What could possibly go wrong?

[lynx42]

My father had a rear wheel bearing on a 1954 'R' type Bentley seize up and after removing the rear axle, placed the axle in a press and proceeded to try to press the bearing off.
He had the press up to 60+ tons when the phone rang in the house. Mum answered it and called Dad to the house to talk on the phone.
As he walked back to the shed across the back yard, there was a massive bang in the shed and bits of schrapnel came flying through the steel walls.
The bearing cup had exploded into many, many bits and would have killed the old man had he have been there and not called to the phone. He was very lucky.

Regards Rick

[hrpearce]

Mine is simmilar to Ganmain Tony's, I was modifying a front end loder from a Fordson to fit a Nuffield when a spark frim the angle grinder flew straight across the top of the battery, all the caps blew out and some of them ended up in three pieces. Fortunately the bonnet caught the flying parts and Dad and I escaped injury.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

"Why 8-year olds should not drive a tank!"

http://youtu.be/i7PgpcvHvYs

[Max Hedges]

a simple test we should all do is make sure that the brakes work
many a time I have jumped in an old vechile that has sat in the shed for a while and drove off to find out the fluid has drained from the master cylinder
one I recall was when we needed to jump start a car so a mate went and got the blitz from the shed and drove down our driveway to fast (ford ya see) and then no brakes, he took the corner at speed with the front wheels hiting a bump and then he managed to bounce around the corner we rushed over to him he was white as a shet but ok

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi all - the above procedure results with hydrogen gas being emitted. If this is not vented it can easily explode from a spark from one of the battery terminals. I know it to have happened, not me but another person who is lucky to be alive.

Bob

[hrpearce]

This is a good thread for farmers.
Over the years I've had several close calls,
I had a straight grained tree slab on me while falling it for a log.
Broke all the wheel studs and lost the rear wheel on a tractor.
Spun a rock out of the ground with a tractor that left me un two wheels for a frightening moment.
Almost had a dozer vertical climbing a creek bank fortunately the weight of the blade brought it back down with a bone shaking thud.
I now have a bad back as a result of falling 16' when the hay bale I was standing on rolled off the stack, I was 12 at the time.
And I have three pieces of metal and six screws in one finger after jamming it in a wood spliter.
After all this I'm still a farmer

[warren brown]

Max, you're so right about the brakes. Recently my brother and I towed my Willys MB out of storage with my Land Rover Defender - all very gentle and proper etc - to put on a trailer. Checked the jeep for everything, air in the tyres, made sure all the red back spiders were comfy - all good until we dragged the jeep up the hill, over the crest where despite my brother's best efforts the brakes had gone on leave, stopped only by Solihull Birmingham steel. Ouch. Defender okay but the jeep needs new bumper gussets - they're now a kind of steel/origami creation.

As for the '8 year old driving the tank' clip - apart from someones MV crunched - all those people wandering around as if it was some jolly funniest home video scenario. Lucky it happened to be an MV in the path of the 8 yo driver rather than someone's family...

[warren brown]

That's right Mike - Bob was captain (I think) of his local bushfire brigade.
Warwick Lord when he had his property up at Lue near Mudgee had a kind of tourist military-vehicle-experience operation where you could ride tanks and other MVs (before public liability insurance went to infinity and beyond) - he had two Centurions amongst other things, a Saracen, Blitzes, Studebakers, L Rovers etc. and whenever he had a group for a tank ride ride, beforehand he went to great pains in explaining how to correctly board the tank, the dangers in being out of sight of the driver and crew commander, how bloody finger-choppingly dangerous hatches and doors were on all the vehicles - I remember him saying something about 'while they look like big toys - they're anything but'. He did all this without losing his sense of humour or instilling fear - but everyone had a profound, newfound respect for the vehicle and somehow that made the whole experience that much more special. I rode on a Centurion - not a toy - kind of thing...

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Then there was the time whilst riding our old chain drive ride on mower. At the top of our driveway the chain broke and I started hurtling down a steepish driveway, the end of which ended up on a main road with a paddock and dam on the other side. Not having the presence of mind to use the handbrake, I executed a left hand slide turn on the gravel at the bottom of the driveway. The mower then skidded onto the road ending up in the middle and throwing me off. Thankfully no traffic came along and hit me. However a motorcylist came along, made sure that I was ok and then grinned and said that is why he rode a motorcycle. We traded this mower in shortly afterwards.

Bob

[Keith Webb]

I know your driveway, Bob and I can imagine your feelings as you hurtled down towards that road!

Originally Posted by Bob Moseley

Then there was the time whilst riding our old chain drive ride on mower. At the top of our driveway the chain broke and I started hurtling down a steepish driveway, the end of which ended up on a main road with a paddock and dam on the other side. Not having the presence of mind to use the handbrake, I executed a left hand slide turn on the gravel at the bottom of the driveway. The mower then skidded onto the road ending up in the middle and throwing me off. Thankfully no traffic came along and hit me. However a motorcylist came along, made sure that I was ok and then grinned and said that is why he rode a motorcycle. We traded this mower in shortly afterwards.

Bob