Author Topic: angle grinders....  (Read 7151 times)

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Offline Dr Goggles

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angle grinders....
« on: September 17, 2007, 11:29:37 PM »
while trimming about 3/16  off the edge of a sheet that was already rivetted on ...I came across a situation I hadn't yet encountered with what I regard as the most dangerous tool in the arsenal , it seems the fine piece of waste coiled around the inside of the guard and then twisted up like a piece of safety wire .Needless to say it all went from 12,000 to 0 in a bit less than no time spitting off half the disc past my head and reminding me once again to look at a job  and consider the outcomes of things jamming , before hoeing in..........gave me a fright but I didn't lose any skin thankfuly...

here....the rest of it made two laps around the spindle(under the disc) before twisting up :-o

Few understand what I'm trying to do but they vastly outnumber those who understand why...................

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Offline isiahstites

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2007, 11:41:47 PM »
I was not so lucky a six weeks ago........I had a piece of the cutting wheel break off and hit me right above my right eye, I was lucky it did not hit me in the eye even though I had on safety glasses. It left  me a pretty nice cut and six weeks later I am sure I have a new scar for life. I now where a full shield when working with that particular tool.

Scott

Offline Sumner

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2007, 12:00:10 AM »
I was not so lucky a six weeks ago....................... I now where a full shield when working with that particular tool.

Scott

A full face shield is the only way to go.  I know one guy that came very close to loosing an eye and they had a hard time saving it. 

I have another friend that spent a week with me recently that did loose an eye a year ago pressing bushings in an a-arm and it popped out and hit him in the eye.  I'll now use a face shield when pressing u-joints, bushings, etc..  He had a parts store that he sold to his son and was doing the pressing for one of his son's customers and said he had done it thousands of times before.  It just takes once.

...........and he just called me the other day after two weeks in the hospital.  He was driving his '41 Ford pickup in the rain and spun out off the road and it rolled and destroyed it and he bounce around inside the cab and did a lot of serious damage to himself.  He had taken the time to put seat belts in the truck, but wasn't wearing them. 

Let's be safe guys..............

Sum

Offline Jonny Hotnuts

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2007, 12:07:24 AM »
Glad to see that you are on one piece.

This is my stupid azz story of angle grinder "shoulda known betters":

A few weeks before SW I was in a rush to get everything together. I was using a traditional 4.5 grinding wheel but had it laying on its back with the switch lock on laying on the rear deck lid of the fiat and was shaping some piece of sheet metal (as I have done many times before). The problem is that I had a loose fitting shirt on....and a rather nice one. That SOB sucked my shirt right into the grinding wheel and the damn thing crawled up my chest by rapping that shirt up.

My pop was just laughing away (I think its because he did not really realize how close I was to getting eaten up by the grinder and knew I wasnt hurt).

Moral to this story is:

It doesnt matter how many times you can get away with improperly using a tool....eventually it will end up biting you.
Thankfully the only thing that got bit this time was the shirt with a 4 inch hole cut in it....and my shorts.

I now have a new bench grinder.
jonny_hotnuts@hotmail.com

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Offline Peter Jack

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2007, 12:43:05 AM »
Gaurds are often a pain in the butt, but after spending a fair bit of my life in fab shops of one kind or another and having seen the results of several grinder accidents I try to use them as much as possible.

Pete

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2007, 12:56:12 AM »
I was not so lucky a six weeks ago........I had a piece of the cutting wheel break off and hit me right above my right eye, I was lucky it did not hit me in the eye even though I had on safety glasses. It left  me a pretty nice cut and six weeks later I am sure I have a new scar for life. I now where a full shield when working with that particular tool.

Scott

yes , I learned a valuable lesson a few years back , cutting through a rusted on 3/4 bolt....as you get near the other side you are making a shape like a scythe....the edge of this is very sharp and will shatter a disc unexpectedly ...which will then UNEXPECTEDLY scone you.....I was wearing a cap fortunately........

