Where sparks from an angle grinder should fly

No safety precautions. Death by angle grinder. part 2

This text is a continuation of an earlier article, so we recommend that you read the first part before reading.

In the second part, we decided to collect the most common recommendations on working with the angle grinder, which will eliminate most of the unforeseen traumatic situations. Of course, experienced users, wisdom of personal experience, can complement our list of recommendations, so if you have something to expand our selection of rules, write them in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев under this article.

Please note that this article is not written for entertainment purposes and some of the following images and descriptions may shock you, but there is no better way to prevent injury than to know where and how you can get hurt. So we hope this article will be helpful to you.

Before we start to the list of recommendations, here is a picture with the statistics of chain saw damages. In general this picture can serve as an indirect demonstration of the most frequent damages, i.e.к. the grip, posture and the type of work you do with chain saws and angle grinders are similar in many ways.

So, here’s a list of recommendations for working safely with an angle grinder. It was compiled based on our forum threads as well as recommendations from the manufacturers of this tool. Some items in it may cause disagreement on the part of some of the readers, and that’s okay, t.к. there is no unambiguous answer, accepted by all the participants of the discussion.

• Wear protective equipment at work: glasses, goggles, ear muffs, gloves.
• Have a stable body position that is comfortable for work, avoid possible restrictions on body movement at work as much as possible.
• NEVER remove the protective cover! (There is probably no better way to protect yourself from flying disc splinters. Don’t reinvent the wheel, so the doctors don’t have to reinvent your face).

• Do not use discs with incompatible diameters (especially discs with a larger diameter than the angle grinder is designed for, i.e.к. in each type of angle grinder, depending on the diameter of the disc, the speed of rotation is adjusted so that the cutting edge is in contact with the material at a certain speed. Based on the elementary laws of physics, it will not be difficult to understand that the use of the 230th disc on the 150th angle grinder is not the most adequate solution).
• Hold the tool firmly with both hands.
• Do not stand on the cutting line of the disc while working.
• Clamp the object securely to avoid blowing out of the workpiece or shifting, which could cause the disc to jam.
• Remove any clothing that could interfere with the operation: hanging sleeves, wide sweaters and jackets, crosses or other jewelry hanging from the neck, long hair, ties, etc.e In general, anything that can come into contact with the cutting area of the disc.
• Work with sparks on itself (here opinions differ a little, t.к. almost all angle grinders are equipped with 2-3 holes for attaching an additional handle, which means that manufacturers allow the angle grinder to work in both directions of disc rotation. In addition, when working with sparks on yourself, you should avoid direct sparks on your clothes, because.к. there is a risk of igniting the material).
• Continuing the previous point, let us add that you should also not work near flammable materials: rags, rags, flammable liquids, sawdust, as well as live wires (and without).
• Do not use CUSTOMED cutting discs and discs in your work (of course, first of all, it concerns notorious discs for wood). At the moment there are several models of such discs for wood, developed and officially released by well-known tool manufacturers. For example by Bosch (photo below). Most timber sawing injuries are caused by “homemade” discs, which are out of alignment or have a cutting edge not optimized for wood, resulting in beating during work and an unpredictable behavior of the disc in the work environment).

• keep other people out of the work area of the angle grinder and away from it.к. any incorrect movement can lead to unintentional pushing or pulling of the tool’s power cord, causing a dangerous situation during operation.
• When cutting pipes or tubing, check them for pressure, liquids, or other foreign objects.
• Do not drink alcohol or other intoxicating substances before work. Neglecting this rule does not spare even the most experienced craftsmen.

Let’s add the user’s Комментарии и мнения владельцев on care of cutting discs off the list.

chico63: If cutting discs (especially thin 230 or defective like Chinese “Luga”) get wet in a garage they start to “wobble” mercilessly with probable consequences on our topic. It is necessary to dry such disks. I also sometimes put the discs worn on both sides and clamp the whole package as a sanding disc. Then the basic 230 is much stiffer and does not walk like a “noisy reed. “Well, it makes sense on the 230s, on small, like, the hardness of the disk is enough always.

FURTHER IN THE ARTICLE ARE DESCRIPTIONS AND SHOTS CONTAINING SHOCK CONTENT. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE IMPRESSIONABLE!

Damage when working with an angle grinder and other tools:

Al99ex: An acquaintance got a second-hand somewhere unreinforced discs from a stationary angle grinder (vulcanite), as their seating size 32, then planted some spacers, and as these rumps larger than the casing. the casing was removed How he survived. a mystery of nature, a shrapnel stuck in the wooden door a half centimeter. They pulled splinters out of his forehead and neck When you work with an angle grinder you have to hold it so that your face is in the plane of the splinter’s dispersion.

WEREG: an angle grinder without protection, that’s nothing! We have a carpentry shop guys shaped glazing beads on the router, stationary, without tsulagi driven But it’s all for the time being, until one skin from the hand to the elbow twisted.

n-p-n: A couple of stories from life. When I worked with an angle grinder for the first time in my life, I had a certain fear (not panic, but healthy) of cutting and fast-moving tools. But what happened was After working off the cut, I turned off the engine of the angle grinder and lowered my tired arm with it. I touched my knee with the spinning disc. The disc stopped in a couple of seconds, and there were neat cuts on my pants and knee. Thank God, it wasn’t too deep. 3-5mm cut.

The second case. I, when buying an angle grinder, deliberately got a “125”. “115” did not seem to me at all serious, and unprofitable in terms of the price of discs. And the following story is dedicated to the use of my angle grinder brush. After I installed a brush on my angle grinder I found out that the brush cover was not covering it (the brush is cone-shaped and sticking out sideways).) Never mind, I think, it’s not a disk after all. Anyway, the steel hairs from the brush flew out and screwed into the surroundings, including my legs and arms, like arrowheads from a shrapnel ammunition.

And finally, an absolutely wild case in which the tragedy could have been avoided, if only the rescuers had done at least some basic things to save their colleague.

