Cheap Discs and Angle Grinders

[mjac]

Do not use cheap discs in an angle grinder, you could pay a very steep price…

Edit: This is Black & Decker

Thanks
mjac

 

[SouthernIllinois]

DAMN!!!
I hope you heal up quick.
I assume that was through blue jeans or work pants?

 

[mjac]

Nylon athletic pants, another mistake. Very, very lucky, do not do this. Find what in your opinion is the best disc you can put into a grinder.

PS: Healing up, but looks worse then when it happened, after all the bruising developed.

Thanks
mjac

 

[LXCam]

Well that *****. Luckily it wasn’t worse.

 

[mjac]

This could have been really bad, anybody out there, do not do this…

Thanks
mjac

 

[K13]

Did you have the guard on the grinder?

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Wishing you a speedy, full, recovery!

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[mjac]

Healing up, but looks awfully ugly with all of the bruising that developed.

But on the bright side, after got everything untangled and felt the blood dripping down my leg, put in a new disc and finished up…was afraid to look at it.

Thanks
mjac

 

[dnschmidt]

Walter or Pferd and of course 3M. There are others such as SAIT and Metabo but none will be sold at big box stores. I recommend a welding supply store as the best source of quality discs. Your leg is repairable your JUNK isn't.

 

[Bad Habit]

Yeah, not a good feeling... Caught the edge on a sanding disc which threw it back at me. One advantage of a small cheap grinder, it bound up and stalled. Same thing, finished up what I was doing, actually kept at it for a while since my insides weren't hanging out. Didn't want to deal with the scorn of my wife

 

[mjac]

Right now have some Makita, looking at Pferd, Walter, Lennox, have not heard of the reputation of 3M and did not know Metabo made discs. The grinder is a 4 1/2” Metabo, real strong motor, wish it was a paddle switch.
I can tell you what is not going in there though…

Thanks
mjac

 

[mjac]

Yeah, not a good feeling... Caught the edge on a sanding disc which threw it back at me. One advantage of a small cheap grinder, it bound up and stalled. Same thing, finished up what I was doing, actually kept at it for a while since my insides weren't hanging out. Didn't want to deal with the scorn of my wife

Not this baby, the Metabo wouldn’t quit, it would have turnicated my leg, couldn’t locate the switch ( no paddle), had to reach over and unplug it. The only thing that saved me.

Thanks
mjac

 

[tarbellb]

Newer Metabo (true German made ones) now have a stalled disc kill sensor, shuts off power of anything binds or stalls?

My favorite disc are .045" cutting disc, when it's that thin I only trust high quality mfgs

Get well bro

 

[zendriver]

At least we're not blaming HF this time.

What were you cutting? Just curious.

 

[mjac]

Got this Metabo second hand on a deal so I got what I got, just saw “ Metabo” and said that’s me. No paddle though, switched. Those new innovations sound impressive.
Looked up Walter discs, they have more different types of discs then I got fingers. Have to learn about them. Why .045, speed? After having the fear of the possibilities put on me, safety, durability #1.

Thanks
mjac

 

[mjac]

At least we're not blaming HF this time.

What were you cutting? Just curious.

After what happened, I would never put another Harbor Freight disc on a grinder, only the top of the line, best. But, the HF discs were head and shoulders above the Black & Decker, they cut pretty darn well and smooth.As a matter of fact I finished up with a used HF disc after I got hurt. A B&D was not going back on there.
1/8”, 1 1/2” angle, vertical leg in large vise away from me, horizontal leg facing me. Went across the horizontal leg getting ready to go over the top and down the vertical leg disc caught the edge and violently kicked back into my leg. So fast I did not even see it. Could have went anywhere, I was very lucky.

Thanks
mjac

 

[M635_Guy]

Chilling.

I try not to cheap out on discs. Which HF disc were you using? (Warrior/Chief/Baur/Hercules)

 

[tarbellb]

Post a pic of your grinder, im interested. No doubt they make a fine grinder, the newer safety features are a welcomed change for me

.045" or 1/32" is standard issue for cutting, less heat, faster, less waste, there's a reason 30yrs ago Metabo came out w the original "Slicer"

Agreed on brands
Walter
Pferd
3M
and select (coo dependant)
Sait
Norton

 

[tarbellb]

Also good practice to wear proper pants, your warmups beyond not offering much abrasion protection also like to melt when hit by sparks

 

[cannuck]

I can't put any numbers on it, but I long ago came to the conclusion that I got a lot more life out of premium discs. Add the safety factor and it's a no brainer.

