On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 23:12:20 -0800, SteveB wrote:
CAVEAT (caps intentional)

Caveat means warning!

That it does, and a very appropriate warning as well. But I'm glad I
didn't read it before I first used an angle grinder as a kid.
Would've probably scared me so bad I never would have! I had watched
the mechanic sharpen the blades on my 6ft john deere belly mower a
couple of times, and then one time he was busy so he asked if I thought
I could do it. I've always been quick to learn, so I said sure. He
told me where he kept his 11" grinder, pointed out some goggles, and let
me go. I noticed later he was keeping a pretty good eye out. Thanks
Matt! You taught me a lot. (That pneumatic grease gun sure spoiled me.

In a way, other than wearing me out, I think the big, huge grinder was
safer than the little 4" I have now. The 11" had enough weight it
wasn't going to go flying around, and the spinning parts were heavy
enough that they didn't want to stop with a little nick (3 x 26" blades
on that belly mower tended to be like cutting grass with the sharp edge
of a baseball bat... except for the first hour or two after sharpening).

sdb


Warning left intact:

I have welded since 1974. One of the most hazardous tools I have ever seen
is a right angle grinder. And I mean ANY angle grinder, even a small die
grinder. A lot of them spin in the 14,000 rpm range, and any time you get
something spinning that fast a lot can happen.

Materials can fly off. Either particles of the wheel, pieces of metal that
are removed, pieces of wire brush, lots of nasty things flying at a high
velocity.

The tool can "kick", that is, if you put the wheel onto the workpiece at the
wrong angle or direction, the tool can fly back at you with incredible
force. Or, the workpiece can go flying the other direction.

These little boogers are as nasty as a badger, and anyone who knows what a
badger is like understands that statement. For those who don't know what a
badger is, imagine wrestling with a chain saw. They will eat you up and
spit out small pieces. You will lose ....... it will win. EVERY time.

If you are new to operating one of these, pay very strict attention to how
you place the wheel on the work, particularly when using wire brush wheels,
as they tend to grab more than a solid wheel. Imagine you are holding the
tool with the wheel down, and the wheel is a clock. The end of the tool
with the cord coming out of it is toward you. The end with the wheel is
away from you. Almost all of the work should take place between 11:30
position and 12:30 position where you want to touch the work. When the
revolving part of the tool contacts the workpiece in any other part of the
clock, the likelihood of a kick increases. As your experience and skill
goes up and you get the hang of it, you can to to the other positions of the
clock, but start there. Understand what causes a kick or what causes the
workpiece to be spit out, and adjust your contact point accordingly.

Use the handle provided until you learn the behavior of this little beast.
It is advisable but not necessary to use gloves, and I like light ones where
I can hold the grinder tightly. EYE PROTECTION IS A MUST. If you use the
wire brushes, you will normally be picking pieces of wire out of your face
and other exposed body parts. PROTECT YOUR EYES AT ALL TIMES. I'll say
that again. PROTECT YOUR EYES AT ALL TIMES.

The angle grinder can do amazing things. It can also cut off a finger in a
flash before you really master the thing. It can catch your clothing, and
wind you up in a ball in an instant. I have had scores of incidents in
hundreds of hours of using this tool, none of them really major. Bruises,
some lost hide, but nothing really bad. I have heard some really really bad
stories, though, and believe every one of them. These are nasty mean little
*******s, and they don't fight fair.

This thing has a learning curve, so go slow.

Steve




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