Posted By Neil Pearson Not strictly on-topic, but I really did once come across a nail used in place of a fuse. We spent ages trying to track down the smell!

Posted By Stephen J W Clegg. I once worked in an engineering workshop that produced steel handrails. There was a huge machine that was used to press flat discs of steel into a cup that was welded onto the top of the rail, as a finishing piece. My boss at the time showed a 16-year-old TYS lad (an indication of how long ago it was) how to defeat the guard with a good twist and a pull of MIG welding wire (in the right places)... This allowed the machine to run a continued cycle. The pre-greased plate would be dropped in place, the tool would come down and the plate would be transformed into a cup. As the cup was quite hot, the practice was to sweep it away manually with the next plate and so on… (Ah, the familiar sound of inevitability) The lad lost his thumb and suffered a fractured wrist! My boss removed the wire before the lad went to hospital – admission of guilt? The memory of this incident will stay with me forever…

Posted By Laurie Nothing as hairy as these, but in my youth we regularly used an Allsops lager can opener in place of the proper gauge to set a tappet at 75 thou. They were always available and cheap to replace! Carlsberg openers were too small and caused a malfunction. Ah the innocence of youth! Lauarie

Posted By Ian Bennett A couple I have seen are: 1. Engineers brought in from Scandinavia who carry male connectors to interlocks in their tool kit. Then the doors to the machines are removed. 2. The cable of ear plugs used in tying back roller type interlocks. But the best was, one Friday night production was running late the filling machine would not run with the interlocks in place. The production Manager asked about 8 staff to stand round the machine at each door, facing outwards and not allow the operator to enter the machine intil it had stopped. Costly but effective

Posted By steve e ashton Not exactly defeating the interlocks, but... Some years ago, large CNC lathe, fully enclosed with interlocked sliding doors for access. It was discovered that one guy could stand INSIDE the closed doors (between the workpiece and the enclosure) with a sheet of emery whilst his 'pal' (the shop union rep) operated the machine in manual mode. But only if he adopted a hunched half 'C' posture to fold himself round the chuck. This was discovered by the visiting h&s consultant (me) being surprised to hear the machine apparently demanding "open the door you idiot, stop pratting about, I'm getting cramp!". I knew CNC machines were programmable, and reasonably clever but.... The subsequent management report was one of the strongest I have ever written. Life, who needs it? Steve