And a re to all the glove conversatins we now have a dewalt 4 inch that you cant remove the shied from l and it also has an automatic kill switch and a paddle switch if you let go (honestly its pretty cool but doesnt kill fast enough i cut my hands a few times) A welding helmet and a pair of to the elbow high leather welding gloves.
Years ago when I was building limos I was helping a guy build interior parts. Hands me the die grinder -cut this, cut that. I told him I was taking my time because of my respect for high rpm tools that maim body parts. He counters with, "I've been using these for years & i've never hurt myself." An hour or so later a die grinder gets away from him & he notches about a 1/4" slot in his hand in the meat between his thumb & index finger. Damn thing was spinning so fast it caurterized {sp?} the wound instantly so it didn't even bleed. He got lucky. A few extra seconds to get the job done is better than a trip to ER.
Gloves kept mine from getting REAL EXPENSIVE... just "winged" my ulnar nerve http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=168068
POWER TOOLS, they are great, but if you think it won't hurt you you are mistaken. Forty two year in the welding business I have a crap load of scars, but nothing serious. Last year my son was drilling holes in his truck frame with my Milwaukie 1/2 drill motor, gun type. He broke some bits and let the motor hit the ground. It pissed me off watching the tool smack the ground. Sooooo, I told him not to be afraid of it and hange on tight. He handed me the drill and told me to "Show him how it's was done". I had a good grip on the damn thing and the next thing I know I'm at the hospital being told that I need surgery on my little finger. When I woke up after three and a half hours of surgery the doctor told me that I had four pins and 50 stiches, never thought the little finger was big enough for that many stiches. First time I picked up that drill motor after the surgery I put it down and tried another one in the toolbox. I guess I showed my son who the boss was
Enough can't be said about working safe. I was standing on a ladder drilling a hole for an eyebolt in the chainlink fence at the back of my property with a 1/2 horse drill motor a couple of days ago. The damn bit grabbed in the hole and twisted the drill motor out of my hands. It bruised my wrist where the right angle hand grip spun around and whacked me, after coming out of my not nearly gripped tightly enough left hand, and very nearly knocked me off the ladder. Hell, later that same day I tripped over same racking rails I had just piled up, ran twenty feet trying to stay on my feet, and finally fell on a pile of boards I had taken MOST of the nails out of earlier it day. Of late I've started paying real attention to the safety issues around my grinders, welders, and machine tools, and nowadays don't hesitate to wear the safety gear. I've even become real cautious around my table saw, something I never was before, but to be nearly laid out by something we all take for granted like a drill motor, or just being tired or inattentive late in the day is really stupid. I had a couple of wake up calls that day that prove with certainty (at least to me) that you don't need to be working with a tool that comes with safety warnings and guards to screw yourself up.
man, when you can see your own bones, you shouldn't need your mother to tell you you probably need at least a couple stitches. yeah, I agree, I'm putting the guard back on if I can find it. Plus mine has that locking button. Maybe just time to get a new one that is safer and better anyway. I haven't been torn up by one yet, but I damn sure have some respect for it. A lot of torque and high rmps can do a hell of a lot of damage very quick.
i've had a few incidents with cutting wheels on the grinder... shrapnel to the chest, hand and upper thigh(any higher up and i'd be telling quite a different story) ... after the last(and worst) i bought a variable speed grinder and dial it down a bit for cutting wheels- the only thing i'll use on a 11,000 rpm grinder is flap discs,,,, 3 years after the last ordeal and i'm still gun shy- waiting for the next catastrophe... the lower rpms are definitely safer but its always in the back of my mind
i also took a grinder cut off wheel to my fore arm. i could see my muscle and tendons. rad thing is it didnt bleed at all.
I only have one good hand,my 4"caught while useing sanding disk .Jumped out of my hamd and cut my side slightly and two gashes 3"long and deep same place on arm as your injury.Cost -half a day in emrgency room and $3000. Be careful with those things.First time I ever seen layers of open skin, fat and meat on me.
Kinda like this? I took the guard off of my wheel to get into a tighter spot. Good thinkin'! As soon as I got back from the doc, that guard went right back on!
That sucks. Sorry to see that, dude. If it makes you feel any better I had one jump out of my hands a few years back and it HAD the guard on it and it was the guard that cut me up! It might have saved me some depth on the cut to the back of my hand (exposed tendons - really did look just like chicken), but then it tore through my arm on the way to my chest and my t-shirt is also what stopped mine. Now I NEVER buy a grinder with a locking on/off switch. I only buy the ones with a squeeze trigger, and I never lock them on. That way if/when it jumps out of my hands at least it doesn't keep spinning. I'm shocked that they are still on the market - you don't see drills or circular saws with those kinds of on/off switches, so why the hell do they think they're okay on a grinder??
And people bitch down here about socialized medicine!! All due to the propaganda machines created by the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies!!
Had a grinder flip out of my hand and do a number on me while stuck in the lock mode. I now only use a dewalt grinder with the paddle type switch that can not get stuck in the on position by accident.
heres my set-up....good goggles with a face mask attached (you can replace the lenses as required...i always trim them with snips to make sure they fit right into the goggles 'frame' with no gaps) ,decent earmuffs... not just for noise protection...had a lump of molten metal land in my ear once..fuck it hurt!!! sounded like a big blowfly in there. Spent the rest of the day with a bag of ice on it held in place by the muffs. One day I was watchin an engineer friend grinding somethin on his car...he was stopping and rotating the guard on his Bosch angle grinder. I went and bought and haven't looked back. the rotating guard,goggles,mask and muffs have meant I haven't been back to the A+E dept for years now. oh...and JACKSTANDS too ...read a thread on here recently bout a car falling off a floorjack.
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