We ALL have things we know better than to do, and we do them anyway. Handholding that piece on the drillpress instead of figuring out a way to clamp it is probably the most common and can be disasterous. It is that time of year where I could no longer put off replacing the handles on my wheelbarrow. If I must be a beast of burden, I wish to do so with a wheel and some handles, not on my shoulder. I removed the old handles and had to grind off some of the bolts since they were so corroded they would not budge. This went well and didn't take all that long. One of the old handles was good enough to use for a template so I simply drilled through its holes into my new handles. Everything is going so smoothly, I should have known trouble was right around the corner. My nut and bolt assortment was just a tad bigger than what had been in there before but close enough for what I needed. I began assembly and founf that the metal pieces needed to be drilled out just a touch. OK, I chucked up a 3/8ths bit in my drill (first mistake) then I held the piece with my free hand and began to drill. All of this was a REALLY bad idea. The bit grabbed and wrenched the piece I was holding in my free hand. An 18 volt cordless drill has a surprising amount of torque, especially when you aren't expecting it. In my case, I was lucky. My wrist is a bit sore, the drillbit snapped off but didn't hit any of my body parts, which means it drew no blood. I was fortunate. The instructions for power tools warn you about dangers, they just can't protect us from ourselves. When you are using your powertools, don't take shortcuts, use them safely. The possible outcomes of my carelessness could have been much, much worse. Keep that thought in mind when you consider a shortcut. Eyes, fingers, hands are worth much more intact, than laying on the shop floor. Be safe in your shop. When you KNOW BETTER, don't do it.
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Last update : 22-07-2008 09:17
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