Perhaps we should have an interesting DIY injuries section?

[YorkshireMidge]

.....for this, I will submit a succession of semi circular shaped bloody scrapes running down the inside of my forearm, looking for all the world like a large animal with claws had taken a swipe.

This was a lot of years ago when I first got a place, and some pointing needed sorting above our front window. I didn't have a proper mortar rake, so I just put a stone cutting disk in my angle grinder and set to work. That wasn't a terribly good idea, esp. up a ladder in a T shirt. Then I committed the cardinal sin of taking my hand of the steadying handle for a second, when I then clipped the edge of a brick, throwing the grinder clean out of my other hand with such force and speed, I don't think I could have avoided it even if I'd been on the ground.

It hit the inside of my bare left forearm with the disk largely flat, and spinning at umpteen thousand RPM, and bounced down my arm taking off some interesting shapes of skin with the disk edge as it did so, before falling to the ground below.

I can still picture myself climbing down that ladder shaking like a leaf, spattered with blood, and wondering how the hell I got away with it so lightly.

So, TWO hands at all times on your angle grinder if you're using one for any reason, an correct tool for raking out grout.

 

[DaveHerns]

Photos, please!

 

[EddieM]

.....for this, I will submit a succession of semi circular shaped bloody scrapes running down the inside of my forearm, looking for all the world like a large animal with claws had taken a swipe.

This was a lot of years ago when I first got a place, and some pointing needed sorting above our front window. I didn't have a proper mortar rake, so I just put a stone cutting disk in my angle grinder and set to work. That wasn't a terribly good idea, esp. up a ladder in a T shirt. Then I committed the cardinal sin of taking my hand of the steadying handle for a second, when I then clipped the edge of a brick, throwing the grinder clean out of my other hand with such force and speed, I don't think I could have avoided it even if I'd been on the ground.

It hit the inside of my bare left forearm with the disk largely flat, and spinning at umpteen thousand RPM, and bounced down my arm taking off some interesting shapes of skin with the disk edge as it did so, before falling to the ground below.

I can still picture myself climbing down that ladder shaking like a leaf, spattered with blood, and wondering how the hell I got away with it so lightly.

So, TWO hands at all times on your angle grinder people

I don't think this topic will go down too well. Sadly we had a regular contributor on here lose his life when using an angle grinder. Just be safe folks, injuries aren't amusing. Sorry I know that comes across very Meldrew'ish.

 

[YorkshireMidge]

I don't think this topic will go down too well. Sadly we had a regular contributor on here lose his life when using an angle grinder. Just be safe folks, injuries aren't amusing. Sorry I know that comes across very Meldrew'ish.

Sorry, didn't know about the contributor. But I was making a serious point with the posting, not putting it up for amusement. It really was an incredibly near miss and I know it. Kick-back on an angle grinder unleashes huge forces I would scarcely have believed, and there are many documented cases of terrible and fatal injuries. The most recent was a just the other week, where a bloke was hit in the eyebrow with a grinder after a kick-back. He survived that, but it didn't half make a mess.

 

[DaveHerns]

A 9" angle grinder has got to be the most dangerous DIY tool.

 

[OwainDIYer]

So, TWO hands at all times on your angle grinder people

And use your third hand to hold on to the ladder?

 

[Chud]

There's a thread on another forum I frequent that has the title of 'Injuries (not bad, but bad enough)' - I think this is probably what the OP was aiming for!

For my part the worst I've done was down to a combination of tiredness and a stanley knife:

11pm, I'd been working on ripping out an old kitchen all day, it was cold and we had an aluminium framed window that was missing it's plastic shim to close the upper sash tight. I thought I'd just shave a bit of wood off the edge of a plank to wedge in there. I got the stanley knife in one hand, held the plank in the other and cutting away from me started the cut, as it stopped getting deeper without thinking I reversed the blade cutting into the end grain which of course let go promptly while I was exerting force - causing the knife blade to hit my index finger on top of the plank.

