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Posted by: ctc911ctc Jan 31 2020, 10:28 AM

Back in the 60s, my father took our car to a local mechanic who did not have a ring finger. Herb (my dad) explained that the mechanic most likely lost the finger working on a car with hot wires which heated his ring.

The image of a red-hot ring on my finger stayed with me.

As a result, I ALWAYS take the battery out of the circuit AND take my ring (watch too) off when tooling around the car.

I have been looking to install a quick battery disconnect and wondered why they are all on the negative side of the battery. On the EE (theory) side of the equation, this is not as logical as the positive (not to open a can of worms) but on the practical side, I did not know why.

Dug around for a while until I found the reason buried in a very weird board about ATVs. The writer's referenced "Wrench Slip Arc" as why you disconnect the negative. For no other reason than you want to wrench the POSITIVE first so if you slip the wrench you are not then holding a filament. To me, this was an epiphany and decided to share this matter of safety.

Please forgive me if this topic has been explored to exhaustion in your respective spheres.

CTC911CTC

Posted by: 914Sixer Jan 31 2020, 11:30 AM

Almost had ring finger sliced off by wedding ring when it got hung up. Just cut it to the bone. Got away with stitches only. At the phone company we were not even allowed to wear watches or any jewelry.

Posted by: Optimusglen Jan 31 2020, 11:35 AM

They sell silicone rings now, removes all the danger while still alloying you to show your commitment. I wear a silicone ring almost always, my metal wedding band only for special occasions.

Posted by: Cairo94507 Jan 31 2020, 11:41 AM

OK, going into the way back machine..... like 1977, my twin brother meets me for lunch before heading off to work and shows me a silver and turquoise ring his girlfriend got him that he was now wearing. I tell him, "Just remember not to wear it at work". That night he is chasing a bad guy through a backyard and goes over a cyclone fence, catches the turd and takes him down and cuffs him. As he is waiting for assistance to get the turd out of the backyard to a patrol car he feels his hand is wet and looks and notices his ring finger is now just bone and the ring and skin is gone. He goes back to the fence and there is the ring and skinned finger. He still has the ring (souvenir) but the hospital took the finger off at the joint closest to the palm. He said, "I should have listened to you." I said, "Yeah". Fortunately after a little physical therapy and lots of practice he was able to shoot very well and qualify so he was able to remain a LEO until he retired.

Posted by: mepstein Jan 31 2020, 11:58 AM

Wow. So that's how people tell you apart.
In all seriousness, my dad, a retired surgeon, told me not to wear my wedding band except for nice occasions. He saw and heard many a story from the ER of guys getting it caught on some tool or machine and losing a finger or worse.

Posted by: Dr Evil Jan 31 2020, 11:58 AM

A swimmer at my airstation had a missing ring finger. He was in the helicopter while it was parked in the hanger, was standing in the cabin door and lost his balance, reached for the rescue hook hanging from the boom to stabilize himself, hook got under his ring and popped his finger right off. He managed to stay is and is not a LTCDR in Hawaii, and was a swimmer for many years after the accident. Much like the OP, this stuff is always on my mind, too.

Posted by: Mark Henry Jan 31 2020, 12:09 PM

One of my dad's first jobs after coming back from WW2 was in a chrome shop he leaned over a tank and got zapped. The ring went red hot, but he managed to rip it off his finger. The other lads found his ring in the tank, but he never wore it again.
I also had a cousin lose a finger, jumped off a hay wagon and caught his ring on a nail.

I have one, my grandfathers 24K, but I never wear the ring, the band is way to soft. In 31 years I've only worn it maybe a half dozen times. I don't need to prove I'm married.

Posted by: BeatNavy Jan 31 2020, 01:09 PM

I worked with a Captain in the Army (nicknamed "Captain Flatulence," but that's another story) who lost a finger on the top of a chain link fence, kind of like in Cairo's story. His unit got back from a field exercise late, and nobody on their team seemed to have a key to the motor pool so they could put the vehicles away and go home to bed. Being a "hold my beer" kind of guy, he scaled the fence with 10 fingers but came down with 9.

I remember when we were retiring our Battalion in Germany after Desert Storm. At the parade / ceremony his company was next to mine on the parade field. The commanders were supposed to ceremonially tie up the company guidon (flag) to show retirement. As I was doing mine, I heard him mutter over to my left "This would be a lot f***in' easier with 10 fingers!"

