# Nail gun



## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

So this isn't electrical related, but I thought I'd draw on the vast personal experience here.
Last week I was chatting with our son (21 year old working in a wood truss/post manufacturing shop), and he told us that on Wednesday, a coworker shot an air nailer at him, from across the shop. A 2" nail missed him by about a couple of feet. When our son looked and went WTH. the guy gave him the middle finger salute.
Our son talked to his supervisor, and the guy said "noted" and brought it up in a tool box meeting on Monday. Basically he said "Oh yeah, and don't shoot nail guns at anyone.". We talked to our son, and he wasn't too satisfied with this, so he brought it up to HR, who did some follow-up and the guy that shot the nail gun got written up and is now pissed at our son. He said he shouldn't have reported it and it was sn accident.

What are some thoughts on what happened?

When he initially told me about it,I said the guy would be picking up his teeth off the floor if he shot it at me, then i would go tell the boss what i did and why i did it. We discussed what it took to be able to shoot a nail without the gun being pressed against wood. That, to me, shows intent.


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## SWDweller (Dec 9, 2020)

If the guy isn't fired immediately then your son needs to leave. This is assault with a weapon.
File a complaint with the Canadian equilavant of OSHA or with the police department. You will need witnesses.

Long ago a buddy of mine made cash by doing roof nail offs for piece work. I saw him stick nails in lumber and plywood at over 300 feet. Pretty sure that is enough velocity to break the skin.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

You’ll shoot An eye out kid!


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

Not a good place to work.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

Ok, at least I know I'm not out to lunch with my thinking. He was feeling bad for going to HR about it. I sent him a link on what a "high potential near miss" is and explained to him the seriousness of it.
I also told what I've been saying for years - life is about choices and consequences. This one employee made a choice and now apparently is not happy with the consequences of his actions.


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## Slay301 (Apr 23, 2018)

Kick his @ss Seabass


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

They need to fix that nail gun, it shouldn’t have fired unless the safety is broken.

Had a coworker get shot in the stomach a couple years ago. He was lucky and was only off a few months. The guy who shot him said it was an accident also.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

glen1971 said:


> Last week I was chatting with our son (21 year old working in a wood truss/post manufacturing shop), and he told us that on Wednesday, a coworker shot an air nailer at him, from across the shop. A 2" nail missed him by about a couple of feet. When our son looked and went WTH. the guy gave him the middle finger salute.


1. Coworker is a douchebag 


glen1971 said:


> Our son talked to his supervisor, and the guy said "noted" and brought it up in a tool box meeting on Monday. Basically he said "Oh yeah, and don't shoot nail guns at anyone.".


2. Supervisor is also a douchebag, and probably friendly with the coworker, the supervisor is probably the bigger problem. 


glen1971 said:


> We talked to our son, and he wasn't too satisfied with this, so he brought it up to HR, who did some follow-up and the guy that shot the nail gun got written up and is now pissed at our son. He said he shouldn't have reported it and it was sn accident.


3. HR is ineffectual and / or indifferent; the coworker wasn't sufficiently scared by the write-up. 

I'd ask to be switched to a different crew and think hard about if this company is that special to work at, it's easy to find work for the time being. 

I'd warn your son there's a good chance this isn't over, and think ahead to how he'll respond. For example, don't get goaded into an assault or something that will get him fired and possibly arrested. If one douchebag lies and the other swears to it, it could go badly for your son.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

Wirenuting said:


> They need to fix that nail gun, it shouldn’t have fired unless the safety is broken.
> 
> Had a coworker get shot in the stomach a couple years ago. He was lucky and was only off a few months. The guy who shot him said it was an accident also.


Talking to our son, he says the safety switch on the nail guns work and he's not aware of one that's broken.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

splatz said:


> 1. Coworker is a douchebag
> 
> 2. Supervisor is also a douchebag, and probably friendly with the coworker, the supervisor is probably the bigger problem.
> 
> ...


I've talked to him a bit about it, but will definitely make sure he's knows to avoid this douchecanoe as much as possible, without ignoring him and being an ass to him at work. Our son is a lead hand there, so I'd expect a bit of interaction between the two, but nothing more than work related.


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## Buck Parrish Electric (Jan 8, 2021)

I have a Hitachi and just bought a new Metabo. You can pull the safety back to make it fire in the air. 

I personally think the guy did not mean to hit your son. He was just goofing off, If it only happen once, I would leave it at what the boss told him. 
From a distance it will do little damage unless of course it hits an eye. Now close up is a different story. 

Most people learn from their mistakes.

(Incidentially Metabo bought Hitachi. My new Metabo is exactly like my 20 year old Hitachi.)