Angel.: A case of electrocution. Decided to do everything according to the instructions and to give first aid. And in the manual says to do CPR and indirect heart massage. They did not dare to kiss, they took off the oxygen hose and put it in their mouths. Pressure, pressure There is one mistake that unfortunately doctors make. Welders are forgiven, doctors are not. This kind of ventilation delivers dry 99% oxygen to the lungs, which draws in moisture and burns the lungs. Resuscitation properly humidifies oxygen, and wet doesn’t burn. They started the heart first, the moisture evaporated and it started to burn, nothing to breathe, they gave him more oxygen, vicious circle. A day later, the electrician died of asphyxiation in the emergency room.

We hope nothing like that ever happens to you. Work with pleasure and without injury!

Follow the safety rules and stay healthy!

The other points make perfect sense. And this one could be nothing more than a stray piece of damaging advice based on nothing but widespread prejudice. Some bald YouTube guru aplombed his video opinion. An emotionally compelling message picked up by the masses. And go.

Manufacturers, with the enviable persistence of making tools with the ability to rearrange the handle, is not the only thing that is alarming.

Here is, for example, a question: If sparks are flying at the operator, where splinters of the disk and chips of material should fly? In the same direction as the sparks. Т.е., on the operator. If the cutter bar is at ground/floor level, then at the feet of. If cutting is performed at an inclination (of the tool relative to the mowing line)., Standing in a semi-reclining position), then in the groin and above (shoulders face). Most of the scary pictures here are just about splinters of cheap or generally left-handed (for dr. tool) discs stuck in different parts of the body of the safety violators or of the bystanders who were standing where they shouldn’t be.

Or, here’s the first picture in the article: an infographic with statistics of affected body parts:

These are not statistics for angle grinders, of course. But, if to count that work with the tool is similar, as the author asserts, then it turns out that defeats characteristic for work in the “right stand” (tool on the left, left hand on the start button, left foot behind the tool in the plane of the cut. it’s not necessary to do so, but it’s more convenient) “sparks on itself”. The working body (whether the saw chain or the disk) is destroyed, splinters fly to the operator, the majority of injuries are to the legs, a little less to the shoulder and head. Lesions mostly on the left side. How else to explain this kind of injury, except by the characteristic stand and the “splintering on oneself”?

Or, here is another eloquent example. Another photo in the article: a man with a whole angle grinder in his abdomen.

If I’m not mistaken, this man was working “sparks to himself” (if you look at the disc from the clamping nut side, the direction of its rotation is counterclockwise, if memory serves me correctly). How an angle grinder hit him in the stomach? You can easily imagine it: the disk is jammed, the tool is twisted out of the operator’s hands, turning the cutting part upward and the shroud downward. The man lost his balance as a result of this sambo technique and fell on the disc before it could stop. This would not happen with self-aligning discs.

We could go on. Throw in a couple of scary examples from life about sparks and dross. But I think that this is enough food for thought.

In general, if these two rules are followed:

It doesn’t matter where the sparks go. Either way, anything that flies, will fly past you. And if a tool flies out of your hands, it is in itself an emergency. You are not in a flying circus, but at a construction site, and the construction site is the same as the war. Losing control of your tool is like dropping a grenade in your pants when you’re about to throw it. You’d better go and bake pies.

What is important is in what direction the tool “kicks” from the material. The disk should “roll” on the material. You need to cut smoothly, without violence and haste, “stroking”. Then nothing will jam, nothing will fly away. If “sparks under yourself,” you start cutting from the side closest to you. If it’s “from yourself,” it’s from further away. Otherwise it’s fraught with surprises, and generally speaking, uncomfortable. Everyone understands it intuitively after working a bit.

This is not a fact at all. The fastest way is just the opposite!

For example: a worker cuts a strip of sheet metal (or some other material) in the direction of the hand. material) in the vise horizontally, the part sticking out of the vise jaws on the right. The left handle of the angle grinder is facing the worker’s belly, the angle grinder’s motor housing is to the right of the worker, the. It seems convenient to work and sparks do not interfere Only the extended left hand (and the right hand, too) poorly control the angle grinder. the recoil force of the angle grinder is directed towards the worker, and the feed of the angle grinder practically falls across his hands (extremely unstable. ). Trying to compensate instability, the employee shifts to the left (bending his left hand) and, if the disc might get bitten, the angle grinder is turning in his hands and simultaneously throws it to the employee The right side of the vice jaws is also a guide for the angle grinder to fly to the employee, not to his left All this is almost instantaneous and no “hold it tightly in hands” will do the job here. Probably, the safest option in such conditions is to stand much to the right of the vice, so that with a possible bite of the disk and kickback the angle grinder flew to the left of the employee. (it is more convenient to make long cuts with periodic reclamping of the sheet). It is also possible to clamp the part so that to cut to the left of the vise jaws, while standing much to the left of the vise. the sparks fly to the right of the worker, and the angle grinder is left to the left in case of something forward (it is more convenient to make shallow cuts of rigid sheet not beyond the stop of the end sheet in the gearbox of angle grinder, and non-rigid without strong deepening, at long cutting will be a risk of material undermining with the subsequent avalanche deepening of the disk in the cut).

Another possible variant of the trauma described above: standing in front of the vice or riser or road sign and cutting vertical pipe, angle, etc. The angle grinder is used to cut horizontally “with sparks away from yourself” at abdominal level, i.e. by going deeper into the pipe (or other places).) from its right (from the employee) side, the rotating disc just pushes the angle grinder on the employee and when it bites, it turns the angle grinder counterclockwise, and you can not hold it. Why so? Yes, because vertically standing structures in most cases can be attributed to the “stressed structures”, because even their own weight can strongly clamp the disk when deepening into the cut. And if it is a water riser. it is definitely a “tense structure”, and if it is in cramped conditions, it is possible to “ricochet” with an angle grinder on what is on the left side of the pipe with a fly into the employee.

