Angle Grinder Guard

[Wamsutta]

Is it necessary for a backing pad and a sanding disc? The reason why I ask is because I think I could use more surface area of the sanding disc if the guard wasn't there.

 

[FigN⋅m]

I mean, do you what you feel is best - we're not the grinder police,
but personally I'd rather use more of my fingertips than sand more of my material.

 

[dchawk81]

I have grinders with a latch that lets you loosen and spin it on the fly, and that helps. But there have been times I've had to remove it entirely. Just have to be a lot more careful, and wear thick gloves and safety glasses.

 

[Wamsutta]

I can understand the guard for cutoff wheels and grinding discs because if they break apart, they're going to fly into your intestines.

But for a plastic backing pad and a sanding disc, I don't see those breaking apart and flying in pieces.

 

[Rinspeed]

I've always taken them off because they just get in the way. Very important though if you are using a cut off wheel to always, always use a face shield. When a disk eventually comes apart they can definitely take a chunk out of your face.

 

[tyyost]

This is an area where only you can determine is it is safe to do. Many larger sander/polishers run without a guard for a sanding backing plate so as long as the operation seems safe I’d say go for it.

Understand that the guard on the grinder serves several purposes, from redirecting dwarf and sparks, protecting the user from a wheel that fractures and is thrown from the tool, keeping the users hands away from the spinning danger zone, and forcing only one section of the disc into the work area making the forces predictable.

I don’t think you would have to look hard on this site for pictures of angle grinders using wheels unguarded. As FigN said, we aren't the grinder police. Edit to add: If you are on a commercial job site this may not be advisable.

 

[DGersic]

Is it necessary for a backing pad and a sanding disc? The reason why I ask is because I think I could use more surface area of the sanding disc if the guard wasn't there.

You’ll find the sanding disc a lot harder to control if you engage more of it.

 

[charbar]

I basically never run guards on mine. If Im going to do something sketchy sometimes I will throw it back on though. Gotta be damn careful where your face and hands are. Im sure luck factors in as well.....

 

[finn]

One angle grinder is the wrong tool for sanding. A DA sander is what you need. They’re designed to run flat, or nearly so, and won’t take off and attack your testicles.

 

[Jswain]

One angle grinder is the wrong tool for sanding. A DA sander is what you need. They’re designed to run flat, or nearly so, and won’t take off and attack your testicles.

I think he's just referencing resin fibre discs, but maybe he's also sanding. Either way an angle grinder with a resin fibre disc does a great job.

I leave the guard off mine for a resin fibre disc. And always on for zip/grinding wheels

And I always wear a face shield for any of them

 

[mervyn]

I took mine off a long time ago.

 

[KSJeff]

Nobody's asked the money question here. 4.5" grinder? Sure. I keep 5 or 6 around and keep the guard on for wire and grinding disks. I have one with a flap and no guard.

9" grinder... no way.

Also, I always wear long sleeves, gloves and a safety shield or my welding helmet in grinding mode. I try not to use my welding helmet, but if I'm sanding or wire wheeling between welds I will do it.

 

[dr_clyde]

You guys do you. I’m not here to police anyone’s grinder useage.

I don’t use the guard on any grinders that I own. I wear PPE and use them with the respect they deserve, but guards just get in the way and just aren’t necessary for 95% of useage.

I accept the risk that comes with using a grinder with no guard. I may end up getting hurt at some point in the future but that’s the way it goes. Play with fire and you occasionally get burnt.

 

[finn]

I think he's just referencing resin fibre discs, but maybe he's also sanding. Either way an angle grinder with a resin fibre disc does a great job.

I leave the guard off mine for a resin fibre disc. And always on for zip/grinding wheels

And I always wear a face shield for any of them

If you’re talking about those discs that look like impregnated horsehair, I have a couple, but I usually use the drum type that Eastwood, HF, and Amazon sell. They promote them as metal surface finishing tools.

On the grinder, I like flap discs for most uses, although I picked up a couple of the $20 Porter Cable cheapie grinders to add to the grinder armada specifically to have the fiber disc ready to go.

One reason to keep the guard on is that it keeps the work area cleaner, and, to some extent, localizes the mess. The other reason is that I don’t have to wait for the disc to stop before setting the grinder down. That couple of seconds of spin down time annoys me to no end.

 

[finn]

Nobody's asked the money question here. 4.5" grinder? Sure. I keep 5 or 6 around and keep the guard on for wire and grinding disks. I have one with a flap and no guard.

9" grinder... no way.

Also, I always wear long sleeves, gloves and a safety shield or my welding helmet in grinding mode. I try not to use my welding helmet, but if I'm sanding or wire wheeling between welds I will do it.

I don’t think I have touched the 9” grinder in ten years.

It scares me. At least now that there’s an internet connection in the shop I can call 911 even though there’s no cell service.

 

[MovingAlong]

I don’t think I have touched the 9” grinder in ten years.

It scares me. At least now that there’s an internet connection in the shop I can call 911 even though there’s no cell service.

A surprising number of assumptions go into the statement "I can call..."

