Grinding 'curtain'?

[Cato]

Do any of you use a curtain to stop grinding sparks going all over the place? If so, what's it made of?

I have occaisional cutting or grinding to do and I don't want the sparks to damage anything so I'm thinking of making up a stand and curtain which I can move into position as required. The frame is easy enough, but what to hang from it is less obvious. I suppose I could make a quilt from plumbing mats, but that doesn't sound like much fun.

Size wise I'm thinking two 8' x 4' would be enough as I could form a wall or corner.

 

[chunkolini]

old fire blankets can be cheap

 

[James1979]

Welding screen works well in my place.

About £40 with a frame.

It’s not fireproof so if you’re 6” away and firing straight at it with a 9” angry grinder it may melt a bit but if you use it properly and you’re not a k**b it works just fine!!

Here: https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/welding-brazing-and-soldering/welding-accessories/010505

Looks like about £60 for the whole thing now but I’m sure it’s cheaper elsewhere. The canvas ones are less melty

 

[Cato]

Welding screen works well in my place.

About £40 with a frame.

It’s not fireproof so if you’re 6” away and firing straight at it with a 9” angry grinder it may melt a bit but if you use it properly and you’re not a k**b it works just fine!!

Here: https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/welding-brazing-and-soldering/welding-accessories/010505

Looks like about £60 for the whole thing now but I’m sure it’s cheaper elsewhere. The canvas ones are less melty

Yeah I looked at those but the melting/burning potential put me off. I want less sources of fuel not more.

On occasion it will be impossible to be more than say 3 metres away from the curtain, and the idea will be to fire directly at the curtain as that's its purpose.

Fire blankets are a good shout.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

old fire blankets can be cheap

Calling @The_Yellow_Ardvark

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Calling @The_Yellow_Ardvark

Old mod blanket work just as well.
As does a welding curtain

 

[MoreWellie]

I have lost count of the number of melted fleeces and I hate making holes in my welding suit so I try to remember to put a cheap leather apron on when using the grinder and then put myself in the way of the sparks. It doesn't catch everything but it saves a lot of clothing

easier to do for cutting than grinding

 

[Nick DV]

Something like this https://www.vevor.co.uk/welding-bla...MIl9u75fPh-QIVj4BQBh0W_Qr0EAAYASAAEgJsBPD_BwE

 

[Sergei Slovenija]

Collected from scrap

 

[rtcosic]

I have lost count of the number of melted fleeces and I hate making holes in my welding suit so I try to remember to put a cheap leather apron on when using the grinder and then put myself in the way of the sparks. It doesn't catch everything but it saves a lot of clothing

easier to do for cutting than grinding

When I was doing lots of cutting I did the same. But I even went through the leather surprisingly quickly, so I rivetted a piece of 1mm steel to the apron.

A little medieval but it worked very well.

Otherwise, I have an assortment of time-expired fire blankets. The quality is very variable as spark collectors though.

Edit: @Sergei Slovenija beat me to it on a much larger scale!

 

[James1979]

proper welding blanket is less than a tenner / m2.

Depends how much you think you’ll need I guess. It will still melt and smoulder if
You get it hot enough

 

[Sergei Slovenija]

... 1 мм.

Just old frames from filters for ventilation systems

 

[Cato]

proper welding blanket is less than a tenner / m2.

Depends how much you think you’ll need I guess. It will still melt and smoulder if
You get it hot enough

I hadn't seen those fibreglass welding blankets, they look pretty good.

I don't think it will be getting too hot (it's all relative), I just want to avoid surface damage to things. For example, I may have to cut something on the bench, or close to the hydraulic lift. So a screen would allow me to do that and protect stuff nearby.

I would rarely need to cut a batch of something, but doing that or anything which needed a more continuous cut could be done outside or inside with a sturdy barrier.

 

[anto44]

When welding or grinding on cars I use old fire blankets to protect from grinding and welding sparks. I asked a guy who checks the fire extinguishers in work one day and he was happy to give me a big box of out of date ones.

 

[Kram]

asked a guy who checks the fire extinguishers in work one day and he was happy to give me a big box of out of date ones.

Out of date fire blankets!?! I can understand extinguishers having a date or used blankets being replaced, but this seems silly.

 

[anto44]

Out of date fire blankets!?! I can understand extinguishers having a date or used blankets being replaced, but this seems silly.

I just looked at some I have here and don't see an expiration date on them so not sure if it's a rule or if he just recommends they be replaced after a certain time because he sells them.

 

[rtcosic]

Out of date fire blankets!?! I can understand extinguishers having a date or used blankets being replaced, but this seems silly.

The manufacturer advises that they should be removed from the holder every few years, unfolded, shaken, refolded and reinserted. To prevent the folded edges from deteriorating and then falling apart in an emergency.

Ticks a box for the insurance inspection, so worth the effort for that alone.

If you are paying someone even NMW to do this it is cheaper to buy a pallet of new ones, unhook the old one from the wall and hook on a new one.

Bin the 'old' ones - or give them to a worthy cause ..........such as me.


Edit. somewhat like repacking powder fire extinguishers. If you don't have your own equipment, supplies and 'free' trained manpower to do it in-house, it can be cheaper to just replace them when they reach the servicing date.

Which commercial operator would pay someone to repair £25 grinders?

 

[LiftedDisco]

Whilst many will disagree, a set of old curtainsider curtains would be a decent bet (if free)!

900 Grammes to the sq metre, it’s heavy gauge stuff and will stop sparks. You will get burns or scorch marks in it if you are close by and giving it full beans, but it’s an effective shield. The material itself is inherently fire retardant so won’t support independent burning, nor does it drop flaming bits - the two critical tests of flammability…

 

[Hitch]

The standard welding screens tend to work. Never seen one catch fire, just melt a little.
As James has pointed out, of your not stupid, it's not an issue.

Domestic fire blankets don't last 5 minutes if you fire sparks right at them.

Ig you're really keen, a heavy proper welding blanket (Tuskers) works.

If you're firing masses of sparks at close range, you're probably get an uncomfortable amount bouncing back at you from tin sheet setups etc.

 

[brightspark]

old fire blankets can be cheap

and kill you with the asbestos sooner or later