What to do? As a minimum:. stand to the right of the place of cutting, and that the sparks go a little to the right of you! In this case, the effort to hold the angle grinder should not work in the sector towards the recoil and across the feed (very unreasonable. ). It’s better when the sum of these forces is directed a little bit to the extension of the arms, rather than pushing into the hands. (by analogy. it is possible to hang on hands for a long time, but to keep your weight on outstretched hands). try to cut with the minimum penetration of the blade in the material, and if this is not possible, then take measures against sticking of the blade, for example, alternately deepen and widen the kerf by 2 thicknesses of the blade and/or make sure that at the end of the cut the structure does not clamp the blade with its own weight and ask the helper to hold/bend the upper end of the structure in the direction of the widened kerf, etc.д.

Cutting of tensioned constructions, especially in cramped conditions, is a song of a lifetime! If there is a possibility, it is often better to change the tool on an autogenous generator, electric welder or a sabre saw.д.) If it is the angle grinder, then, for example, cutting old pipes in the apartment is safer when cutting them at 45 degrees to the axis of the pipe (under all the conditions that are listed above). At least there won’t be a direct split between their ends, but a tangential split, which is much weaker.

About allegedly safe cutting of sheet metal “by sparks from itself”, starting from the far side of the sheet: There will be no pulling of the blade into the cut, but otherwise the same mistakes. For example at floor level:. hands work in the sector at the stop / across the hands, and the worker does not want to stand on the possible way of the angle grinder, so stands out of the cutting plane. extremely unstable position!. The angle grinder flies toward the worker. Ask why into the employee and not past? And because the employee will not be able to hold the angle grinder for a long time at an angle to the direction of the emphasis in his hands and begin to substitute himself in the plane of the cut and in the path of the angle grinder Once, when my employees cut a lot of slate, they cut its sheets at ground level in the direction from left to right, sparks dust to the left. and the dust is not flying on the employee, and the body is covered by the gearbox, and the hands are not as tired, and the angle grinder in case what happens does not fly on the employee.

It is not always possible and it is unlikely to work that way for a long time.

In the bodywork industry I often had to work with one hand, and still do, sometimes. And to cut exactly a few meters of a sheet of ten rubles without standing in the mowing line is also unlikely to succeed. Twenty years ago, when there was no discs F230 thickness less than 4.0mm, the most productive and less tedious method of cutting the sheet was the following: I cut from the edge from myself, the sparks go conditionally “towards myself” between the legs under the sheet. I begin to cut with two hands until the depths of the disk with a landing of the gearbox of an angle grinder on the sheet. The hood of the angle grinder also practically lies on the sheet. I can see the very edge of the blade from the opposite side of the cover and aim at the mower line of the marking. Further it is already possible without much effort to hold the angle grinder by the handle with the button with one hand and move on the sheet up to complete wear of the disk Then replacement of the disk, entering into the cut with holding the angle grinder with two hands until the gears on the sheet, and so to victory. With today’s thin discs of course already uniquely so you can not work, and even dangerous, you have to operate with two hands and a shallow depth of disc. But you definitely shouldn’t make thick metal on its whole length for part of the depth to mark the kerf line of cutting, and then try to cut through this curved mark completely. discs bend in the arch and crunch / crumble and the motor of angle grinder sits down by rotation speed from the curved marking. It is better to make a little mark and immediately cut through to the full depth, to make a little mark and immediately cut through, and so on until the end of the cut. Periodic cutting through the short sketch doesn’t let the disk bend into an arc, unlike cutting through the long sketch and it keeps the straightness of cut better. Sincerely! And no offense!

Safety precautions when working with an angle grinder

To reduce the risk of injury to yourself and others, the handyman needs to follow certain guidelines. You should by no means forget that in addition to sparks, the danger can also be a disk jamming.

In such a case, the tool can be ripped out of the operator’s hands, and where the tool will fly with discs that rotate at high speed is very difficult. The consequences of such an accident can be chopped pieces of flesh and other.

Interesting fact! The angle grinder was invented only in 1954 in Germany, and the colloquial name of the tool “angle grinder” appeared in the USSR in the 1970s, when the first specimens began to arrive. At that time, they were produced in Bulgaria, and only in the Soviet Union, angle grinders were called an angle grinder.

• Lateral location of the adjustment knob. The handle must be positioned vertically, not below or to the side. In this position, the master will be able to provide a tight and firm grip, and will be able to protect himself and people from the consequences of “biting” the disc. In addition, the sparks then fly to the side, and this also ensures safe work.
• Direction of rotation of the blade. When sawing in the forward direction the sawyer doesn’t get caught in the spark jet, and that’s why this is usually how beginners position the saw. But experienced craftsmen know that the guard protects against sparks perfectly, and that sparks are not as bad as clamping the blade. When cutting away from yourself, the scrambled angle grinder will fly just into the master, which will be a guarantee of injury. When sawing toward yourself and with the disk slightly turned, the angle grinder will fly away from the master, to the ground, during the “bite”.
• The positioning of the material during cutting. If you fix a metal sheet, a pipe on both sides and saw between the fixings, you will make a mistake. This action often causes the disc to jam at the end of the process. For this reason, one end must necessarily be in the weight, and at the end of the cutting process is “unclamped”, and the disc will not jam. In this position, sparks from the material go away from the master.

Screwing on a nut. tightening the nut is only a waste of time because in the process of work the bolt will tighten to the required level, and standard tightening of the nut by hand is enough at the beginning of work. Note that if you tighten the nut with a wrench, then after it will be difficult to unscrew. The start button on the angle grinder must only be pressed when the disc is free running, which means that the saw must not be plunged into the cut before you start the rotation cycle.

We suggest considering a way that will leave your angle grinder without sparks.

Safety precautions

Violation or non-observance of safety precautions can lead to serious personal injury. Therefore, before starting work, you must carefully study the instructions, remember and comply with. It is a safety violation to work without protection and a saw on oneself. It’s just beyond comprehension. The stand should be correct legs bent at the knees, angle grinder a little to the side.

angle grinder is a working tool, which can be dangerous. The machine should be positioned towards yourself, with the heel. The head should never be on the mowing line of the cut. And in connection with this, it is correct to saw with sparks from yourself or under a person, that is, at the feet, because:

How to cut ceramic tiles?