Fingers intact? Phone in reach? Voice commands and a voice? Sight still intact? Conscience and functional?

There are some jobs I no longer do alone.

As for a grinder - 13k rpm doesn't leave you much time for "hmm, maybe I should have left that guard in place".

 

[finn]

A surprising number of assumptions go into the statement "I can call..."

Fingers intact? Phone in reach? Voice commands and a voice? Sight still intact? Conscience and functional?

There are some jobs I no longer do alone.

As for a grinder - 13k rpm doesn't leave you much time for "hmm, maybe I should have left that guard in place".

All my guards are in place.

Well, except for one pneumatic cutoff tool that had a polycarbonate guard that broke off. That tool isn’t in the list of tools regularly used, though. It’s sort of on the injured reserve list.

I also have two face masks, three welding helmets, a good supply of gloves, a camera or two in the shop connected to my wife’s cell phone, a couple of well stocked first aid kits, a half dozen or more strategically located first aid kits, and I don’t use the 9” grinder.

Can’t do much better, except to sit in the house and watch tv all day., or maybe have the local EMS parked in the driveway on standby.

 

[danielbuck]

for me, I only run a guard for cutoff wheels. I keep 1 grinder dedicated for cutoff wheel use.

You have to find a level of safety that is comfortable for you. Also know the tools. Know what will happen when a grinding wheel catches, be aware of which direction things are spinning, and all that.

For flap disks and sanding pads and such, I really don't see the point of a guard.

 

[Firebrick43]

When I was 16 or 17 I was using an angle grinder/ sanding disk/backing disc without a guard. The disk split in half just after I lifted it from the metal

The disk split my ordinary plastic face shield from the bottom up to eye level. The tip of the half blade barely cut the tip of my nose.

After that I only removed the guard in the arduous of circumstances and reinstalled it immediately afterwards and haven’t done that in the last decade since I started purchasing metabo grinders.

I also started buying face shields with metal edging and later the helmet style shields ( UVEX bionic)

 

[MovingAlong]

Can’t do much better, except to sit in the house and watch tv all day., or maybe have the local EMS parked in the driveway on standby.

Way more risk with sitting around... Love the idea of having EMT's on standby!

 

[LopezBart]

On my older corded Milwaukee grinder I ground down the metal guard a bit so that it didn't stick down so far on the sides of the wheel. It still lets me set the tool down with the wheel still spinning, but it doesn't get in the way as much.

 

[Beerhippie]

Guard... I seem to recall something like that... haven't seen it in years.

We have annual OSHA inspections ("consultations"). Our inspector says guards are not required for an angle grinder under 6".

Now, if I were putting things like those wood cutting blades on it (which I don't and won't do), yeah, I'd want a guard. I'd also want someone who cares less about staying intact to run it while I have a beer and watch from a safe distance.

 

[Jswain]

If you’re talking about those discs that look like impregnated horsehair, I have a couple, but I usually use the drum type that Eastwood, HF, and Amazon sell. They promote them as metal surface finishing tools.

On the grinder, I like flap discs for most uses, although I picked up a couple of the $20 Porter Cable cheapie grinders to add to the grinder armada specifically to have the fiber disc ready to go.

One reason to keep the guard on is that it keeps the work area cleaner, and, to some extent, localizes the mess. The other reason is that I don’t have to wait for the disc to stop before setting the grinder down. That couple of seconds of spin down time annoys me to no end.

They are fibre sanding discs. Used basically anywhere you would use a regular flapwheel, maybe not as good on inside corners etc.

Usually gettem in 25 or 50pks. Ends up being a fraction of the cost of running flap wheels and they last pretty damn good.

Mounts on one of these on your angle grinder in whatever size you like.

 

[finn]

They are fibre sanding discs. Used basically anywhere you would use a regular flapwheel, maybe not as good on inside corners etc.

Usually gettem in 25 or 50pks. Ends up being a fraction of the cost of running flap wheels and they last pretty damn good.

I use them occasionally on air tools. There’s a stack somewhere in the shop but they’re not a go to disc for me. My stock is probably twenty years old. I don’t think the air ”grinder” even came with a guard.

 

[PoorUB]

I leave the guard on 99% of the time. I will admit there is an occasional time were the guard is in the way and I will take a chance and remove it, but it goes right back on.

To those people that never run a guard, have you never had a cut off or grinding wheel come apart? I have had a couple fly apart and I was glad the guard was in place. There is a tremendous amount of power released from a grinder spinning at 10,000 RPM!

 

[Jswain]

I leave the guard on 99% of the time. I will admit there is an occasional time were the guard is in the way and I will take a chance and remove it, but it goes right back on.

To those people that never run a guard, have you never had a cut off or grinding wheel come apart? I have had a couple fly apart and I was glad the guard was in place. There is a tremendous amount of power released from a grinder spinning at 10,000 RPM!

Where do you put the guard on this? Certain discs require guards, certain discs are ok without. Use a face shield and preferably glasses as well

 

[Beerhippie]

I leave the guard on 99% of the time. I will admit there is an occasional time were the guard is in the way and I will take a chance and remove it, but it goes right back on.