Posted by: rhodyguy Jan 31 2020, 01:22 PM

A finger? How about a carpenter cutting a 2x4 laid across one thigh with the guard wedged back. Oops, buckets-o-blood. His quick thinking partner wrapped the long saw cord around his leg for a tourniquet and tightened it with a short piece of rebar. Fire truck, aid car, ER. He lived without loosing the leg. Everything at the incedent site was left the way it was at time. L&I inspectors showed up the next day. The carpenter never came back.

Posted by: mepstein Jan 31 2020, 01:42 PM

My wife worked surgical shock trauma. Lots of stupid work related injuries including a carpenter dropping his nail gun onto his chest and driving a nail into his heart. His buddy wanted to pull it out with a claw hammer. But she always shook her head at the motorcyclists who didn’t wear helmets. Legal in Delaware but their injuries showed the stupidity of their freedom to choose.

Posted by: gereed75 Jan 31 2020, 01:53 PM

Back in the day while working out in the gym one of my teammates idly jumped up to touch the Bball hoop. Ring got caught on the net hooks and sliced the skin off the bone. Saved by good Navy doctors at Bethesda. All gives me the heebie jeebies when I think about it.

Posted by: rgalla9146 Jan 31 2020, 02:55 PM

Jimmy Fallon
Tripped at home, ring finger caught on table. finger saved.

Posted by: Al Meredith Jan 31 2020, 04:54 PM

I was an electrician on jets in the US Navy and was told by the senior guys not to ware a wedding ring . There are some times when you must put your hands behind a dashboard or inside a hidden panel and it had happened in the past that a 28volt DC short across your ring could melt your finger off.

Posted by: anderssj Jan 31 2020, 05:32 PM

This poster was hanging in RVAW-120's Safety Office when I went through their school some years ago:



I always remember that image...

Posted by: gandalf_025 Jan 31 2020, 05:39 PM

I got married in 1978 and NEVER wore a ring.
Still married to the same girl and have never worn a ring.
I dislike any sort of jewelry and have never worn any...

Posted by: fiacra Jan 31 2020, 06:17 PM

12 years working as a PA in Hand Surgery will cure you from ever wanting to wear a ring. Could tell you lots of stories about cars, table saws, nail guns, etc. and hand injuries, but I bet all of you know the risks. Just be smart, think ahead, and don't be drunk or tired when you make decisions.... Don't modify or delete safety features from tools.

Just for fun, as long as you aren't squeamish, I got called to the ED to take a nail out of a patient's hand and he took some pictures and a video of it. Shared with permission from the patient....

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMk5WQU93mJG9EG34CSFn0D9_oUt84dvOz3bPRE_k7qrBc4jKYSEYWGjwn4QfGJYQ?key=SS1RRzlYTkhNNk5lazN3dmZ1YlF0a2lYd1hTdkhB

Posted by: 914forme Jan 31 2020, 06:23 PM

Oh the pain, oh the pain, these hit a bit to close to home.

Posted by: ClayPerrine Jan 31 2020, 06:40 PM

Back when I first started fixing cars for a living, I worked at a shop that also serviced trucks. Had one of the truck mechanics release a flip front cab to get to the engine. His ring caught on one of the perforations on the metal step on the side of the cab. The ring stripped his finger of meat as the cab rotated upward.

I told Betty about it that night. After hearing the story, she took my hand and removed my ring.

Posted by: ClayPerrine Jan 31 2020, 06:46 PM

I disagree.

I see lots of people disconnect the positive cable. If you do that, you risk sparks and/or a direct shorted battery if your wrench touches ANYTHING while disconnecting the cable.

If you disconnect the negative first, the only possible way to short out your battery is to hit the positive post with the other end of the wrench. And if you keep a plastic post cover over it (or even just some painter's tape) you can't short out the battery.

Posted by: 914forme Jan 31 2020, 07:32 PM

Thats how I was taught to do it. I always remove negative, put it to the side, and remove positive. If you do it a lot for one make, you can get / make wrenches that are rubber coated for this purpose.

No chance of getting over to the arc-side.

I picked up a gear wrench 10mm cut the open end off, voided the warranty, and made one for the 914 / VW stuff I worked on. a bit of platadip and no more Mr. Sparky. I need to get that one back or make another one. Hate it when tools come up missing.

Posted by: 76-914 Jan 31 2020, 07:58 PM

Neg is always removed first.

Posted by: Rand Jan 31 2020, 08:08 PM

Agreed. Think about it being a negative thing you want out of the picture so you never forget which to remove first. A short is definitely a negative thing we don't want.

Or for some people it helps to remember which way electricity flows... FROM negative. It wants to be positive and do work. Stop it at the source first.