If we talk about cutting ceramic tiles or there is a need to cut porcelain tiles, it can be done by applying a disk made of steel and having a diamond fine-grained dusting. This kind of option is also called the dry cutting option. These discs can be either solid or segmented. Home use of such solutions allows you to cut ceramic tile without coolant for 1-1.5 minutes. Then the disc should be given time to cool down by idling. If we talk about the solid disc, it is excellent for cutting porcelain tiles for sidewalks.

Safety precautions during work with angle grinders

The use of cutting and grinding power tools is one of the most dangerous activities. For this reason, when working with an angle grinder, the possibility of indirect or direct sunlight must always be taken into account

• Heat or cold.
• Strong noise, vibrations from machines.
• Inadequate lighting at the workplace.
• High physical strain.
• Parts of the equipment that rotate.
• Objects that fall (materials being machined).
• Working at height, in a hard-to-reach, confined space, maybe even at depth.
• Risk of electric shock.
• Sparks that fly off and solid particles of parts.

To minimize the hazards and thereby save your life and health, you can follow the safety guidelines for appliances with exposed rotating parts. It will require the use of certain personal protective equipment, as well as securely securing the work pieces, choosing safe locations, and starting and finishing the job correctly.

Personal protective equipment

By this phrase (personal protective equipment) can be understood means that are used to protect against contamination, prevent or even reduce from hazardous and harmful factors. When cutting with an angle grinder, the worker must have special clothing that is appropriate to the profession. This usually includes pants, closed-toe shoes, headgear. The fact is that the angle grinder is a high-risk tool, and therefore clothing is a must

must be supplemented with some protective equipment:

• Protective earplugs or ear muffs (ear plugs).
• Goggles or glasses.
• Vibration-insulating gloves.
• A respirator, particularly important when cutting tiles, stone, slate or concrete.

It is the goggles that help protect against sparks, small crumbs or grinding discs. The use of ear plugs or headphones helps to get rid of noise, and it makes it possible to avoid difficulties with hearing after the work. Gloves help protect against shockwaves and abrasions and a respirator prevents you from swallowing dust from the work area.

How to fasten workpieces

All medium and small workpieces must be clamped firmly in a vice or using clamps. When fastening, be sure to provide a safe place for the possible fall of the cut parts. Sometimes you need to perform processing with an angle grinder large parts or even designs that simply can not be fixed in a vise.

Profiles, sheet metal, structures/machines/mechanisms and pipes are all examples. If this is the case, you will need to make sure that the machining surface is securely fixed (i.e., lying or standing stably) so that it does not lose stability after machining and the cut portion does not fall on others or the worker himself. Even if you have the slightest doubt, everything must be propped up with stops, a jack, or the slings should be secured to the surrounding reinforced concrete/metal structures.

Safety at work

Regardless of where the workplace is located. in the country house, in the garage or even on a vacant lot, it must necessarily be perfectly lit, as well as meet all safety requirements, and then cut with an angle grinder will be easier, and you will be more confident.

Requirements for the workplace and its equipment:

There must be a table, workbench, cabinet or drawer for storage, shelving to place the devices and tools for the safety and productivity of work.
• All monolithic equipment must be securely placed (attached) to the floor surface.
• The surfaces of the shelf and workbench must not be less than the size of the parts to be worked and the tools to be used.
• Bench surfaces must be made of steel sheet, aluminum or other materials that are non-combustible.
• The vice must hold the workpieces and the surfaces of jaws must have cross-groove notches, their depth must be at least 0.5 to 1 mm for every 3 mm.
• The vise should be clamped so that the workpieces to be machined are at the level of the elbows of the workers.
• In a closed vice the gap between the jaws must not be more than 0.01 cm depth, jaws and handle must be free of burrs and potholes.
• The floor around the workbench as well as all other places where work is to be carried out must be flat and dry.
• Sockets for electric tools should be located higher than the level of the work bench surface.

When working at heights greater than 1mm.5 m, a scaffolding (or platforms) with a one meter high railing must be used, and everything must be lined up to the full height of 15 cm or higher at the bottom.

Note, it is better not to try to use randomly encountered barrels, coasters or even crates. Under no circumstances should you overload the scaffolding, and in any case, when working with an angle grinder, you should have a solid and perfectly flat surface under your feet.

Proper starting, stopping and rest breaks

It will be imperative that you carefully inspect and thoroughly check the drive before connecting the appliances. Do not use attachments with splits, chips, cracks or other damage of any kind. Before the device is connected to the network, the angle grinder should be placed on the grinding (cutting) wheel with the figure up, and then clamp it with a special nut. The size, and even the allowable speeds will be specified in the technical documentation of the tool itself.

An interesting fact! Performance inconsistencies will (at a minimum) lead to malfunctions, disc wear prematurely and, in the worst case, even personal injury.

• There are no cracks or damage on the body.
• The cable (cord) is intact and the safety plugs and tubes are all in order.
• The handle is fine.
• The wheel is fenced and the guard is well secured.

After that, before you cut the tile with the angle grinder without chipping, you should check the work of the tool idle. To do this, plug the plug into the outlet, and then turn on the power button and the latch. Then watch the tool for one minute. It is worth making sure that it will work without extraneous sounds, unnecessary vibration, and the disk does not touch the guard type. You will know if the power button and latch are working or broken when you unplug it. If all is well, you can begin the workflow.

Pay attention, that you should turn off the power with the button and wait for the disc to stop completely, put the tool down and unplug it from the mains.

Interruptions in the work process are usually due to overheating of the disc or the angle grinder itself, changing the tool, the need to move work pieces or the employee himself. In any case, you should first turn everything off on the buttons, and then unplug. It is important that you keep an eye on the tool and do not allow it to overheat.

How to work with an angle grinder?

So you have bought the right “angle grinder” and its discs. No experience with the angle grinder, the tool is dangerous and it is dangerous to approach it. And you have to work. What to do? First of all, you need to take care of protective equipment. As a minimum, your face and hands should be protected. Mask-shield is convenient because it protects the lower part of the face, but it fogs up when you take a deep breath. Glasses do not have this disadvantage, but the nose and mouth remain open to sparks. Therefore, along with goggles desirable to use a respirator.

