Loading Accident

[DaveS]

Crud.  That kinda raises the overall pucker factor......

 

What kind of primers, and what brand/type of powder ? 

 

What is the work surface of your bench? 

 

Leather, vinyl, fabric, or metal chair? 

 

I recall it raining here late Monday evening (I was mowing), so probably rained down there earlier in the day ? Was there any rain in the area (or thunderstorms, either of these produce static charges in the local air) ? 

 

Bert

I don't remember the weather. I can only say that when the paramedics walked me outside with the sheriff deputies, it was not raining.

 

DaveS

[mikegideon]

Oh hell no! I'm done. The rest of my reloading gear, press and all is heading for the classifieds! If I need ammo, I'll buy it!

 

DaveS

 

You're gonna need ammo, unless you're planning on chasing down those Florida hogs and killin' them Tarzan style. :)

[DaveS]

You're gonna need ammo, unless you're planning on chasing down those Florida hogs and killin' them Tarzan style. :)

I'm assuming Bass Pro will have ammo. That's my plan!

 

DaveS

[R_Bert]

I don't remember the weather. I can only say that when the paramedics walked me outside with the sheriff deputies, it was not raining.

 

DaveS

 

I just checked my humidity level.  It is 39% upstairs, which means it's ~5% lower in the basement reloading room (dehumidifier is down there)

 

SO... It is lower than I thought (I would have guessed ~45-50% with all the rain). 

 

I could see the room hitting 25% on a dry week...

[dralarms]

Sorry about your accident. Hope you heal quickly.

[RED333]

Some reading on this

http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/sparks/sparks.html

[Sniper23]

Sorry to hear about your misadventures Dave. If you need any kind of help healing those wounds or any kind of help at all, just let me know. I'll be happy to help any way I can.

[Guest tdoccrossvilletn]

I really, really hate to even mention this accident to my fellow TGO'rs as I don't feel like taking a verbal beating here. However, I have decided to share this experience with each of you. If I can prevent said accident from happening to anyone of you, then I suppose it would be worth the beating!

Around 11am this past Monday I was hand loading some .45 Long Colt with Black Powder for a friend of mine. I filled some casings with BP and set them on my work bench. I got up, went into the house, got a drink, picked up my cell phone and walked back out into the shop. I sat down in my chair at my bench and reached over and picked up a casing to load with a bullet. The second I picked it up, it exploded in my hand, causing injury and burns. The brass casing broke into pieces and imbedded in my leg and hand. Long story short, two deputies showed up just before the EMT's and the accident was explained numerous times to them (and later to an investigator). It was/is determined that a static spark detonated the round. I'm no scientist, but the injuries are painful and very real! I DO NOT KNOW what happened!

The SD said I should have been using a ESD Mat while loading Black Powder. I've never heard of this before!

After 2 1/2 hours of surgery to put my broken middle finger back together and stitch the skin back to my fingers and thumb, I'm on my road to recovery!


My hand after initial treatment in the ER prior to surgery.

My hand as of yesterday...



My right thigh...



I get to get my stitches out next week, and the Orthopedic Surgeon doesn't anticipate any further surgeries.

My message to each of my fellow TGO reloaders is PLEASE, PLEASE buy an ESD MAT and use it! Especially if you load Blackpowder!

DaveS

You don't know what happened yet You know that static electricity caused it. Get well soon

Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy.

[rugerla1]

Holy $+#? Glad it wasn't worse, its bad enough as it is. Like said before, glad it wasn't your eyes! Wishing you quick healing.

[Worriedman]

Sorry to hear of your troubles Dave.  BP be dangerous.

[sigmtnman]

ouch.  Good thing it didn't get your balls. 

 

Eyeballs, that is.

 

Get well!

[Randall53]

Oh crap...there will be a crow circling you every where you go for the next month with HLS on its side in tiny letters.....seriously, glad you are ok. That kind of accident could cause a really bad eye injury too. Edited August 25, 2013 by Randall53

[Monkeyman2500]

Dang man, sorry to hear that. Glad you didnt lose any digits. Get better soon.

[Spots]

Oh hell no! I'm done. The rest of my reloading gear, press and all is heading for the classifieds! If I need ammo, I'll buy it!