Quote
A few weeks before SW I was in a rush to get everything together. I was using a traditional 4.5 grinding wheel but had it laying on its back with the switch lock on laying on the rear deck lid of the fiat and was shaping some piece of sheet metal (as I have done many times before). The problem is that I had a loose fitting shirt on....and a rather nice one. That SOB sucked my shirt right into the grinding wheel and the damn thing crawled up my chest by rapping that shirt up.

yeeeeeeeeeesssssss......I did that with a sanding disc on one ...while standing on a ladder........left a strange scar from my navel right up the middle of my chest............Grinder on it's back ,only on the ground ,is also in my dubious bag of tricks...the last one I had was such that you could hold the switch on with your foot ...um yeah,........ :roll: great for putting a light bevel on things when it's too much trouble to walk the three yards to the bench grinder.......... :oops:
« Last Edit: September 18, 2007, 12:59:18 AM by Dr Goggles »
Few understand what I'm trying to do but they vastly outnumber those who understand why...................

http://thespiritofsunshine.blogspot.com/

Current Australian E/GL record holder at 215.041mph

THE LUCKIEST MAN IN SLOW BUSINESS.

Offline JackD

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2007, 01:49:27 AM »
If you are lucky enough to get old with all your parts, you come to realize more and more that you are not exempt from things that would have a piece of you in a heart beat. :wink:
"I would rather lose going fast enough to win than win going slow enough to lose."
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Offline 836dstr

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #7 on: September 18, 2007, 01:02:09 PM »
I was watching the American Hot Rod show on building the Coddington LSR Roadster. They had a customer working on another car doing the trans tunnel and grinding away wearing just what appear to be regular glasses. Supposedly he was an experienced fabricator. I hope Boyd has good liability insurance. Maybe he just lost it or had the premium increased if his agent caught the show.

Full face shield is the only way to go. A lesson learned many years ago, the hard way.

Tom

Offline mtkawboy

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #8 on: September 18, 2007, 03:38:51 PM »
In 1962 I was relieving a flathead block with a high speed air grinder and loose coveralls on. Before I knew it, it wound up the coveralls and my nut sack. Got it shut off before I was nutless but I did speak in a high squeeky voice for a few weeks. Moral of the story is dont sit on the block to apply more pressure I guess, or wear loose coveralls. Man that smarts! Others in the room found it amusing enough to roll around on the floor in tears laughing.

Offline Harold Bettes

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2007, 04:48:37 PM »
Howdy All, :-D

At long last after all these years, a simple and direct explanation of how a job can be truly "nuts on" :-o

I thank you for the clarification! :lol: :wink: :evil: :|

Regards,
HB2 :-)
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Offline Dean Los Angeles

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #10 on: September 19, 2007, 12:42:27 AM »
Last week a guy I work with was grinding on his Harley in his garage when the wheel let loose. Carved a chunk out of his arm before the pie shaped wedge buried 22 stitches deep in his leg.

Years ago I watched a guy climb up on a machine, hang on to a piece of 3" duct work, and drill through it . . . With the drill going through the tube from the opposite side because he could only get leverage that way. The drill caught his shirt and wrapped it up with hurting him. He spent ten minutes stuck to the duct work. It took us nine minutes to stop laughing, and one minute to climb up and cut his shirt away. And three years kidding him about it later.

I saw a TV program years ago about a guy that had a bench grinder wheel come apart when his face was close to it. It destroyed his face. Several years and a bunch of operations later they managed to put him back together. Ever since then I stay off to one side.

It's impossible to be too careful.
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Offline Loose Goose-Terry#1

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #11 on: September 30, 2007, 01:47:08 PM »
 :-o My business is safety: CTR Safety & Environmental Services. www.safety-environmental.com
I am very glad to see this thread and hope that everyone takes it very seriously. In my work, I see a lot of accidents that could have been avoided had just a little thought been utilized to perform the task. Safety is no accident. Almost everything in our shops has the potential to cause bodily harm. Take the time to do your work safely. It is quicker and more cost effective than a trip to the hospital.

Terry  :wink:
If I had it all to do over again...I would!

Offline GH

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #12 on: October 08, 2007, 11:06:25 AM »
Don't ever use a thin cut-off wheel after it has been dropped, throw the thing away.

Offline isiahstites

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Re: angle grinders....
« Reply #13 on: October 08, 2007, 10:27:09 PM »
Don't ever use a thin cut-off wheel after it has been dropped, throw the thing away.

I second that!