Protective equipment

Pay attention to the quality of fixing of the mask to the straps. Usually this fastening consists of screws with plastic thumbs, which should be tightened as tightly as possible. Very uncomfortable when the mask dangles and falls off when bent forward.

Mask-shield can be made of plexiglas or polycarbonate. The second option is preferable, because polycarbonate is much stronger than Plexiglas. A shard of shattered disc will penetrate the plexiglass at once, and polycarbonate, though it will be pierced, will hold back a shard of disc. It is difficult to say whether a damaged mask could withstand a second shrapnel hit. It is better not to tempt fate and buy a new means of protection.

Note that total protection cannot be obtained from either a mask-shield or eyeglasses. The sparks follow an absolutely incomprehensible trajectory and go under the mask. And sometimes, oddly enough, under the glasses. One more feature of cheap plastic masks and goggles. vulnerability to sparks: it is necessary to catch a sheaf of sparks, and plastic becomes dull.

There is a sense to get a transparent mask with head protection or even a welding mask. There are some closed masks with a breathing filter. They are a labyrinth of bulkheads (a splinter, getting there, spends all the inertia on ricochets between the walls).

A gas mask is the best protection for the head. Older military gas masks protect the eyes with glass eyepieces that are no match for sparks. But the viewing angle is too small to work comfortably. Modern gas masks with a panoramic mask are much more comfortable. Unfortunately, such protection is not cheap.

Gloves as a means of protection when working with an angle grinder

Gloves should be of a suitable size so that there is no empty space at the fingertips. If you get your hand close to the disc and the dangling tip catches on the spinning disc, you risk missing the moment when it is not too late to remove your hand. The smaller the “angle grinder”, the more urgent the problem. If the glove fits perfectly the most you can get is a cut on the edge of the turntable.

The glove will not save you from a cut, but it minimizes the damage. Gloves are also useful, because when working with sheet metal the cutting edges are as sharp as razors. In other words, a careless cut without gloves can cause a deep cut. Metal heats up from friction and you can get burnt on the workpiece you just cut if you don’t wear gloves. Clothing should not restrain movement, but nothing should hang down. Shoelaces, ties, belt ends or wide sleeves will tighten the angle grinder so quickly that you do not have time to understand anything. The problem is that when you tighten your clothes, the tool gets close to your body, and it’s not a fact that by this moment you have time to turn off the motor.

Long hair should be gathered into a bun or ponytail. Normal clothing can catch fire when exposed to sparks. Therefore, it is recommended to wear a thick apron for locksmith work or overalls, impregnated with a flame retardant composition.

Generally speaking, when working with hazardous tools, protection is not enough. The above-described set of protective equipment may be complemented by boots with a metal sock. They protect your feet from the disc splinters. It is possible to construct a real iron chain mail, using the experience of historical battles reenactors. A chain mail is good against large splinters, but it will miss sparks. The same applies to metal mesh masks.

Anyone who spends a lot of time with the “angle grinder” in his hands day after day, will be useful sound-insulating headphones or earplugs. After hours of work, the ringing in the ears will last for several days. And if you do this kind of work all the time without protecting your ears, you could ruin your hearing.

Working with the angle grinder

The “angle grinder” itself is provided with minimal protection. Actually, it has only one means of protection: a cover installed on the gearbox and covering half of the disk. The guard must be turned so as to protect the master from sparks and shards of the disk when it breaks. An additional handle is placed over this shovel to prevent your hand from coming into contact with the cutting edge. It is technically possible to mount the handle on the opposite side of the housing, but then the hand would be in dangerous proximity to the work area, which is fraught with serious injury.

The correct installation of the tooling is of great importance. Different masters place abrasive discs in different ways: some with label to the gearbox and some with label outward. Newcomers often have the question, what is the correct way of installation? Meanwhile, due to the lack of teeth, the direction of the edge movement is irrelevant. There is, however, one point. The fitting hole of abrasive discs is framed by a metal ring, which, according to the idea of the manufacturer, should bear part of the load when the flange tightens by itself. The disc is generally positioned so that the ring is under the flange.

How to avoid self-tightening of the flange ?

Self-tightening of the flange is possible in the event of a jammed disc, when the disc and its lapped flange stop and the spindle continues to rotate.Self-clamping also occurs during hard starts when the flange and disc inertia stays in place while the spindle jerks. Sometimes the flange is so tight that attempts to loosen the fastener break the open-end wrench, the locking button (it’s plastic and therefore very fragile) and even the gearcase.

It is possible to avoid self-locking by putting a washer under the flange. It is possible to find a metal washer of a suitable size, or you can cut it out of plastic, cardboard, or even paper. A washer made of rubber is quite a good solution. When you tighten it, it stretches and then returns to its previous position when the tension subsides.

Naturally, when using brand-name mechanical superlatives (BOSH, Makita) the problem of self-clamping ceases to be actual. True, there are new problems. For example, forgetting to hold the hinged clamp, you risk snagging the workpiece or workbench with it, causing irreparable damage to the quick-clamping mechanism.

It might make sense to buy a primitive nut with a sliding washer that can be tightened with an ordinary wrench. Having a minimum of design elements, such a nut has a high reliability and is cheap enough, and most importantly, solves the problem of self-tightening no worse than foreign miracle mechanisms.

Working with a small angle grinder, not equipped with an automatic soft starter, the flange can be screwed by hand, not a wrench, for at the start of a jerk it will tighten well itself. It is imperative that the flange be screwed in with a wrench during the smooth start-up. On large angle grinder nut should be tightened with a wrench, even if the machine is not equipped with a soft start.

The choice of accessories deserves special attention. Very popular today cutting-off wheels used for metal cutting. They consist of abrasive reinforced with fiberglass mesh.

Cutting materials with an angle grinder

To sharpen the workpiece with the surface of the disk, in principle, it is possible, but it is not necessary: the grid is too close to the surface, and if it turns out to be damaged, the disk will lose its strength. Grinding should be carried out either by the edge of the cutting disc or with special scraping discs. In addition, to grind with a sharpening stone on a sharpening machine, putting aside the “angle grinder” (in general, as often as possible think about whether the planned work should be done “angle grinder“).

