What is going on??!!
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/rock/01022004/news/68406.htm (Occured Dec. 30, 2003)
http://www.nbc10.com/news/2749809/detail.html (Occured Jan. 2, 2004)
http://www.kltv.com/global/story.asp?s=1591477&ClientType=Printable (Occured Jan. 7, 2004)

Good Lord TG,
You're absolutely right!.
What on earth are people doing with these tools?.
I've used nail guns before and I have the upmost respect for the things.
I suppose it's just worker complacency more than anything.
But, one small question, are the safety devices on these tools ever tested?.

I guess for some of us it takes a one time mistake to learn. I was holding a piece of wood while making some cabinets using a nail gun. The nail did made a u-turn midway and pierced my thumb (no knots in the wood either). Now my hands are always kept over a nail length distance away.
Shane

The nail guns with which I am familiar must be pressed against the wood in order to fire, once the operator pulls the trigger.

However, some do have a switch to set off the gun by pressing it against the wood only, for speed (and I suppose to prevent repetitive-motion injuries to the trigger finger).

I am guessing that the nail guns in the news stories were of the pneumatic (compressor) kind, rather than the gas-cartridge ones. The gas-operated guns can be really nasty if one is not careful.

As mentioned above, that "U-turn" can cause some real bad "owies" (to quote my children). I heard a story of somebody up on a ladder, who managed to u-turn a nail into his thumb. He couldn't get down from the ladder because of his thumb being nailed. He was alone and had to wait for somebody to return. I don't have any further details; this was a story told to me a little while ago.

Don't sacrifice safety in the name of speed!

[This message has been edited by ThinkGood (edited 01-12-2004).]

Check this story out!:
http://xtramsn.co.nz/entertainment/0,,3909-3157736,00.html
Seems that new depths of stupidity are being found every day!.

Edited to correct broken URL tags

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 03-13-2004).]