Quote from: Mr.B on April 18, 2016, 11:40:52 pmI've not done exactly that but I've dropped enough hot, heavy or sharp things that I now have a reflex to jump backwards and pull my hands out of the way.What I have done with a scalpel...Cutting taped together circuit diagrams to size - a stack of several so a firm pressure on the scalpel was necessary. Proper cutting mat, purpose designed steel cutting rule, nice sharp fresh blade (blunt blades are actually more likely to slip because you need to use excessive force to cut cleanly). So everything hunky-dory and I'm good to go. What I forget to do was check that all the finger I was holding the cutting rule down with was fully behind the edge. Thus I neatly trimmed about 1.5 mm off the tip of my middle finger. Short loud Anglo-Saxon words were used with abandon. The good news is that being a nice surgically clean cut it healed quickly and well.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 12:14:46 am
content: Another trap for young players; one of the worst cuts to my hand was from a carefully honed HSS cutting tool in my lathe while mounting work in the chuck. Blood everywherebut hardly felt it happen.Moral; loosen the tool post and rotate sharp tools away from the chuck when mounting work.

author: peteb2
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 01:16:30 am
content: Another idiot moment in my career: The TV cameras i work on have a magnesium-alloy body. Oneday the theory was put forward there wasn't any magnesium and that the bodies were simply just ordinary 'muck-metal' pot-metal diecast aluminum-alloy....There's a high rate of knocked around kit when it comes to filming TV News and that includes the cameras. I had a few bits of cracked bodywork lying on my repair bench (kept for the small attachment screws etc that might come in handy)....So i snapped off a smallish thin piece of the metal about 1/2"x1/4" long and nipped it in the old needle nose pliers. The min-propane gas torch i use to make heatshrink tubing do its thing came next and i applied the flame to the alloy chip, concentrating the flame-tip to the sharpest extreme edge of the sample.Instantly the sample was melting so i had to move it so it to remained in balance in the flame and then it began to turn into a large 'furball' which i could paint bright red with the propane flame. Then suddenly there was a small pop and up came the incredibly bright light of burning magnesium that illuminated the entire workshop with an equivalent column of smoke as the furball was consumed.... My colleagues weren't that impressed, concerned about the smoke but they all looked into the bright white flame.....As all the comments came loud and fast, the next person to walk into the workshop was the boss and here i am, pliers in one hand a white flame blazing on the tip.... Yeah. He was not that impressed either.... funny that... but i think he accepted my BS about checking for magnesium content....After he left no body could work for half an hour because they all complained of having being dazzled with an after-image in their field of view now and that if they copped arc-eye they'd be extra annoyed not to mention the smoke!....

author: med6753
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 03:24:10 am
content: Back when I was about 15 or 16 years old I decided I wanted to view Lissajous patterns on my scope. Didn't have a function generator or any other AC source so decided to use mains voltage. One side to the vertical input, the other side to the horizontal input. I didn't realize that I had swapped hot and cold on each side. As soon as I plugged in the last cable there was a loud pop and a flash. And some magic smoke. Luckily one of the cables opened up and there was no other damage other than I needed to change my shorts.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 04:59:37 am
content: While it's been mentioned a few times, I use a fair amount of tinned copper wire and have fallen victim to grabbing it in place of solder more than once.I am the king of transposing things. I once built a cable three times before getting it right. Keep in mind it only had three wires.I think around the age of 10, I knew that an X-acto knife was very sharp but I don't think I learned how much damage a Dremel tool could do with the right cutter until my 40s. So what is the right cutter to use if your goal is to inflict the most tissue damage? From my experience, this one:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dremel-1-4-Straight-Routing-Bit-/401103232285?hash=item5d639d9d1dStarted playing with TVs as a kid. Dad knew the dangers of the picture tube and showed me how to discharge them. Fast forward, I was working on a scope in my 20's. It had a tube which I discharged. While working on it, I ended up having to pull the tube and touched the tube. The secondary discharge was enough to burn a small hole in the end of my finger. I had failed to learn my dad's lesson of secondary discharges.