I knew it was a bad cut that'd need stitches as I could see the bone...however I soon learned I'd also severed the tendon on top of the finger (used to straighten it) - the feeling of a severed tendon moving under your skin is pretty nauseating btw! I got the use of the finger back but it's still pretty stiff in comparison to the rest of them. I still to this day can't work out why the hell I reversed the cut the way I did???

 

[phatboy]

There's a thread on another forum I frequent that has the title of 'Injuries (not bad, but bad enough)' - I think this is probably what the OP was aiming for!

For my part the worst I've done was down to a combination of tiredness and a stanley knife:

11pm, I'd been working on ripping out an old kitchen all day, it was cold and we had an aluminium framed window that was missing it's plastic shim to close the upper sash tight. I thought I'd just shave a bit of wood off the edge of a plank to wedge in there. I got the stanley knife in one hand, held the plank in the other and cutting away from me started the cut, as it stopped getting deeper without thinking I reversed the blade cutting into the end grain which of course let go promptly while I was exerting force - causing the knife blade to hit my index finger on top of the plank.

I knew it was a bad cut that'd need stitches as I could see the bone...however I soon learned I'd also severed the tendon on top of the finger (used to straighten it) - the feeling of a severed tendon moving under your skin is pretty nauseating btw! I got the use of the finger back but it's still pretty stiff in comparison to the rest of them. I still to this day can't work out why the hell I reversed the cut the way I did???

That story is deserving of it's own thread in this section!

 

[Brigadier]

I was trying to cut the cable ties that we're holding the mud guard to the down tube of an old mountain bike.
Predictably, the knife slipped, and went lengthways through my middle finger, halfway down through the nail as well.
That smarted a tad......

 

[Chud]

That story is deserving of it's own thread in this section!

It was back in 2006 - I think that was before I discovered this place!

 

[foxhole]

My greatest achievement was paralysis from neck down while decorating, yes just painting.Luckily only lasted 3-4 mins , and 4 days under observation in hospital.

 

[Chud]

My greatest achievement was paralysis from neck down while decorating, yes just painting.Luckily only lasted 3-4 mins , and 4 days under observation in hospital.

Did you fall off a ladder or something or just move the brush the wrong way??

 

[foxhole]

Did you fall off a ladder or something or just move the brush the wrong way??

Stepped up onto a short footstool, but forgot I had installed a shelf near ceiling and hit it on the way up, compressed spine, instant paralysis, though the tin of paint landed right side up and brush on my chest so made no mess. Took four paramedics to get me down stairs.

 

[chappers]

.....for this, I will submit a succession of semi circular shaped bloody scrapes running down the inside of my forearm, looking for all the world like a large animal with claws had taken a swipe.

This was a lot of years ago when I first got a place, and some pointing needed sorting above our front window. I didn't have a proper mortar rake, so I just put a stone cutting disk in my angle grinder and set to work. That wasn't a terribly good idea, esp. up a ladder in a T shirt. Then I committed the cardinal sin of taking my hand of the steadying handle for a second, when I then clipped the edge of a brick, throwing the grinder clean out of my other hand with such force and speed, I don't think I could have avoided it even if I'd been on the ground.

It hit the inside of my bare left forearm with the disk largely flat, and spinning at umpteen thousand RPM, and bounced down my arm taking off some interesting shapes of skin with the disk edge as it did so, before falling to the ground below.

I can still picture myself climbing down that ladder shaking like a leaf, spattered with blood, and wondering how the hell I got away with it so lightly.

So, TWO hands at all times on your angle grinder if you're using one for any reason, an correct tool for raking out grout.

I have the very same set of scars from an almost identical scenario, but on my upper arm, the grinder caught my sleeve and proceeded to wind itself up my bicep. I told my nieces and nephew the scars were from when I wrestled a tiger

 

[victorgrey]

A 9" angle grinder has got to be the most dangerous DIY tool.

Agree, I've already been to the hospital a couple times because of it!