Pneumatic Power Tools

The following article was posted in the (Mobile) Press Register on Wednesday, June 11, 2008.

Shawnee, Kan.
"Nail Gun Mishap Drives nail in Skull"

A suburban Kansas City man accidentally fired a 2.5-inch mail into the top of his head, but says he now feels fine after a doctor used a claw hammer to remove it.

The mishap occurred Friday while George Chandler, of Shawnee, and a friend were working on a backyard project.

The nail gun hose became tangled, causing the powerful tool to fire once. Chandler said Monday he told his friend he didn't know where the nail went, but he felt a sting on the top of his head.

Soon they discovered that the nail was driven into Chandler's skull, so they called an ambulance. He was rushed to a hospital where a doctor used a common claw hammer to remove the nail, Chandler said.

Chandler said he feel "very lucky, very, very lucky to have escaped serious injury."

Although this event happened on a back yard project that OSHA regulations do not apply, perhaps this incident would not have happened if they had used the following Pneumatic Power Tools, OSHA Standard:

1926.302(b)(3) "All pneumatic driven nailers, staplers and other similar equipment provided with automatic fastener feed, which operate at more than 100 p.s.i. pressure at the tool shall have a safety device on the muzzle to prevent the tool from ejecting fasteners, unless the muzzle is in contact with the work surface"

It seems as the persons involved were using Donkey Sense in not using the tool by possibly bypassing safety features. Common Horse Sense proves the use of safety features when using pneumatic tools is the way to go.


Safe work practices on Home Projects apply off the job site as well as on.style="font-style:italic;">