author: radar_macgyver
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 05:24:45 am
content: When I was 12, I got a couple of prismatic NiCd cells. Had seen cut-away drawings in science books, so I decide I'd cut one open. With a... chisel. Third hammer strike caused the chisel to cut off a part of my thumb. Still have a bit of a scarFast forward to a couple of years ago, trying to measure the cathode current of a pulsed Klystron. The panel meter is in milliamps, so I figured I'd use a good ol' Fluke 117 in current mode. I forgot that this transmitter's duty cycle is 0.1%. The current pulse blew the fuse, and now I had a multimeter at -100 kV. Lucky for me, I decided to use the tilt bail instead of holding it in my hand.Quote from: tautech on April 19, 2016, 12:14:46 amMy new rule with the mini mill is to always remove the tool before positioning the work. Those end mills are SHARP!

author: MarvinTheMartian
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 05:41:25 am
content: When I was a young teenager I didn't have a fresh D or C cell battery (non-rechargable) and needed one for something or other.So I thought I'll just charge it...Two wiresStrip both endsSit battery on one endPlug each wire into wall socket (A & N)Brush the top of the battery with the other wire 'to charge'...BANG...Luckily fuse blew and battery didn't explode.Surprised I made it through childhood!

author: imidis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 06:30:51 am
content: De-soldering a component that needed some extra heat, my focus was more on what I was doing rather than where my finger slipped to on the iron. Funny with the temps, you don't really feel it as it burns pretty quick. I do have feeling back in that spot now.

author: wkb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 08:39:12 am
content: A curl of soldering wire making its way into one of the mains outlets I have on the bench. Of course connected to Live, never to Neutral. Very unpleasant surprise to say the least when I picked up the spool of soldering wire.

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 08:47:22 am
content: Quote from: wkb on April 19, 2016, 08:39:12 amI rather like UK sockets for this - never an issue as the live/neutral ports are always covered if there is no earth pin inserted.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 09:59:46 am
content: Get one of those child-safe distribution strips. It requires both pins of the plug to be inserted together for the safety covers to open. Takes a little bit more effort, but it's significant more safe when your playing with loose wires a lot.I once asked the intern if he'd removed the mains plug from a machine we had to move, the plug didn't fit the hole in the wall since it was put on later. So we had to remove the cable from the machine.He said yes, he unplugged it. I unscrew the mains terminals in the device, and a big spark when I pulled the cable out of the sockets. B16 MCB's do still create a big spark.Always check if the wires are deadyourself.

author: Messtechniker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 10:08:13 am
content: While happily heat shrinking a piece of heat shrink tubing,the storage box with the remaining pieces of heat shrink tubingaccidentally remained in the way of the hot air blast therebyshrinking almost all tubing pieces I had.Stupid me....Yours - Messtechniker

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 10:37:27 am
content: Was playing with a large electromagnet, in a steel shed, Hook up to power and the thing makes a B-line for the wall, and didn't exactly stop, had a nice dent in the wall from that,

author: TinkerFan
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 02:43:15 pm
content: I am kinda scared by any kind of smoke, so I do many things under the fume extractor. I once had to shrink some heat shrink (what a surprise), but I had no hot air gun. So I got out the lighter and lit it. Well the extractor did not only suck in the air and fumes, but the flames as well. And I had a burning filter with air blowing over it.At least we found out that the fire alarm wasn't working anymore, but those charcoal filters don't burn, they smoke like a (old) VW(If you consider that they are made out of carbon, that seems logical, but at first you are quite surprised)...

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 03:25:31 pm
content: Mains leads all hanging on a peg next to my bench, the usual method of retrieving the correct one was to plug it in to a mains socket on the bench and then run one's hand down the cable.Until the trainee had needed a bare wire mains cable and chopped the figure eight socket off the end.And then when he'd finished, put the cable neatly back onto the peg.Fortunately the bench was on an isolation transformer and the burns soon healed.Not my mistake but...Back in the day Compaq computers used a large Tadiran Lithium primary cell to maintain time, date, BIOS settings etc. These cells were plugged into a four pin header with a missing location pin on the motherboard and corresponding blanking pin in the battery connector.Unfortunately the connector was very similar to the one used for fan power on the self same motherboard.Once we'd put the fire out and decided that the recipient of the surprisingly loud reminder wasn't actually having a heart attack...(it took about a week for his and his bench neighbour to regain their hearing, for the record it sounded like a gunshot without ear defenders)

