Mistakes we learnt from

[port perran]

Spending an hour or so trying to trace a loose wire or bad connection only to find that by putting the plug in the socket things magically burst into life.

[Newportnobby]

Without switching off at the mains, pulling a plug out when my my fingers slipped behind the plug and gripped the pins. I was only 8 at the time and it threw me across the room into the opposite wall. I claim that's why I've never been right since

[Mito]

Putting your underpants on inside out and back to front and wondering why you feel under pressure.

[cycletrak9]

The Mark I version of the sawmill on Tintern -Completing the main building and annexe . Card built using downloaded stone texture. all windows/ gutters etc in place. About 10 hours work. Final varnish spray to fix everything -picked up cellulose spray rather than acrylic and watched as the ink dissolved and I was left with a plain card shell rather than the stone edifice I had made.

The second big mistake was leaving a nearly completed St Michael's church within reach of a Labrador with no architectural interest [see my separate topic on St Michael's] 

[jrb]

I learned a valuable (i.e. costly!) lesson last week:

NEVER put a live Megapoints multipanel controller PCB down onto the nearest flat surface, especially if that flat surface happens to be your fiddleyard with DCC current flowing through it...

[Papyrus]

Without switching off at the mains, pulling a plug out when my my fingers slipped behind the plug and gripped the pins. I was only 8 at the time and it threw me across the room into the opposite wall. I claim that's why I've never been right since

Exactly the same thing happened to me, at about the same age. The only difference was that my (Triang 00) layout was on the floor and I gripped the gas pipe leading to the fire with my left hand as I pulled the plug with my right... I can't remember how it felt now, but I must have invented the defibrillator half a century too soon!

Cheers,

Chris (still breathing...)

[Skyline2uk]

Without switching off at the mains, pulling a plug out when my my fingers slipped behind the plug and gripped the pins. I was only 8 at the time and it threw me across the room into the opposite wall. I claim that's why I've never been right since

Exactly the same thing happened to me, at about the same age. The only difference was that my (Triang 00) layout was on the floor and I gripped the gas pipe leading to the fire with my left hand as I pulled the plug with my right... I can't remember how it felt now, but I must have invented the defibrillator half a century too soon!

Cheers,

Chris (still breathing...)

Wow, glad you are still on Earth and not orbiting it 

I mean if there was an undetected fault in that gas fire.... at the very least some singed Papyrus...

Skyline2uk

[Steve.T]

Choosing such a small scale just before my eyes start to go.
Can't change now though - the forums for the big boys are not as good ;-)

[The Q]

Spending an hour or so trying to trace a loose wire or bad connection only to find that by putting the plug in the socket things magically burst into life.

I had this at our annual show last year, being the electrics man I walked all the way back to my landrover (total 1/2 mile) in the drizzle to pick up my tool kit and box of fuses. To get back to find they had plugged into a  spare unconnected extension lead...

This year I'll leave my toolbox in the hall, and check before I go looking for it..

[Bealman]

Without switching off at the mains, pulling a plug out when my my fingers slipped behind the plug and gripped the pins. I was only 8 at the time and it threw me across the room into the opposite wall.

Similar thing, similar age. Had a Lego brick with a light in it, to light up buildings. Worked off a 1.5V battery, if I recall. Anyway, I thought I'd get a much brighter light if I plugged it into the mains socket.

Of course the thing blew to smithereens in spectacular fashion and threw me across the room also.

However that was not as bad as the hiding I got from me father who had been watching the replay of the FA cup final in another room when the tv went off 

[Chetcombe]

Cleaning some point blades with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud, inadvertently getting some on my fingers and then touching a loco... result was a not so nice change in the BR Blue color where I touched it

[Newportnobby]

I know from bitter experience it's not nice stuff to get on rolling stock, Mike

[railsquid]

I know from bitter experience it's not nice stuff to get on rolling stock, Mike

I see what you did there 

[TylerB]

Mistakes I learnt from?

OO/HO

[Intercity]

Checked an X-Acto blade once with my thumb to see if it was still sharp, luckily it wasn't stitches or a hospital run, but it was sharp.