For cutting stone, brick, concrete and tile, there are special cutting discs with a diamond coating and cooling slots on the edge. It is recommended to cut these materials at low rpm.

What you can cut with an angle grinder?

Many people look to the “angle grinder” with hope when it becomes necessary to cut wood, plywood, particle board or plastic. The angle grinder has too high a speed to do this kind of work. That’s why the cut-off wheels melt and spatter plastic, burn plywood and wood. And here many masters are tempted to install a circular saw blade. The devil is in the details. Saw blades are slightly larger than angle grinders. But that “little bit” is enough to prevent a protective cover from being installed.

It would seem that this is the first sign that you should abandon the idea, but the tempted master usually does not stop and removes the guard to put the saw blade. And it is much heavier than an abrasive! It is not designed for speeds of 11,000 (or even 7,000) rpm because of its weight. The result of going beyond the documented capabilities is vibration, which can be felt even on weak angle grinders. Strong machine (under 230 mm disc) with a saw blade is almost impossible to hold in hands because of the frantic vibration, and the gyroscopic effect does not allow to change the position of the tool in space. Masters who have once worked with a large angle grinder with a circular saw blade talk about the thrill of the experience.

If the saw blade jams

If the saw blade jams, the kickback will not only be strong, but also incredibly fast. You might not be able to react in time. If you use a light and relatively weak abrasive disk, the force of the kickback is limited by its strength. A car with a steel disk running out of speed may be torn out of hands by a quick and powerful blow. And the trajectory it takes is hard to predict. Steel rims can also burst; as the craftsmen grimly joke, you will never speak of it again if you have seen such a disk burst.

Recently saw blades with bore and outside diameter fitting an angle grinder have appeared on the market. Just imagine: You are holding a steel disc with a tipped carbide tip (or a chain saw chain) in your hand. It’s heavy. probably steel. There are circular stripes on the surface. probably the disc is calibrated, packed in a good cardboard envelope, with a cellophane bag inside, even a sponge of soft plastic put on the teeth. Its parameters and function are described in clear Russian on the packaging, the company logo is printed and even its website address is included. And when you go to the website it turns out that the company does not manufacture anything, but only exports consumables from China.

We can only guess which basement, what equipment and what materials were used to produce the disk. And the tips seem to be similar to the teeth, and they seem to hold fine. Only no one guarantees the reliability of welding, and it is not known how quickly they will start to fly off.

Watch out! Do not put the saw blade in the angle grinder

You have to remember firmly: “angle grinder” is not designed for a toothed disc. The steel disc is too heavy for such a speed and the angle grinder is too sensitive to tilt and misalignment. Yes, at first the “unnamed” drives do not break into pieces, they cut fast and give a perfectly smooth cut. But if the steel file comes off or breaks and turns out to be only an alloy that looks like steel, there is no one to call to account: the manufacturer is unknown.

Manufacturers of wood saw blades for angle grinders

No other brand name makes saw blades for angle grinders. Unlike nameless Chinese basements, only trying to cover demand and make money. Reputable manufacturers value their reputation. Showing such blatant incompetence, the company would have to pay not only money, but also the irrevocable loss of the name. That’s why the honorable gentlemen don’t make consumables that violate safety requirements. You can’t use circular saw blades on an angle grinder, period.

Nevertheless, well-known manufacturers make legitimate attempts to make the angle grinder more versatile. For example, BOSH company produces a universal cutting wheel Multi Wheell 2 608 623 013. It is a carbide abrasive (not a saw blade, mind you) with cooling slots. They noticeably reduce the heating of the material. No protrusions in the slots. Compared with “toothy” nonemes from China such a disk gives a slightly chunky cut. But no more dangerous than a conventional abrasive disc. It cuts through metal, plastic, wood, plywood and particleboard just fine. Doesn’t even trip over nails. it grinds them like an ordinary cutting wheel.

Grinding discs on a bolt drill

Grinding cups are usually outside the shroud, and some require removing the shroud altogether. In this case body protection. mask, respirator, overalls and gloves. is decisive. If abrasive discs split into pieces, the wire grinding cups throw in all directions thin wires that deeply penetrate into the body (they are especially dangerous if they get into unprotected airways, mouth cavity, sclera and cornea of the eye).

Alone they are almost invisible, so they cannot always be removed at home. Meanwhile, the irritation they cause is serious enough to put the victim on a hospital bed. It follows that the machine guard becomes meaningless when using sanding cups. But the cladding protection, which is in any case necessary, becomes extremely important.

So, the safety rules are observed, the “angle grinder” is assembled, the equipment is installed. It’s time to get ready for work. First of all, the workpiece must be well secured. Some masters, when cutting pipes, simply press them down with their foot. And when cutting bricks, you simply place them on a flat, stable surface. This is a very undesirable thing to do: a well-fixed workpiece is much more convenient to work on. Above all, the hands are freed for a more secure grip on the tool, the feet for a more secure footing, and the body gets more freedom, which makes the work more comfortable and safer. Do not place the workpiece on two supports and saw in the middle. As you go deeper, the workpiece will begin to sag toward the saw and jam the blade. It is more correct to secure one side of the workpiece, leaving the other side hinged. In this case, the cut end falls away to the outside and the cut only expands, which not only helps to avoid jamming, but also facilitates the work.

How to hold an angle grinder more comfortably?

About how to hold an angle grinder more comfortably, there is no consensus. For all the simplicity of the angle grinder design, a wide variety of grip options are allowed. Each grinder must select an appropriate grip. The main thing is to remember that the guard must be between the master and the blade and also between the blade and the auxiliary handle. No part of the body should be in the plane of the disc rotation, or more exactly, in the sector of disc sparks and splinters dispersion (this rule is not difficult to observe, if a protective cover is installed).

angle grinder bodies are available in two types: one-handed (you can hold with one hand the body, the trigger is located directly on the body) and two-handed (have in the back “tail” with a button, the “tail” is convenient to hold with one hand, holding the other by the additional handle). Usually small and weak “angle grinders” are made one-handed. While large and strong are made two-handed. In a two-handed grip, one hand acts as the primary hand and the other as the secondary hand.

