pleae be careful with those angle grinders.......

I felt I had to post something, I had a friend on another forum just have an eye removed when a cutoff disc in an angle grinder exploded, yes he was wearing safety glasses, but the pieces went under the edge and into his eye, they tried to save it,but they just couldn't. I see people all the time running these things,no glasses, no gloves,guard removed, handle removed,
there is a reason they say to wear both a face shield and safety glasses, I would go as far as saying goggles under the shield to prevent this very issue, and wear your gloves and keep the guard in place, there is a huge amount of energy released when one of those things fails, I don't care how tough you think you are,or how long you've been doing this, you CAN'T win against a piece of debris flying towards your eye. It's really hard to enjoy this hobby with one or both eyes blind. To give you an idea of how much energy, I have a piece of fiberglass one inch wheel from a dremel stuck in my wall, that's just a dremel tool,now imagine the force off of an angle grinder doing the same thing. Be safe and continue to enjoy the hobby with both eyes

 

I have a scar that runs from just under my left shoulder to just above my right beltline from a 9" disc imploding. I was all different colors from my ankles to my neck from the bruising. The impact felt like a car bumber ran into my gut. You cant imagine the energy behind these things.

That was 15 years ago, the scar has faded (but still there), but my respect for the grinders is as strong as it ever was.

 

this is just a stupid animation, but it still was pretty graphic and is exactly what happens, it was real enough to make me jump, this is why he lost his eye. most of us learned this stuff way back in shop class and have forgotten it, but some people don't know any better, I hope maby this thread will make someone go hunt down the grinder guard and put it back on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJOiKuVeXA0

 

They are definitily very dangerous, not to mention how toxic the fume is that the those wheels give off when they are burning away.

I'd rather a plasma cutter or use a shear.

 

And be careful when setting the grinder down...be gentle...and don't set it on disc itself. Also avoid excessive pressure or repeated "jamming" of the wheel into the work. If the disc is jarred, it can cause a crack...then it certainly will fly apart.

Very sorry to hear of your friend's accident. Best wishes.

 

I hate using angle grinders-especially to cut. When I do, I wear safety glasses AND a face shield.

 

I have been fortunate with the good ol' angle grinder. In the last couple years I have matured and will not run one without gloves and glasses on. Recently my Craftsman one with a locking on/off switch got away from me. I swear it hovered for a few seconds like a helicopter. It hit the ground and spun some more until I could disconnect the power cord. It missed my gut by a fraction of an inch while hovering. That day I went and bought one with a paddle switch that is instant off when released. That old craftsman now scares me a bit. Now I feel like I need to be dressed like the Michelin man when using it.

Is there any common failed discs/cut-off wheels to avoid other than the Harbor Freight ones. I have seen 1-2 of those shatter. The Dewalt cut-offs I have never seen fail.

 

I can't IMAGINE how much that must suck to take a grinding wheel to the eye OR to have to go the rest of your life without an eye . I hope I never have to experience it either . You won't catch MY ass grinding without a shield , I'll tell you that ! Years back , when I worked at a cabinet shop , I had to have a chunk of formica removed from my eye - that sucked bad enough . I've been a full-time old car restoration mechanic for 20 years now , and even WITH a shield & glasses I've gotten plenty of crap in my eyes , but after the formica incident I'm MUCH more aware of stuff & the possibility of takin' one in the eye . I've had a couple angle grinder cut-off wheels explode on me over the years , but nothing that has seriously kicked my ass ... knock on wood .

 

thanks, I hope that what happened to him will be something others learn from and keeps them from making the same mistake, I have gotten on to people more times then I can count about running these things without even having glasses on. A lot of people get the"it won't happen to me" attitude,or think, I'm only going to use it for a second,nothing will happen

 

my grandpa who is in his 80's just had one explode a month a go or so.took his thumb off.he only had a flap of skin holding it on. they were able to put him back together but they are no joke.

 

I don't know of any particular ones, I avoid the cheap Chinese ones, another thing is avoid getting oil on those cutoff wheels, it weakens the wheel, I've seen people wipe spilled oil off of them before, I wouldn't take the chance

 

people need to think once in a while. where is the disc going to fly if it explodes? it is going to fly straight out. if you are using a cutoff wheel and are looking at the edge of the disc you are asking for it. never be inline with any spinning disc. get your self off to the side so if it explodes it goes right past you.

seems to me like good old common sense, but i guess not.

 

Thanks for the reminder. That video is an eye opener, no pun intended. I have been guilty in the past of thinking just glasses offer protection but after getting metal removed from my eye twice while wearing glasses, I think I finally learned, guess I am slow.
A good point made in the video is that the size of the grinding wheel also makes a difference in the proper speed that the wheel can withstand.

 

I've used nothing but the harbor freight discs. hundreds of them. I've never had one completely explode. I've had small chunks fly off, I just kept using it until it was gone.

never force them into the metal, never try to twist them or cut a curve.

 

I had a 4 inch grinding wheel explode and it split my thumb nail in half ! i needed 5 stitches under my finger nail, and i was wearing leather welding gloves!

