Woodworking dangerous? Try gardening!

[RogerS]

......
I once knocked myself out with a post rammer which is basically a tube with an end cap and two handles for hammering on top of a post if you're doing them by hand, when I returned from slamming down on the post I pulled it up a little too high and the end of the tube caught the top edge of the post which caused the rammer to come backward and knock me straight on the head. Fortunately no serious damage (That I know of :wink but I was on the ground for a good while before I came around with one hell of a headache. That's when I decided I'll only take down fences from now on, I'll let someone else put new stuff in!

I saw one of those post rammers for sale locally and thought about getting one. Then I looked more closely and came to the conclusion that I'd need a mate to help me with the other handle. It looked so damn heavy.

 

[RogerS]

I knew personally three people who'd lopped the toes of one foot with a Flymo.

Add me to the list. The only way to get a flymo to cut grass is to kick the bloody thing. Eventually it will flip up just as you go to kick it, and you will put your foot through the blade instead. It seems to be a design feature. I kept my toe - just lopped the top off, like on a boiled egg. Went through my work boots like butter - only steel toe-caps ever since.

Lesson learned: never cut grass for other people as a favour, and NEVER use their cheap, nasty flymo.

the only time i used a flymo( a big contractors version about 21 inch cut) was to cut a 45 degree slope. the secret is to stand at the top with a rope tied to the flymo and let it slide down then haul it up. when you have done a bit you can start to swing it in an arc, works really well.

A GALMI for me. Every time.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I knew personally three people who'd lopped the toes of one foot with a Flymo.

How?
I don't ... how?
The mower is a few feet away due to the handle.
How?

Slipping on wet grass on slopes, feet shooting forward and the Flymo being very quickly pulled back over them. Not wearing decent footwear didn't help.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Using the wrong tool for the job can cause unexpected problems. An ambulance driver relative a few years ago took a woman to hospital on two different occasions with half a broken cucumber in a very inaccessible place.

 

[Suffolkboy]

One of my friends, as a junior doctor had the task of removing a granny smith apple from a gentleman who had, presumably tripped over his fruit bowl whilst doing some nude spring cleaning.

As you do.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My sister is a nurse - she had the job of retrieving a pepper pot from a vicar's behind - he allegedly fell on it while standing on the table changing a light bulb.

 

[Steve Maskery]

This thread has taken a surprising turn...

 

[Lons]

I once knocked myself out with a post rammer which is basically a tube with an end cap and two handles for hammering on top of a post if you're doing them by hand, when I returned from slamming down on the post I pulled it up a little too high and the end of the tube caught the top edge of the post which caused the rammer to come backward and knock me straight on the head. Fortunately no serious damage (That I know of :wink but I was on the ground for a good while before I came around with one hell of a headache. That's when I decided I'll only take down fences from now on, I'll let someone else put new stuff in!

Ouch, that had to have hurt! #-o
I've got one of those, haven't used it for a while and it's so heavy I probably couldn't lift in now anyway. :lol: very effective though as you don't need to hit down on the post just let the thing drop.

 

[RogerS]

I once knocked myself out with a post rammer which is basically a tube with an end cap and two handles for hammering on top of a post if you're doing them by hand, when I returned from slamming down on the post I pulled it up a little too high and the end of the tube caught the top edge of the post which caused the rammer to come backward and knock me straight on the head. Fortunately no serious damage (That I know of :wink but I was on the ground for a good while before I came around with one hell of a headache. That's when I decided I'll only take down fences from now on, I'll let someone else put new stuff in!

Ouch, that had to have hurt! #-o
I've got one of those, haven't used it for a while and it's so heavy I probably couldn't lift in now anyway. :lol: very effective though as you don't need to hit down on the post just let the thing drop.

Yebbut you've got to lift it up in the first place!

And again. And again .....

 

[Trevanion]

Yebbut you've got to lift it up in the first place!

And again. And again .....

I was definitely stronger for it! :lol:

I don't do much of the fence stuff now that I've got full-time work commitments but when I was younger I used to make quite a good earning from taking down fences and rolling up the wire, since no one else wanted to do it.

 

[Lons]

Yebbut you've got to lift it up in the first place!

And again. And again .....

