Worst Audio Injury !!

@jeffloistarca , "The drill fell off, and landed business end first on my bare foot, driving a Robertson bit right through just above my big toe. The bit was sticking out the bottom of my foot. I hobbled to the bathroom with the drill hanging out of my foot, pulled the drill bit slowly upwards, a which point I lost several pints of blood."

OMG! Ouch! 

I once nearly burned through the soldering iron cord and my hand in frustration as I tried to solder a missing capacitor on the back of a CD drive - don't ask!  Damn thing was tiny and I knew I was beat. Eventually got it done by a local electrical shop by an experienced guy who was leagues better than I'll ever be. 


@zorathustra , "Next thing I see is a bright flash, and a VERY loud "POP! CRACKLE!" sound. The current went in one arm and out the other, both arms and my chest tensed up so hard I thought I was having a heart attack. It was maybe a 1/2 second long, but it felt like about 10 seconds, before I broke the connection."

OMG! x 2.

I thought touching something live on the circuit board of my LP12 was bad enough. Took an effort to pull my hand free, and yes time seemed to slow quite dramatically.

I beg anybody reading never to mess with live electronics unless you are thoroughly experienced and have access to a well lit child and pet free work area PLUS superhuman powers of concentration.

Even then, please be careful out there - it's only audio, and we're only audiophiles. 

@drkingfish, surgical scalpel?

That was beyond brave.

So easy to over focus on one area ('it's got to be perfect') and forget that you have a scalpel in your hand, or a soldering iron.

Back injuries are so ludicrously easy to inflict on yourself - and cause no end of discomfort afterwards. Those of you who are unfamiliar with back pain, please try and keep it that way. 

@passthedutchie,

"Haven’t (badly) hurt my back yet but it’s probably just a matter of time with 130-pound stereo speakers, a 110-pound solid-state amp (with dangerously sharp heatsinks), and subwoofers that are well over a hundred pounds each."


Err..with those kind of weights involved, it’s definitely only a matter of time.

My speakers only weigh 32.5kg each but each passing year they seem to be getting heavier.

My advice is DO NOT INJURE YOUR BACK.

Do all the stretching / yoga /McKenzie manoeuvre exercises you can beforehand.

Once your back goes, it can have a cumulative effect on your knees and ankles.

YOU DON’T WANT TO GO THERE.

Coming back from a back injury is one long hard trek. There’s far better things you would rather be doing with your time.

@jccampbellii,

Yes, the dreaded delay is one of the worst things about back injuries.

You can go to bed feeling fine totally unsuspecting the spinal locking up that can happen 24 or even 48 hours later.

Sometimes this will be accompanied by chronic pain in your lower back or legs together with an awful cold sweat as your body takes over in a primal way to prevent you doing any further damage to yourself.

I find that pulling in my stomach muscles can offer some protection before lifting the odd 25kg bag of potatoes or moving the 35kg Tannoy Berkeley.

@mikem,

Rubber soles and certain acrylic fabric clothing often get me mildly zapped, but never like that.

@mikem ,

I hope there was no lasting damage done. Being so unexpected, it must have been terrifying. I can picture images of microwave arcing like what happens when you accidentally put the wrong dish inside.

I've never had anything like that but I did once touch something live on the Linn LP12 circuit board. 

My finger felt like it was literally glued to the component. It took a considerable effort to pull away.

Not an experience I'd ever want to repeat.

No wonder they called it the Valhalla board.