Nearly my last mistake :-(

[NazNomad]

I didn't get a photo, but I had a close call today.

Belt-sanding in the chicken coop this afternoon, got in an awkward position... The belt sander (it's a big old silver metal bodied one) swallowed its own lead.

I'm not sure what I did first... dropped it or swore profusely, all I know is I got a hell of a 'belt' from it (oh, the irony).

Not the first shock I've had, but just a reminder to keep your friggin' wits about you with power tools.

10 minutes later, while I'm sitting down trying to get my heart-rate to slow down, SWMBO comes out, ''we've had a power cut''.

All hail the RCD's in the garage, that's all I say. 8)

 

[No skills]

Look on the bright side. You now get to buy a new belt sander, hopefully a newer one that's insulated better so you can't get a shock again.

I killed my last Bosch power plane in a similar fashion

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Why were you sanding the hen house? Hens getting splinters in their aarses?

 

[NazNomad]

I'll just put a new mains lead on it, can't buy a new one just because I almost died. :-D

Phil, it was to prevent the bum-splinters. I've added new perches and forgot to sand one.

 

[transatlantic]

So clearly, we need cordless belt sanders!

 

[lurker]

I was using mine the other week (latched in the on position) in the workshop and dropped it.
Before I could stop myself I tried to catch it; the belt dragged the fleshy part of my palm (near the thumb) into the body.
Took a good 4 weeks to heal
I had an embarrassing time at work I can tell you (I am head of H&S :roll: )

 

[dzj]

The belt sander (it's a big old silver metal bodied one) swallowed its own lead.

Yeah, it happened to me once too.
A tripped RCD and a new cable and I was happily sanding again.
Paying a bit more attention...

 

[Eric The Viking]

If you drop your soldering iron off the edge of the bench...

... do not try to catch it. DAMHIKT.

Seriously Naz, I am slightly surprised you got a belt from it. The RCD should've tripped the moment it chewed through to the live conductor and that touched the metal part. It seems that it only tripped when the current ran through you. It is supposed to do that (and fast enough to prevent the shock killing the nerves in the heart muscle, which is what ultimately would kill you), but it should have tripped before that.

When you replace the cable, have a good look at it - check there is (or can be) a good earth to the metal part. Either it was "double insulated" (really dumb idea IMHO which should never have been made legal), or there should be an earth which either came loose or was never properly fitted. If there isn't one, I'd contrive one, with a tag crimped to the earth wire and a bolt through if necessary.

You've prompted me to check out my Makita - the orbital has a metal case (the belt one is all plastic on the important bits).

E.

 

[NazNomad]

I rewired it today and - despite the middle of the cable being chewed to bits - the rest of the wiring was tip top.

Would the distance from the RCD make a difference? I was a considerable distance, cable-wise, from the RCD.


... and I've lost count of the number of times I've caught, and just as quickly dropped, a falling soldering iron. :-D

 

[pollys13]

....... Is the volts that jolts..... but the mills that kill.

 

[Eric The Viking]

The distance shouldn't matter - if anything it would make it more likely to trip quickly. It's the Falklands thing - counting the electrons in and out down live and neutral. If the numbers don't match some of the little, er, things are escaping, and the RCD should, one hopes, switch off quickly.

Have you checked that there's a really low resistance between the metal case of the thing (I'm presuming that's what gave you the shock) and the earth pin of the plug? I'd hope it's less than two Ohms. If not, that'll be the reason.

 

[NazNomad]

I cleaned the termination point (the earth wire of the mains lead is screw-fixed directly to the casing), then formed & tinned the bare wire before fixing it back on... and the mains lead is now a new one with a moulded plug, so I'm guessing, but I will check, that the resistance is lower than 2Ω

 

[No skills]

How old is the rcd in the fuse box that was feeding this?
I've known electricians fail old rcds when testing because they tripped too slow (I believe this is measured in milliseconds).

 

[NazNomad]

Property built in 2002

 

[Nelsun]

Glad to hear you survived the "experience". Hope the chooks appreciated your efforts!

I too have done the instinctive catching a thing you should not catch whilst testing the magnetic pull of a knife rack... with the sharpest knife in the house. Needless to say, the magnetic pull needed improving.

 

[n0legs]

What's the rating on the RCD?

 

[Eric The Viking]

Glad to hear you survived the "experience". Hope the chooks appreciated your efforts!

I too have done the instinctive catching a thing you should not catch whilst testing the magnetic pull of a knife rack... with the sharpest knife in the house. Needless to say, the magnetic pull needed improving.

I wish you hadn't mentioned that... :shock:

 

[monkeybiter]

I once borrowed a large petrol Stihl saw [or equivalent] and the lender very keenly told me to be very careful, he had employed someone who had fumbled and started to drop it. It is the last thing he ever tried to catch with those long lost fingers.

 

[NazNomad]

What's the rating on the RCD?

30mA

 

[n0legs]

What's the rating on the RCD?

30mA

Get it tested, something's not right for you to have received a shock.