Dangers of angle grinders

[oosik]

I was running one of those 4" paper thin cut-off wheel/blade on my Makita angle grinder. For whatever reason it simply grenaded. I only had on safety glasses and caught a chunk of the wheel in the face. It made a fairly deep & long cut. I ALWAYS wear a full face shield and leather work gloves when I use it now.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I can't afford those great plastic disks with the abrasive material on them. They are high quality and do last a long time. I'm guessing, the plastic doesn't grenade.

So, I have a VERY BAD HABIT of taking the thin cutting wheels and using the side. It has a little flex to it, unlike a solid stone wheel. But it will probably fail, as the second failure I had recently experienced.

I know it could probably richochet off something, but I am always just mindful of the direction it will fly apart. I do wear safety glasses, and believe a flying disk will go through a face sheild.

 

[flyerdan]

Skinny wheels (6" Metabo are the best) are quite useful, but dangerous as all get out. What usually gets them is when something binds, as they are quite delicate and won't tolerate any side loading. The key to success is to position your work so when it starts to separate it opens rather than closing on the disc, keeping your face, body and anything you don't want fragged out of the arc, keep a firm grip on the grinder and assume that it wants to hurt you.

 

[om21braz]

Speaking of vibration, hope you never have the guard on a 7" wildcat grinder come loose and get hung on the disc. Fortunately about 2 seconds of the shakes was all that happened.

 

[fried1765]

Skinny wheels (6" Metabo are the best) are quite useful, but dangerous as all get out. What usually gets them is when something binds, as they are quite delicate and won't tolerate any side loading. The key to success is to position your work so when it starts to separate it opens rather than closing on the disc, keeping your face, body and anything you don't want fragged out of the arc, keep a firm grip on the grinder and assume that it wants to hurt you.

A Metabo "skinny" disc is exactly what bound up in the steel I was cutting, and it gave me a lovely looking long slice in my thigh.