File this one under Reckless. This guy was just asking for it, and — guess what? — he got it. I still don’t understand why he had to stand on the top step; ladder manufacturers print “DO NOT STAND” up there for this exact reason. Even so, I’ve committed that sin a few times myself, but I did so with extreme caution. Fortunately the guy wasn’t hurt — or was he?

Watch what happens when non-Toolmongers audition for a home shopping network by trying to sell a camouflaged drill set. I laughed so hard when I saw this — what a great item to weed out the bad salesmen. Not only do they concentrate on the least important feature, the camouflage, but they have no idea what they’re talking about. My favorite quote: “Maybe you wanna lay in the grass and drill.”

I’ve seen some pretty stupid things in my lifetime, and this one ranks way up there on the list — a prime example of what can happen when you don’t have the right tools for the job. Try not to laugh too hard.

See it here before you see it on Ax Men, folks — cutting down trees isn’t as easy as it looks. You know the old “I could’ve caught that” saying while watching football/baseball? Well, you probably couldn’t have. And the same goes for cutting down trees: just when you think you’ve got it, all hell breaks loose.

Here’s another classic tv moment. While it’s not as violent as our first Doh! ladder blooper, it’s just as funny. Note to producer: let your presenters have some prep time with the product before going live.

This is a picture of a building under construction – in Spain, I believe, because I heard about this from my dad when he saw the picture it in a local newspaper there. But this is what happens when people throw the plans to the wind and insist on doing things their way.

You might want to print a picture of this and hang on to it so the next time you think, “Damn codes!” you can pull it out and look at it.

Sorry for the grainy photograph, but I actually saw this at a buddy’s house and snapped a pic to share. The extension cord went behind that wall to the boiler room where he has his network devices — router, Vonage VOIP box, etc. – installed and wired out to the rest of the house.

He said he used what he had on hand — an extension cord and hole saw. I’m hoping seeing it on Toolmonger will shame him to remedy this. Feel free to help shame him in comments by, say, explaining why this is prohibited by code.

This is what happens when a three-foot wrecking ball gets loose on the street and pinballs a waiting car. Alex Habay of Pittsburgh found out his late model Taurus doesn’t react to well to getting whacked with a one ton concrete ball. He was sitting in the vehicle at the time

Our first thought: you just know the crame operator had that sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched the ball rolling off the crane and out of sight. Priceless.

Wrecking Ball Gets Loose [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

After watching this week’s FuBar III demolition demonstration, one reader commented that he’s surprised none of us was injured. Guess what? I was. You can’t see it in the video when it happens, but at one point I put the FuBar completely through the wall and caught my thumb on the wall itself. (I was wearing light gloves, ’cause I forgot my demo gloves.) The result: what you see above.

It actually doesn’t hurt anywhere near as bad as it looks. Really.

When I came across this video, I watched it a second time to count the luthier’s fingers. Holy crap! He’s resawing a board using a table saw blade mounted horizontally on what looks to be a shaper. With such carelessness, I’m surprised that he had all his digits at the time of the video. For resawing wood, your best bet is a table saw or bandsaw.

The stuff some people build is amazing. You’ve got to have a great imagination – like Mike Stamps from San Clemente, CA — and a sense of humor, too, to create something like this. He devised this contraption to help him with a daily task of which he’d tired: kicking ass.

The Spanish inquisitors — or at least Mel Brooks’ interpretation of them — would be proud. And he’s looking for victims volunteers to work for him and get paid to get their asses kicked. Really.

Ass-Kicking Machine from the Best of Craigslist [Craigslist]

You’ve got to watch closely to see it, but keep an eye out throught the left-hand garage door around the 0:16 mark in the video — you’ll see a contractor dump his wheel, tipping over it for a fall.

The good news: in comments we discover that the guy’s OK, if maybe a little ego-bruised.

And if you’ve got a cool Doh! moment you’d like to share — it’s cathartic, really — drop us a line.

We’re sure everyone’ll admit to considering unloading that stubborn project car from the trailer the “fast way” once or twice.  This clip shows why you should forget that crap, take your time, and bring a friend.

Check out this incredible video over on CNN of a falling crane that crushes the back of a moving car, leaving the driver shaken up but okay.  I thought crane operators attend school and get licensed to do what they do?  What causes accidents like these?

Toppling Crane Flattens Car, Misses Driver [CNN]

Was this guy trying to remove the branch or break the table?  Or hoist the table into the tree?  All we know is that we’re pretty sure that this is what happens when you’ve had a beer or two and the wife has left you “unsupervised.”  At least we hope he’s had a few; otherwise this would just be sad.

TM reader Leslie sent us a link to this photo from AOL’s “Top News Photos for Wednesday, June 20.”  Apparently the original caption read: “A welder takes care of a job at a workshop in China’s eastern Jiangsu province.”  You’d think with as many welding masks as they’re shipping around the world to us, they’d keep a few for the employees.

AOL’s Original Link [Warning, Temporary Link.  Look at the bottom for the photo.]

Here’s an archived copy of a “safety film about dangers associated with earthmoving equipment operation, showing many great simulated accidents on construction sites.”  Best of all: the whole thing’s narrated by a Johnny Cash soundalike who calls himself — I’m not kidding — “Three-Finger Joe.”

Note: There’s a warning on the hosting site, “CONTENT ADVISORY: May be frightening and surprising to some viewers.”  I watched about five minutes of the 23-minute video and wasn’t surprised or frightened, but you’ve been warned.

Shake Hands With Danger (ca. 1970s) [Internet Archive]
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