To those people that never run a guard, have you never had a cut off or grinding wheel come apart? I have had a couple fly apart and I was glad the guard was in place. There is a tremendous amount of power released from a grinder spinning at 10,000 RPM!

I've had one cut-off wheel explode on me--but that was in a die grinder. Yes, it was bad. I got a new ear-piercing from it.

I mainly use flap disks and fiber disks on the angle grinder. Much less chance of them flying apart. I haven't mounted a stone wheel in a couple of years. The current generation of flap disks cuts as well as solid wheels and leave a much nicer finish, IMHO.

 

[scooby074]

FIbre disks, no guard.

Anything "stone", 100% guarded, except in very, very rare circumstances.

My bluepoint air "sander" didnt come with guards when new.

 

[dr_clyde]

I leave the guard on 99% of the time. I will admit there is an occasional time were the guard is in the way and I will take a chance and remove it, but it goes right back on.

To those people that never run a guard, have you never had a cut off or grinding wheel come apart? I have had a couple fly apart and I was glad the guard was in place. There is a tremendous amount of power released from a grinder spinning at 10,000 RPM!

I don’t buy cheap abrasives so it’s far less of an issue with the good discs. Damaged wheels get thrown in the garbage. Cheap abrasives self destruct if you look at them wrong.

I also am smart enough to not put my face in the path of destruction. I wear glasses and gloves, as well as use paddle switch grinders so they just turn off if I let go.

If I need to wear a face shield I do.

I may have had one cutoff wheel come apart in the last 15 years or so and that was my fault, not the wheel or the grinder. I was using a chipped wheel and I knew what could happen. No big deal.

 

[PoorUB]

Guys, do what ever you want.

All I know is I have had discs fly apart and I won't take a chance after seeing what they will do if they fail. Also, I only buy quality abrasives as the cheap ones don't hold up. My fingers and eyes are not worth the chance.

 

[PoorUB]

Where do you put the guard on this? Certain discs require guards, certain discs are ok without. Use a face shield and preferably glasses as well

I have seen that style of air grinder with a guard. If I bought one it would have to have a guard.

 

[whateg01]

I may have had one cutoff wheel come apart in the last 15 years or so and that was my fault, not the wheel or the grinder. I was using a chipped wheel and I knew what could happen. No big deal.

Whether it's the wheels fault or not, if it comes apart, it can cause pain and injury.

 

[isb cornbinder]

One of the bottom feeders I worked with in the 1960s refused to wear a face shield or safety glasses. The foreman tried to get this turd to comply. That lasted until the foremen was in the office. One day, the slack-jaw started squealing like a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs. A wire from the powered brush had come loose and gone into his right eye. The company found another position for him. Someone reported having seen him walking in circles, asleep.

 

[dutchgray]

I don't run a guard with sanding discs running on the plastic backer, guard always gets in the way, it's corners rubbing on what you are sanding.
I have had the backer blow up once on a 6" size disc, turns out it wasn't rated for the 36 grit discs we were running, who knew they made them rated for different grit grades.

 

[Jswain]

I have seen that style of air grinder with a guard. If I bought one it would have to have a guard.

But do you think IR would make it and sell it without a guard if a guard was required? It spins at 18k rpm...

 

[Wamsutta]

I don't run a guard with sanding discs running on the plastic backer, guard always gets in the way, it's corners rubbing on what you are sanding.
I have had the backer blow up once on a 6" size disc, turns out it wasn't rated for the 36 grit discs we were running, who knew they made them rated for different grit grades.

The backer I run is an extra firm Bosch backer. It's real stiff but feather light. It's the only backer that works good with my Bosch grinder.

 

[PoorUB]

But do you think IR would make it and sell it without a guard if a guard was required? It spins at 18k rpm...

Seems crazy to me. Looks like a lawsuit waiting.

 

[dchawk81]

But do you think IR would make it and sell it without a guard if a guard was required? It spins at 18k rpm...

No they would not.

 

[Jswain]

Seems crazy to me. Looks like a lawsuit waiting.

What about a 3" roloc ScotchBrite disc or they also make fibre discs on a right angle die grinder, also need a guard?

You could make one yourself I guess but youll limit the usefulness of the tool by using a guard.

 

[rancherbill]

Is it necessary for a backing pad and a sanding disc? The reason why I ask is because I think I could use more surface area of the sanding disc if the guard wasn't there.

It's hard to imagine the specifics because you have no specifics, BUT, you should have the guard. There are hundreds of ways to have an accident - like something getting caught that is in the near what you are doing.

The real reason is that guards must be in place all the time. Learn how to use that machine safely. There will be rare situations where you have to take it off. The comments above that I never use them except when I do something danger is ludicrous. I am sure that person has lost them or doesn't want to go find them when it's actually dangerous.

I got my attitude for safety when I bought my first angle grinder. I took for the guard as I had seen others do. On the news, some guy lost his life when a disk blew up. That was a big reality check, I put the guard back on and re-read the product manual.