I guess I'm really getting old -- I'm getting careful. I'm getting back into swinging a wrench after many years of taking it to the shop. Now, I wear safety glasses laying underneath the truck and while grinding. I bought a brand new big fire extinguisher for the garage and I give the truck (which is on stands and chocked) a good shove or two before I climb underneath. I even try to look where my knuckles will smash if I slip off the nut.

Used to be I'd prop the car up on a couple of bricks, lay a cigarette on the radiator and start wrenching away.

 

friend had a car fall on him so i always give it a shake before climbing under.
that and i don't heal as i once did

 

I'm only 22 but I had a jack fail on me once. I got away unscathed but I'm now a safety nut. Needed new coveralls after that though.

Things to do though, use the right tools, ask questions, and do it right the first time. Some of the best mechanics I know ask and read.

Tyler
95 F-150 302 5 speed
94 F-250 PSD 5 speed

 

Always been safety first for me....Well, almost always... Eye, ear protection, fire preparedness, heavy duty floor jacks, and an unnescesary amount of large solid wood blocks, I once saw a jackstand go 'squish'! Pluss, I live deep in the heart of earthquake country!! Keep oil spills sanded and swept. Make sure overhead storage is vibration safe. Imagine being smitten upon the sconce by a bike frame that vibrated loose while using your grinding wheel......And NNNEVER ,EVvver,,,,store steel wool anywhere NEAR ANY kind of battery!!!


However, back when I smoked, there where often flamable matirials n' liquids near.

 

I made a pair of ramps out of 2X12's. You can cut each board about 4 inches shorter than the one under it. It's very sturdy, and anyone like myself who has to work on the driveway, won't damage the asphalt. If you have to jack it up, a foot long section of 2X12 will stabilize the jack, and you won't get that sinking feeling on the driveway.

 

DO stand to the side when turning on a bench grinder. If a wheel is gonna let go, most often it'll do it when it first starts. I had been warned to stand aside before, but didn't think that much of it. One chunk rapped off the ceiling joists, one chunk shot past me, and one chunk took a patch of skin the size of a quarter clean off the front of my ankle. Hurt like hell & it took about 5 years for the scar to fade. I was also wearing flip-flops at the time. I DO wear solid footwear in the garage now too.

Cheers,
Eric

 

Every member of my family has a pair of safety glasses hanging on a hook inside the shop door, along with cleaner and paper towels.
Safety glasses go on every time y our in the shop. No exceptions!I also insist on safety glasses when operating a power mower or weed whacker. (or playing with Dad's potato cannon..but thats another storey)

 

The first rule for safety is good housekeeping. I can pretty much say that every major hurt Ive gotten in the garage has been from trying to work around something I was to lazy to move, tripping over some thing I left out because I was going to need it again in a few minutes, or just plain dirt/slippery stuff. (except the time Dad hit in me the head with a crowbar, but then that's whole nother story)

I like to try and plan my work taking into consideration the "mess" it's going to make and how I'm going to clean it up.
For instance:
Drill presses make shavings, sharp shavings, you know they are there, but your 16 year old daughter on the way to the freezer doesn't. Same thing with that bar stock you cut off in the vise in the other corner of the bench. Yeah youv'e told her to wear shoes, but then you probably still remember giving that tone of voice to your parents too.

I always have a second (or second set) of jack stands under the frame somewhere, just in case one of the ones actually supporting the load slips.

Never use a come along for anything but stretching fence. I've had one that the cable snapped, and one that the bracket that holds the swivel pin stretched right over the lil snap ring, luckily the 151 was only about 3 inches off the work table.

Grinding. When ever possible, chuck the item in the drill press and use emery on it. You get better results, and no burned knuckles, now if i could just fiqure out how to make it work on the flats.....

Smoking, (quilty) not under the vehicle, you got enough to worry about not racking knuckles and elbows, dropping wrenches in your face and grease globs in your ear without getting the fire knocked off into you shirt collar.

Creepers. Great invention, just keep your shrt tail tucked in, cuffs buttoned. And if you have long hair, bag it. I've been so tangled I had to wait for the wife to find me and get me out when she got home from work...Don't have a creeper any more...use card board now, slides easier than crete, cleans up easier too....

Air compressors; the discharge line gets effing hot and is always located in such a way that there is only one place you can stand and adjust pressure regulator safely. Stand there. Burns are painful and heal slow.

Solvents; store in cool place(IE not on top of the waterheater....). Pick one to use today, do not switch to another later. Combined effects can kill. Always wear latex gloves. If it comes in pour form, do not put the lid down anywhere. If you need both hands to do the work, close the can. This will prevent you from getting sidetracked "Oh I forgot to put the distributor cap back on" and tripping over an open can of mineral spirits.

Springs: Coil, coil overs, valve, fuel return, blend doors, Garage door. One of the most underestimated danger spots. Always use extra care and both hands. If it doesn't positive lock on one end, then leash it until install is complete. Nothing so foolish feeling as spending an hour searching the drive for a two inch long 99cent part, and finding it stuck in you hair when you get in the shower.

Dart

 

Don't use a plastic dead-blow hammer in sub-freezing weather, unless you give it time to warm up....

There's about a gajillion little lead ***** in one of those things...

 

Never used jacks and get under the vehicle. When removing a rusty oil filter, rocking it back and forth, per Murphy's law, it will fall on you. Never had that happen to me, but can see how it can.

6500 lbs of metal, plastic and glass falling on top of me is not a comforting thought. Although it is possible that the suspension will probably clear me, but still.

 

If I need to get underneith my truck, is it best to use jackstands that far exceed the weight of my truck? Also should I keep the jack extended and supporting the truck along with the jackstands?

 

ALWAYS wear proper footwear. I dropped a full gallon paint can on my toe yesterday. My daughter learned a few new words on that one.
I didn't bother w/ the doctor but there is no doubt it's broke. Not like they could put a cast on it. So now I'll just walk funny for a while.

 

At least the paint can didn't burst open.....

 

This is true. I guess it could have been worse.

 

Why is it that people always wear safety stuff after the first accident?