This is why you wear protection.....

[tdskip]

When using cutting and grinding tools... (what did you think I was talking about).

This disk broke up when cutting the replacement floorpan for the Bugeye today (yes Drew, I was actually working on the Bugeye. Shocking, I know....)

No warning, wasn't doing anything unusual with it, and the replacement metal isn't even that thick. It was new when I started this cut, the material just went away <span style="text-decoration: underline">super</span> fast and then broke up. Must have been a manufacturing defect.

Be careful guys.

 

[DougF]

When buying a cutting or grinding wheel, always buy the better ones. They're generally recognizable by the tighter cord weave through the disc. Norton is a common quality brand name. You're very lucky. A customer of mine was using one at a higher RPM than it was rated for; it shatter and got him in the crotch....and had to get a bunch of stitches. Just the thought of it makes me squirm.

 

[DNK]

Tom, You were wearing your catchers cup, weren't you?

 

[Number_6]

I found it out the hard way. Many years ago I was removing rust from metal parts with a wire cup brush on my angle grinder. I did I have a full face plastic mask but it wasn't enough. I ended up going to the emergency room with metal splinters embedded in my left eye. The doctor used tweezers and a very strong magnet to pull them out. Very painful. Learned my lesson though, now I never use power tools without eye protection.

 

[Darrell_Walker]

In addition to eye protection, please also consider ear protection. Years ago I removed some panels from my car (the body shell was basically stripped and bare) with sawsall. The vibration of the saw on the bare metal caused my ears to ring all that night. Not a good experience.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

My husband makes fun of me for wearing ear protection for loud noises... ...mostly because he doesn't think the air compressor is equal to the noise an angle grinder makes.

As for eye protection, anytime I use any rotary tool I'll wear one. I've still gotten hit in the cheek, but I can't imagine what it would be like if a wire were shot at my eye. I had to wear pants or drape a towel over myself because I was getting shot in the leg!!! Once I managed to staple my arm with one of the wires from the wire wheel. Not sure how that happened, but I had to get my husband to remove it because there was no way I could do it myself since I would have to look at it. And we all know that any injury hurts 10 times worse when you look at it

 

[71MKIV]

rust in the eye is painful too, I wear glasses all the time, blind as a bat without them, and I use side shields even if I am just going under to check the oil in the diff.

I have a variable transformer in my garage for just such contingencies, slow the grinder down to about 70% for those kind of jobs. also always check the specs of your wheels against the max rpm of your grinder, some of grinders are way faster than the wheels, especially the cheap wheels, are designed to go.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Skip,

Thanks for posting. Glad that you weren't injured and certainly will make you think twice the next time you pick up the grinder.

I had a similar experience on a smaller scale but the results could be just as disasterous. I use a small dremel with a cutting wheel quite a bit on areas where my grinder or air cut off wheel won't fit. The dremel cutting wheels are quite thin as many of you know and it doesn't take much to break/shatter one...

I never thought much of it and do where regular glasses and goggles (sometimes depending on the work) until one day while sitting in the garage having a drink I looked up to the ceiling and saw about half a dremel cutting wheel embedded in the drywall on the ceiling of the garage. I left it there as a reminder as it certainly makes you think......

Cheers,
Tush

 

[PeterK]

I never understood using a cutting wheel on sheet metal. I see them being used on TV all the time, usually the small 3" cutting wheels like Chip Foose uses to cut perfectly round holes. But those discs cut by melting the metal so there's lots of hot bits being flung around everywhere.

Instead I use one of these https://www.harborfreight.com/14-gauge-swivel-head-shears-92115.html whenever possible. They're inexpensive and cut straight and curves well. The cut like buttah.

Another HF tools that has worked well when cutting out pieces is this one https://www.harborfreight.com/high-speed-metal-saw-91753.html Mine has worked well for the price I paid.

 

[tdskip]

Hi Peter. I have those shears but I find that when trimming floors in a car, ir cutting when there are stampings the cutting disk allows me to make cleaner/straighter cuts.

I do love those shears however!

 

[martx-5]

...

Another HF tools that has worked well when cutting out pieces is this one https://www.harborfreight.com/high-speed-metal-saw-91753.html Mine has worked well for the price I paid.

I'm a big fan of the pneumatic hack saw, and got the same one from HF. You can't beat that price. I used regular hacksaw blades that I shortened for replacements. It's fast and precise. I used it extensively on the TR3 resto. However, sometimes you just have to use the whizz wheel. Just can't have enough tools... :laugh:

 

[BRSLimited]

Nice to see you still have the guard on there as most of them are taken off. I know a guy that was changing a cutoff wheel without unplugging it (very stupid), well the switch ended up getting bumped and it kicked on. The torque of it kicked the grinder and new cutoff wheel up into his wrist putting a nice gash in it that needed 32 stitches. Fortunately someone else was there to rush him to the ER. On personal experience, I've had metal removed from one eye that I got from grinding even with safety glasses on. Glad your ok.

 

[equiprx]

Those HF metal cutting saws often go on sale for under $10. I bought about three that I use all the time. So far I love them. One time when I was using my angle grinder it jumped the slot and landed on the back of my left hand. I had a 3" gash that went right to the bone. Had to used a few Steri-strips to close the wound so I could complete the job. The weird thing was, it never hurt. Even later on after I expected the shock to ware off. Still have complete use of the hand.
I just ordered two pairs of safety glasses with 2.00 reader lenses.

 

[DougF]

It is important to wear the proper clothing. Draping a loose piece of material can be dangerous. Should the material get caught up in the rotating tool, it could pull the tool toward the material and much worse, your body behind it.
Torn clothing could be just as bad. I lost a customer a few years ago who was a very experienced machinist. His clothing got caught up in an auger he was turning on a lathe.

 

[ArcticOne]

Can't agree more than to be safe.

Removing a sewer manhole cover once and ended up with a chunk of metal in my eye. Bizarre experience having the doctor free my eye and then poke at it with a pin to remove the metal.

Vehicle related - nearly killed my brother when the fan on my truck disintegrated. Accelerator got stuck under floor mat when he had his head in the engine bay checking for leaks. Fan disintegrated and one blade went through the wheel well (and this was on a 1980 GMC when things were still made out of steel). Scary memory, but fortunately no harm to anyone - except for my pocket book.

jb