Angle Grinders - Blade Guard

[sharkytm]

Mine stay on, except when absolutely necessary. Also, I have given up on glasses, and now wear a face shield all the time, with one of these on: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NDN29O/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Oh, and noise cancelling headphones.
Its a pain, but I like my lungs and hearing.

 

[Gregg33]

I always keep them on when cutting or grinding. Years ago I had a cutting wheel explode, very scary, missed my nut sack by a couple inches, put a big gash in my thy and cut a 4L jug of brake fluid (sitting on a shelf) in half. In addition to the safety factor, guards also help direct sparks, which when working in factories and warehouses like I often do is a necessity. The only time I never use a guard is when I grind my DIRT Sportsman tires with a "pin wheel" disk. There are no sparks from it and being metal the disk will never explode.

 

[koditten]

I use mostly flap wheels. All the gaurds are removed right after they come out of the box. I've had lots of thin wheels shatter, but no damage to my person to report.

Now catching myself on fire from welding slag, thats a different story.

KO

 

[jimgreen]

I'd like to know if anyone has caught their hand without the guard! I use the guard to rest my hand on to keep the thing steady.

 

[kevin47]

I'm changing my name to "lucky" I guess, 'cause I've never left the guard on and I've never once had any problems...And I grind a lot...Had a sanding disc blow apart once but that comes with the territory...I now wear welding gloves when I use them...

 

[Pivo Slump]

I always leave them on. I have mine set so it's not too tight so I can turn it with my hand if I want to change the angle I'm grinding at.

Bingo

Amazing only 2 guys in 3 pages do this.
I understand some grinders dont allow this, but Id modify the mechanism to 'free but snug' spin before cutting down the guard.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I have an older Craftsman Commercial (900.277240 made by DeWalt) that has an unusual way of mounting/locking the guard to the housing. There is a spring (?) that locks into the guard and a flange.

Only issue is, this "spring" has failed twice while using a HF wire cup wheel. Nor sure why.

 

[sberry]

Milwaukee has a slip guard, the 2750 has a screw you could adjust easily, the Walmart 7750 has a real nice friction fit slip turn gard, real slick.

 

[tube_guy]

Bingo

Amazing only 2 guys in 3 pages do this.
I understand some grinders dont allow this, but Id modify the mechanism to 'free but snug' spin before cutting down the guard.

I do this also, but cutting down the guard still makes it way more useful. Changing the disc coverage that small amount probably has almost no effect on the "safety" at all. But it does have a large effect on the usefulness making it a lot more likely that the guard will stay on the grinder and not get in the way. Personally, I think that's what the grinder manufacturers would make if there was no such thing as a lawyer.

 

[shocksandstrutz]

i used to use mine without a guard, until one time it slipped and caught my finger....luckily it didnt cut it off....now that guard is always on...mine is adjustable with a screw to rotate on the grinder.