Exactly, are you still looking to buy one Roger, I think mine might be for sale? :lol:

 

[Logger]

I used a post rammer last weekend after the rugby world cup final.

I found it quite satisfying!

One of my neighbours was gardening when her husband brought her a cup of tea. She threw down the fork which went straight through his foot.

Apparently he did not spill a drop of tea!

Nick

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Droogs]

well done that man

 

[HappyHacker]

I have put in lots of posts with a rammer and have tried it on my head a couple of times, it hurts. It is more dangerous with two people as it is easier to lift it too high. I was talking to an organiser of a horse event and he said they regularly have problems with volunteers hurting themselves using them despite safety briefings and training

Before I got one I used a sledge. On one occasion my young daughter was crouching down holding the post and she jumped back as I hit the post. Very fortunately as the head fell of the sledge hammer and would have hit her head. The shaft was rotten just inside the head where it could not be seen, the rest of the shaft was as new.

I tripped over the end of a broken electric fence pole (the bit with the metal spike) and it went in about five inches horizontally through the top of my foot. Fortunately it did not hit anything important. It was such a nice day I had not put on my steel toecap boots as I was only going to see the horses, count their legs and divide by four to make sure it was a whole number.

 

[Stigmorgan]

After a 14 hour day working on the London underground I decided to adjust and clean the chain on my motorcycle, once the chain is tensioned correctly I would clean it with the engine in gear so the wheel is spinning, this day I was very tired and not paying enough attention and allowed the rag I was using to get too close to sprocket, before I knew it I was looking at a cross section of my finger because the rag caught in the teeth and my finger got pulled in with it, the whole top section of my index finger got torn off, didn't really hurt until after the surgery, when it did come the pain was so sharp and intense I spent 3 weeks sobbing. Now 5 years later I just have to put up with occaisional phantom limb syndrome, that's when your brain thinks you have an itch or pain in the part that is missing.

 

[NickM]

I knew personally three people who'd lopped the toes of one foot with a Flymo.

How?

I don't ... how?

The mower is a few feet away due to the handle.

How?

Mowing on a steepish slope and feet slipping down the slope and under the mower. I think it's more common than you might think. I think its safer to tie a rope to the mower and stand on the flat.

 

[flying haggis]

I knew personally three people who'd lopped the toes of one foot with a Flymo.

How?

I don't ... how?

The mower is a few feet away due to the handle.

How?

Mowing on a steepish slope and feet slipping down the slope and under the mower. I think it's more common than you might think. I think its safer to tie a rope to the mower and stand on the flat.

+1 for standing on level ground and tying a rope to the handle

 

[RogerS]

Yebbut you've got to lift it up in the first place!

And again. And again .....

Exactly, are you still looking to buy one Roger, I think mine might be for sale? :lol:

Thanks for the offer but I'll only be using it the once and will hire one. Then I'll find out I can't lift it. Well, maybe once a day.

You're very welcome to come round and show me how it's done ? Maybe 10-12 times...I should have the hang of it by then

 

[Lons]

You're very welcome to come round and show me how it's done ? Maybe 10-12 times...I should have the hang of it by then

I think I'm busy for the next 12 months or so Roger. :wink:

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I knew personally three people who'd lopped the toes of one foot with a Flymo.

How?

I don't ... how?

The mower is a few feet away due to the handle.

How?

Mowing on a steepish slope and feet slipping down the slope and under the mower. I think it's more common than you might think. I think its safer to tie a rope to the mower and stand on the flat.

I managed it because I was asked to mow what was, ostensibly at least, a lawn, but actually resembled a piece of moorland, with extra tussocks. The flymow only works on grass that has already been cut - any lumps and bumps stop it dead. To get it on top of the tussock, to cut the thing, you need to lift the Flymo. This doesn't work, because the handle is at an angle, and the head flops and wobbles about, digging in at the front. You are certainly not going to put your hands under the skirt to pick it up (see OP). A hefty boot up the rear end does work. However if, whilst cursing and swearing and kicking your way around the "lawn" you should both kick and push - the front digs in, the back flips up and you put your foot through the blade. Ever so very embarrassing.

Do not, ever, buy a flymo. Really do not ever use one. ( I may be prejudiced).

Perhaps I should point out that it was long ago, in at galaxy far away. I am much more sensible now.