When drills attack

[boytyperanma]

I was drilling holes through a cement wall with a rotory hamer. I was on a step ladder pretty close to the wall handling the drill like that was a little tricky. First hole went fine. On the second I got 3/4 through and the drill bound up. I had my face right next to the drill. It spun around and hit me very solid on my right jaw. I thankfully didn't knock myself off the ladder. I have a nice bruse on the side of my face like someone punched me.

Just a stupid move on my part.

[Josh]

Same thing happened to me when I was drilling 2 inch holes with a forsners bit and hit a bunch of nails. The right angle drill I was using had a lot of torque. Luckily I didnt get nocked off the ladder or drop the drill.

Speaking off.. I was doing my cousins house with the same drill. he was up the ladder and decided to lower the drill by the cord. Little did he know his dog was right below his ladder. Big goofy hound dog. He hit the dog right on the head and knocked it out. He felt pretty bad but the dog woke up and was fine. 2 weeks later the dog ran out in a 25 mph street and got hit. Was fine after that too :D

Josh

[Akita]

Most rotary hammers have a clutch to prevent tool/user damage in the event the bit binds or locks up(w/ rotaries most of the time means hitting rebar). My bosch 11224vsr"bulldog" has a clutch. What brand/model rorary were you using?????Curious????

[BHD]

Just an opinion here,
but if your using a "D" handle on a drill don't grip it with a death grip, hold it in such a way that your hand will release from the drill if it spins or catches,

there is no since in breaking your wrist,

If the "D" handles were closed with a light web of material, where you could not lock ones hand around the back of the handle it would save many many ER visits,

Just the ER visit will cost more than 95% of all drills, not counting additional treatment for the injury,

[Disaster]

I was drilling electrical path holes in 10" thick logs (log house) with a huge 1/2 Craftsman dual handled drill that looked a lot like this Hitachi. Had my chest pressed down on the D-handle when the bit caught. Funniest thing you'd ever see. Had the trigger locked. Spun me around 4 or 5 times...wrapping the cord around me till it ran out of extension cord and yanked the plug out of the outlet. Other than a bruised chest...and even more bruised ego...I was OK.


http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000056KZ7.01-A2N6NO8W19JCUN._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[Bob D.]

Disaster,

The first year of my apprenticeship I saw a fellow worker die from an incident such as yours. He was using the same type drill and his glove got caught in the chuck. Spun him around and threw him off the scaffold and he fell 25 feet to the concrete killing him.

[tbascom]

This summer I was drilling holes in concrete with a Hilti TE-76 ATC. Knowing the side handle for this drill was missing I used it anyway. While drilling adove on a ladder, the bit caught and the clutch of the ATC didn't even hold and spun around and knocked out half my front tooth. Went to the dentist and they glued it back on and its been fine since. I wish I took it in the jaw.

[Disaster]

Wow...that is a powerful lesson. Sorry to hear that. Most accidents seem to either be ignorance of good safety practices or sloppiness...especially at the end of the day when people are tired or in a hurry.

In the case of the drill I was just ignorant. I've been lucky with my stupidity...like when a branch I was cutting, with a chainsaw, snapped and swung around and pounded into me. I was able to hold on and release the chainsaw which fell 15 feet. I knew I was being stupid that time, but I was in a hurry and was too lazy to setup a new rig for that one last cut.

Everytime you take a chance, and get sloppy, you are stacking the odds more in the favor of injury.

I've learned to be much more conservative...maybe cause I seen or heard about too many instances like you mention.

The trick is to live long enough to gain wisdom.

[franklie]

when I was an apprentice plumber, I was responsible for putting in the wastelines under the direction of my journeyman.

I was using an extender bit with a 1 1/2" hole saw on a Milwaukee Hole Hawg. the bit started to get worn and bound up in a green stud. The torque of the drill and the speed at which it happened wrapped the drill motor around the stud (along with my hand). I surprised at 2 things: 1. that the 1/2" dia extender bit bent into a spiral and 2. that my wrist and arm hurt so much. I didn't break a bone but I did have bone bruises on the radius and ulna.

[The Wood Meister]

A childhood buddy of mine used to run a framing crew years back. One of his guys was nailing up stuff in the attic and had to do some climbing with the 16penny nail gun. He ended up putting it between his legs to switch hands and guess where the nail went when it went off.....Yep, right through his weenie. They took him to the ER and the doctor had somewhat of a laugh, along with the others. Jeff had to go to the truck to get some pliers out of the tool box for the doctor. I guess he learned a valuable lesson and also thankful it missed the "twins"!!

Mark

[Newman]

So I guess he was pissing in three directions... :p :p :p

[PLUMBER RICK]

after boring a 4'' hole under the concrete 20' long. i was flushing out the bore with the drill running full speed and not holding on tight to the "hole hawg". the bit hit the garage footing and the 3' long piece of 3/4'' pipe that was my handle on the drill came whipping around in slow motion right between the eyes. the pipe did not have a rubber grip on it and the open end sliced me between the eyes:eek: 7 stitches later all fixed.

worse part was this happened at my house. best part it was 15 years ago and it blends in with my wrinkles:) 44 years of wrinkles to be exact;)

rick.