 

[mjac]

Chilling.

I try not to cheap out on discs. Which HF disc were you using? (Warrior/Chief/Baur/Hercules)

I have had pretty good luck with Harbor Freight cutting discs and have seen tests of them where they did pretty well against name brands. For me, they held together, didn’t fray at the edges (like the Black and Decker), wore down evenly and were smooth and predictable. The one I finished up with was a well worn down (about 2/3 diameter) Warrior.
I am going to try all the top brands and see which one I like…

Edit: About 15 new Black & Decker cutting discs went into the trash.

Thanks
mjac

 

[alfadan]

Had a HF disc on 4.5 blow up and gash my thigh through blue jeans. The guard was on and all that warned me was a weird vibration for about a second before it blew.

Dewalt rocks seem to be pretty good.

 

[tarmy]

When grinding….good disks, safety glasses, face shield, gloves, ear protection, long sleeves tucked into gloves, long pants, fire extinguisher and a grinder with a paddle switch…not one of those switch on things. I hate grinding…but…

OP, hope your recovery goes well…

 

[mjac]

Post a pic of your grinder, im interested. No doubt they make a fine grinder, the newer safety features are a welcomed change for me

.045" or 1/32" is standard issue for cutting, less heat, faster, less waste, there's a reason 30yrs ago Metabo came out w the original "Slicer"

Agreed on brands
Walter
Pferd
3M
and select (coo dependant)
Sait
Norton

Will have to wait until tomorrow for the pic. The Makita cutoff discs I got are .045. Going to try all of the top brands and see which one is the smoothest. Got some cuts to make tomorrow so will get to see if the Makitas’ are better then what I have been using.

Thanks
mjac

 

[mjac]

I can't put any numbers on it, but I long ago came to the conclusion that I got a lot more life out of premium discs. Add the safety factor and it's a no brainer.

Repeat last sentence…

Thanks
mjac

 

[mjac]

Had a HF disc on 4.5 blow up and gash my thigh through blue jeans. The guard was on and all that warned me was a weird vibration for about a second before it blew.

Dewalt rocks seem to be pretty good.

I am going to make a hell of an effort to find out which discs to me ate the best and that is going into the grinder, nothing else. That grinder can be dangerous, very dangerous, lethal.

Thanks
mjac

 

[mjac]

When grinding….good disks, safety glasses, face shield, gloves, ear protection, long sleeves tucked into gloves, long pants, fire extinguisher and a grinder with a paddle switch…not one of those switch on things. I hate grinding…but…

OP, hope your recovery goes well…

I tell you what, will have safety googles, a good shield, the best discs I can find and sparks flying toward me after what happened. Can’t do anything about the switch, but I wish it was a paddle.

Thanks
mjac

 

[tarbellb]

Will have to wait until tomorrow for the pic. The Makita cutoff discs I got are .045. Going to try all of the top brands and see which one is the smoothest. Got some cuts to make tomorrow so will get to see if the Makitas’ are better then what I have been using.

Thanks
mjac

You'll notice nobody is recommending tool brands like Makita, DeWalt, Milwaukee.... they aren't known to make quality abrasives

Abrasive companies make good abrasives

coo in this particular case does play a role

 

[mjac]

Also good practice to wear proper pants, your warmups beyond not offering much abrasion protection also like to melt when hit by sparks

Love those pants, great freedom of movement, don’t bind up, but should not be on with a grinder in your hand. I would have been hurt less if I had on jeans.

Thanks
mjac

 

[MJD1]

I prefer slide switch grinders and on the metabo ones I used have an anti kickback feature. I always use a guard which if I had to guess the OP wasn't.

 

[neophyte]

Do not use cheap discs in an angle grinder, you could pay a very steep price…

Edit: This is Black & Decker

Thanks
mjac

A Black & Decker disc, or a B&D grinder ?
The only reason I would think the grinder would cause safety issues, itself, is if the arbor is so out of concentricity, it causes wheels to break due to extra vibration.

