Completely serious angle grinder question

Excellent advice, merely not as specific as your version.

Simon, thanks for all that. Good sense.

I agree that a visual demonstration can be better than a written one, especially when so many many are so abysmally written, but surely a manufacturer shouldn't *rely* on external instructions which a purchaser might or might not look at (assuming that said purchaser has internet access at all).

To you, perhaps, to me, possibly, to many, with luck. But to all? I don't think so.

Yes, they should have instructions that make it clear what can injure you and the best of them would provide their own well done videos too.

excellent advice if you want eye injury. Its one of those habitual errors people make, ask any A&E dept.

NT

Well, if someone doesn't figure it out I'm not sure they should be using an angle grinder. When to use the on-lock is a matter of judgement, and obviously using it increases risk. Any advice to use it in a manual could thus leave them open to being sued.

NT

Indeed. But its more expense, and a better idiot will find a way to do as t hey suggest and still get injured. Maybe they could fund a tool safety orga nisation or something. Doubtless the govt will ram that scam on us next, an d we'll have to pay twice the price for every new AG and be forced to watch some dopey sod stating the obvious for 2 hours before being allowed to tak e the new purchase home.

NT

Sure, but not much given that its spread over all of those they sell.

Sure, but there isn't much can be done about those.

I think youtube leaves that approach for dead.

I doubt it. They don't even do that with cars.

So far, most of the YouTube videos I've watched have shown one-handed operation, often with no guard. One particularly choice one has the operator holding down the workpiece with his spare hand, right in the path of the cutter:

I do that myself with the 4" angle grinders. Not with the full sized ones tho.

I don't ever do that, even tho I have never had a disc or wheel come apart.

Sure, that is certainly the main downside of youtube, plenty who don't have a clue about how to use them safely. But the best of them warn you about the problems much better than any printed instructions can do.

Having now actually used my new first-time angle grinder, I can understand I think why some people do remove the guard: to get a decent view of the blade and where I was cutting I found that I had to peer over the top of it - which rather defeats much of the point of having it there, doesn't it?

In general though I found the tool easier to use and rather less daunting than I was expecting from all the horror stories.

Thanks to everyone here for all the thoughts and advice.

Bert

So now you're ready for a chainsaw.

:o)

I don't need a decent view of the blade, I look at what its doing to what I am using the angle grinder to do instead.

No, because it does prevent most of the bits hitting the user if the disk does come apart.

Yeah, I have never had a disc come apart and have never had it jam in the work either. But then I don't use it to cut steel, I use a disc in an electric saw that is mounted in my own system to cut steel and use the angle grinder to on the excess welds and rough edges that the saw produce.

Thanks for the ongoing feedback from a new user.

It you are peering over the top of an unguarded disc and it hits a snag you will get the disc in your face - still it's your life. If you are cutting metal the bits of hot metal being ground off can be hot

How is one supposed to guide the cut properly if the placing of the disc isn't in view?

Bert

hold the grinder closer to your body and lean over.

You look at what the disc does to what you are cutting.

Can you not look from the side?

Otherwise, just accept that using an angle grinder is not very precise.

I've never cut slate. Do you get bits of slate being thrown off?

BTW, people have mentioned eye protection, but you also need a *proper* dust mask.

That's what I did. But it does seem in contradiction to all the safety warnings.