People   (Re-unions, trace old friends and relatives.)

Those machines worked in the principle that you described Tonker, A 'tablet of aluminum came down a chute and a powerful piston like punch formed it into a can, It would be impossible for anyone to put his hand in there because, the whole of the machine was caged off and, if the cage opened for any reason, the machine shut down, Safety was always of paramount importance in Metal Box, Also a fitter/engineer would not work with anyone near him for the fitters own safety, I think your hog driving fingerless friend was spinning a yarn or maybe, made a claim against Metal Box and somehow conned them out of a good deal of money to enable him to buy and have a harley customized to enable him to operate the clutch and brakes with limited mobility,