Tell us your "D'oh!" stories ...

[Joey Shabadoo]

I used to work for a small company making panels for MG sports cars in Guildford. Being the keyholder, I had to get there first to open up, about 7.45am. It was a fair old walk from my digs, about 30 minutes, in the pitch dark during a particularly cold and stormy winter. I set off about 7 almost bent double into the wind and rain with my hood pulled up. About half way there I stopped to light up a fag. Of course the wind kept blowing my matches out so I turned my back to the wind to finally get my fag lit and carried on walking to work. 15 minutes later I found myself back at my digs.


And that boss, is why I'm late.

 

[andytheflyer]

We have a metal towel rail in the kitchen, over a radiator. Keeps the towels dry in the colder months when the heating's on. The rail is mounted in a cast metal bracket at either end, screwed to the wall. The bracket is effectively a single circular rod of about 6mm dia, 100mm long.

Stupidly, I have tended to lean on the bracket at one end when I bend down to pick up the dog's bowl. A few months ago, the cast bracket snapped off whilst I was leaning on it and the bit still screwed to the wall went into my hand about 10mm. Blood everywhere. That hurt. Replaced the bracket and made a severe mental note not to do that again.

Guess what I've just done......

Ow.......

I won't post the photos, promise.

 

[annedonnelly]

In the days when I used to muck about with classic cars I got a set of shiny "new" hub caps for my Ford Anglia. I was never strong enough to clip them on so asked my boyfriend to fit them for me. And added "can you make sure the drain hole is at the bottom".

I expect he still tells that story!

 

[nickyboy]

On a trip to China I had to get an internal flight from a one-horse town to a big city on a Saturday morning. Had to meet some people in the city in the afternoon
Set the phone alarm the night before and went to sleep. Woke with a start. 45 minutes before the flight was due to take off. I'd set the alarm on my phone but set it as "weekdays only". So it didn't go off on a Saturday.
Ran out of the hotel, jumped in a taxi. Got to the airport 25 minutes before take off. They wouldn't let me on the plane, despite me offering to bribe the airport manager. No more flights that day. Taxi back to the town. 2 hour wait for a 4 hour bus journey to another town. Expensive walk-up fare for flight to the city. Finally got there about midnight

 

[Keith Oates]

Which has just reminded me - I don't have any tubes designed to fit the 35 mm tyres on my CX bike. I reckon in an emergency, I could overinflate a 19-23 mm tube, but I really should buy some the right size - cheers for reminding me!

I had the same problem here recently and so put a 19-23 tube in my bag as a spare and then went for a ride and got a flat. I then put the tube in my 35mm tyre and headed for home but approx 10 Kms from home and the air connection pulled out of the tube and so a long walk was the result.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ColinJ]

I had the same problem here recently and so put a 19-23 tube in my bag as a spare and then went for a ride and got a flat. I then put the tube in my 35mm tyre and headed for home but approx 10 Kms from home and the air connection pulled out of the tube and so a long walk was the result.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found a company doing good prices for tubes in bulk. The lightweight tubes for 23C/25C tyres look decent so I ordered 5 of them. The bigger tubes suitable for 35C look a bit heavy at 140g each so I ordered just 2 of them. I will probably look again for lighter tubes, but I wanted to make sure that I had some spares to keep me going.

 

[Profpointy]

good one today. Making holes in my gf's new caving helmet to fit the lamp. Gas soldering iron to make the 4 holes for the bracket. All good. Then looking at the helmet noticed the maker's name at the back which looked a bit odd - oh, that's the front !

Try again - make the lamp bracket holes in the front this time - this time burning my finger with melted plastic (nasty blister).

Right, pop-rivet the bracket on - nice tidy job....... wait for it..... lamp bracket neatly riveted to the pre-prepared holes in the back!

Cue comments "you do the work of two men: Laurel & Hardy". My riposte pointing out where the tools were were effortlessly deflected " that's a boy's job, and you said you'd be able to do it".

So, get the drill out again to drill out the rivets - again - having already drilled the rivets to retrieve the bracket from the old helmet.

Pop riveting done, bracket on front, more holes for battery on back and cabling, and job's a good un, albeit with 4 extra holes.

