Common Basic Mistakes That Beginners Should Avoid

[Ben Hoover]

I take a shot maybe once every week or two.  Take metformin twice a day, if I even look at white bread, white rice or such the wife gives me the stink eye... no fried foods either.  I get allowed a hot dog once in a while.

   I'll adjust.   I keep my blood sugar as low as I can, and, as long as it is 140 or lower, I won't take an insulin shot, but if it goes over that?  Yep.  Shot time.  
  

   Well, it is the weekend now for me.  Tomorrow I will give the sand mai to damascus a go.  See if I can't balance out my latest acquisition, a Champion 200 blower and rivet forge that seems to want to fall over every time you look at it funny, and possibly clay it.  Never used coal before, and all I can get around here is anthracite, but I don't mind.

   Gonna do the cat litter liner in it and give her a run.

[ThomasPowers]

I'm a bit of a brittle diabetic and was misdiagnosed as type two; till it became evident that my pancreas was NOT making any insulin and then it was an "Oops! You are an adult onset type 1" (Or as the endo I went to said it: "INSULIN NOW!")  My latest Endocrinologist wasn't so sure until my C-peptide test came back as 0.1 where 0.9 is "normal" and 0.2 is considered Type 1 diabetic.  Very refreshing to see that Doctors are like IT people; each one has to repeat all the tests already done and documented before they will believe the results!

[USANewbie]

Good thread, thank you.

[Jaems32]

Great write up. Tip#1 was definitely the one i wish i really took seriously when i started. Took a blade out of the forge, struck it once, slipped out of my tongs and flung right in my eye. No ppe on, i felt like a moron (still do) so much so that i waited hours to call anyone for help. It was unbearable.     Luckily i have full vision in both eyes still. I shut my eye just in time. Few days recovery, minor blurred vision for a couple weeks, and nice burn mark across my eye socket. I fully admit i was being an idiot of the highest degree. But i learned from it. Now i wear a full cover face shield as soon as i ignite the forge.

[Frosty]

Nahhh, That's not first degree idiocy like say eating sardines in bed while camping on Kodiak Island or walking in a bad neighborhood with $100 bills hanging out of your pockets. 

I give that stunt a seven, maybe a six if I were feeling mean.

We all pull dumb ones now and then, join the club. Mistakes are human, learning from them is intelligent. Glad you're intact.

Flying debris can get your eyes behind a face shield even if it's a carom shot: Chest, inside of face shield, eyeball. I wear safety glasses in the face shield for another layer stuff has to get past. My every day trifocals are safety poly carb lenses with side shields.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

I'd say most of us have done stupid things before---and most of the rest are liars!

Getting help ASAP can prevent a lot of things from going from bad to  REALLY BAD!

I still tell the tale of trying to work when I was sick and having a grinding accident and having to wrap it up in the proverbial dirty shop rag and go upstairs to the kitchen and tell my wife "I've had a grinding accident, can you drive me to our HMO's urgent care?"

Did it leave you a good pirate scar?

[Torin]

My most recent stupidity was getting familiar with a miter saw and had a kickback into my hand.  I saw had a gash on a finger that was bleeding, wrapped a couple of blue shop towels around it, and went from the garage to the house.  Opened the door, told my wife, "I had an accident.  It is bleeding.  Nothing has been removed.  Can you please drive me to the ER?

(Didn't even need stitches, they were able to glue it.  But you feel real stupid having to say that to someone.  But not as stupid as not saying it.)

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

The last time I pulled off something like that was ruffly about 10 years ago, 

I woke up early one cold Sunday morning and walked outside to split some kindling half asleep… and ended up splitting my finger instead, 

I wasn’t planning on going to the er, I just went in the house to clean it up and stop the bleeding, but my wife went haywire when she saw the blood so to the doctor we went..

30 minutes… 3 stitches… and $3000 dollars later… they had my my finger all pretty looking again…

I think I paid everyone’s wages for the day at that little hospital in thirty minutes for trade In 2” or 3” of string  lol,

It’s been years an im still sore about that subject lol, 

 

 

[George N. M.]

The really dangerous situation is the one where you are doing something that you have done many times before without any problems.  It is very easy to get casual ab out something like that when in reality it is as dangerous as the first time you did it.  It's not quite "familiarity breeds contempt" but more "familiarity breeds casualness."

In industrial situations, factories, miles, steel mills, construction sites, etc., the two most dangerous people to be around are the newbies because they don't know the hazards and the old dogs who have become very casual about what they do because they have done it so long.

It's that moment of inattention or casualness such as TW's use of an axe while still sleep groggy that will result in undesired consequences.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Daswulf]

Yup, a moment of inattention can cost a Lot. 

I was carving a wooden chain and as usual was tired just waiting for some varnish to dry on another piece. Was trying to pop the link and wasn't as attentive as I should have been on the pressure and where that blade was pointing. Ended up the wood popped and the one inch blade went through my left pointer finger just under the bone and into my middle finger. It severed the tendon and nerve in my pointer finger. I immediately grabbed my hand. Said my words, looked at it and tried to wiggle my finger tip and it wouldn't move. I knew it was bad. Wrapped it up in the old dirty red shop rag and called my brother to drive me to the er. Ended up with just a few stitches that night and a number for a hand surgeon specialist. 

