9 Inch angle grinder mishap

[boydy1989]

I always wear an old welding mask with a thick piece of polycarb aswell as welding gloves after that, had a few near misses since (exploding disks and the like!)

I started doing that when i couldn't find my old goggles.

If nothing else, it means any stray sparks don'#t burn ears and nose as much.

seeing that pic has re-inforced my desire to wear it!

Hope you recover mate...

Heres a thought... hobbyists, like me. More at risk 'cos of inexperience, or less at risk 'cos of not being too complacent?

 

[Garreth]

Ouch ! Bet that stung

I never grind / cut anything without a full face shield and safety specs these days. Sometimes think its overkill but that makes me realise I'm doing the right thing.

Hope you have a speedy and full recovery !

Knew a Scottish guy who did a similar thing with one of those chain saw type wood cutting disks you can get. His mate was telling me this story about how he'd openened his stomach up with the thing. We were working on site and I asked him about it - I assumed he'd done it years ago. He pulled his shirt up to reveal the biggest ugliest wound I'd ever seen - it had only happened the week before and he'd not even been off work ! Tough b*****d that guy !!!!

Good mate of mine dropped an Oxy Acetylene cutting torch down his front whilst cutting down some old beams. That brought tears to his eyes !

Wear as much PPE as you can, work safely and keep your fingers crossed !

Garreth

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

jeezus christ iv never used a 9" before and i think ill steer well clear

 

[bill_gj]

jus bin sick

 

[KICKSY]

That is f*****g nasty. Glad your ok now.

Dave

 

[Pete.]

Had a few snags with grinders but never anything like that! Looks bloody nasty mate.

I just finished a job cutting cast iron segments in situ with a 14" hydraulic partner saw and diamond blade and I kept a full face shield on for just this reason.

 

[chunkolini]

I occasionally think of getting a 9" grinder, this kind of thing puts me off them.
for once it is probably better that the images are not posted on here.
God luck with it.

 

[david500]

Anyone ever see that Bizzare ER, guy cut his middle open with a grinder iirc. Trying to cut a bed frame up....in the house

I only saw the one episode, that one with the Vicar and the toilet brush



9 inch grinders are no more dangerous than any other tool really, But they are very powerfull, The kickback is very violent when it does happen, and it will happen
I could not do without mine, But theres a time and a place for it.

If you just want to cut lengths of steel in your workshop then a chop saw is a safer choice IMO.

 

[roofman]

I occasionally think of getting a 9" grinder, this kind of thing puts me off them.
for once it is probably better that the images are not posted on here.
God luck with it.

posting that insane cut lip might save more lips ending up on workbenches

 

[stevieturbo]

I occasionally think of getting a 9" grinder, this kind of thing puts me off them.
for once it is probably better that the images are not posted on here.
God luck with it.

IMO it's very important to post stuff like this on such a forum.

It's very easy to get complacent when using such tools. And I'm sure almost everyone is guilty of it. If images like that prevent it happening to someone else, post away.

 

[SirDick Diodenob esquire]

Simon , thanks for posting , I was also looking for a 9 inch grinder , cut my index finger to the bone today with the small one but nothing serious . Looking at your photos its not often I think twice about safety but I will take notice this time and get the right gear , hope your injury heals well .

 

[roofman]

jesus...this place is like that old Kenny Everet sketch as the DIY man full of bandages and splints

 

[metalspanner]

Reading this and Chunko's lucky escape reminds me of two stooooopid things I have done and got away with.
One as a yts putting away a cutter bar hedgecutter went to fold up the head and forgot the drive pulley was sat on the floor, still got the scar on left hand half an inch below the index finger lucky.
Second bored in the workshop when should have been painting tractor wheels with a mate, decided to play 'tug' with a bit of scaff pipe he pulled I pulled then he twisted it and the most god awful pain shot up my arm, dropped the pipe to look at my hand, only to see the bones and contents of my hand from the heel of the palm to the base of the fingers.
There was a burr on the end of the pipe that sliced like a scalpel, blood everywhere and I just picked up the paint brush to continue, untill I realised the paint was turning pink, and thought maybe this needs stitching.

There have been many other cuts, slices, impalements and blunt trauma incidents most I have not repeated though so must be learning.

 

[roofman]

one of my most recent foolish workshop blunders was trying to finnish off a turned piece in my lathe with a small fine file without a handle on the file....let the file come to far back and WHAAAAM got stuck in the piece and the sharp end of the file right into my palm.....should of know better as ive been hobby turning for over 20 years

 

[Wedg1e]

one of my most recent foolish workshop blunders was trying to finnish off a turned piece in my lathe with a small fine file without a handle on the file....let the file come to far back and WHAAAAM got stuck in the piece and the sharp end of the file right into my palm.....should of know better as ive been hobby turning for over 20 years

Sorry, but you really do deserve a shoeing for that one. Even I'm not that gormless

...and that's me on a thousand posts and a boollocking from our lass for being late collecting the curry... just coming dear

 

[Jim Davey]

Reading this has reminded me of an accident that happened to someone I know. The manager of the boatyard at the back of my work had a similar experience with his 9" grinder, it pinched up while he was doing a vertical cut and was wearing a full visor but the gearbox still smashed him in the face and shattered one of his eye-teeth. Oddly enough he injured himself just a few weeks back with the same grinder. He picked it up by the handle and the disc to move it and thought to himself "I really mustn't press the trigger now" and I can only guess by reflex action he did just that, nearly chopped his index finger off and came damn near losing it altogether.

A few weeks on he's healing well and gaining some good movement of the finger even though he has no sensation all the way down one side of it.
Ok, his second accident was (an he is first to admit) very silly, but we've all had lapses of concentration and got away with it, but it makes you stop and think about certain work practices and how you might not be so lucky next time.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Over the years I've had many injuries from silly accidents. Nothing long term / serious but often due to "taking my eye off the ball" even for just a split second. Whilst such threads can be disturbing they help remind us how dangerous our hobby, work, interest etc can be. Personally I hope it impacts on my brain to be extra careful with my 9" grinder.

Paul H

 

[Wedg1e]

Earler this year we had a joiner doing some work for us on a site cabin, he had a scar that went from his chin, through his lips, cheek, top of the eye socket and up his forehead.

He'd been cutting a hole through a wall about 15 years ago (I forget why, extractor fan maybe) and the 9" grinder kicked back and hit him in the face. It went through the full-face shield he was wearing first. Luckily he didn't lose the eye.

He was the happiest joiner I've ever met

 

[normspanners]

A guy I know was extending a loft entrance with a 5" disc,which had a click on 'on' switch he was cutting the plaster board. With one hand on the grinder and one on the step ladder . The grinder grabbed on one of the joists and shot round in his grip cutting through the tendons in his right hand and wrist, he let go of the ladders and went to grab the grinder with his left hand and it stopped ravaging the right one and set about the left one, sawing through the tendons and muscles. He came to my house with both hands and arms in plaster after reconstructive surgery. 'Bloody hell, I said, but why is your ankle in plaster'.?
' Coz when I let go to grab that b*******d thing from my right hand I fell off the ladder and broke my right ankle!! I couldnt help but

 

[marlinspike]

That first pic is horrific, but what a fantastic job they did of minimising the damage. I see this thread is 2 years old, so I hope the op made a good recovery.

Angle grinders scare me, even our 115mm one. Some of the correct size discs for sanding didn't seem to fit in our old grinder so it was tempting to use it without the guard on. Glad I didn't now. This thread is a good reminder why you can never be complacent using cutting tools. I don't like using the grinder if I am on my own - prefer to know someone is around in case of accidents.