There is no consensus about which hand should play which role. Some craftsmen believe that the primary hand is the one that holds the body (for one-handed machines), and the secondary hand is the one that holds the additional handle. Others see the main hand holding the additional handle (in their opinion, it guides the tool), while the other hand only supports the body (or “tail” if the “angle grinder” is two-handed). To understand which position is more comfortable, you need to try working in different positions.

Three sockets for the extra handle

Most modern angle grinders have three slots for an auxiliary handle: two on each side (perpendicular to the spindle) and one on the gearbox backside (parallel to the spindle). As mentioned above, do not place the handle near the open part of the disc. This leaves two seating positions: at the guard and at the “back of the head”. Note that the hand in pronation (palm down) is very unstable, and the most stable hand position is semi-pronation (palm sideways). Preparing the angle grinder for cutting, the handle should be set perpendicular to the spindle. When the blade is in the vertical position, as is typical for cutting, the handle will be vertical and the hand of the machine will be in the most stable position. half-prone.

All the same is true for grinding: when the disk is horizontal, it is better to put the handle on the back side of the gearbox so that it stands vertically. Since grinding is performed by the surface of the grinding wheel, and the wheel is not immersed in the material, this process is not as sensitive to tooling misalignment as cutting. For this reason, a horizontal handle position is acceptable. Some cheap angle grinders do not even have a back socket for the handle. If desired, for such a machine, you can design a bracket, screwed to the side holes and equipped with a mount for the handle. Bracket must be strong enough, for the manufacture it is desirable to take a thick, durable metal. Such staples are commercially available; they are much more convenient than homemade ones, although they are quite expensive.

Where should the sparks be directed when working with an angle grinder??

There is much debate as to whether the sparks should be directed away from or toward one’s self. It is considered the most correct position for the angle grinder when the sparks are flying toward the machine body. Given the normal direction of rotation of all angle grinders, this direction of the sparks assumes that the spindle is facing left when you hold the tool at the side. Or forward, if you hold the tool with the spindle away from you. However, there are at least two handle slots on the gearbox. And to put it near the open edge of the disk, as it has already been said, is not allowed.

So, tool manufacturers allow the installation of the handle and the guard for working with sparks from yourself. In fact, there is nothing terrible in such a direction of sparks. You just need to understand, where the disk chips and the machine itself will fly in case of reverse impact. It depends directly on the direction of the force vector. And this vector goes from the point of contact in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the disc.

It is possible to touch the workpiece in such a way that the backward blow will throw the machine right into the master’s face. Or it can be different. so that the machine bounces up or goes sideways. To predict the direction of the reverse jerk is not difficult, if you imagine the disk as a wheel, capable of pushing off the material and drive. Regardless of the direction of the sparks, you have to hold the machine so that when it jams and pulls out of your hands, it will either drive away from you or past you. The successful choice of the point of contact of the disc with the material will make the work of the sparks from itself safe.

How not to overheat?

To prevent the blade from overheating after 60 seconds of continuous operation, remove it from the cut for 30 seconds without turning off the machine. Overheating causes the blade to overheat and causes the edges of the cut to become cauterized. Do not tilt the machine while the rotating blade is in the kerf. This creates a jamming hazard and the cut will be uneven. When cutting metal, you should wear safety glasses only when looking into the work area on the spindle side (where the blade is not covered).

Abrasive discs not only wear down in diameter but also in thickness. When replacing a worn disc with a new one, keep in mind that it is a few microns thicker. If you are entering a cut that has already been started, the disk is likely to get stuck. That is why after a tool change move to the beginning of the cut from the opposite side of the fork.

To prevent the discs from wearing out too quickly, when cutting metal, the machine should be driven forward so that the disc is going down on the material from the top. When the gear is reversed the blade goes upward and can noticeably wear down towards the end of the cut if the cut is long enough.

Keep in mind that during coasting (that’s what they call inertial rotation after shutting down) the blade is just as dangerous as when the engine is on. If you touch the body with a disc that has not yet stopped, you risk serious injury. Do not put, and especially do not throw the disc down the angle grinder when you run out.After turning off the motor, you must wait until the spindle comes to a complete stop. You can brake the blade on the material. In order not to spoil the workpiece, you can fix a small piece of material near the workplace specifically for this purpose.

Angle Grinder Sparks High Speed (RX100 IV 960FPS)

Cutting with a grinder “angle grinder”

As a grinder, the “angle grinder” cuts by grinding at high speed. Pressing on the tool is not necessary. cutting should go without effort, pressing will lead to jamming of the tooling. The friction surface increases as the disc sinks into the material, so if the disc jams, the machine will jerk with its whole body. It may fly upside down, it will happen very quickly. You should immerse the disk shallowly, only a couple of millimeters, which is not difficult when cutting thin sheet material.

The friction surface is quite small, and the point of contact will be close to the disc edge. And if the tool jams, the tool will just drive away like a single-wheeled machine. When cutting thick products, there is no need to plunge the disc deeper than required. In general, it is better not to cut thick workpieces with an angle grinder, but to use a more suitable tool.

It is impossible not to mention here that the popular opinion about the universality of the angle grinder arose because of the cheapness of this tool. In fact, craftsmen who try to do “angle grinder” most of the work, pass off the desired for the actual in order to save money. the angle grinder is a grinder, and the possibility of cutting with it is secondary, if not to say incidental.

You should try to use the “angle grinder” for cutting as little as possible. It is convenient and safe to cut long thick boards with a circular saw, it is more convenient to cut trees with a gasoline chain saw, curvilinear cuts of plywood and chipboard are convenient to make with a jigsaw. And for small cuts, recesses, cuts with sharp angles and light sanding a multifunctional and safe oscillating saw is the right choice.

a few general remarks

The angle grinder is a high-speed tool, and that is where its dangers lie. disk jamming when cutting is especially dangerous and should be avoided in every possible way. Those who cut with an angle grinder should remember the rule: an angle grinder loves precision! The reason for this capriciousness is that cutting is a side function of the angle grinder. Its main purpose is grinding, which does not involve immersing the disc in the material. There is another important point. Put the disc on the workpiece should not be before turning on the motor, but after.