After a surgery, a lot of therapy and months off work, I was able to play guitar again. It still is affected by cold.

It only takes a split second. 

[George N. M.]

The trick is being able to recognize the moment of fogginess or inattention as a moment of danger.  It's easy to recognize the bad potential of a loud power tool and be careful.  It is harder to be aware of how much damage a hand tool such as a knife will do with just a small slip.

Having a certain amount of fear in your heart keeps you more situationally aware.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Daswulf]

Even more so After an event. Key is to get others more situationally aware before their first. 

Sometimes we get lucky. Sometimes we get taught a hard lesson. 

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

10 hours ago, George N. M. said:

It's that moment of inattention or casualness such as TW's use of an axe while still sleep groggy that will result in undesired consequences.

Lol, it’s been a decade but I no longer split wood, operate a machine or do anything else in the morning till I’ve had a cup of coffee and a hot shower, 

like y’all said it was something I’d done thousands of times before and I got complacent and it cost me $3000 but at least I still got my finger and I didn’t have to get surgery an physical therapy like Daswulf so i just call it an expensive lesson, 

On the topic of being aware of your situations and surroundings,

At my repair shop I work on and with all manner of machines and power tools that can be a lot scarier than a hatchet, and I never know what someone else has done to rig up something to get by, or got lazy and sat something we’re it shouldn’t be,

I could tell many stories from over the years, but one that happened here awhile back was especially chilling to me,

I had a fencing crew bringing in some heavy diesel powered welder generators to get repaired and they had brought one of their big tractors to unload the machines,

I had chained up the anchor on the welder and was guiding the welder as they lifted it out of the truck bed, an was hyper aware of everything going on between me the tractor the truck and the welder, 

He had gone has high as he could but still needed a few inches to clear the truck so he signaled he was gonna roll the bucket back, all was going well the welder cleared the truck bed we were moving slowly and then I heard a clank above my head and I turned loose of that welder and jumped out from underneath the loader, just in time to dodge a 4’ bale spear that rolled off that bucket and was now sticking in the ground we’re I had been standing a moment earlier, 

Everyone froze until we made sure it was safe to proceed and we finished the job,

it seems a careless worker had set the bale spear on the bucket instead of putting it back we’re it belonged, and when the other guy grabbed the tractor he didn’t know it was setting there, so when he rolled the bucket back that last little bit it shifted an fell, had I not been paying attention I could have been skewered, 

Anyways long story short, my point is Daswulf is right, situational awareness is key to safety no matter if it’s just one person running a power tool, splitting wood, or a crew moving machinery, 

[Dax Hewitt]

10 hours ago, Daswulf said:

Yup, a moment of inattention can cost a Lot. 

After a surgery, a lot of therapy and months off work, I was able to play guitar again. It still is affected by cold.

My business partner was holding a wooden worktop whilst his brother cut it to size with a hand held circular saw.. He repossessioned his hand to stop the off cut falling and breaking the wood and the result was 3 fingers on the floor and a thumb split down the middle.  6 months before he came back to work and 2 fingers plus the thumb look and work perfectly but the saw went through the knuckle of the index finger so it's now fused crooked to assist picking things up, it's also shorter and a bit wizened, has zero feeling yet hurts like the devil when cold. 

It's basically worse than useless, it's a hindrance for someone who works with his hands but the NHS refuse to remove it because they spent a lot of time and money trying to fix it. 

[Daswulf]

That is really rough.  Circular saws sure will eat fingers if you put them in the path of the blade. 

Its sad his finger is actually now a hindrance. 

[ThomasPowers]

I crushed the last joint of my pinkie flat once.  They told me they could splint it and it would be pretty; but not work. Or they would splint it one day and then break the joint open and if I would keep working it would not be pretty but it would work to a degree. NOT fun but it does bend now, hates the cold and looks a bit odd.

[Daswulf]

Better to bend and look odd than not bend and look fine. Wouldn't look right not bending either really. It would look more distinguished while drinking a cup of tea tho.  Either way it would probably not like the cold any more. 

[Frosty]

On 12/28/2021 at 3:23 AM, TWISTEDWILLOW said:

it seems a careless worker had set the bale spear on the bucket instead of putting it back we’re it belonged, and when the other guy grabbed the tractor he didn’t know it was setting there,

Scary moment Billy, true words! AND the careless guy who grabbed the loader was too lazy to spend 60 seconds doing a walk around where he would've seen the bale spear. Yes?

Accidents are rarely the result of one thing going wrong, they're usually a chain of failures that lead up to it.

Frosty The Lucky.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Yes I agree the other guy could have done a walk around his machine and that would have prevented it,

People get in a rush and get careless,

I read an article about a airline pilot who got sucked out of a cockpit when the glass sucked off, and after FAA did their investigation they found a series of things that led up to the failure, and it all started back in the maintenance shop with someone in to much of a hurry to read the upgraded manual that would have told them that the bolts they used were wrong, then the guy that was supposed to inspect the work didn’t do his job then…. 