 

just a follow up, i think the wheel had previously been wet and it got weak which is why it broke with no warning, not a fun experience to get your thumb nail taken off with a needle nose pliers to get stitches

 

Using one to cut is risky businesses.
I've never had one completely explode and I credit that to following several basic principles.
Never over tighten the lock ring.
Always use a large steel back up cup for cut off wheels.
Never have more than the edge thru the back side of what your cutting.
Much like being mindful of the depth of a circular saw. Its more efficient and less stress on the tool and disc.
If it happens to jamb, its now over tightened and should be reset.
If you've dropped it , its considered broken.
A brand new wheel is guaranteed to be off balance and subject to problems for the first several moments.

I've seen plenty of them explode while other guys using them. Its always been attributed to not following what's above. Majority of the time its because the wheel was too deep & no back up combined. It cracks the center out and then all hell breaks loose.

 

Also always make sure the part you are working with is secure. I was trimming a small piece and was to lazy to use a vise. I was holding it against the edge of a workbench to steady it as I cut and it shifted, jammed the disc, jumped out and sliced through my glove, tendons and nerves on the back of my left hand. I now have no feeling on the back of my index finger and thumb.
After hearing about your friend I feel lucky my lesson was so cheap.

 

Thanks for posting this. I am one of those idiots who gets in a hurry and does not put on the proper safety equipment

 

when grinding i try to keep the wheel at a position that if it exploded it's not inline with my face and groin

 

i have used thousands of cut off disks and the only time i was hurt was when my finger was pulled in between the gard and the disk, dam near cut my finger off, the gards have been removed and will never be put back on, if the grinder does fall i make sure to start it up with the disk facing in a direction that if it explodes it can not hit me, when cutting i do not burry the disk i only just cut through by maybe 1/8" then it can not catch and rip apart, i do wear glasses and ear plugs, sometimes gloves, i know guys who smash their thumbs with hammers all the time, who's falt is that?

 

I hate chop saws for the same reason. I used to own a 14 inch chop saw on my workbench and one day I turned it on and bent down to pick up something and the blade exploded and blew pieces right over my head. If I had been standing up I hate to think of what would have happened. I put both chop saws in the dumpster after that.

We were watching a car building video the other night and the guy was chopping a top using about a 7 inch cut off wheel on an angle grinder. It scared me to death because if one that big jams or gets a fracture in it the shrapnel would be deadly. He was only wearing goggles, but I doubt even a full face shield would do him any good.

All this stuff we guys play with can really hurt you real bad real fast.

Don

 

Thanks for the post, I've used the cut off numerous times with little regard to my safety; I see things in a whole different light now. I will being using a full face shield and goggles from now on.

 

I have had several explode, I have also used thousands of wheels over the years, the point of the heavy guard between you and the disc is to deflect a lot of the debris away from you if it goes. You never know with the dics if they are going to go or not, it's much better to have the guard stop lots of it then your body stop it, it's very possible for an explosion of one to kill you. smashing your thumb with a hammer isn't going to kill you, one of these can easy, use a few precautions and live another day., my friend who lost the eye had the same attitude, it won't happen to me, it's never happened before. the point of having both the face shield and glasses or goggles,is one alone might not stop it, but having two layers of protection may either stop the debris or slow it down, I've been in that eye chair at the ER having stuff removed from my eyes before, it's NOT fun, I'm not trying to scare anyone away from the grinders, they are a tool,and like any other tool they deserve respect, a few precautions and you'll be a lot better off if something goes wrong. Remember that same piece of disc that takes out your eye might just go lower and take out important stuff in your neck, just a thought

 

Excellent advice and should be shop policy.

Exactly. Guns are capable of killing, thats why we aim them down range. Same should apply to 10,000 rpm, rotating discs of fury.

The guards invariably end up in the way. People will always remove them. Heavy gloves and proper use isn't a fail safe, but its better than nothing once the guard has been removed.

Lastly, NEVER use a grinder with a locking trigger.

 

See to many guys forcing the grinder and really forcing a cutting wheel. Had one idiot in the shop go through 4 cutting wheels on one job. These were good brand wheels to. Showed him how to let the wheel work at a slower pace and he caught on quick and quit wasting wheels.

 

Thanks for the reminder! It only takes a minute to gear up. I have been guilty of running my angle grinder w/out the guard and with minimal or no protection.
Sorry to hear about your buddy!!! I will definitely make sure I wear my protective gear
when I am working. That safety video should be a wake call to all of us.
Nuff said.

 

I think you earn the respect for an angle grinder the first time a disc explodes and scares the shit out of ya. I recon that's the key to using these power tools is giving them respect because your skin is no match for these things, they were meant to cut metal !

 

the one with the guy cutting the windsheild piller made me wanna turn away if it broke coulda cut his throat. i have used hundreds over the years only a few came apart. safty first and the other thing is the rpm should never be more than what the rating on the disc is and i try not to run at max rpm. i never use a peanut grinder because its hard not to grind toward you, only a die grinder thats made for cut off disc's.....Dave

 

A story like that makes you wan to were a full face helmet.