Misinformation causes a lot of trouble.

Posted by: ctc911ctc Feb 1 2020, 02:21 PM

To clarify - the quote you took supports your point of view. Installing a battery, wrench the positive and then negative. Removing power or battery - remove the negative.

Posted by: gereed75 Feb 1 2020, 07:30 PM

Steve a. What VAW squadron were you in??

Posted by: Mark Henry Feb 2 2020, 08:29 AM

Negative is "first off and last on" is what I was taught.

Posted by: 914_7T3 Feb 2 2020, 12:22 PM

This is where connecting the positive first gets you when the wrench lets go.

Posted by: carr914 Feb 3 2020, 05:39 AM

My Father in Law lost his Ring Finger when his ring caught something. I wore a Wedding Ring for about a month till I caught it on something and cut the finger severely

Posted by: raynekat Feb 3 2020, 01:49 PM

A friend of mine was climbing down from the top of his pickup camper, slipped, grabbed for the ladder better, fell, but his ring got hung up on the ladder striping the skin off his finger. They sewed it back on but he can't wear the ring on the finger anymore.

I never wear my ring except on special occasions. My wife completely understands.

Posted by: get off my lawn Feb 3 2020, 06:59 PM

My ring has been hanging on my keychain for a really long time.
decades.

Plus it's a size 14 and won't fit my fat finger anywho.


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Posted by: whitetwinturbo Dec 17 2020, 10:39 PM

When I was a youngster, I helped my dad move a fridge down a staircase. We lost control and his ring finger got smashed against the wall and the appliance crushing the ring. He used pliers to make the ring "roundish" again to get it off his finger thus allowing blood flow to begin again. He never wore the ring again.

Posted by: infraredcalvin Dec 17 2020, 11:04 PM

I know I’m in the minority on this, but my ring is thrashed, because there have been so many instances whee I tried to grab something before it shut or just plan not getting my hand out quick enough. My ring has saved my fingers more times than I care to count.

Posted by: Arno914 Dec 18 2020, 06:52 AM

...imagine a wrench slip arc on a Tesla...

This is a very good thread. From time to time it is valuable to be reminded how important safety is.

Work safely.

Posted by: Sycolyst Dec 18 2020, 07:15 AM

Back when I first got out of school I was working as a management trainee for a garbage company and was filling in on a residential route. I jumped off the back of the truck and my ring caught the compactor lever. The truck kept going and pulled me down the road by my ring finger. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty and I don't wear a ring anymore.

Posted by: Root_Werks Dec 18 2020, 10:31 AM

This whole thread is giving me the willies..creepy stories!

Posted by: 914_teener Dec 18 2020, 11:24 AM

Since I.m a "hold on to my finger type of guy".....

Silicone ring hunh....this sucker is at least an ounce of AU.....

I'm thinking of quitting while I.m still ahead after this thread.

Posted by: Mikey914 Dec 18 2020, 06:58 PM

I also learded to take my ring off. I slipped wrench tightening a nut on my 951 head and caught a stud. Really hurt, and started swelling right away. I had a tin snip, and cut the simple gold band fairly easily. I figured I could do it or pay a doctor to so just did it. Since then my wife bought me a tungsten ring, so I just take it off now.

Posted by: r_towle Dec 18 2020, 07:07 PM

You guys have creepy stories

Posted by: mepstein Dec 18 2020, 08:23 PM

My ring always sits in my wife’s jewelry box except for anniversary dinners. I’ve never worn jewelry so she had no expectations I would wear a ring.

Posted by: fiacra Dec 19 2020, 11:03 AM

I've lost count, but I've taken somewhere around 50-100 rings off injured hands/fingers over my career. There are nice techniques for getting a ring off without cutting it. I'm sure you can find a youtube video where you use dental floss, but I use a length of suture silk. Just remember if you have a hand or upper extremity injury to get your rings off right away because once your fingers start to swell you have a whole new problem. If you must wear a ring, make sure it can be taken off with ease. If not, get it resized. Our finger joints enlarge with age and if you never remove your ring you might find someday years after your first put it on that even though it feels loose on your finger that you can't get it off over the knuckle. Some jewelers will cut rings off for you, but you can also get a ring cutter easily and cheaply online.

Bottom line....I recommend people never wear rings on their fingers, but if you do please take them off when you are working with your hands, have an awareness that you need to get them off right away if you injury your upper extremity (as an example a shoulder injury can cause delayed hand swelling), and make sure they can come off your finger if you haven't taken them off in a long time.