Hot steel flew off my anvil and landed in my boot

I was out in the shed last Tuesday trying to draw out a 1 inch round bar for a pry bar. Got it cherry red and set it on the anvil, gave it a good whack with a 4 pound hammer, and the damn thing shot sideways like a rocket. It landed right inside my steel toed boot, stuck to my sock, and started smoking. I dropped everything and started hopping around cussing, threw the boot off, and dumped a water bottle on my foot. Blister the size of a quarter on my ankle now, but at least I didn't have to explain a third degree burn at urgent care. Next time I'm clamping that stock down or using a fuller, because that hurt way more than it needed to. Anyone else had a piece of hot metal go somewhere it definitely shouldn't?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_vera4d agoTop Commenter

Made my eye twitch just reading that, I once melted a hole clean through my favorite sneakers doing the exact same dance.

wren_brown4d ago

Did you at least get a cool smoky smell out of your boot before it fully ruined a perfectly good pair of socks? Man, I had something similar happen but with a tiny piece of slag that bounced off my welding helmet visor (the one time I actually remembered to wear it) and landed right between my safety glasses and my eyebrow. I spent the next ten minutes trying to shake it out while looking like I was having a seizure, and I still have a little scar there that people ask about at parties. It's funny how we do all this stuff to protect ourselves but the hot metal always finds the one gap in the armor, you know? Your foot sounds like it took a beating though, way worse than my dumb little forehead burn.