my first grinding wheel explosion,lucky...

[toplessHO]

Ive done my share of grinding.. first real entire explosion,not just a chunk or 2.
About 45 yrs ago in shop a small piece of grinding disc hit a fellow worker in the eye....he was about 30 ft away.
No one wore eye protection then unless they were the one grinding.
Today was my lucky day... All the guards were in place,largest chunk hit me in the chest,right in the pocket of the leather shop apron. I had the gut feeling something wasnt right the minute I turned on the sidegrinder,too much vibration. I shrugged it off thinking it was just a very thick disc, as I normally use thinner ones.Missed everything except me(no personal injury)2 cars in garage,even tho I was in driveway,it could have been worse.
Remember to use your PPE and keep all the guards in place,you may not be as lucky as I was.pic shown is all I could find of it,the rest is scattered in the yard,on the roof or who knows where.

 

[goblue1998]

Glad you weren’t injured.

Thanks for the reminder. I keep telling myself I need to dig out my face shield to wear in addition to my safety glasses.

 

[lis2323]

That could have turned out a lot different.

Glad you are okay [emoji106]

 

[Nineeightyone]

Scary stuff, good thing no one was injured! I put two Uvex face shields (one for myself and one for my wife) on our wedding registry, and for as much as I yell at her about PPE and safety, I should really wear mine as well. It can look a little goofy, but it looks a lot goofier to be permanently disabled because you cared about what someone might think.

Link for anyone in need of a face shield: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VY3ACE/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[seber]

Was that a name brand disc?

 

[1cargarage]

Yikes. Glad you lived to tell the tale. I've had and seen cutoff wheels explode (usually the tiny ones on dremels spinning 20k+/min (Those things are so dangerous) ) but not the thick grinding ones like that. Smoke if you got em. Then get back to work!

 

[toplessHO]

have no idea what brand it was,got it out of drawer at relatives place while I was there working on something.
I buy only name brand ones(I dont consider HF a name brand)Dewalt ,Milwaukee,Metabo,makita etc. Lesson learned here for me,not to use cutrate discs.

 

[toplessHO]

Did more investigation
in the back of the drawer I found more of the same
5 more to be exact.
Some no name Chinese stuff "made for Tool Exchange USA"

 

[rlitman]

Yikes. Glad you lived to tell the tale. I've had and seen cutoff wheels explode (usually the tiny ones on dremels spinning 20k+/min (Those things are so dangerous) ) but not the thick grinding ones like that. Smoke if you got em. Then get back to work!

I've seen Chinese angle grinders come with thick grinding discs that have no fiberglass reinforcement. Those stone only discs are a recipe for disaster in a hand-held tool.

Did more investigation
in the back of the drawer I found more of the same
5 more to be exact.
Some no name Chinese stuff "made for Tool Exchange USA"

Nice. No max-RPM rating! That's there's real quality. Time to file them away where they belong (at the curb).

 

[Parrothead]

... I put two Uvex face shields (one for myself and one for my wife) on our wedding registry...

Link for anyone in need of a face shield: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VY3ACE/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Are you trying to get us to buy you a wedding gift? Haha

Actually I just got that exact mask a few weeks ago because of stories like this on Garage Journal.

 

[Parrothead]

I've seen Chinese angle grinders come with thick grinding discs that have no fiberglass reinforcement. Those stone only discs are a recipe for disaster in a hand-held tool.

Nice. No max-RPM rating! That's there's real quality. Time to file them away where they belong (at the curb).

Good advice. Be sure to smash them with a hammer first, lest some unsuspecting person ends up with them.

 

[driz]

Weird vibration is your big warning. Also no speed rating on the label.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[lis2323]

Weird vibration is your big warning. Also no speed rating on the label.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Assuming of course it was mounted securely. Backing flange oriented correctly etc.

Please note. I am NOT suggesting this is the problem the OP had. Just talking about safety in general.

 

[M6erfan]

I have the Bionic face shield linked above. Bought it 6 years ago and replaced the shield part and sweatband this passed summer. Great shield. I still wear safety glasses under it too.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Even the good brands can explode, you don't know if someone had dropped it or it was a bad batch. Remember, a lot of the time you are grinding at a height below your belt.

 

[toplessHO]

Im certain the leather shop apron save me from some injury
When welding and grinding I turn the apron inside out to keep sluff out of pockets.
Where it hit has double the thickness because of the large pocket in center.

 

[MattT]

Assuming of course it was mounted securely. Backing flange oriented correctly etc.

Doesn't matter whether the vibration is caused by improper mounting or the wheel itself. Or some other problem. Either which way it's a warning to STOP.

 

[lis2323]

Doesn't matter whether the vibration is caused by improper mounting or the wheel itself. Or some other problem. Either which way it's a warning to STOP.

Agreed[emoji106]

 

[PugetDude]

I haven't had a disc come apart since I quit buying them at HF.
Just sayin'

(Glad your weren't hurt, ToplessHO; we could have been reading about a gruesome accident.)

