Safety Sunday..

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The first 40 seconds were showing the before. The mods were a little better but I still wouldn’t want my fingers that close to the disk. My last cut off disk hole in a finger is just about healed so I’m keen to avoid another.
 
This came through in instagram a few days ago. Most of the comments were American, alot of them were in relation to not having a guard to put this on. Not sure which is worse but neither is my preferred option. Grinders come with a handle for a reason.
 
If the disc snatches and fingers or a thumb are in that add on, the likelihood is serious damage even if the disc doesn't hit them.
 
A very talented guy who has managed years without an accident. But I don't understand the culture of 'I've never had an accident'. You read and get taught about complacency with machines. I wonder if some of these guys have kids. Sleep deprivation when you have babies and toddlers is intense. What about those times when a loved one is ill or close to death? When you are walking around in a fog and not really 100% there. Do they put down their power tools when they are tired / not in the right frame of mind? I doubt it! I don't get how this culture of excessive risk exists.
 
Having had the privilege of being born with the correct number of fingers that's not for me but he does have a point about improved control, perhaps there is a better angle grinder design to be found here but it won't be me doing the experiments. This idea needs a tool manufacturer to develop it in a way less likely to bite bits off.
 
A very talented guy who has managed years without an accident. But I don't understand the culture of 'I've never had an accident'. You read and get taught about complacency with machines. I wonder if some of these guys have kids. Sleep deprivation when you have babies and toddlers is intense. What about those times when a loved one is ill or close to death? When you are walking around in a fog and not really 100% there. Do they put down their power tools when they are tired / not in the right frame of mind? I doubt it! I don't get how this culture of excessive risk exists.

Thats the thing, a few years ago he had quite a major accident involving a table saw and a little finger. He talked about it in one of his videos and commented how expensive the surgery was, and lucky to keep the finger. Thats why I found it a bit baffling that was he was willing (uneccessarily) to put himself in a similar situation. Obviously he's confident doing that and accepts the risks. Fair enough. I agree he is talented.
 
I think these youtube people are under some kind of pressure to keep churning out new videos, so have to come up with some kind of "hack" now and then to keep their view ratings going up.

The funny thing with that video is that if he stood on the other side of the vice and switched hands he wouldn't need to hold the grinder that way and could use the handle or the motor housing to hold on to and rest his elbow on the steel.

Who in their right mind sticks their finger up under the guard of a grinder anyway ?
 
Clearly though he's never been bitten by a powertool, or had it rip out of his hands giving an almighty fright. Hence still got the lack of any sort of fear that brings about safe working practice.

Theres a good vid by Stumpy Nubs where he's using the angle grinder with a carving blade(aka a disc of death) and it goes somewhat awry ripping it out his grasp and leaving a very nice reminder.
He is using a handle, but despite it it still has the power to wrench itself out of his grasp.

Like most here, I've the saw bench, the planer/thicknesser and all the powertools with the fast moving cutting blades that you dont ever want to have an accident with, ever. The angle grinder I recognize as one if not the most dangerous tools I own and use. I can fully understand and conceptualize what it could do if it ever took on a life of its own, particularly if it got ahold of something like a sleeve or jumper over the stomach area. Doesnt bear thinking about really, and as such, more than anything, I've a well developed sense of what im doing, how im holding it, the direction of the blade when in use. With all tools I hasten to add, not just my grinder.
My grinder is a skil grindcat, which has I think a much better handle shape for holding the tool, rather than the usual straight body that affords little positive grip.
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You can see in stumpy nubs vid, the direction of the blade and how he's holding it where if it does go amiss, its route is towards him and he would have been better had he worked from the other side, on his left side rather than right.
This vid doesnt show the actual damage, so you can keep your dinner where it's supposed to be. The actual vid and damage is really nasty.
 
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Clearly though he's never been bitten by a powertool, or had it rip out of his hands giving an almighty fright. Hence still got the lack of any sort of fear that brings about safe working practice.

Theres a good vid by Stumpy Nubs where he's using the angle grinder with a carving blade(aka a disc of death) and it goes somewhat awry ripping it out his grasp and leaving a very nice reminder.
He is using a handle, but despite it it still has the power to wrench itself out of his grasp.

Like most here, I've the saw bench, the planer/thicknesser and all the powertools with the fast moving cutting blades that you dont ever want to have an accident with, ever. The angle grinder I recognize as one if not the most dangerous tools I own and use. I can fully understand and conceptualize what it could do if it ever took on a life of its own, particularly if it got ahold of something like a sleeve or jumper over the stomach area. Doesnt bear thinking about really, and as such, more than anything, I've a well developed sense of what im doing, how im holding it, the direction of the blade when in use. With all tools I hasten to add, not just my grinder.
My grinder is a skil grindcat, which has I think a much better handle shape for holding the tool, rather than the usual straight body that affords little positive grip.
.
You can see in stumpy nubs vid, the direction of the blade and how he's holding it where if it does go amiss, its route is towards him and he would have been better had he worked from the other side, on his left side rather than right.
This vid doesnt show the actual damage, so you can keep your dinner where it's supposed to be. The actual vid and damage is really nasty.

Now the Stumpy Nubs makes sence
 
Reminds me of the guy who fitted a circular saw blade to an angle grinder, as soon a it was introduced to the wood it kicked back with so much force it cut his jugular, as he was alone, he bled out.
 
While we're on the subject of angle grinders and safety. A friend of mine had his Bosch angle grinder wrench out of his hands, bounce off the floor and sever his Achilles tendon. If the tool had been fitted with a biased switch, ie release off spring loaded switch the tool would have eventually stopped. Instead of which it was fitted with an unbiased stay put on/off type where it kept running till he managed to get to it and turn it off. I know there are several H&S blokes and Design engineers on the site and I wondered if they could throw any light on why non biased switches are fitted on machines capable of causing harm. The friend in question by the way is a retired production engineer well capable of handling power tools and fully cogniscent of their capabilities, not as it were a "Numpty"
 
Got to admit "biased switches" (or paddle switches as the rest of us call them?) are very much my preference for most tasks - but why are tools with them always so much more expensive?
 
I like that concept, I think it can be done safely (the grip, not just the holding the guard). Might try something like that myself.
 
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