From BBC News Online.

A US man has injured himself in both legs after attempting to loosen a stiff wheel-nut by blasting it with his gun.

The 66-year-old man from Washington state was repairing his car outside his home when the accident took place.

Shooting at the wheel from arm's length with his 12-gauge shotgun, he was peppered with buckshot and debris.

The man - who police say was on his own and not intoxicated - was taken to hospital with severe, but not life-threatening, injuries.

The man, from South Kitsap, 10 miles (16km) southwest of Seattle, had been repairing his Lincoln Continental for two weeks, according to the police, and had removed all but one of the nuts on the right rear wheel.

Frustrated by the one remaining nut which refused to budge, he resorted to fire power in an effort to shift it.

"He's bound and determined to get that lug nut off," said Deputy Scott Wilson, a spokesman from the sheriff's office.

He sustained injuries from his feet to the middle of his abdomen, with some pellets reaching as high as his chin, police said.

He needed an impact gun, not a shotgun!

Too bad this guy didn't get lucky enough to win a Darwin Award... after all, shooting at a hard surface at basically point blank range is extraordinarily stupid.

Ant

Frrrrustration!

That's why I don't carry firearms whilst doing mechanical chores!
:-[

I'm telling you, we live on a very interesting planet...

... shooting at a hard surface at basically point blank range is extraordinarily stupid.

Ant


I need to amend that comment, as there are tools made for this purpose. I use Hilti's DX 351 for shooting clips into concrete. Big difference though as these powder actuated tools are specifically designed to shoot hardended steel pins into hard surfaces, even heavy gauge steel,  at point blank range. If you could get the tool to fire from even two inches away from the surface, you would have a potentially deadly ricochet.

I don't think Hilti has made a powder actuated tool for removing stuck lugnuts though...

Ant

I need to amend that comment, as there are tools made for this purpose. I use Hilti's DX 351 for shooting clips into concrete. Big difference though as these powder actuated tools are specifically designed to shoot hardended steel pins into hard surfaces, even heavy gauge steel,  at point blank range. If you could get the tool to fire from even two inches away from the surface, you would have a potentially deadly ricochet.

I don't think Hilti has made a powder actuated tool for removing stuck lugnuts though...

Ant


It is kinda' pointless if you use a shotgun just to change a tire...

It is kinda' pointless if you use a shotgun just to change a tire...


True...

Anecdote time:

Some 15 years ago when I worked at the county garage, I routinely had to change out the tires on the busses. The double rear tires are attached in a novel way: the hub has studs, like a car does. The inner rim/wheel assembly was attached to that via a bigger stud that also functioned as a lug nut. The outer rim/wheel assembly had a big lug nut on it - 10 of them, iirc. One time, the lug nut froze to the bigger stud, and the only way to remove it from the rim was to burn through it with an oxy-acetylene torch.

There's more than one way to remove a lug nut, but a shotgun ain't it. Even a slug would splatter upon impact, only perhaps could an AP round from a 30 or 50 cal take the nut off... and you'd still have a ruined hub and rim.

Ant

Whatever happened to the right tool for the job?

Whatever happened to the right tool for the job?


I was wondering the same thing 

True...

Anecdote time:

Some 15 years ago when I worked at the county garage, I routinely had to change out the tires on the busses. The double rear tires are attached in a novel way: the hub has studs, like a car does. The inner rim/wheel assembly was attached to that via a bigger stud that also functioned as a lug nut. The outer rim/wheel assembly had a big lug nut on it - 10 of them, iirc. One time, the lug nut froze to the bigger stud, and the only way to remove it from the rim was to burn through it with an oxy-acetylene torch.

There's more than one way to remove a lug nut, but a shotgun ain't it. Even a slug would splatter upon impact, only perhaps could an AP round from a 30 or 50 cal take the nut off... and you'd still have a ruined hub and rim.

Ant


I've read some how-tos in a Harley magazine about removing some parts such as the belt pulley. The pulley was secured using a special nut, and mechanics lock it in place using Loctite thread locker, or something similar. Heating up assemblies secured using a thread locker and using the right removal tool is better...