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Darwin Awards
2006 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Powered Power Drill

2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

My friend and his wife moved to thier new home about one year ago. The house needs some work and my friend "RJ" is quite adept and repairs and carpentry. I was also under the impression he was electrically inclined. I was wrong.

When he decided to install a second 240v outlet near the existing one in his garage, I agreed to help out being the good friend that I am. He bought an average brand outlet and decided to use wiring that he had on hand. (Yes the wiring was the proper guage.) After deciding the best place to install the new outlet was directly adjacent to the existing one, he chose to use a hole-saw for his cut into the fiber board wall of his garage.

As it turns out, a steel drill bit and steel hole saw inserted into the steel chuck of a Makita cordless drill will conduct electricity very well. The motor in his Makita exploded and threw plastic and metal shrapnel at his face. His standard perscription eye glasses saved him from losing his eyes but were completely spider webbed. Other than the minor cuts, scrapes and burned eye brows, he was ok. The drill was dead.

All the while his Zircon multiScanner Pro SL ws in his tool box, on the floor, beside him. Next time he does any electrical work I'm sure he will find exactly where the existing wires are.

Submitted on 07/27/2006

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Arcadia, WI - April 2005

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

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James said:
Neutral: Personal Account
Stories about inept "handymen" are usually amusing to me. This one is! I've done this sort of thing (installing outlets), and it was ALWAYS common sense to a) shut the power off and PROBE through a pilot hole, or b) use a battery-powered tool! And 240 volts? TWICE the fun! I'll keep this as a PA!


Fitzroy said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
I liked the write-up here. Also, this surely does seem like an incident that could have turned out much worse than it did.


Jorge said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account


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