Death involving splitting wedge and sledge...

[Taylortractornut]

A fellow I worked with said he and his dad were working around a 2 inch air pipe on there farm. They had a reduced down line that had an air pressure gauge on the end. It had been knocked off by a loader. His dad went over and was inspecting it and the thing blew out His dad checked hisself and went to work he had delt a sting didnt think about it and got light headed. The gauge had a little plungers that was in it and it had shot a bb sized hole in his leg. He got down off his tractor and had some large 1/4 inch wide zip ties, He put 3 around his leg and cinched them down tightto get to the hospital. His sone toldme he didnt stop to open gates just lowered the loader and plowed them.

 

[cammieclark@gmail.com]

In 1990, growing up in the foothills of Sonora, CA, splitting, chopping and stacking firewood was a way of life for those who lived in the community. For my three older brothers, it was also the most hated household chore! Especially since the best wood - and best time of the year - to stock up was during the dog days of summer. It was definitely good to be the little sister of the bunch.

My brother, Mark, was at the helm one afternoon, while the other two unloaded wood and stacked nearby. He was swinging that maul, beating down a splitting wedge, prying open a round one crack at a time. Out of nowhere the chopping maul flew out of his hands and he ran like lightning up to the house yelling that he had been hit. None of us even knew what the **** he was talking about.

Outside the backdoor, my mother and I came to see why there was all of this hollering. Mark stood there, and it had probably only been a minute, but he was already white as a ghost. My mother told him to move his hand, let her see. And when he did, the wound from his neck erupted.

We weren't far from the hospital. Maybe a few minutes by car, 10 minutes by foot - you could practically see it from our upstairs balcony. It didn't matter, Mark had lost over half the blood in his body by the time we arrived. He was awake and cognizant, he knew he was dying and told us all in so many words. My parents were forever altered by this.

After 9 hours of surgery, every surgeon called in off duty, that small, jagged piece of shrapnel from the splitting wedge was pulled from his chest, after it had slice through his jugular, pierced his lung and finally his heart. It was a losing battle for those doctors, who all left that hospital in tears for not being able to save this young man. Mark died on Oct. 27, 1990; he was 16 years old.

The softening of metal on splitting wedges is an extreme danger, and you should always, always use precaution when using them. Shave them down, wear protection, and treat your equipment with respect. It is not worth the risk.

Kindly,

C. Clark

 

[WarrenF]

Well I personally think they need to have ROPS devices on splitting mauls. Plus they should pass laws that all wedges must have seat belts. And for goodness sake lets make sure that we have certification classes so those using such killer devices, like tractors, will know the "proper" way to use them.

Safety fellas, SAFETY!!!

 

[Bill Hoffman]

Warren,

Those were sarcastic and rude comments to make after someone
wrote about a tragedy. Some folks might not know about
keeping hammer faces, chisels, and wedges free of mushrooming.
Not everyone has the good fortune of having someone to teach
them about the dangers of some tools. It's also a good reminder
to the rest of us.

It might be helpful if you kept your smart ***** comments to yourself.

Bill

 

[Midsouth]

Bill

I agree 100%. I was wondering if i was the only one that thought that post was very rude.

 

[Midsouth]

Bill

I agree 100%. I was wondering if i was the only one that thought that post was very rude. Some times it is the simplest tools that are the most dangerous. So everyone be careful and have a good day.

 

[WilliamBos]

In 1990, growing up in the foothills of Sonora, CA, splitting, chopping and stacking firewood was a way of life for those who lived in the community. For my three older brothers, it was also the most hated household chore! Especially since the best wood - and best time of the year - to stock up was during the dog days of summer. It was definitely good to be the little sister of the bunch.

My brother, Mark, was at the helm one afternoon, while the other two unloaded wood and stacked nearby. He was swinging that maul, beating down a splitting wedge, prying open a round one crack at a time. Out of nowhere the chopping maul flew out of his hands and he ran like lightning up to the house yelling that he had been hit. None of us even knew what the **** he was talking about.

Outside the backdoor, my mother and I came to see why there was all of this hollering. Mark stood there, and it had probably only been a minute, but he was already white as a ghost. My mother told him to move his hand, let her see. And when he did, the wound from his neck erupted.

We weren't far from the hospital. Maybe a few minutes by car, 10 minutes by foot - you could practically see it from our upstairs balcony. It didn't matter, Mark had lost over half the blood in his body by the time we arrived. He was awake and cognizant, he knew he was dying and told us all in so many words. My parents were forever altered by this.

After 9 hours of surgery, every surgeon called in off duty, that small, jagged piece of shrapnel from the splitting wedge was pulled from his chest, after it had slice through his jugular, pierced his lung and finally his heart. It was a losing battle for those doctors, who all left that hospital in tears for not being able to save this young man. Mark died on Oct. 27, 1990; he was 16 years old.

The softening of metal on splitting wedges is an extreme danger, and you should always, always use precaution when using them. Shave them down, wear protection, and treat your equipment with respect. It is not worth the risk.

Kindly,

C. Clark

I know it is late, but sorry for your loss. I really hope people can benefit from your tragedy, because it only takes a second which can shatter lives forever.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

We was working on a roof bolter in the mines, and the boss came up grabbed a 5lb. hammer and chisel and started hitting it like a madman.

A small piece broke off and hit the juggler vein in his neck, just a small cut to make it bleed heavy.

We was around 6 miles underground and had two EMT"s with us, they
held pressure on it all the way out, and had a ambulance waiting on us.

He was a lucky man, and back to work in two days.

Every time i use a hammer and chisel i think about that day.

 

[DarinRay]

I have not had incidents with chisels but have hit hardened metal with sledge hammers and actually had a piece of a bulldozer master pin fly off and hit me in my leg.It did bleed real good for a small wound. After that I bought a pin press to install my tracks and now just pump a hydraulic pump by hand. Haven't smartened up and got me a air over hydraulic pump yet.

Got a bit off what I was going to say...... So after reading THIS post I have since ground all my chisel mushroom heads off. This is what is so great about this thread. People sharing just tragic stories but teaching others so it doesn't happen to them. BRAVO and thanks.

Darin

 

[jimmyj]

Agree with the comments about Warren's post. I hope for some reason it was a mis-communication or the thread was not properly read.

cammieclark@gmail.com, your story is really sad, but thank you for sharing. I see you are new to the forum, thanks for joining and for the wisdom of your story.