Well after spending twenty years in the military you think i would know better i was using my 4 inch grinder with a wire wheel attachment to knock all the rust and dirt and road gunk off the bottom of the cab floorboard and wouldnt ya know it i get a piece of metal in my eye in the cornea didnt notice it the first day but the second day pain city trip to the emer room and some drops the doc got the metal out but it had left rust in my eye he actually used a small drill to grind it out its hard to sit still when somebody is drilling your eyeball from now on its my eyeglasses that i use to see (had them on at the time) and a face shield hope somebody learns from my pain bye the way faceshield was 15.00 at the ace hardware

 

Safety first should always be on every ones mind when working on your truck, mowing the grass, trimming weeds, etc. My job often requires frequent trips to different steel mills around the country and everyone requires a safety training course before we can enter mill. In most cases common sense is the most important thing to remember. It is always the little minor things that can bite you in the a**. I sure hope you hope you are ok.

 

Been there, done that. Only thing was, I was only 16 years old and drilling holes in the muffler on my Dad's new Ford. I got a steel splinter in my left eye. Had to have it removed and wear an eye patch for a few weeks. Now, after retiring from the military, I am a lot more careful working in the shop. I own probably 6-8 pairs of safety glasses, a couple of face shields etc. Glad you did not do any permanent damage to yourself. I also wear leather gloves when operating a welder, grinder, wire wheel, etc. Almost lost a couple fingers in a chain saw a couple years ago.

 

You can be wearing safety glasses that protect from the front but if you don't have the gaurds to the side you can get in trouble. When I used to teach shop the students were using the drill press and some debree went flying. The first instinct is to turn away. The safety glasses didn't have the side gaurds and the student got it in the eye. It is important to have good safety equiptment. God luck with the recovery. The Doctor more than likely gave you drops or ointment. Use it religiously.

Gear Up

 

well guys this happened about two weeks ago and im all better now except the stupid sign i have to wear just wanted to bring up a safety tip that if ya get too relaxed you slack off on the safety i spent twenty years in the military as a helocopter crew chief flying with 3000 psi hydraulic systems and jet engines and never hurt my eyes

 

fordgo,
I'm extremely glad to hear that you are okay!

I used to work in a production machine shop in a manufacturing plant.
The company had a real problem getting people to wear their safety glasses. Especially ones with side shields. They even threatened to give anyone caught without them 3 days off without pay, but to no avail.

Finally one day they called everyone into the cafeteria, and showed us a really gruesome safety film of someone taking a metal chip in the eye from a milling machine. It was horrible! They even showed the surgery and removal.

From that day foward, everyone including front office personel was wearing them!

Thanks for the reminder, and again I'm glad you're okay. I will probably never forget those images.

 

Two trips to the emergency room here. Deserved one of them, got the second while removing my goggles after grinding. You're fortunate if you can participate in this sport for decades without a mishap. Safety equipment will save you from a bad one though.

My worst stunt was wiping an oil drip off of a running 460. The inspection cover was removed and the flexplate grabbed a rag I was using. Pulled my hand into the bellhousing. The flexplate took the rag up to the starter and by some miracle stalled the girly little big block. Took the hide off the back of four fingers. Didn't even need a stitch. I should have lost half my hand. I'll never forget that one.

 

Early on in my Navy career I spent time as a refueling station captain and a hold captain on a reefer, safety was drilled into this city boys head. But the payoff was when I spent 2 weeks at the Navy's Firefighter and Damage Control School.
Serving on an oil tanker for almost 3 years put ones mind on safety at all times.

But now that Im into my senile citizen years I still do stupid things when Im too lazy to look for the safety glasses when turning on the wire wheel for instance.

 

man glad to hear your ok,i have never had a mishap that bad,and i don't want to.i'm a trailer tech.and have had a lot of busted knuckles,cut's,and skrapes.guess i've been lucky,hope everything turn's out ok.have fun and be safe/scott.

 

Thanks for the teaching story Fordgo!

GW

 

Hope you recover without too much trouble. I've allways been one of those guys that rather then grabbing a pair of saftey glasses I just would squint and bear it, a couple of close calls and want do you know, I have visors and saftey glasses everywhere in the shop. The hard part is getting used to putting them on before you start not half way through the job. Every lesson learned that you can recover from is a good one. Good luck!

 

Mombo has the best plan. Keep safety glasses close to all of your potential worksites. I have three pairs and a face shield. I have had close calls in the past with the most prevelent being laying under a vehicle and working on something. As you disturb dirt and gook it will fall right in your eyes. So wear those safety glasses! Good luck, John

 

I had a mechanic tell me that he had gotten a piece of rusty metal in his eye and it did as gee oh discribed. He told of how the rust develops barbs on the metal and it doesn't let go. It actually causes the flake of metal burrow deeper. That is why they have to drill it out. Not a pleasant thought. Just play it safe and wear the proper gear.

Gear Up

 

Just read about your mishap, glad now OK. You say you did 20 in the military, what branch. I did 22 in CG but have been retired gor over 25. Having a great time in my second childhood with my 56's. Have 3 F-100 in various states of repair and enjoying them all. Just found this site so have not set up a Gallery yet but will soon.

 

i was in the navy as a helocopter crew chief flew in h53's the whole time i was in and i retired in 1998 so im still a pup