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A painful lesson on using guards.

BigCountryMopar

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Saturday evening, I was working on the flatbed and I needed to do a little cutting. I was using my 4 1/2” dewalt angle grinder and cut off wheel. The guard was off, having no time to waste, I used it anyway. On my second weld the grinder kicked and since I was holding the cord in my left hand, it Swung into my right forearm. Of course I had the trigger locked. After it struck my arm, it hit the ground ruining the wheel. I bent down to shut it off and realized it had got my arm pretty good. When I went in the kitchen to wash it out, my wife, my grandmother, and my mom all had a fit. I ended up going to the small local hospital and ended up with them cutting off some charred skin and getting 8 stitches. Spent 2 hours in ER, when I could’ve spent 3 minutes putting on the guard and probably avoided the incident.
Moral of the story is, use guards when your equipment calls for them .

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Ouch! Glad you're OK, could have been worse. Yep, my guard is off too. Think I'll put it back on!
 
Mercy. I winced in sympathetic pain....
I saw a co-worker use an angle grinder and manage to slice his gut open some years ago
in a similar deal. No guard used in order to speed up the work on a jobsite...
He kept consciousness, but that was a lot of blood and stitches on that deal.
 
Its good it wasnt any worst. I take the fast rout sometimes and have screwed up doing it.
 
It definitely could’ve been worse, this is relatively “minor”. Still should’ve never happened.
 
A very valuable thread. I use my 4 1/2" grinder way too often with the guard off. My luck has been amazing, minor cuts at worst. I seldom use the trigger lock though. Enough close calls even with guard on using the trigger lock. My 4 1/2" grinder is the most useful tool I ever bought, for the widest variety of uses.
Glad your mishap was fairly minor, we all need to pay attention to safety.
 
We've all been there at one time trying to get the job done.
A friend was using a wire brush on a grinder, he didn't take the time to get his goggles/ face shield. As soon as he hit the trigger on the grinder a wire broke loose and embedded in his eyeball! After two surgeries and a lot of discomfort, his vision is good in that eye. He was fortunate.
Always, SAFETY FIRST!
 
My guards are all off and staying off, they get in the way way to often. Looks like that smarted a bit!
 
I have four grinders with different attachments and none have guards. The worst is the twisted wire cup brush as it can kick back on just about anything but a guard on it would be useless anyway. The only precaution to take with it is to wear something heavy so the when (not if) it kicks into your chest it gets wrapped in the material before it hits skin. I have learned that the hard way.
 
Welcome to the club.
Guards may be safe, but get in the way. You learn to keep a better grip, and anticipate what will cause them to kick.
 
Welcome to the club.
Guards may be safe, but get in the way. You learn to keep a better grip, and anticipate what will cause them to kick.

Not directed at you but for others who may be new to metal work.

#1 thing is to always cut with the rotation pulling the grinder away from you, I'll get in an uncomfortable position before I'll do otherwise.

#2 is stand out of line incase it explodes. Way to many injuries are caused by just cutting, grinding, etc in the wrong direction.
 
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I worked several decades in safety in mfg and construction seeing a lot of nasty injuries and investigating some that resulted in amputations and death. One guy decided to rig his hand held grinder with a larger wheel using washers so it went over the guard...he got about a minute of use before he lost his index and middle finger. Grinders were some of the more common causes of serious injuries; if you've ever encountered a wheel explosion it sticks in memory. One worker was permanently blinded as he had no safety eyewear on. One tip is always be out of the direct path of wheels and wire-wheels when you start them up, seems most often if something will go awry it's when starting them. Some have their slants on using guards or not, as posted, my dad was never overly cautious seriously mangling up a couple fingers on a table saw in his 70's. I think this was the result of losing a bit of the reflexes and such from age coupled with a couple beers. Some are fortunate enough to never have a serious injury and some of this is recognition of the risks involved and working accordingly. There are a (very) few jobs I do where I take a guard off as it was more hazardous with it on (OSHA would never understand). Could write a book, lol.
 
#1 one thing is to always cut with the rotation pulling the grinder away from you, I'll get in an uncomfortable position before I'll do otherwise. #2 is stand out of line incase it explodes. Way to many injuries are caused by just cutting, grinding, etc in the wrong direction.
Thanks, for the guideline, but perhaps you should send it to the op instead. Preaching to the choir here. :)
 
I've done metal work most of my life and know how things can turn bad real quick using grinders/cutoff wheels.

I watch a couple of the custom car shows on Motor Trend and there are numerous guys cutting sheet metal with what looks like a 6" slicer and they are holding the grinder with one hand. They really make it look easy but I know when cutting sheet metal the chances of the wheel pinching is really high.

The more you use tools without a incident the more confidence you get but there's always that one time that will wake you up.
 
Well this was my first major incident with a grinder, I count myself lucky. Usual I run the handle on it so I have something extra to grip. Usually the guard is on it, as long as it’s not in the way. In this case I was standing and cutting on the side of the bed. Instead of being complacent and in a rush, I should’ve paid more attention to what I was doing. Since I didn’t, I paid the price.
 
All I can say is, man I'm glad it wasn't worse than that. Take care.
 
Thanks, for the guideline, but perhaps you should send it to the op instead. Preaching to the choir here. :)

Misunderstanding.. I was agreeing and adding to your statement not necessarily addressing you. :thumbsup:

I've had a handful of maintenance guys over the years and am still shocked that I still have to explain this so when the subject comes up I always mention it.
 
Somebody posted a picture of a guy with a triangular piece of a cutoff wheel in the guys lip. Don't remember if it was him or someone else, wasn't pretty. Must admit I don't always use a shield but safety glasses are a must.
 
Grinders and cut-offs don't work in many situations with the guard attached. You can keep it pretty safe by simply keeping two hands on the tool at all times when it is running.
 
Wire wheels can ruin your day as well! Nothing like pulling a wire the rest of the way through INTO your mouth to remove them.
 
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