Ever amazed by your own stupidity?

[johnnyb47]

Whilst changing the front wing on my old car, I was stumped as to not getting a stubborn nut to undo. I wrestled with it for a couple of hours and was amazed at how tight it was considering it was just there to hold the wing in place. On the verge of giving up i went indoors for a cuppa tea. It was then the brain cell ( the only one i pocessed kick in)
The nut was a captive nut and welded to the wing. A quick look the other side quickly revealed the bolt to which it threaded into the captive nut and it undone in seconds doh.
What a 49 carrot plonker i am

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've mentioned this before but I was once getting the pedals off a bike. They were pedals with a hex socket in them. I thought carefully about it, remembering that the left pedal is a reverse thread. I couldn't shift it so I got a bit of extra leverage. Eventually I turned the Allen key into a barber's pole.

I was looking at it from the wrong side.

 

[Milkfloat]

I've mentioned this before but I was once getting the pedals off a bike. They were pedals with a hex socket in them. I thought carefully about it, remembering that the left pedal is a reverse thread. I couldn't shift it so I got a bit of extra leverage. Eventually I turned the Allen key into a barber's pole.

I was looking at it from the wrong side.

That is not stupidity, it is normal. I must have done that 3 or 4 times over the years, even more when removing a BB from an upside down bike. To be fair I justify it to myself by saying that it can be easier to remove a stuck thread if you tighten it a bit before loosening.

 

[swee'pea99]

I'm the man who discovered that sticking a fork into a toaster causes a very strange sensation and your arm goes numb for a while

You remind me: mowing the grass one day I managed to go over the lead. I picked up the severed cable and thought 'I wonder if it's still live?' You'll never guess how I found out the answer was yes.

 

[yello]

There are 3 ways to insert a USB cable. 2 are wrong.
You try to insert it, it doesn't fit. That's the first wrong way.
You flip it over, and it still doesnt fit. That's the second.
You flip it over again, and it fits....

Yep, that's exactly it.

If you look on some/most cables, there's either the USB symbol or the manufacturers' name/logo, on the wider edge/top (though as someone pointed out, some kit/manufacturers have the plugs upside down)

I don't know how common the cable marking is as I only noticed it the other day.

 

[Oldhippy]

DON'T PRESS THIS RED BUTTON! 🔴

 

[rockyroller]

prior to selling a 2011 Subaru Forester I wanted to remove a CB antenna grounding strap from under the rear hatch piston support arm mounting bracket. but when reattaching the bracket I tightened the bolt too much & twisted the bolt head off.

I drilled a hole in the bolt & tried a hardened steel bolt extractor but broke it off inside the hole

I made the following mistakes:
used too narrow a bit and & for the bolt I was trying to extract
used locking vise grip instead of tap wrench

so I had to drill out the hardened steel bolt extractor & use a better extractor

I bought a spiral fluted extractor tool (at an auto parts store) (Autocraft brand) which came with a drill bit as well. the drill bit was sh*t so I found a suitable titanium bit in my stuff and got the hole drilled and the tool in place.

I was able to turn the broken bolt enough to be visible, meaning I can see that it turned and came out a tiny bit, I also heard a very distinct creak. I thought I was doing good so I just cranked on the tool more but broke it in the hole.

I was unable to drill out the broken piece with the drill bit I was using so embarked on a long term project hunting for the right tools

I did not know "a drawback to tapered screw extractors is that their wedge action tends to expand the drilled, and thus weakened, screw. This wedging action can lock the screw even more tightly in place, making it difficult or impossible to extract: (thank you wikipedia) idiot indication #1

I also did not know about needing a tap wrench for the screw extractor, and used locking vise grips instead idiot indication #2

I then needed a straight fluted extractor a cobalt bit

FYI this is a M6-1.0x16mm cap screw that screws into the body of the car. it is one of two that hold the bottom bracket for the left hatchback support arm

on my car (over torqued one of the bolts holding my rear hatch on). needed special harder cobalt bits

needed several bits because they dull going into a hardened steel removal tool

a cpl lefthand bits too. then, when you get a new hole in the "Easyout" (which is stuck in the bolt), or after you drill it out completely leaving just the original broken bolt (with a nice centered hole) then I used a straight, fluted, (not spiral) extraction tool, the correct size & used a proper tap wrench to turn it

it took me weeks

in the end you want this in your hand

these are my NAPA straight fluted screw extractors. guess I got them at an auto parts store. part # SER 720

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/SER720

this is a tap wrench to use w the fluted extractors

https://www.amazon.com/Vermont-Ameri...rds=tap+wrench

the spiral tools & so called Easyouts & similar tools are inferior

a hole the correct size matched with the correct extractor allows the extractor to be inserted a decent depth, not just the tip

was so nice getting the new bolt installed

I was so happy I started telling a neighbor I didn't know all about it. they Kindly listened but who knows what they were thinking

 

[rockyroller]

it's not the mistakes you make in life that define you, it's what you do when you discover them

 

[Craig the cyclist]

My previous car, I had the spare key in case I lost one in a magnetic holder under the chasis. One day I went to beach at Croyde, and because of the sand I moved the box in to the glove-box..................have you guessed it yet?