It is clear that it is impossible to tell all the intricacies of the case in one article. The more you study additional material, the better. Particular attention should be paid to safety precautions. Carefully study the types of injuries possible with an angle grinder and how to avoid them. There are a lot of videos on the Internet, where experienced masters and traumatologists talk about it, the safety rules are widely discussed in thematic internet forums. If there are experienced locksmiths among your acquaintances, it is better to talk to them personally and take a few lessons in the workshop.

The most important thing is to imagine clearly at each moment what will happen in a moment. The master must be one hundred percent in control of the situation. It is good to understand how the tool works, what can and cannot happen, and to always know exactly what it does and where it will lead. The relaxed nonchalance of modern man, acceptable at work at the computer, can play a cruel joke when working with a dangerous tool. The craftsman must think on the fly, naturally and quickly, like a soldier on the battlefield.

It is important just to remember that when you drive the angle grinder towards yourself, sparks must always fly in the other direction. This minimises the risk of the disc jamming. It always stays on, though. That is why it is imperative that the cutting line is kept clear of the mowing line when the tool is pulled toward you.

Cut with the angle grinder in such a way that the direction of rotation of the disc is clockwise. So, you attract the angle grinder to yourself by exerting effort, when the angle grinder moves it will move away from you and in case you lose control over it, it will “bounce away from you” in the opposite direction.

Can the angle grinder cut sparks away from you?

Safety precautions have never been abolished. and the weirdo in the video doesn’t seem to have a brain.here,for the general development: Watch for sure

And add from myself. I spent all summer building a house with my dad.A friend of his lives next door (the place where we build the house, the place where my father was born and grew up).His mate was sawing iron, cursing, and a drunken man was helping him. I do not know what happened and how, he does not remember, said only a circle jammed (angle grinder was large with a large circle), only sawed off his hand just below the elbow. It was August. The local hospital called a helicopter from Samara to take him to Seredavin for surgery. They sewed it on, but it doesn’t seem to work right.

Everyone jerks off however they want.But the angle grinder is cutting sparks into itself

Quote (Lexus31 10.11.2016. 01:32)

Let me explain popularly. When we cut with sparks from ourselves and we pull the tool towards us, then if we bite the disk (you pressed it wrong or your hand is not strong enough and you can’t hold it, etc.), we can’t put it down and especially throw it away.д.) The tool is pulled toward the object/part to be cut. With any other direction, the angle grinder knocks out to the side of the cutter)))

The way he spins the disk if sparks from yourself, then we cut the part with the side of the disk closer to you, moving the disk toward you. If it’s the other way around, it’s the outside of the disc and away from you. It is more convenient to feel the process of cutting. In general, all the “metal workers” I have met at markets cut with sparks to themselves and the outside of the disk moving it away from them.

Here is one of those who will soon be in the theme mastercity “death by angle grinder.

it pissed me off when at work one unique guy moved the blade and the handle away from him. and yelled that’s the way to do it, like why the fuck are you sawing at yourself with sparks? he was just an old man, that’s why they forgave him. and it was fucking annoying to have to move the casing after him. on theirs. “wank it any way you want.

and if you’re left-handed. it’s a different story, they even have guitars backwards.so fuck them.)))

I’m gonna go cut myself a sausage and have a bite to eat at bedtime.Otherwise why would there be a light in the fridge?

Yes, he fucking swears like a cobbler and therefore thinks he has the right to insult those who do not agree with him.

1) explain to me, the fucker in his version, why the pre-installed shrouds are from the factory to install the saw blade on itself?2) if you cut a rail mounted on a workbench it’s one thing, if you saw, for example, a sheet of metal with a saw away from yourself it’s like? Т. к. If you start at the beginning, you’re gonna get pretty fucked up with the sheet. If you saw from the end, you’ll have to hold the angle grinder at outstretched arms, which for me, no fucking safety.

The disk that’s on the video. fuck. Generally, when bitten, it crumbles and gets stuck in the shroud. I’ve been working with a 230mm diamond metal cutting blade from Norton. Fucking disk in practice, lasted about 2 years, however, and cost about 150 euros. So when it got jammed, the disk was standing with the saw on itself and the angle grinder fucked the fuck away from me, like I was fucking doing nothing. I’m even afraid of what would happen if the drive was with the saw away from himself angle grinder, by the way, a Bosch 2.5 kW. The locking button went off on the first hit. There was no spinning, but I was surprised.

So I can safely say, after his filthy words, that he. DICK, MOTHERFUCKER AND CUNT

Electrical component of the design of the angle grinder

Throughout its existence, the appearance of the tool has remained virtually unchanged. Angle grinder has an elongated body, in which the electric drive and gearbox are installed. Handle is fastened on the lateral surface of the tool to keep the tool in operating position, and a protective cover is additionally fastened to the body of the tool for foreman protection.

angle grinder, like any tool, can malfunction during operation. In most cases, to fix the breakdowns requires the simplest repair of working equipment, its electrical component.

In order to make repairs, you need to know not only the structure of the mechanical part, but also the electrical scheme of the tool. To make a quality repair, you should learn how an angle grinder works. The electrical circuit diagram of the angle grinder includes the following design elements:

• anchor;
• manifold;
• electric brushes;
• reducer;
• stator;
• start and lock button;
• power cable with a plug for connection to the domestic mains.

Each of the components is designed to perform certain functions in the electrical circuit, and a malfunction of any of them leads to a shutdown of the functioning of the fixture. For example, an armature is a rotating element of an electric circuit. It enables rotary motion to be transmitted to the grinding disk. In order for the tool to work properly, the anchor must rotate at a high speed. The higher the rotation speed of this design element, the greater the power of the appliance.