 

[2oolhound]

Don't forget EXPIRY DATES are printed usually in the center edge of discs but sometimes elsewhere on each disc. Discs are good for 3 years or less after manufacture due to the fact the bonding agents lose the ability to bond the abrasive to the proper strength over time.

 

[bczygan]

What I use:

Bill

 

[1cargarage]

Glad your weren't hurt, ToplessHO; we could have been reading about a gruesome accident.

I google image searched "angle grinder injuries" once a while back and I haven't cared to search for it again since.

A LOT can go wrong instantly with those things.

 

[dutchgray]

Seen a 12" cutting disc break into 2 pieces on a 2 stroke disc cutter, its all over before you even knew something went wrong, but you wouldn't want to be in the path the disc took, lucky it was only about 15" away from a stone wall and one half went pretty much straight into the ground, no one got hurt.

 

[toplessHO]

I haven't had a disc come apart since I quit buying them at HF.
Just sayin'

(Glad your weren't hurt, ToplessHO; we could have been reading about a gruesome accident.)

so I sent the pics to neighbor(whos also a member here)
I told him this is why we dont buy no name grinding discs.
His comment was "thats why I buy HF brand ones"
SMH

 

[metlmunchr]

A friend walked into the shop of a customer who makes diamond grinding wheels at that particular location and noticed a big commotion going on.

A man was grinding the steel body for a diamond wheel on a cylindrical grinder. A piece of the coolant nozzle above the wheel came loose somehow and dropped between the abrasive wheel and the piece being ground. It blew up the grinding wheel which was 30" diameter and 2 or 3 inches wide. A chunk of the wheel hit the operator in the head and he was dead when he hit the floor.

I bought a big cylindrical years ago, moved it into my shop, and wired it up. Never have used it on a single job though. The position of the controls on a cylindrical put the operator directly in front of the wheel, and I never have needed work bad enough to chance eating part of that wheel, also 30" in diameter and driven by a 20 hp motor.

 

[mrjaw14]

Even the good brands can explode, you don't know if someone had dropped it or it was a bad batch. Remember, a lot of the time you are grinding at a height below your belt.

Now I want a leather shop apron

 

[rlitman]

Now I want a leather shop apron

I don't blame you. I keep one around the table saw to help with a potential kick back.

 

[MushCreek]

As a tool maker, I've been around grinding wheels for many years, and blown up a number of them, usually on a surface grinder. The worst one (and oddest), though, was on a big cutter grinder. It used a 10" diameter x 1" thick wheel. I was sharpening a big shell mill, and had to take all of the guards off to get it in to the wheel. I worked on the thing all morning, hovering over that big spinning wheel. When I was done, I shut the spindle off, THEN the wheel blew. Chunks of it went all over the shop. To this day, I have no idea why. I did a ring test, dressed it, it ran smooth, and was fine for several hours. It was a Norton wheel, long before the days of Chinese wheels.

 

[Jazz1]

Don't forget EXPIRY DATES are printed usually in the center edge of discs but sometimes elsewhere on each disc. Discs are good for 3 years or less after manufacture due to the fact the bonding agents lose the ability to bond the abrasive to the proper strength over time.

This I never knew. I had a cheap TOOLTOWN disc come apart. Stick to brands you know.

 

[thundermug]

I had a cut-off wheel shatter. One of the shards went 1/4" into a plank about 6 feet away.

 

[d.mcfarland]

I believe 100% in this case that the old no name disc was the issue.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I had a Made in USA grinding wheel explode. I was grinding a tool bit then checking it against the job. I left the grinder running between touch-ups on the tool. I had my back turned when the stone exploded.
I am lucky. There was no damage to the Baldor Grinder. The castiron guard held the flying bits in place.

 

[nikerret]

I’m not afraid of guns or high speeds, but running a high powered angle grinder scares the **** out of me.

 

[lis2323]

Thanks for all reminders everyone. It’s too easy to become complacent.

 

[FSrepair&fabrication]

Ive had them blow apart a few times. Last one i had to get a few stitches to hold my thumb together since i wasnt wearing gloves. Im alot more careful since then. Ive also had to have crumbs picked out of my eyes multiple times. Ive learned the hard way for every piece of safety gear i now use.

Now if I could just figure out how to stop catching on fire...

 

[tym]

Now I want a leather shop apron

Yep, GJ made me find a nice over-the-shoulder one from Moonshine Leather Co (made in USA). Wear it whenever I'm at the grinder.

 

[georgiadave]

I was taught to stand to the side of a grinder, never in front.

 

[isb cornbinder]

One of the tradesmen where I used to work lost a testicle when he was issued a too low speed backing disc for the grinder he was using.
A few weeks of recovery and he returned to work and a lot of teasing about joining a boys choir.

 

[mrjaw14]

What’s a good leather apron? Something like a Hobart from NTE any good, or are ones like that too thin?

 

[wolf_from_wv]

Now if I could just figure out how to stop catching on fire...

Be rather messy, but stand under the shower fully clothed before working around ignition sources?