author: peteb2
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 03:45:34 pm
content: My career path into electronics was fostered by a local TV-HiFi repairs shop owner way back when i was a teenager in my last years before leaving school. He did anything and everything from installing the latest stereo systems into brandnew cars, electric fence systems used on farms, installing RT gear into logging and long haul trucks.... even fixing those new fangled colour TV sets that had all just come onto the market.He was very keen i learned as much about electronics as possible and was always showing me the fundamental process and then working through a solution to make an effective repair after understanding what was causing any kind of fault. He actually paid me well too which was great but i had to promise him i would never ever try and make a living as a repairman because as he said, soon people will just throw their gear away for new. Go get qualified, get with a big company, travel the world was his constant mantra to me...One Friday afternoon i arrived after school and the owner was really frazzled. He'd a lot of things all being needed to be done for customers to pickup before the weekend and he was doing his best to finish the lot. That's where i learned rushing could make bad decisions and then an accident.There was a big old valves (vacuum tubes) B&W TV set with a highly polished wooden cabinet that had been a big repair going by the tray full of dead parts (for the customer to see) placed ontop. The set was sitting on one of the workshop trolleys having a soaktest and the customer arrived who immediately noticed that the on/off volume switch still needed a new knob!My employer asked me to grab the tray of spare knobs under the bench and see if we could match something up. I found the exact perfect one but oh dear it was not going to fit as it was for a much smaller diameter shaft to mount onto. No problem said my employer we can drill it out.... To this day the images are so clear in my mind. He pulled the small electric drill off the shadow board and clamped it into the wood working vice of one of the workbenches, selected a twist bit the same diameter as the TV set's on/off shaft, loaded it into the drill chuck and began it running.... Next he picked up the knob and really carefully held it to the tip of the spinning twist bit. Things for the next 2 seconds were ok as the brass began to be drilled out so he kept going and it appeared it was almost complete when suddenly 'chomp' that drill bit hard, real hard into the brass and the next thing i saw it was right through and out the top of his hand !!!!....Believe it or not his only words were "little help needed"...I was able to reach under with the chuck key and, release the twist bit (all 1/4" diameter) and the customer took him to the A&E at the local hospital drill bit included and dripping blood... Turned out he most incredible thing was that he'd missed all tendons and bones but had clobbered a few nerves. It healed fairly quickly too. He had a wee chat with me a couple days later and after thanking me for helping him out pointed out how easy some dumb thinking can really mess up your day if you chose to rush into a task without planning it through.. something i still watch for even today...

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 04:02:48 pm
content: The story with the drill proves something which I heard during first aid classes. If you're stabbed with something and it looks like a serious wound then it's essential that you leave the object in place. Form a ring bandage around the wound and head off to the Emergency Department where the doctors will x-ray it and then remove it under a controlled environment.Why?Whatever stabbed you is plugging the hole and if you pull the object out you could lose a lot of blood. If the wound has damaged an artery or a vein then you could lose ALL of your blood if the thing is pulled out.http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-a-Puncture-Wound

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 04:18:27 pm
content: Quote from: Jeroen3 on April 19, 2016, 09:59:46 amHad an extension cord with a dodgy end. Decided to replace the socket. Was sure I had unplugged the cord and used a utility knife to cut the whole molded assembly off the end of the cord. Lots of sparks and noise, but the circuit was broken before the circuit breaker blew.Message. Always check if the wires are deadyourself.TWICE!

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 04:43:52 pm
content: Met my ex-GF on an internet chat while sitting in my "workshop". Does that count?

author: wkb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 07:08:59 pm
content: Or this one: tried to discharge a Metz 402 flash gun capacitor using (what proved to be..) a 12V halogen bulb. That bulb actually exploded like a mortar grenade. Something like 400VDC duh...What was I thinking.. probably I wasn't......

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 08:48:03 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on April 19, 2016, 04:21:01 pmNot sure if it was a defective breaker or if I was through the wire and gone before the time-current spec was passed. It was a light duty extension cord and I was through it in under a second, including far enough away to extinguish any arc that might have formed. No burns or anything, just a very startled person.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 19, 2016, 11:40:07 pm
content: In my office, I have dropped a server and a big UPS on bare toes. When using the old Rat Shack desoldering iron, I have reached across it and contacted it with my forearm more than once. Done the same with a portable butane torch. I always solder with shorts on-'nuff said. I have touched, accidentally, my bare leg with the hot metal end of a hot air gun-----twice. The first scar went away after a couple of years, the one I got Thanksgiving week is still very visible. I repaired power supplies on ELO touch screen monitors that were built into kiosks, meaning the backs of the monitors weren't covered or protected. The repair part was easy but, inevitably, when lifting up the powered monitor to see if it worked, I would place a finger on the small transformer that powered the touch screen. They burn small, neat holes in the fingers-did that way too many times. There has been much other stupidity over the years, the above is the most memorable.