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## mayanees (Jan 12, 2009)

glen1971 said:


> So this isn't electrical related, but I thought I'd draw on the vast personal experience here.
> Last week I was chatting with our son (21 year old working in a wood truss/post manufacturing shop), and he told us that on Wednesday, a coworker shot an air nailer at him, from across the shop. A 2" nail missed him by about a couple of feet. When our son looked and went WTH. the guy gave him the middle finger salute.
> Our son talked to his supervisor, and the guy said "noted" and brought it up in a tool box meeting on Monday. Basically he said "Oh yeah, and don't shoot nail guns at anyone.". We talked to our son, and he wasn't too satisfied with this, so he brought it up to HR, who did some follow-up and the guy that shot the nail gun got written up and is now pissed at our son. He said he shouldn't have reported it and it was sn accident.
> 
> ...


.... and this is why you learn how to fight as a young man. Take martial arts classes when you're young and then stay in shape for your entire career. I recall incidents where folks did stuff behind my back, directed at belittling and embarrassing me, and if I wasn't able to confront the individual I'm sure the behavior would have continued. 
I'd have been in your camp on this one, and I would have waited for the guy after work.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

glen1971 said:


> I've talked to him a bit about it, but will definitely make sure he's knows to avoid this douchecanoe as much as possible, without ignoring him and being an ass to him at work. Our son is a lead hand there, so I'd expect a bit of interaction between the two, but nothing more than work related.


So this guy shot a nail at a lead hand and then gave him the single finger salute? Must be the owner’s kid if he still has a job.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

mayanees said:


> .... and this is why you learn how to fight as a young man. Take martial arts classes when you're young and then stay in shape for your entire career. I recall incidents where folks did stuff behind my back, directed at belittling and embarrassing me, and if I wasn't able to confront the individual I'm sure the behavior would have continued.
> I'd have been in your camp on this one, and I would have waited for the guy after work.


It took a bit of encouragement, but last year my son and I finished a 10 year journey and got our black belts in Taekwon Do. I know he has the know how to defend himself, if it elevated to a physical level.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

glen1971 said:


> Talking to our son, he says the safety switch on the nail guns work and he's not aware of one that's broken.


If the safety wasn’t broken then the coworker is a bigger a$$hole for bypassing it. 
There are bigger problems at that company if people can play games like that.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)




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## Signal1 (Feb 10, 2016)

splatz said:


> 1. Coworker is a douchebag
> 
> 2. Supervisor is also a douchebag, and probably friendly with the coworker, the supervisor is probably the bigger problem.
> 
> ...


Excellent use of the word Douchebag,
And agreed on all points.


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## Norcal (Mar 22, 2007)

At a local cabinet shop the nailguns apparently been modified to shoot anytime, & workers would shoot nails at each other for fun, someone got hit in the eye & a lawsuit was filed against shop & the vendor who modified the guns, I do not know the outcome of the suit, but my policy with nailguns is treat them like a firearm & never point them at anyone.


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## MotoGP1199 (Aug 11, 2014)

If it was an a accident why would he.flip your son off. Definitely a douchebag.


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

As long as we're off-topic, I was a carpenter for about 15 years, mostly framing but some finish as well. I was at a get-together with some friends (yes, I have friends.......sheesh) and one of them asked me how many nails I've shop with nail guns. I'm pretty sure the figure would be close to 1,000,000. 

Seems like a LOT of nails but I'd bet it's true.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

That's only about 35nails/hr. Surely you can do better than that?


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

joe-nwt said:


> That's only about 35nails/hr. Surely you can do better than that?


Yeah, I could have but even back then I was slow and stupid..........lol.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

micromind said:


> Yeah, I could have but even back then I was slow and stupid..........lol.


You're to hard on yourself. You're not slow.


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

joe-nwt said:


> You're to hard on yourself. You're not slow.


It took me a second or 2 to get it but yep, you're right!! Lol.


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## Kevin (Feb 14, 2017)

I'd have called the MOL and the police non-emergency number and filled a report with both of them.

Assault with a deadly weapon is nothing to play with.


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## seelite (Aug 24, 2009)

In my younger days (long ago) while in the volunteer fire service, I saw many injuries as well as some deaths. The worst (non-fatal) injury that I remember involved a nail gun at a job site. Guy with the gun was changing locations, had the trigger depressed (gun safety prevented the gun firing unless the muzzle was pressed against a hard surface) when he stumbled, pushing the muzzle against his knee cap. Result = a 3 inch (10d) nail through the knee cap. His voice was weak and I never heard "ouch". What I did hear was not published in the newspaper. REMEMBER - injuries happen at Warp speed while recovery can span a lifetime.


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