DaveS

Jesus man. I knew blackpowder could be rough from messing with the cap and ball revolvers but I had no idea that small of a charge, under no pressure could cause that kind of damage. Glad the damage wasn't any worse than it was, you get well soon brother. Lots of accidents here lately it seems. And thanks for the tips on the esd mat, Ive never even heard about that. I'll be looking for that reloading gear, Lord knows Ive needed to get setup forever now. Doubt I can afford it, but you never know. When you get to flordia let me know and Ill visit for some hog hunting and bring you a new pig sticker.

Tapatalk ate my spelling. Edited August 25, 2013 by Spots

[Clod Stomper]

Ouch! Glad it doesn't look like permanent damage.

Seriously, thanks for the heads up. I've never loaded black powder cartridges, but never having had any unexpected incidents in in 26 years, I've definitely gotten lax about PPE. This has opened my eyes (which I really want to keep) and I will be wearing safety glasses from now on when I load. I've never heard of a ESD mat, but I will probably be buying one of those, too.

I guess one advantage to hand loading in a relatively damp basement is that I don't have to worry too much about static electricity. But still...

Thanks,

Will

[Dustbuster]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Ill def ground my machine to an earth ground before I run anything else.. Wish u a speedy recovery

[Guest TresOsos]

More than likely the ESD set off the black powder, in the early days of the space program, NASA had a real problem with ESD igniting rocket motors.

Blew up buildings and killed people. It lead to a lot of the reseach and procedures used today in dealing with ESD in manufacturing and service industries.

Glad you ok and prayers for a speedy recovery, I wouldn't give up reloading, be more careful and get back on that horse.

[Fourtyfive]

Thanks for the new nick name. My wife had one for me too!
 
DaveS

Ha! Can you tell us what she called you ?

[Peace]

Dave, I am so sorry you are going through this, and I am so glad you are going to be ok.

Thank you for sharing, what you have given to this community is far beyond what money can provide.

Let us know if we can help with anything.

Yes to the ESD mat. ... Maybe anyone who has worked in factory ammo production can speak up as to best practices for all of us.


We all owe you a thanks Dave. Heal up, and take your wife to do something fun by soon!

[RichardR]

Oh hell no! I'm done. The rest of my reloading gear, press and all is heading for the classifieds! If I need ammo, I'll buy it!

DaveS

Nope no you're not.

Listen just pack them all up & either toss them in storage or loan them out to someone who'll hold onto them until you're ready to start reloading again.

Seriously man, do NOT sell off your reloading gear!

[DaveS]

You don't know what happened yet You know that static electricity caused it. Get well soon

Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy.

Re read my post. "I" don't know what happened...the "SD" suggested static electricity. As of this moment, I still don't know what happened! I will soon find out though.

 

Dave

[DaveS]

Ha! Can you tell us what she called you ?

Yes...can you spell D-U-M-B-A-Z-Z ?

 

Dave

[DaveS]

Ouch! Glad it doesn't look like permanent damage.

Seriously, thanks for the heads up. I've never loaded black powder cartridges, but never having had any unexpected incidents in in 26 years, I've definitely gotten lax about PPE. This has opened my eyes (which I really want to keep) and I will be wearing safety glasses from now on when I load. I've never heard of a ESD mat, but I will probably be buying one of those, too.

I guess one advantage to hand loading in a relatively damp basement is that I don't have to worry too much about static electricity. But still...

Thanks,

Will

As bad as it sounds, I've never worn safety glasses while reloading. I was in the process of selling my stuff when this happened, so I will not need safety glasses for that. I'm gun shy right now. Screw reloading. Sad part is I've reloading hundreds and hundreds of rounds of ammo without a single incident. This? Scared the hell out of me. I'm done with it.

 

Dave

[Wingshooter]

Ouch. Glad it wasn't worse but still looks painful. I hope you heal up quick. It sounds like static to me also. I'll sometimes get a little zap when I turn the light switch on in the garage. I never though about that happening at the reloading bench. Thanks for the heads-up. I'm definately getting an ESD mat for my reloading area and also in the other area where I store my fuels.

[DaveTN]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Ill def ground my machine to an earth ground before I run anything else.. Wish u a speedy recovery

One of the electrical experts can jump in here, but I think you also need to be grounded to discharge any static electricity.