Accident with angle grinder ( warning )

-
Nope, it'd have just cut right through the glove too.

I won't use an angle grinder without the guard (and this is why). If I can't do it with the guard, I use a diffferent approach.
 
'63GT said:
Wow, that's worst angle grinder goof I've seen..
Can you make a fist? What does the Doc say?
Click to expand...

This one was no fun either. Agree with the OP, it can all change in less than a second. If you are using an angle grinder, be EXTRA careful.

Ouchey Ouchey!!.JPG
 
We have all took a turn, in some way or another..
Hope your therapy goes well. It can be tough at times.

I ripped the tendon out of my shoulder that connects to the long head of my bicep in 2014.
Getting back to normal took a lot longer than I wanted it to.
 
Last edited:
BTW.. my wife says your repair looks good
She's a Dr.
 
Ron816 said:
Seems like the most dangerous tool in the shop lived up to it's reputation with me yesterday. While cutting out section of the rear frame rails it got away from me almost lost my hand, so please either get rid of this tool in your shop or go beyond safe with it, lesson learned the hard way for me, I'm no rookie, have hundreds of hours with this tool, so if it happened to me it can happen to you.

View attachment 1715509960
Click to expand...
Had my best friend down in FL dam near sever one of his thumbs with a cut off wheel on a 4 1/2 grinder. He set it down on the bench while it was still rotating shot across the bench hit him in the other hand. Two surgery's later he can move his thumb about half way but it is numb.
Good luck
 
Wow. I cringe whenever I fire one up. I have 1 or 2 with guard removed. I've never liked them, spin way to frickin fast.
Hope you heal up well.
Thanks for posting.
 
Yeah, sign me up in the grinder idiot club. I was using a 4" with a wire wheel on a smooth surface. It hooked on who knows what and kicked back into my stomach. Lucky for me, it was winter and I had on an insulated sweatshirt that grabbed the wire and brought it to a stop before it opened me up like a fish. Scared the holy hell out of me. No more grinders unless there is NO alternative. I use an electric drill with accessories that fit it. Much slower, but much less likely to change your life in a bad way.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to the OP.
 
Last edited:
I dont use grinders with cutoff wheels unless they have a guard.
I put my 3” cutoff in my good die grinder, an barely nicked myself, it was close. Two hands on grinder at all times.
my cordless is awesome but less power than my corded one. I feel much safer using that one.

i have a 3” cutoff tool, reversible, i use it in tight areas, if it grabs it stalls the tool.

op, that’s just nasty, i hope you heal up well! And fast!
 
Yup a band-aid aint fixing that. Everything can find a way to kill you. 4 years ago this month I was leaning over an engine adjusting the carb when a blade broke off the fan and took my left shoulder and arm almost off. This is after 6 weeks with stitches removed.
wound 001.JPG
 
Just to clarify for those that seem to think this type of accident only occurs if the guard is removed, You're just kidding yourself and you're WRONG! At least in my case, the proper guard was installed as it was supposed to be.

In my case at least, here's what happened. Using a 0.045" (thin) cutting wheel to cut through a B body frame rail, the wheel jambed tight between the steel of the rail. Spinning at over 10,000 RPM an instantaneous jamb like that doesn't just stop without some consequences. If the wheel stops, then all that torque is transferred into the handle of the tool. When that happens it is yanked out of your grasp (both hands were on the tool) in milliseconds and you have NO time to think about what just happened. At this point in time, the tool is now suspended in the air where you had last been holding it, but the wheel is now spinning again at 10,000+ RPM and most likely it is coming right at you from the kickback before gravity takes over and it starts to fall towards the floor. I don't care how fast you think you are, you CAN'T get out of the way fast enough.
 
Back in the day, I remember some of my buddies being terrified of spinning fans...
I always thought, 'what are the chances?'. not anymore ! I cannot begin to state how much that sucks !
 
