Model A shop accident

mass A man

mass A man

Well-known member
I was stripping down a Zenith 2 carburetor for a rebuilt spare for my '31 and noticed the top of the secondary well was stripped out and needed drilling out with a 9/32" bit. I was using my older Craftsman floor model drill press. Holding the lower casting with my left hand and my right hand on the press wheel, I began to gingerly start the drilling, nice and straight. Not more than 2 seconds into the drilling, the bit locked up into the brass secondary, breaking the bit and tearing the casting from my hand, which wanted to go into orbit, but hitting me in the upper chest. The broken, jagged 1-1/2" bit that was still lodged in the carb just missed penetrating into my lung or heart. I thought for sure I had at least a broken rib, feeling as if a truck hit me. I was wearing a tee shirt but had on shatter proof glasses. I took the rest of the day off to stop and smell the roses. The lesson learned? "Always clamp the work securely" and wear better protection. This could have killed me.
 
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glad it was not worse!

Since the secondary is hollow I just take a screwdriver hammer it into the secondary a little and twist. This breaks the jet a little and I repeat, dive the screw driver into the brass, break off a piece, repeat
 
I've had similar bad experiences but luckily wasn't injured. One thing that can help to cause this biting in and grabbing is excess play in the chuck. My drill press has excess play that I need to fix. If you grab the chuck and can lift it up and down without moving the handle, then it needs to be shimmed to get rid of the slack. When I lower the chuck with the handle the drill bit will touch the work, but then I can still move the handle a little more before it takes up the slack and applies pressure. This slack will allow the bit to bite in by dropping down by the distance of the slack. This makes for inaccurate depth of the holes I intend to drill, as well as adding to the danger of biting in and grabbing the work, as has happened to me.
 
Yes, but you alway's clamp or spin stop your work, never hold the part to even chase a hole. I was working in a R&D shop that designed high speed automated machines, when we had a "kid" who decided to "chase" a 1/2" hole with a 5/8" bit in a bridgeport mill by hand. He lost his thumb.
 
Yes, lucky indeed. About 30 years ago I was rebuilding the front brake master cylinder for a Harley, and the piston would not come out. Looked in the end, didn't see obstruction and thought a little blast of air would pop it out into my hand. Must have had the regulator turned a bit to high, as the piston broke loose and came out like a bullet missed my hand and struck me dead between my eyes just above my nose. Felt like it was sticking out of my skull! Easily could have lost an eye with that one. Really makes you stop and think, glad it wasn't worse for you....
 
1931 flamingo said:
Sxxt happens. Glad you're OK. A lesson well learned.
Paul in CT
Click to expand...
Yep! You can accident proof your shop all you want. But if you practice unsafe shop practices your gonna get bit. Roll up your sleeves, don't pull on the metal chips and stringers off the lathe, wear your safety glasses (with the side shields), cut down on the use of extension cords, deal with spills right away, make sure you have good lighting in your shop, respect compressed air and so on and so on. Everyone knows what to do. Safety glasses, safety shoes, proper welding attire and the list goes on. But keep in mind your only taking care of the obvious stuff. What about machine guards, are they on? I don't need to go on. The point is be careful and don't try foolish shortcuts.
 
Thank goodness you're alright. I tried drilling out a stripped dash rail screw in my '33 pickup several years ago, no one else was home at the time. Drill bit broke and a splinter of steel shot right into my eye and everytime I blinked it scraped the inside of my eyelid. NO, I was stupid enough to think it was too simple and quick a job to get my safety glasses!!! About a half hour went by when my folks came home and my Dad drove me to emergency to have it removed. Luckily it was in the corner of my eyeball and didn't affect sight. THANK GOD!!.

ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES!!!!..........ALWAYS!!!!!!!
 
I have had them catch but never like that. Scarey!

I use a 3/8 cordless hand drill (lower torque to begin with) with an older battery that stalls if it jams and clamp carb in an old wood vise that does not damage paint as much.

The screw slot in the secondary well catches the drill bit. I start with a bit just a 32nd larger than the hole and work up one 32nd at a time from there with casting clamped down. That way if it catches there is less chance of it jamming the bit.

A thought, could one use the flooring screw "clutch" setting adjustment on the cordless drill to let it slip? I will try that next time.

Face shield is good idea too. I was heating a carb casting with a torch recently when the pot metal venturi exploded (must have been some gas trapped in the potmetal) and sent a thumb nail sized chunk of pot metal flying off into the yard. I use goggles but this chunk could have hit a tooth.
 
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Brass always has a tendancy to grab. It can be difficult to machine with standard cutting tools. The key is to eliminate the back rake on the tool, whether on a lathe tool or a drill bit. A few strokes with a stone over the cutting edges on the drill bit will eliminate the rake, just don't over feed it. Of course the dit will need to be resharpened when you want to drill steel. Howie
 
You are lucky it wasn't worse ! A drill press can be dangerous . I have better luck heating and quenching the housing first. I once broke a Zenith lower housing in half while trying to remove a stuck secondary well with a spiral ease out.

