Angle Grinder Safety

The Medway Handyman · 2007-07-21T19:03:18+00:00

Given my track record with angle grinders, I've been thinking about the safety aspect.My 9" grinder has a three position 'd' handle & a three position side handle so when cutting vertically you can use it with the disc spinning upwards or downwards. When its spinning 'up' all the muck is thrown towards the operator (me), when spinning 'down' the muck is thrown down at the floor.From the potential kickback situation, which is safer? If the disc catches whilst spinning 'up' the machine would react by kicking down & away from me.It seems better to put up with the muck & bullets because the kickback threat is less.Also, I assume a segmented diamond disc is more likely to kickback than a normal abrasive disc?Anywhere I can read up on this subject?

Jul 21, 2007 24 Replies

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Cicero 18 years ago

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They look like a good idea for cutting (but all I know is that looks can

================================== I think what you're looking at is a cut-off guard with some kind of depth stop. Most angle grinders have a simple cut-off guard (i.e. without depth stop) like the one on the left of that page. The guard has a dual purpose - to protect your hands from accidental contact with the grinding disk and to direct the debris stream in a particular direction away from the operator.

The guard can be moved to different positions to suit the cutting angle. You can experiment with different positions to find the best position for your cutting style.

Cic.

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Pete C 18 years ago

Hi,

When cutting something like this I try to have the edge of the guard near the workpiece, such that if the disc jams the guard will brace against the workpiece and stop the grinder spinning round.

cheers, Pete.

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Pete C 18 years ago

I tend to do it the same way it should be done with a router, so if the blade starts to dig in too much it pushes the machine back out of the cut instead of pulling it into the cut which can make the machine jump away from the cut suddenly.

cheers, Pete.

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John Rumm 18 years ago

With a router you you should only really attempt a climb cut (i.e. with the direction of rotation) as a final last pass when you have a wood that will otherwise suffer tearout. The main cut should be against the direction of rotation (as with most other power tools etc). The fence or the bearing on the cutter will prevent the tool being pulled into the work.

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Pete C 18 years ago

Yup, that is what I meant but you put it a lot better than I could, so with a grinder I go against the direction of rotation too.

cheers, Pete.

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