Yep, I lost my car key, and when my girlfriend asked where the spare was I just looked at her. She quietly said 'Tosser' and walked off for dinner in the pub while I tried to figure out what to do

 

[Blue Hills]

My previous car, I had the spare key in case I lost one in a magnetic holder under the chasis. One day I went to beach at Croyde, and because of the sand I moved the box in to the glove-box..................have you guessed it yet?

Yep, I lost my car key, and when my girlfriend asked where the spare was I just looked at her. She quietly said 'Tosser' and walked off for dinner in the pub while I tried to figure out what to do

I hope you dumped her.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I hope you dumped her.

You can;t leave it there

a) how did you get into the car??
b) did she pay for her own dinner??

 

[sheddy]

25+ years ago, went swimming off a Dorset beach with the family, car keys (pre remote) secure in swim shorts pocket.

Walked out of the sea, spotted something washing about in the shallows: "oh dear, someones lost their keys".
You've guessed it....

 

[Craig the cyclist]

I hope you dumped her.

No, she gave the most amazing blowjobs

 

[Chris S]

prior to selling a 2011 Subaru Forester I wanted to remove a CB antenna grounding strap from under the rear hatch piston support arm mounting bracket. but when reattaching the bracket I tightened the bolt too much & twisted the bolt head off.

I drilled a hole in the bolt & tried a hardened steel bolt extractor but broke it off inside the hole

I made the following mistakes:
used too narrow a bit and & for the bolt I was trying to extract
used locking vise grip instead of tap wrench

so I had to drill out the hardened steel bolt extractor & use a better extractor

I bought a spiral fluted extractor tool (at an auto parts store) (Autocraft brand) which came with a drill bit as well. the drill bit was sh*t so I found a suitable titanium bit in my stuff and got the hole drilled and the tool in place.

I was able to turn the broken bolt enough to be visible, meaning I can see that it turned and came out a tiny bit, I also heard a very distinct creak. I thought I was doing good so I just cranked on the tool more but broke it in the hole.

I was unable to drill out the broken piece with the drill bit I was using so embarked on a long term project hunting for the right tools

I did not know "a drawback to tapered screw extractors is that their wedge action tends to expand the drilled, and thus weakened, screw. This wedging action can lock the screw even more tightly in place, making it difficult or impossible to extract: (thank you wikipedia) idiot indication #1

I also did not know about needing a tap wrench for the screw extractor, and used locking vise grips instead idiot indication #2

I then needed a straight fluted extractor a cobalt bit

FYI this is a M6-1.0x16mm cap screw that screws into the body of the car. it is one of two that hold the bottom bracket for the left hatchback support arm

on my car (over torqued one of the bolts holding my rear hatch on). needed special harder cobalt bits

needed several bits because they dull going into a hardened steel removal tool

a cpl lefthand bits too. then, when you get a new hole in the "Easyout" (which is stuck in the bolt), or after you drill it out completely leaving just the original broken bolt (with a nice centered hole) then I used a straight, fluted, (not spiral) extraction tool, the correct size & used a proper tap wrench to turn it

it took me weeks

View attachment 598136

View attachment 598137


View attachment 598138

in the end you want this in your hand

View attachment 598139

View attachment 598140

these are my NAPA straight fluted screw extractors. guess I got them at an auto parts store. part # SER 720

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/SER720

this is a tap wrench to use w the fluted extractors

https://www.amazon.com/Vermont-Ameri...rds=tap+wrench

the spiral tools & so called Easyouts & similar tools are inferior

View attachment 598141

a hole the correct size matched with the correct extractor allows the extractor to be inserted a decent depth, not just the tip

View attachment 598142

was so nice getting the new bolt installed

View attachment 598143
I was so happy I started telling a neighbor I didn't know all about it. they Kindly listened but who knows what they were thinking

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

No, she gave the most amazing blowjobs

Fair enough