I had a bad experience early this week . I've got a AA chassis project that has been sitting outside covered with a tarp. I removed the tarp without incident. I folded the tarp and when I iayed it down on the frame, I stirred up a small wasp nest that I hadn't noticed before. It was large red wasps and I got stung on the top of my left hand . I ran and avoided getting stung anymore. The hand quickly swelled so much that I couldn't close it . While I was in the house doctoring my sting, Deb went out and sprayed the small nest with wasp and hornet spray and we figured the wasps would all be gone the next day . Monday, my left hand was still badly swelled but I decided to try again to make some ptogress on the truck project . I had barely got started when I stirred up another nest. The big red wasps boiled out of the nest like pouring water oit of a jug and headed for me . I ran as fast as I could but in all of the excitement, my upper body got ahead of my feet and I fell face down in the hard gravel drive way . Both palms were cut and badly bruised, left worse than right . Both knees were skinned and bleeding . My head also hit the ground but didn't bruise . I had a magnafying glass in my left shirt pocket and it bruised my chest, in the heart area when I fell . It hurt when I tried to get a deep breath . My doctor, Deb was at work at the time so I was home alone . At least I was luckjy that the wasps didn't sting me anymore . I managed to get up and make it to the house . By that time, the left hand that had been stung the day before was swelling the worse that I have ever seen, from the trauma of the fall . Deb cleaned and picked small rocks and debris out of the cuts in my palms after she got home. I got some kind of steroid shot and have been taking benadryl and Ibuprofen while spending the week kicked back on the couch with Patti, My minature Dachshund . Today the swelling in my left hand has went down enough that I can sort of close it . It doesn't hurt as bad to take a deep breath. I hope to get back on the project, next week.
2177486-T600450.jpg
 
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Wow, Purdy. Just about everything that could go wrong, did! We have ground wasps here in Oregon, too. I've given up on sprays. When I find a nest, I pour gasoline down into it and strike a match. I personally believe everything is here for a reason, but I can't think of a single thing wasps are good for.
 
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Something "good" to remember from drill bits "grabbing".

On drilling & extracting broken bolts, if the workpiece is securely held in place, a left hand drill bit can "grab" a stubborn bolt, whereby it "sometimes" grabs, un-screws, & backs out the broken bolt.

Problem is "Murphy's Law" -- when one wants it to "grab", for some reason, sometimes it doesn't.

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Wasp & Bee Stings:

Read some time ago where a guy, for "some" reason, experimented with about 20 individual wasp/bee stings on his hand over a period of time.

He tried every home remedy, (tobacco, meat tenderizer, etc), & every doctor & druggist remedy, (calamine lotion, over the counter ointments, etc.), only & to find what worked best to remove pain & swelling:

A. First, immediately remove venom containing bee or wasp stinger, if embeded in sting, & if possible, using a tweezers, or scratch out same with fingernail.

B. Immediately apply toothpaste on sting,& rub same in sting.

C. Immediately put ice cubes in zip-lock back & apply to sting for 20 minutes "on", & 20 minutes "off" for a couple of hours to avoid venom from quickly entering blood stream; & most importantly, to avoid swelling.
 
I don't guess we have ground wasps unless it is what we call yellow jackets. They nest in the ground and we use to have them down at the old pear orhard and have had a few run ins with them . In 98 a neighbor got in to a nest of the large red wasps and got stung several times . He went into shock and died shortly after.
 
There is an Africanized Bee that is very dangerious they are migrating from South
America into the Southern and Western US: See map in the URL page below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee


Quote:

Specifically, as compared with the European bee types, the hybrid race:
Tends to swarm more frequently and go farther than other types of honey bees.
Is more likely to migrate as part of a seasonal response to lowered food supply.
Is more likely to "abscond"—the entire colony leaves the hive and relocates—in response to stress.
Has greater defensiveness when in a resting swarm, compared to other honey bee types.
Lives more often in ground cavities than the European types.
Guards the hive aggressively, with a larger alarm zone around the hive.
Has a higher proportion of "guard" bees within the hive.
Deploys in greater numbers for defense and pursues perceived threats over much longer distances from the hive.
Cannot survive extended periods of forage deprivation, preventing introduction into areas with harsh winters or extremely dry late summers.

Unquote
 
Best to kill ground yellow jackets at night.

Find their hole in daylight, near nightfall from a distance, when they swarm around their nest right before dark.

Approach later at night in total darkness with flashlight & shine in hole which will make their eyes shine like lightning bugs.

While they remain in their hole in darkness, as opposed to flying away, spray them generously from about 6 feet away with wasp & hornet spray
 
Thank you all for your kind words and insight for me. Purdy, I hope you feel better soon!I think the fall was worse than the sting! The blunt force cuts on my chest is now turning out some really weird bruising color combinations. I'm thinking of getting the rest of the Zenith carb tattooed around my new scars. I'm not blaming the tool for the accident, I should have not been in a hurry and worn safe protection!! Tom, I checked the vertical play in my chuck, it's about 3/64" between the gears inside. Enough to cause a problem. The press is about 60 years old, but in pretty good shape. A wood vise is now essential for clamping castings and the like. You would think someone my age would know better. maybe the 1951 calender girls were distracting me.
 
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Mass A Man, Thanks for the thought . The fall was the worse and I know what you mean about the bruises . First my hands turned blue, then they turned yeiiow and purple. Thank goodness it gets a little better each day.

I hope your injuries get better soon.
 
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