[Mr. Pockets]

A quick background info thing: our new shop has two cages detached from a large central open area. One of these cages is for storage, the other for machining. Also, due to a recent move to our current location and the onset of build season our work space is an organizational disaster (AKA, it looks like the inside of my locker =P).

Ok, so one evening I'm using the circular sander to clean up the edge on a few pieces of a peer award. I am not paying enough attention and I try to grind the piece using the far edge of the disc. The little piece of metal in my hand promptly shoots out of my hand. Thankfully no one was hurt...in fact no one even knew where the object had landed. I then spend a good 15 minutes searching the floor for the piece. I end up finding it outside the machining cage about fifteen feet from the sander.

Now as you'd imagine I'd be very wary around the sander that day, making sure to follow all the imaginable precautions, right. Wrong! Something in my exhausted head told me it would be a good idea to try grinding the square face of a 2x2x0.125 aluminum plate. Ten seconds later "CLANG". I had once again lost my grip and the plate was nowhere to be found. The search begins again, and this time I'm thoroughly confused. Not being able to find a tiny peer award piece on the ground is one thing, but a 2x2 plate. That's a bit odd. Finally I was describing what had happened to one of our mentors (college student). We go over and take a side panel off the sander and sure enough the plate is inside the sander. the metal was so thin it got sucked inside the machine.

I laughed...hard.