Tool Rental: A broken ego and a broken thumb

[Joseph Ragsdale]

I needed to strip paint from a concrete floor in my home, so I thought it would be a good idea to use a floor buffer/sander and one of those carbide teeth scraping discs. The disc I got with the floor buffer has 6 large metal teeth.

I'm active duty, so I've buffed floors with a floor buffer plenty of times. The floor buffers we use are very heavy and large. The floor buffer I rented is made by Clark and is fairly lightweight. I thought it would be a cake walk, but little did I know...

I adjusted the handle to below my waist and lifted the machine up slightly so that the metal teeth are even with the floor. I turned the machine on and all was well, at least for about 15 seconds. About 15 seconds after I turned the machine on, one of the metal teeth dug into my concrete floor and the whole machine launched itself across my room and flipped itself over.

Worse thing was, the force of the machine jerking away was enough to break my right thumb :(

I want my money back. Do you think I have a case with the manager of the rental place or should I just accept a dumb mistake?

I had no idea a floor buffer could be that dangerous. The ones I've used in the military never flipped themselves over or broke bones! Had someone told me before they took my money that this thing can jerk out of your hands so hard that it can break your right thumb, I would have done things differently.

[David Sallee]

Hey Joseph,

Well, sorry to hear about your thumb.. OUCH!

About the "getting your money back" you probably won't... even though you got hurt using their tool... the reason is because they probably have a sign hanging somewhere in there store stating that they are not responsible for injuries caused by using their tools. OR ... in the rental agreement they probably have a clause similar to that... now, if it was because of "faulty or broken" equipment, then yes, they would probably be liable for damages because they rented you a faulty or broken tool....

In your case, sorry to say, it was "user error" and that's probably what they will claim.... kinda like if I rented a hammer from them and then mashed my thumb driving a nail (which I have done MANY times.. LOL) ... and needed stitches... would it be their fault?

I feel for ya bud.. I've done things like that also... :eek:

BTW... I really appreciate what you are doing for our country.... ;)

Dave

[Joseph Ragsdale]

You're probably right. I wasn't expecting to have this surprise.

Looking back I think where I messed up was that my experience with a floor buffer is with a big heavy one, so I was not prepared for a lightweight model. I just assumed I knew what I was doing and the thought never entered my mind that a lightweight model wouldn't work the same as a big heavy one. Live and learn I guess.

If I hadn't of broken my thumb, it would have been pretty cool. This little buffer launched itself clear across the room and landed upside down!

It still would have been nice if one of the guys there would have given me some warning. All I got was a piece of paper with a bunch of legalese on it.

[Jason Roehl]

Joseph, what you found out is that putting a grit to a floor with a buffer is not the same as buffing a waxed floor. My first experience was on a wood floor with a 60 grit screen and I only made it about half a second--the time it took for the buffer to swing into and mash a drywall corner (only thing hurt was my pride, I can fix drywall). Once the techniques are mastered, it's second nature. There is a "zero" position to the buffer, you have to hold up the weight of the handle and apply a little twist to it (which way depends on the rotation--I can't tell you because I'm used to ours and I automatically do it when I grab it). From there, if you lift up or push down on the handle, the buffer will swing left or right (again, depending on rotation). If the rotation is CW looking from the top, when you lift up on the handle, the buffer will swing to your left, right if you push down. Twisting the handle will cause it to move away from you or toward you (with CW rotation, a twist to the left will cause it to come toward you).

Since you know which direction it will go on its own, start with it against the wall in that direction (so that it's pushing against the wall). That way you can experiment with putting pressure in various directions to inch it away from the wall and get the feel of it. Of course, I'd wait until your thumb heals...hope it does so quickly.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Operator error, pure and simple.

If you'd ever seen an old-timer start a Model T with a crank, you'd know that you never wrap your thumbs around anything likely to produce a fair amount of tourque.

[Ben Grunow]

I was always taught to use the Hole Hawg or right angle drill (driving off road or racing too) with the thoumbs outside for this reason. The natural reaction is to hold on tight but when the tool is too strong you want to keep your thumbs. Sorry to hear about your accident. At least your face was out of the line of fire..