Keep Your Fingers Clear of the Angle Grinder (Warning - Pic Included)

Your going to like this ............. I was wearing leather gloves. Went right through them. Guess it could have been worse if I didn't have them on.
 
Problem is it is not always the fingers. Wait till you get hit in the midsection by a chunk of the disk. Found those guards do not really stop things. And cotton shirts do not stop things either. Now have a leather appron to wear
 
ouch!
i have been shocked, burned, smashed, pinched, poked, and filleted at one time or another by all the equipment i work on.

i had a grinder incident, with a 7" HD angle grinder-
i was grinding a bit above knee level on a steel firebox for an industrial tar kettle.
i was replacing a 12" diameter x 10' heater tube and had to grind out the old welds after cutting with the Oxy/acetylene rig.
all was good until i got too far into the bore of the firebox and the grinder kicked back, hitting me on the inside of my thigh, mid thigh.
it cleared a 3"x 1/2" wide channel immediately in my leg , luckily it was mostly superficial, it went down about 1/4".
the funniest thing is that it didn't bleed much, the wound was basically cauterized by the grinding wheel.
the doctor picked carborundum out of the wound for 45 minutes before sewing me back up with 2 layers of stitches .
Good Times!

i'm glad that you didn't get it worse. take it easy!

chicks love scars :grin:
 
And how easy is it to go through the cord?
Especially when you have a few things lined up to cut through.
Just one careless swing and everything changes.
 
And please wear eye protection.grinder threw a small piece of metal over my reading glasses into eyeball.couldn't get it out myself.doctor got it out.cut out rust ring(waited too long).also merry Christmas to all
 
4" angle grinder with a cut off disk. c8e642e4169fd5efe9dd0cc90322e327.jpg 16 stitches later, and I was on my way. Jake Parker
 
Eeouch , the worst part the cuts from a grinding ,, cut off disc,,, dont cut clean they abrade . I've been cut dozens of times using them daily . Yes some needing stitches did I get them no. Couldn't afford the bill. But plenty of hydrogen peroxide and antibiotic ointment they heal. I'm sorry you got hurt please be careful , get some goggles uncomfortable but worth it . Even they don't stop everything.
 
We put a lot of trust in the manufacturer of grinding wheels. They have been known to fly apart. A lot of the grinding seems to be at a height below our mid-section.

I've never removed the guard, still my cubbies have caught fire a few times and I'm always replacing the cloth backed work gloves because the cloth back has burnt away on one of the gloves. Always the same hand. At work they supplied fire resistant cubbies to the millwrights just because of that.
 
The cutting disk on 4.5 grinders can also be bad. Yes they are rated for the speed but like most things, They can fail. Even with the shield on pieces go flying at high speed. Have a scar just below the belly button where a piece hit the steel and then got me, even through the shirt.
Be careful and have a happy holiday.
 
Apart from tight fitting gloves and safety glasses if I am doing a lot of cutting I also wear a forestry workers safety helmet. I find these are great especially when working outside in the Sun. They have attached ear muffs, a cloth down the back to stop crap going down the back of your neck and best of all a fine mesh visor that cannot fog up or get scratched.
One vitally important safety protection nobody has mentioned is a dust mask. Silicosis is deadly and grinding especially creates a lot of dust from the wheel and also microscopic pieces of steel that float in the air. My nostrils don't have a lot of hair in them to trap stuff due to various working conditions when younger so when,(very late), I realised what I was breathing and how much damage it was doing I decided to take particular care in making sure I was protected. I also tape muslin pads,(the type you strain must or jam through), over the air intake on my grinders and my grinders seem to last forever. A friend who works alongside me cutting glass shipping frames,(donation to social club, less than scrap value),for steel for projects goes through grinders at a steady rate. It is not just the brushes that wear, I've pulled some of his grinders apart,(usually after a spectacular meltdown), and the armatures are completely destroyed from the floating grit being sucked in. That same crap will end up in your lungs.
I hope you all had a wonderful Yule,(the Solstice was clouded over this year :frown 2:),and a happy thought for you Northerners. Spring is coming.
Cheers.
 
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