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

Errrmmmm....YIKES!!
lol, so about a year later, I was working on a job around DeSoto, Kansas and I was grinding beads behind the pipe gang and before the hot pass crew. A journeyman friend kept working on me, was bugged when he bragged he always went commando and I said 'no way I would ever do that!'. For weeks he extolled the virtues of going commando - the freedom, the comfort. One day, I decided to try it, quietly. So off I go and about 2 hours into the job, I am grinding between 2 and 5 o'clock on the pipe, squatted down and going to town when I smelled hair burning., Looking down, I was bathed in a shower of sparks and slag because the entire crotch of my pants blew leaving me in the breeze, or shower, as it were. I stopped and ran back to a rig, grabbed a roll of duct tape and taped up the crotch, inside and out. Made it another 10 hours on the job, we were working 6-12s. but taking off the ruined jeans that night was an experience, all the remaining hair sealed tightly to the tape, I was bare. First and last time I ever went commando.
 
I had a 6" cut off wheel separate at the bolt hole. The wheel hovered in
my face before flying off into the wild blue yonder never to be seen again.
Looked like a Frisbee ...
 
I had a 6" cut off wheel separate at the bolt hole. The wheel hovered in
my face before flying off into the wild blue yonder never to be seen again.
Looked like a Frisbee ...
Yeah, the only scar I have from my pipelining days is from 9" 'Pacific Bay grinding disk attached to a Milwaukee 10K RPM hand held grinder. (I really do not like the Milwaukee grinder). I was on a job around June 19,1978 outside Port Huron MI. The Pacific Bay was a cheap knockoff the contractor was using instead of Bay State Gold disks. Disk shattered when it hit a weld bump on the bottom of the 26' .380 wall pipe. Standard non OSHA approved pipeline procedure. No guards on the grinder, holding by the head instead of a handle but I was wearing my welders cap, dark green safety glasses and a face shield. Nevertheless, the kickback send the grinder through the face shield, severed the glasses between my eyes and hit my head with a wallop. I still had the grinder in my hands, and used a finger brake to stop the disk - power off leather finger pressed in to the wheel hub and yes, it burns to do that.

My shield was somewhere, my safety glasses were in half, hanging from each ear and when I stood up, severe pain in my right eyebrow. Naturally I pressed my hand to it and my eyes just filled with red as the blood ran in my eyes and my khaki shirt was soaked. I started to the welding rig to look in the side mirror. Someone yelled to stop me cause if I saw it, I would go into shock. LSS - pipe man drove me 50 miles to the nearest ER and the doctor stitched it up inside and outside he used a bunch of tiny stitches and never once gave a local anesthetic for the pain. I was later told that was on purpose due to the head injury and risk of scarring. Still, the fix was worse than the hit.

Needless to say, I have a healthy respect for fast spinning objects. they scare the crap out of me.
 
This happened a few months ago while I was doing some precision grinding with my angle grinder. When it happened I felt it right away but still had the grinder running and couldn't drop it. I had to shut it off and put it down safely, instead of throwing it aside. Then quickly go and clean all the crap out before the pain started. I contemplated going to see the doc but opted not to. I was concerned that it might not heal well since there was a bit of flesh missing and the white thing in the cut looked like it might be a nerve that could end up healing itself to the skin and that might be a long term issue with sensitivity. In the end it turned out fine although there is some sensitivity when it gets cold.

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Holy crap! I did the same thing on the same finger. I have started wearing abrasion resistant gloves since then....well, sometimes. So painful, New found respect for flap discs.
 
This happened a few months ago while I was doing some precision grinding with my angle grinder. When it happened I felt it right away but still had the grinder running and couldn't drop it. I had to shut it off and put it down safely, instead of throwing it aside. Then quickly go and clean all the crap out before the pain started. I contemplated going to see the doc but opted not to. I was concerned that it might not heal well since there was a bit of flesh missing and the white thing in the cut looked like it might be a nerve that could end up healing itself to the skin and that might be a long term issue with sensitivity. In the end it turned out fine although there is some sensitivity when it gets cold.

View attachment 246700


That reminds me of getting a similar notch in my little finger from a '50's vintage electric planer. Needed stitches & some numbness after 20+ years.
 
Me too......
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wife sewed it up....
 
Lost one finger allready in motorcycle accident (caused by car driver), don't want to lose another, but happens to all of us.Welcome to the club.I think the white part is the tip of the bone. Good luck. Just watch out for infection.
Well then you and me have more in common than just coming from darkest africa.I can also count in halves
 
My nose picking finger ,the left one. index:) I was rebuilding a v6 in a combi and rushing and the motor fell on my hand and took it clean off when the jack slipped.
 
My nose picking finger ,the left one. index:) I was rebuilding a v6 in a combi and rushing and the motor fell on my hand and took it clean off when the jack slipped.

:laughing:mine too. Go left..go left. But mine is a bit worse off actually. I think you have 26 bones in your hand and I broke 20. The doctors had to replace the bones when they operated and wanted infact to amputate. But God is good for me and I can still work with it.
 
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