At work we had to staple some wadding under a truck, (long story cut short…) the piss weak hand powered staple gun was broken.
The boss asked if anyone had one at home we could use for this small job, when no one else put up their hand I reluctantly raised mine. A quick drive to my place and I returned with my new, air driven power stapler capable of firing a 40mm staple or nail. (40mm=1 1/2inch)
It takes many sizes of nail or staple but it had the largest in it left over from it's first test firing a few months ago.
After plugging it into the air supply one of our young workers held the gun upward and pulled the trigger to test it…nothing! He tried again…nothing. He yelled to me that it didn't work (I was preparing the wood form board across the workshop)
I yelled back that it had a safety bar on the tip and had to be pushed down on the work piece before it would fire.
He pushed the safety bar down with a finger and promptly fired a staple right through his finger. (much screaming ensued)
The heel (loop end) of the staple was actually embedded in the fingerprint side of his finger with both sides of the staple 3/4inch (20mm) hanging out THROUGH his fingernail.
The blokes wanted to try pulling it out with pliers rather than tell the boss but I insisted the staple…and fool connected to it had to go to hospital.
Yeah, the boss was not happy!
We have this thing here in Australia called WorkSafe. Within fifteen minutes their representative was at the factory asking questions, taking photos and generally making an ass of himself.
In the end the WorkSafe guy wanted to take the gun for testing (which can take up to a year) I refused to allow it seeing as there was no fault in the gun and it was unmodified and fully Australian standards compliant. (and didn't belong to the workshop)
He tried for a full hour to make it fail then gave up and tested it by pushing the safety bar down with a bit of wood before firing it. The scrap of wood exploded with such force he damn near shat himself, he took a few more photos and left!
At the hospital they applied anesthetic, tapped the staple back through until they could get at the heel. Yes… they HIT it back through, then cut the staple flush with the nail on the other side and pulled it through the finger with pliers. (add my hysterical laughing here)
The dumbass is back at work now, his finger is black to the middle knuckle and apparently very tender. (more laughing)
For those of us who didn't know…the correct medical way to seal the holes through the nail and prevent infection was to put a drop of Superglue on each hole. (so damn funny)
..and this goes to show that the Australian educational system is turning out stupid people.. I mean, really. Who could be that stupid? Though I suspect that he has now learned to treat power tools with respect.
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9 comments:
Hi Tempo,
OMG, I can only agree about some of these young guys at work, the story's my Husband comes home with sometimes makes you wonder if some of these people have any common sense at all.
After all, it really is common sense, not to have any part of your body new such a power tool.
You were very lucky they didn't insist on taking the gun.
While i was still working my policy was never volunteer for anything :-).
I'm so respectful of power tools, I don't even own any. Sewing machine doesn't count.
Hi Mags, I agree with your husband, common sense is not so common anymore.. WorkCover could have taken the gun if they really wanted to, they have the law on their side, but it was new, still in box with all the original paperwork stating the compliance numbers so the bloke gave us a break. If he had taken it I would have insisted in having it replaced by the workshop.
Hey Windsmoke, What can I say...I'm still learning. I open my mouth and while the words are still tumbling forth I'm thinking 'what the heck am I doing?'
I love my power tools River, but having been hurt a few times myself (stitched up several times)I know just how dangerous they can be. The thing is to use the right tool in the right place for the right job..or you'll be in peril.
As a wielder of medical superglue (or wound adhesive), I can vouch for its effectiveness.
Also, staple guns are like idiot bait. And they usually catch one pretty quickly.
Idiot Bait....Love that Jules. They sure are. I'm sure you see stuff like this all the time but it was bloody and loud. Not a good look.
I might have the opportunity to get a Chainsaw license - scary thought!
Chainsaws are one of the most dangerous power tools ever made Spiral..but safe if you take care. I know you'll be careful with it...
Idiot bait... I may use that. Today even, in the bar. *Thinks translate to Portuguese...*
AV
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