'63GT said:
Back in the day, I remember some of my buddies being terrified of spinning fans...
I always thought, 'what are the chances?'. not anymore ! I cannot begin to state how much that sucks !
Click to expand...
36 years as a mechanic and never thought about it till it happened. A few inches further and it would have got my neck and killed me.
 
DrCharles said:
Nope, it'd have just cut right through the glove too.

I won't use an angle grinder without the guard (and this is why). If I can't do it with the guard, I use a diffferent approach.
Click to expand...
Plasma every chance I get.
Thing is... seams
I've had the wheel disintegrate a few times...
Wire wheel on a trigger, caught a mechanic's glove on my left wrist and just dug in as I let off the trigger. Would have caught the vain in another revolution or 2.
The right glove important. Good fitting leather gloves without lose wrist bands and that wouldnt have happened to me. I didnt think. You're safer not wearing ANY gloves with a wire wheel.imo

Might I recommend these fine items for protection from the angle grinder..

il_794xN.2083056274_cs6l.jpg


il_794xN.2071555022_s2h4.jpg


Functional-Full-Suits-of-Armour.png
 
Last edited:
I think it was in 1981... in the cruising days. A buddy of mine was idling along, and he heard a WHAM ! He thought someone threw a beer bottle at his truck. So he got out and ran around to check for damage and a bottle and found nothing.
When he got back in, he noticed a slight vibration like an engine miss, and saw what looked like a louver in his hood. He got back out, and seen a fan blade stuck in the hood.
Crazy..
 
Working on machinery of any type can be dangerous. The machines and tools can and are dangerous. Tractors, mowers, saws and even a weed eater. Sometimes an accident does happen so why increase your chance of getting hurt. I’ve been wrenching for 50 years. If you let your guard down or remove the guard you’re asking for trouble. I thought hey the guys on TV do it. Here’s what I got. Be careful, think twice and ask is this safe or is there a safer way? My 2 cents. BTW Broken cutoff wheel flew under my face shield and got me anyway. Guard removed.

View attachment 1715510221

C73DA6DB-1111-42EE-B5B0-644665E11C67.jpeg
 
Last edited:
daaaayaaam that's all ugly. I have mad respect for those spinning wheels of death. I have held on to them so tight that they have shattered the wheel when it hooked and tried to kick back. the DUMBEST thing I ever did was bolt a wire wheel on one of them things and proceed to wind my flannel shirt sleeve up it in with the switch locked in the on position. those things will hurt you so fast you never knew what happened.
I still love mine especially without the gaurd
 
RustyRatRod said:
Yeah, they are pretty dangerous, especially when the guard is removed......and you really have to do that to get any sort of range out of the grinder. I use them all the time now and when I do, I always try to tell myself to be ready. .........but you know how that goes. That looks bad, but it could always be worse. I am glad it was not. When you heal up, put a tat there of a bloody cut with ripped up tendons hangin out of the hole. lol
Click to expand...

And wear long leather gloves ! thanks for sharing , it will make me think next time , hope the best for you !!
 
All tools are dangerous & a lapse in judgement or not having your total attention on what you are doing can be hazardous. As far as the grinders go,nNever take the guard off, there are other tools to accomplish your task. High speed grinding disc made overseas (China) are subject to fly apart. Grinding rocks on bigger grinders with shatter if not stored and/or used correctly, if dropped they may look good until they spin up & then fly apart. My thoughts as I have gotten older is, I've lived this long without the stupid gene, why start now.
 
Sorry to see the injuries. I use to work as an Ironworker and a coworker lost an eye and part his cheekbone when the wheel blew up on a 7 1/2” angle grinder. The wheel apparently was somehow damaged before he began to use it, and as he began to grind it exploded. After that I always test spin a grinder wheel and then put a load on it in a safe direction. To say the least that day at work scared the hell out of me.
 
Last edited:
I had to cut some grooves in some flagstone steps for a project yesterday
I was using a 4 inch diamond wheel and thanks to this thread, I was not at ease
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top