Cheap wheels are a known safety issue.
There are basically snuff photos out of Russia that were linked to on GJ years ago, that showed what can happen when cutting and grinding wheels broke, since the wheels can wind up penetrating a persons’s chest or skull.
Professional regulations nowadays usually recommend or require an almost completely enclosed guard enclosed both top and bottom sides of the disc, with only the 25% or so of the guard missing for the edge of the wheel that cuts.
Some manufacturers have a snap on piece that converts the guard into a cutting guard.
I don’t know whether these would be available for a Black & Decker angle grinder though.

 

[mjac]

You'll notice nobody is recommending tool brands like Makita, DeWalt, Milwaukee.... they aren't known to make quality abrasives

Abrasive companies make good abrasives

coo in this particular case does play a role

You are probably right, but I saw a test with them and they not only cut well but held up well. So I thought I would give them a try. Have to see how they hold up against the top brands.

You keep saying “coo” and I have no idea what you mean…

Thanks
mjac

 

[neophyte]

I should probably also mention that diamond coated cutting discs now exist for cutting steel and other metals.
The bodies on the diamond discs are steel, and are unlikely to fracture, although the discs supposedly cut slower.

 

[tarbellb]

coo = country of origin

 

[M.Brane]

That looks unpleasant. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Cheap grinder? Absolutely. They just breath metal dust their entire life, and I don't really notice a huge difference to the spendy ones.

Cheap wheels? Absolutely not. Not only do they not last near as long, but they can be downright hazardous as you've discovered the hard way.

 

[mjac]

I prefer slide switch grinders and on the metabo ones I used have an anti kickback feature. I always use a guard which if I had to guess the OP wasn't.

I think I would prefer the paddle, you know exactly where you stand and on this Metabo it practically takes two hands to engage the switch and sometimes two or three tries. You do touch the back of it and it releases but with that thing buried in my thigh, I couldn’t find it. A paddle, the accident does not happen. That is a vote for the paddle.

Don’t know which Metabos have the kickback feature, but this one sure doesn’t. Don’t like guards, never did, I like seeing what I am doing. Guard would not have prevented the kickback but it can cause one.
Thanks
mjac

 

[mjac]

coo = country of origin

Germany baby…

 

[mjac]

That looks unpleasant. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Cheap grinder? Absolutely. They just breath metal dust their entire life, and I don't really notice a huge difference to the spendy ones.

Cheap wheels? Absolutely not. Not only do they not last near as long, but they can be downright hazardous as you've discovered the hard way.

Recovering but that thing looks awfully ugly.
Got the Metabo for $30 used, the thing is a beast…
” downright hazardous” does not begin to describe how dangerous cheap discs are…

Thanks
mjac

 

[mjac]

A Black & Decker disc, or a B&D grinder ?
The only reason I would think the grinder would cause safety issues, itself, is if the arbor is so out of concentricity, it causes wheels to break due to extra vibration.

Cheap wheels are a known safety issue.
There are basically snuff photos out of Russia that were linked to on GJ years ago, that showed what can happen when cutting and grinding wheels broke, since the wheels can wind up penetrating a persons’s chest or skull.
Professional regulations nowadays usually recommend or require an almost completely enclosed guard enclosed both top and bottom sides of the disc, with only the 25% or so of the guard missing for the edge of the wheel that cuts.
Some manufacturers have a snap on piece that converts the guard into a cutting guard.
I don’t know whether these would be available for a Black & Decker angle grinder though.

Metabo Grinder, Black & Decker Discs
Never liked guards, you can not see what you are doing and creating a more dangerous situation then they are preventing. Will try and compensate by using the best discs on the planet.

Thanks
mjac

 

[whateg01]

I haven't seen a black and Decker grinding wheel in years. How old was it? Grinding or cutoff? Fiber reinforced? Even "good" grinding wheels break if mistreated.

I don't quite understand why you had to unplug the grinder. If the wheel broke and was imbedded in your leg, the damage is done.

That said, this type of thing is why I hate when I see people advocating for removing safety devices. Like the trigger thing you have to flip up to press the paddle.

I don't see how a guard would have necessarily prevented it, but it can prevent other problems. I've never had a situation where a guard prevented me from using an angle grinder.

There's so much it's never happened to me on this site. Nope, it's never happened until it does.