[Frosty]

SHOULD have done a walk around. It's not a big thing unless you don't do one. If the same guy has been running the equipment all day then not doing a walk around every time he starts it is excusable but not if s/he's taking over from someone else.

I watch "Air Disasters" on the Smithsonian channel, that accident is an episode. The program goes to real depth following the search and analysis of clues.

Part of the problem of the windshield blowing out was the notice to change screws was the written notification from the company. It was part of a general write up rather than a notice to make the change. The mistake went further back than that though and ultimately resulted in the company that made the screws changing the designation of the correct ones so they were easily distinguished from others.

It was quite a list of mistakes, oversights and luck. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Those guys are always in a hurry, I’m pretty sure they don’t ever do a once over until a machine don’t start or quits moving, 

I’ve worked on their skid loader, tractor, chop saws, pipe drivers, chainsaws, welders, atvs ect… pretty much anything with an engine they have lol, 

 

 

[bluerooster]

Never, never, ever, use a dull knife.  If your knife hasn't been honed to a scalpel sharpness, sharpen it before you use it.  A knife is harder to control the less sharp it is.  Lack of control, causes slippage, slippage causes cuts, and stabs. Same with wood chisels. They should be sharp enough to shave cross grain with ease.

[Frosty]

Ditto that Bluerooster!

On occasions the problem is what you're cutting but that's really rare. My worst blade accident resulted in 6 stitches in my left forearm. We were opening cardboard boxes in the yard at work. They'd gotten wet and my utility knife didn't slice, it grabbed and slipped. Sooooo I stabbed myself in the arm. 

And yeah, I was cutting away from myself, stabbing myself was out of the question, couldn't happen. THEN I noticed my box knife had blood on the blade when I went to touch up the edge on the ceramic sharpening stone I carried in my day bag. 

I'm staring at the knife wondering where that came from and one of the other guys on the crack seal crew told me I was bleeding. Yup, sure enough I had a free flowing wound, not pumping but bleeding heavily. The muscle was pumped up good, the blocks of crack seal material weigh IIRC 20kg. each and we had several pallets to get out of the cardboard.

The humorous bit after I sent someone to a first aid kit in the truck for some gauze pads, was when I tried to get the foreman's attention. She was standing chatting with another crew member while she didn't need to supervise. I called her, she said "not now" and waved her hand at me. I called her again and she replied rather testily while she turned to glare. When she saw my blood soaked arm and bloody side her face turned from red to ashy and her knees got wobbly. I yelled at the guy she was chatting with to catcher her if she fainted. 

I got a ride to the ER, a couple stitches and the rest of the day off. Not bad for pulling a bone headed move. 

From then on we slit the tape with the knife on the ground and pealed the box. No more cutting the boxes. When it got wet the cardboard tore and wadded up more easily than a razor cut it. 

I still can't imagine what motions I went through to make that knife come back at me but it did. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

If the knife is dull, you’re more likely to cut yourself. If the knife is sharp, the cut will be more clean. 

[Dax Hewitt]

On 12/28/2021 at 3:50 PM, ThomasPowers said:

I crushed the last joint of my pinkie flat once.  They told me they could splint it and it would be pretty; but not work. Or they would splint it one day and then break the joint open and if I would keep working it would not be pretty but it would work to a degree. NOT fun but it does bend now, hates the cold and looks a bit odd.

Unfortunately that's not an option for Ian. The saw removed too much of the joint. 

They actually worked on it again 2 months ago, took the bones out and ground them on an angle and put them back and now his finger is permanently bent in the position it would be if you picked up a pen with your thumb and first finger so though it still gets in the way its far more useful than it was. 

On 11/15/2021 at 4:44 PM, ThomasPowers said:

Getting help ASAP can prevent a lot of things from going from bad to  REALLY BAD!

 

At 50 years old I just learned this lesson. 14th of March 2021 I woke up at 2am with pain in both arms, being a bloke I took pain killers and went back to bed. After a few days of the wife nagging at me I went to the doctors. 

Long story short, lots of tests over the next 14 months that resulted in part of my heart is dead and I have 2 stents in one of the main arteries on the left side. According to the surgeon the artery was that blocked I'm lucky to be alive. 

Had I dialed 999 (UK version of 911) when it was happening all the tests and the operation would have been done within 24 hours rather than 14 months as a non urgent out patient. 

To be honest though it was quite amusing on the day of the angiogram when they found and fixed the block. 2 mri scans said everything (other than the dead bit of my heart) was fine and they only booked the angiogram because of my family history and even the surgeon on the day told me he wouldn't find anything and it was a bit of a waste of time. 

Whilst he was poking about inside me he suddenly said "Oh" I said that doesn't sound like a good Oh and he showed me on the screen what he had found, 3 of the 4 major arteries were fine and you could clearly see the contrast dye flow through them, the bad one was passing like a kiddys drinking straw that they have screwed up and chewed on. 

Moral of this story, if something isn't right get it checked out.