author: Radio_Fan
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 12:12:21 am
content: Hello--A dropped IC landed pin side upward, inflicting a 16-pin dual-inline puncture wound in a friend's girlfriend's unshod foot.Much drama ensued.A fallen blob of hot solder can melt its way through a plastic (nylon) sock and lodge itself between one's foot andthe inner side of one's shoe.Accidentally leaving a key in a drill press's chuck demonstrates centrifugal force when the press is switched on.Never attempt to grab a soldering iron in mid-fall as it rolls off a workbench... especially if the ironhas reached operating temperature.When troubleshooting an antique radio that includes liquid-filled electrolytic capacitors,be aware that flipping the chassis upright to its normal operating position can cause ageyser of hot electrolyte to erupt from the capacitor's vent... Old Faceful, anyone?73-- be careful Out There!

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 10:52:57 am
content: Soldering in shorts is one thing (been there) but never, ever arc weld in running shoes. Blobs of molten steel melt straight though the synthetics, and then into the top of your foot. A running shoe can be pulled off pretty quickly, but not as fast as you'd like.Another fine piece of 'wearing shorts was a bad idea' stupidity was the time I was installing PVC cable ducts in our partly built house. Up on a ladder, using a hot air gun to bend the pipes while threading them through the structures. It takes a while to get the PVC pipes bent right, so the hot air gun metal nozzle has plenty of time to heat up to 'chrome going purple' temperature.Resting the air gun on the top of the ladder while not in use was a bit dodgy but at least I'd thought one thing through - to prevent it falling to the floor and breaking if I bumped it, I had the power cord looped up over a rafter. I bumped the air gun, which then swung in a nice arc, ending with the nozzle impacting my inner thigh.Left a remarkably neat crescent scar, which took years to fade.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 11:04:27 am
content: I always keep food and drinks away from the soldering station.That being said, I usually have a bottle of water to wet the sponge, this time there was a bottle of IPA also there. They got mixed up. Well, it is better leave the room and vent it than get drunk by IPA vapor.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 11:05:40 am
content: Reminds me when urgent arc welding repairs were needed on a piece of heavy plant, large rods, 250+ amps and a big piece of recently red hot chipped slag fell down my gumboot (Wellys) and burnt the shite out of the top of my foot.tautech was hot foot dancing all around the shop(I don't dance)Took some weeks to heal.Moral; when welding wear overalls or long trousers with the ends over the top of your boots.

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 11:08:29 am
content: Welding is one of those things I get someone else to do.The guy who I usually get to do welding has a big blind spot in his right eye where one day he said "fuck it, I won't bother with a visor".

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 11:20:14 am
content: A bit of welding flux chipped off from a fresh arc welding job fell into the pocket of my jeans, unfortunately the pocket is only lined with thin cloth so the pants had to come off in short order, my father standing nearby looked at me - didn't say anything - didn't need to. The air was a bit blue.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 11:21:55 am
content: Quote from: Radio_Fan on April 20, 2016, 12:12:21 amNot a drill press - a metalwork lathe ... but it was in high school.One solid BANG as it hit the tray under the bed and ended up just laying there, just as if I'd put it there. The teacher was at the other side of the classroom and didn't notice exactly what it was or where it came from. Nobody was injured and nothing was broken, so nothing was said. It took me a minute to work out what had happened and I then realised how bad it might have been if the chuck key was higher up and was flung out into the classroom instead of downwards into the tray.Never had any issues with power tools since.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 12:03:09 pm
content: Today lathes have a safety cover that snugly covers the chuck. If you open the cover to access the octagonal bolts with the key, the lathe won't start.Too many students kept shooting the key around the room.

author: DTJ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 12:54:55 pm
content: You've no doubt seen this lathe "accident" video.There's no gore just a lesson in torque.

author: Richard Head
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 01:24:43 pm
content: Total lack of sympathy on my part.