Bah

Still, I managed to fix a leak in my home-bodged fitting for attaching a diving cylinder to a tyre inflator - very chuffed with that.

 

[raleighnut]

Finally finished the fitting of 5 new doors and decorating the hall/stairs/landing so refitted the handles and latches I'd taken off so Geoff could gloss the doors easily. Fitted one back to front so took it all off again then got distracted by the new kitten's antics (a beautiful grey gel called Mo) Refitted the latch and handles, backwards again.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

20 odd years ago I changed the windscreen wipers on my car, a maroon Cavalier SRi, and, on completion, I was baffled when I could not get the key to fit in the door lock to get in the car to test them. I stepped back and the car magically morphed into a near neighbour's plum Sierra.

I once serviced and upgraded the only Japanese motorcycle I've ever owned, a Honda CB200, the night before going off on tour. I left only to realise I had forgotten something. So I returned home got what I needed and then... the bike would not start. Various checks and tests, nothing. No sparks. An hour later with the points removed and refitted etc., panic of the "I'm going to miss my ferry" type rising in my throat, the dullard Collins realised the kill switch was off.

 

[Profpointy]

wasn't me, but I did hear a story (apologies if it was on here already ) of someone fitting a cat-flap to a door .
Took off door, cut hole, installed cat-flap, ready to re-fit door - bollocks !

Cat flat was neat installed at the top of the door

 

[Alex H]

My brother-in-law had a problem with their dishwasher, sometimes it would go and sometimes not. Elaborate fault finding techniques showed that if you slammed the door shut, more often than not it would go. So, obviously, there an interlock on the door that's not working properly. He removes the door and all the springs etc in the hinges scatter themselves across the kitchen. He finds the interlock and closes it manually - still a problem, so perhaps there's a loose wire? On switching the mains off at the wall, he notices the cable is very tight and the plug is out of the socket some way

Pushing the plug in fully solves all the electrics problems, but there's still door reassembly - not possible

Solution - buy new machine

 

[Moon bunny]

Two years ago, but still not allowed to forget it, what with me being "university educated and all"

I try not to stereotype people but...
At work yesterday, Moon bunny, Irish woman of this parish, was unpaid volunteering and helping me check over a 1920s motor launch which was up on a cradle, we had just cleared all the loose bits out and I was on the ground busily listing them.
Me, to MB who was having a good nosey around: "Stick yer head in that aft locker and see if there's any daylight coming in, please"
MB: "Well, pass me the torch"
Me: "Why?"
MB "It is so I can see the daylight, so it is."

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

My first car was a 12 year old Renault 5 that I was constantly fettling with trips to the scrapyard. The driver's door was rusting badly at the sills so I was delighted when I found a Renault 5 at the scrapyard the same shade of blue as mine. I removed the door from the donor car, paid my £20 to the scrappie and drove home. Taking the old door off was difficult due to rust around the hinges but a little percussive maintenance helped get it off, damaging the old door badly but that didn't matter. Fitting the new door was a doddle and, after tightening the last hex bolt, I stood up proudly to shut it for the first time.

Only to find a slight gap between the door and the doorpost.

By slight, I mean about six inches.

Ever noticed how much smaller the doors on a 5 door car are when compared with the 3 door model?


Doh!

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Just had a d'oh moment, wandering into Evans to buy some brake calipers to improve my oldy foldy, it suddenly occurred to me I have a Tiagra set not doing anything on my unused road bike at home that I can switch and fettle fit for free. I've even got a new set of cables.

 

[tyred]

Going to attend a function in a hotel in Sligo, I was nice and early but struggled to find the venue or the street even though I knew I was in the right general area, there came on a sudden thundery downpour of Biblical proportions and in slow moving traffic in a car with a knackered heater fan, the windows started to mist up so I couldn't see where I was going properly so parked for safety reasons, waited for the shower to stop and got out to have a look on foot, walked all over the place, got soaked in another shower and eventually coming back to where my car was sitting. I asked someone for directions and she pointed it out to me - I had been parked just outside it all along and had somehow missed a huge neon sign with the hotel name on it