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Angle grinder safety

SuRrEaLNJ

hail to the king, baby!
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while i am a profesional technician it dosnt mean that i dont do plenty of stupid things, we all do, but somethimes it gives you an oportunity to learn from the things that ive done.

thus angle grinder safety lesson one: always be aware of where the sparks are going, no matter how small of a cut youre making.

why, because being on fire is not fun
imflamable.jpg


its quite hilarious after the fact, once you put yourself out, but its really not fun at the time.

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Hi,

At what age would you let your Son (supervised) use a 4 1/2" grinder?

My lad is 14 years old, very sensible (more than I am at times 😆) and quite practical, he's good around the garage with hand tools and was very sensible when I let him use a mig.

I'm just a bit concerned that he won't be prepared in the event the grinder snatches.

He thinks I'm being overprotective and keeps asking to let me do his own prep. :eek:

Many thanks for any advice,
 






Holy smokes! Super flammable shop
Clothes!
I was in a rush one day and multi tasking, took an angle grinder to the top of a fuel tank we had already “flushed” and had running water in it…. Not smart. Tank flashed I lost all the hair on my face and burned all my skin it was nasty
Watch where the sparks go and no getting in a hurry! Hind sight I should have had a layer of baking soda on top of the water in the tank and of course a face shield
Always know where the extinguishers are and the first aid kits
I wonder if there are some “shop clothes” that are fire resistant?
 






i aint old enough to drive yet, but i use a grinder for a decent amount of stuff. imo with the right precautions (ie. away from flammable stuff, have an extinguisher nearby, safety goggles, etc.) it should be alright. i wonder if you can grind with a welding helmet, just turn off the darkeniing? not too sure. when working in the garage and what not, i usually wear something like the FR buttonn downs from bulwark. not as thick as some shop clothes, but i use it in the chem lab too..... and its come pretty close to flame ;)

edit: pretty sure its close to this Men's Midweight Excel FR Work Shirt | Bulwark® FR
 






You do not use weld helmet for grinding the bits of molten metal will ruin your lens
Welding supply stores will sell you the correct tint safety glasses for torch, plasma, or grinding.
 






You do not use weld helmet for grinding the bits of molten metal will ruin your lens
Welding supply stores will sell you the correct tint safety glasses for torch, plasma, or grinding.
alright, i wasnt sure about that ;) ive just worn safety goggls the whole time
 






Hi,

At what age would you let your Son (supervised) use a 4 1/2" grinder?

My lad is 14 years old, very sensible (more than I am at times 😆) and quite practical, he's good around the garage with hand tools and was very sensible when I let him use a mig.

I'm just a bit concerned that he won't be prepared in the event the grinder snatches.

He thinks I'm being overprotective and keeps asking to let me do his own prep. :eek:

Many thanks for any advice,
Your lad and the original post have something in common.
 






I learned at like 12..? Idek if it had a guard (it NEEDs a guard). We have 2 without a guard and yeah you really need a guard, esp with a cutoff wheel the internet can show you plenty of examples of half a disc in someone's face. Make sure it has a handle also.

Welding helmet is good and helpful yeah. Safety glasses at least but a full face shield is better. Grinding isn't too bad about fire in but I've got metal chunks in my eyes multiple times and that's not fun.

I have a pic of where I caught some fire in my boot (oxy-acetylene not a grinder), but it won't let me do pics rn ig.
 






Grinding isn't too bad about fire in but I've got metal chunks in my eyes multiple times and that's not fun.

I have a pic of where I caught some fire in my boot (oxy-acetylene not a grinder), but it won't let me do pics rn ig.
sheeeeesh!!!! i havent had that yet! but i do try not to catch fire/get metal chunks where they aint supposed to be...
 






Main thing is get it flushed out of get to a doctor right away so they can drill it out, you DO NOT want rusty metal in your eyes.
 






Main thing is get it flushed out of get to a doctor right away so they can drill it out, you DO NOT want rusty metal in your eyes.
For sure. I wear goggles when working under my Ex. Got rust in my eye years ago working on my Satellite leaf springs. Not fun at all, Dr. had to take it out.
 






maybe those covid face shields can hve another use now 🤣 🤣 🤣 one of those and some goggles, should be good togo. i wonder for stuff like working under the X,where its more from dirt/rust as opposed to sharp stuff flying if thats a more comfortable solution, sometimes goggles hurt after a while.
 






Never caught anything on fire using a grinding wheel, but it sometimes makes me nervous using cutoff wheels in tricky orientations, because I don't put on full body armor, just goggles and sometimes a long sleeve jacket. Heh, sometimes I just use the grinding wheel AS a cutoff wheel, if I don't care how much material is lost and the grinding wheel is already on the grinder.
 






I had a grinding wheel explode and put 2 pieces in my finger. Both were over an inch long. It hurt going in, it hurt a lot more getting pulled out.
 






In my signature is a vitamin d link. Post 922 shows what happens when a cutoff wheel explodes into my leg. Use the guard!! Angle grinders have my respect by golly
 






^ 922! I can't count that high. ;)

Both my grinders are fixed speed, a 9", 6K RPM, and a 4.5", 11K RPM. One thing I've thought about is getting either a variable speed 4.5" corded, or a weaker cordless one, or cordless plus modified with a drill speed controller to get an even lower RPM would open it up to even more uses, but I'd probably want a dial to select speed instead of trying to modulate speed with the original drill, trigger while using it.
 






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