[drtyhands]

So I guess he was pissing in three directions... :p :p :p

Awesome visual:D :D thanks Newman.

Twenty seven stitches down the left inside wrist when a timber wolf with a 2-9/16 self feed bit got a hold of some loose clothing I was wearing and couldn't let go of the trigger because of the contorted angle I was drilling at.

The neurologist was pulling on the tendons on my opened wrist to move my fingers to check tendon strength,it was like something out of the terminator movie.No arteries or tendon damage,extremely thankfull,I should not have full use of my left hand.

So many of my elders have tried to warn me.

In a flash of a second life can have new meaning.I also no longer go down into unsafe excavation conditions.

All my new guys get to see the scar their first day with power tools.

To the inexperienced,espescially the youngsters trying to please their employer or superior,slow down.You are going to get hurt,just try to keep the damage as minimal as possible.

:)

[Woussko]

Please everyone do yourself a big favor and download and read this manual. Milwaukee shows how to properly brace a HoleHawg, but this is good reading for users of any larger drill. If you think a HoleHawg is nasty, try a big 3/4" or super 1-1/4" spade handle drill. The torque they can develope will bust up about anything that gets jammed and they can rip your arms off. FEAR THE BEASTS

http://www.milwaukeetool.com/us/en/partpdfs.nsf/PDFView/E32AD3EF0C4B6FFF862570A400673387/$file/58-14-1700d6.pdf

[J-man12]

i have a friend who shot an 16 penny nail through a stud and fastened two of his fingers to it he just pryed his fingers loose wrapped them up and went back to work

[proplumb]

i was drilling overhead with a holehawg and a 4" hole saaw my first day working for a new company. the bit hit a nail and spun the drill around and got hit in the face. when i touched my burning lip i realised 4 teeth were through the skin and i could see them plain as day with my mouth closed, 4 years later i still have a full beard to hide the scars.

[westcoastplumber]

Same thing happened to me when I was drilling 2 inch holes with a forsners bit and hit a bunch of nails. The right angle drill I was using had a lot of torque. Luckily I didnt get nocked off the ladder or drop the drill.

Speaking off.. I was doing my cousins house with the same drill. he was up the ladder and decided to lower the drill by the cord. Little did he know his dog was right below his ladder. Big goofy hound dog. He hit the dog right on the head and knocked it out. He felt pretty bad but the dog woke up and was fine. 2 weeks later the dog ran out in a 25 mph street and got hit. Was fine after that too :D

Josh

Josh,

we love your twins
so cute:)

[westcoastplumber]

Same thing happened to me when I was drilling 2 inch holes with a forsners bit and hit a bunch of nails. The right angle drill I was using had a lot of torque. Luckily I didnt get nocked off the ladder or drop the drill.

Speaking off.. I was doing my cousins house with the same drill. he was up the ladder and decided to lower the drill by the cord. Little did he know his dog was right below his ladder. Big goofy hound dog. He hit the dog right on the head and knocked it out. He felt pretty bad but the dog woke up and was fine. 2 weeks later the dog ran out in a 25 mph street and got hit. Was fine after that too :D

Josh

Josh,

we love your twins
so cute:)

mrs.wc

[Ross Creek]

I had an interesting "learning experience" with a drill last week. :o

I was stepping off a step ladder (with my hands full of tools of course) and I stepped right onto the trigger of my holehog that I had left laying there. It had a nice big auger bit in it which instantly wrapped up on leg of my jeans. It stopped when I lifted my foot, but it stopped with the trigger right under my foot.
So there I was, one leg on the ladder, and holding the other leg up with a large drill dangling from it. Stranded & looking stupid. I had to yell for one of the other trades to come rescue me. No injury, just my pride.

I'm normally so good about picking up clutter in my work area too.......but this time I was thinking the job more than I was thinking the safety.

[Frankiarmz]

I had an interesting "learning experience" with a drill last week. :o

I was stepping off a step ladder (with my hands full of tools of course) and I stepped right onto the trigger of my holehog that I had left laying there. It had a nice big auger bit in it which instantly wrapped up on leg of my jeans. It stopped when I lifted my foot, but it stopped with the trigger right under my foot.
So there I was, one leg on the ladder, and holding the other leg up with a large drill dangling from it. Stranded & looking stupid. I had to yell for one of the other trades to come rescue me. No injury, just my pride.

I'm normally so good about picking up clutter in my work area too.......but this time I was thinking the job more than I was thinking the safety.

Good story and good heads up for everyone who uses power tools. Even cordless tools can get you. I'm real careful when cleaning up an area and wanting to carry too much at one time. Almost got hurt a while back when my arms were full and the trigger in my 18volt Ridgid got depressed, put things down real quick!