Abstract: Employee #1 and a coworker set up a metal spinning machine to produce 72 in. diameter nose caps that function as windbreaks on the fronts of trailers. Employee #1 and the coworker ran 13 pieces of the 16 gauge steel on the machine, with Employee #1 spinning and the coworker cutting the pieces in half once they were spun. According to Employee #1, the 14th piece of metal was unusually hard. It cracked when it neared the end of the spring, creating an approximately 2 in. wide by 5 ft long piece of metal that was free at one end and flopped around like a snake. It struck Employee #1 in the arm above the elbow and amputated his thumb at the base.