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 01:26:07 pm
content: Advice: don't google images for lathe accident.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2016, 01:37:25 pm
content: Quote from: MrSlack on April 20, 2016, 01:26:07 pmBlood and gore upon the floor......and me without me spoon.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 12:14:32 pm
content: Quote from: tautech on April 20, 2016, 01:37:25 pmNo spoon, you need a fork for the chunky pieces.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 12:20:49 pm
content: You know Dave's video about how not to blow up your scope? Well I did one of those things with probably close to 100 amps at 12vdc. I connected the ground/probe the opposite way as what I wanted, by the time I realized the PSU was already on it smelled very funny. Thankfully the scope is ok, but not the probe.

author: Seán
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 03:48:41 pm
content: Working with a pressure pot, and I didn't realise someone had changed the pressure setting from psi to bar. So, I thought I was increasing to 20 psi, when I was heading towards 20 bar. Made quite a loud noise when the rubber seal in the lid gave out.Seán

author: Cubdriver
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 04:46:18 pm
content: Quote from: Seán on April 21, 2016, 03:48:41 pmGood thing it was just the seal that gave out! That must have been an "excuse me while I go change my shorts" event. Sheesh!-Pat

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 06:00:31 pm
content: Walked In ....

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 06:29:50 pm
content: Well, just today I used an 25 Watt 1 Ohm resistor as current shunt for a 5A CT to have something to see on the scopecorder. Which is fine for a short while.But I kept it running for over a minute, at 7A, without heatsink.For anyone not familiar with typical 25 watt resistors, they look likethis. They create a loud bang when overrated and the contents turn into a bullet. Oh, and the smell....

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 06:37:31 pm
content: Plugged a flourescent lamp starter direct across the mains. I wanted to see it glow. I was around 9 at the time.... The dog vanished almost as fast as the starter, and all i found of the metal cased starter was the burnt remains of the base.Another time I dropped a hand drill, and found out that it can actually go entirely through your foot without pain, at least at that time.

author: FireFlower
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 08:31:24 pm
content: Wasn't me but somebody at University's electronics club decided it is good idea to try measure plasma cutter output voltage with bench multimeter. Well good news was that plasma cutter worked but measurement unit didn't survive 20kV input. One dead Fluke 8000 into WEEE

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 10:22:54 pm
content: Seeing the plasma cutter reference reminded me of something that happened to a friend in university. A small theater company had arranged for a electrical engineering student to make them a solid state lighting controller. Back then the ticket was to use an SCR. Theater lighting is fairly high power and the designer chose to heat sink the SCRs with large 1/8 inch aluminum plates placed vertically in a large box. The plates were probably 10 to 12 inches square. Several channels, one plate for channels, alternating phases.Now for the dumb part. My friend decided to troubleshoot a bad channel and used a nice large metal Phillips screwdriver to remove the top cover. Then dropped the screwdriver. It burned most of the way through the heat sinks before the breaker opened.

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 10:33:56 pm
content: In high school physics class, my friend brought his multimeter in as part of demonstrating something or other we had built, I don't even remember what it was. But it was on a breadboard. Someone asked something about what else you can use the multimeter for, so he was like, you can measure the voltage at wall outlets, and proceeds to set the thing on AC 200 volts and sticks the probes in a nearby outlet. Forgetting that in order to connect to the breadboard circuit he had 2 pieces of wire wrapped around each probe with the ends bare to stick in the board. 120VAC through some #24 phone wire makes for a nice instant flash as it vaporizes.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2016, 05:25:29 am
content: He did one thing right. He used the probes as fuses, as many cheap meters still do.

author: Seán
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2016, 10:17:49 am
content: Quote from: Cubdriver on April 21, 2016, 04:46:18 pmBig time! There was a few minutes of "well, that could have ended VERY badly". Needless to say, I always check the settings nowSeán

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2016, 11:55:28 am
content: Quote from: Jeroen3 on April 21, 2016, 06:29:50 pmI've got some of them. 25W 2 ohms RS ones. That's my afternoon amusement sorted

author: DTJ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2016, 12:41:27 pm
content: Quote from: Seán on April 21, 2016, 03:48:41 pmHey just out of interest what do you use the pressure pot for?

author: Seán
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2016, 05:29:41 pm
content: Quote from: DTJ on April 22, 2016, 12:41:27 pmI work for a company that makes sensors for the automotive sector and I was testing the output of a new sensor at various pressure settings.

author: DTJ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2016, 12:57:53 am
content: Ok, that's interesting. I thought you might have been using one to push epoxy encapsulant or something like that.