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For beginners out there, do not use cheap cut off discs. Their edges fray and will catch an edge throwing the grinder uncontrollably. I was lucky. Going with Makita for the time being…
Lucky. Didn’t realize how lucky until I sat down and thought about it. You would not believe how uncontrollable that kickback was. Coming over the top of 1/8” angle iron to go down the other side like always and that disc caught and kicked back into my leg and dug into some athletic pants I had on and would not stop. The grinder was switched, not a paddle. Had to reach over and unplug it from the wall. Thought it was just a freak accident, felt the blood dripping down my leg, was afraid to look at it, but wanted to finish up. Put in new Black & Decker disc and IT DID IT AGAIN. Thats why I have two grabs on the leg. I felt it was the discs, might have been less then perfect technique but have made that cut before. Threw away 15 or so Black & Decker discs had laying around and got some Makita cutting discs and grinding discs. Look a whole lot better.
Three years ago this happened to a friend of mine's Dad. The broken piece hit him in the throat and he died before the ambulance got there. Very sad. Glad you weren't hurt worse.
Very sobering, lucky does not begin to describe it, this could have been bad. Nothing but what I deem to be the very best discs available will ever go on that grinder again, trust me on that…
I can’t believe I tried to use those cheap discs on a tool that turns such high rpms. That kick back shocked me and I almost
really paid for it. I got some Makita cutting discs and grinding wheels and they look so much better. I will take a look at Walter. Better?
Edit: Just looked Walter up, known for better durability, safety and longevity,Makita, speed. Just might send the Makita back and pick up some Walter, MY priority is safety, not speed. They are comparably priced too. Pferd and Lennox were mentioned too.
I buy cutting disks from a commercial supplier and they sell the Walter brand. I trust them. My brother is trying to get me to try Tyrolit but I am having trouble go through there website. And I don't know where to buy them except Amazon. I got smoked just south of the most important part of the male body a few years ago buy a cheap grinding disk. Later the guy said there were cheap but of unknow brand and quality. I live and die by my tools. Good stuff, you only cry once, when you buy them. I don't know anything about the Makita brand stuff, don't like there tools. Lennox is a great brand as well. Watch where you buy from. Some company's make 2 products that look the same but are different, selling some through big box stores and better units through commercial suppliers. You need to go to manufactures websites and look up model numbers to find this out.
I would like to get the word out, especially to those that do not know any better, do not put a cheap disc into an angle grinder. You are literally playing with your life. Those things can turn 10,000-11,000 rpm, you do not want to put anything cheap into that. Picked ip a Metabo on a deal, really strong motor, does not bog no matter what you do to it, but I sure wish it had a paddle switch.
I am so aggravated about being all chopped up, I was going to return the Makita discs and get what was considered better. But I am going to keep them and use the Makita, Walter, Lennox and Pferd discs and compare them. The main thing I am looking for is smoothness and very even wear. Lennox sounds like the ticket. Have not heard of Tyrolit, have to look them up. Pretty good luck getting genuine stuff off of Amazon, but this is so critical it would not hurt to compare model numbers. I am not playing around with this after what happened.
I have been told, looking at some leather welding aprons, suprisingly reasonable, I thought they would be much more expensive. That would be a solid purchase.
Another vote for better clothes, although I doubt most people would wear leather, and jeans while sturdier aren't going to slow a grinder down much.
Speaking of PPE, is there a guard on your grinder? and what style? I know at least one of my Dewalt grinders came with 2 guards, a general purpose one, and a more enclosed one thats meant for use with cut-off wheels. It may not have made a difference if the wheel caught and jumped, but it will contain shrapnel better if the wheel explodes.
I do know a lot of people that just remove the guards and toss them because they "get in the way" I'm not one of those people, but I'll admit to never using the special cutoff wheel one. Using two hands with the side handle will also greatly increase safety and precision when using a grinder. That being said, you can't always do that, and still a chance it runs away if you're in the process of putting it down with one hand.
I don't know how many corded grinders have added safety features, but the newer cordless ones do have electric brakes and some circuitry to help. I know the 20V Dewalt one had some sort of anti kickback feature, and it has worked a couple times when I've been using it.
All that being said, I did get a gnarly scrape on the back of my hand one time when a wirewheel caught and jumped at me. I've also had a wirewheel get caught up in my pants/sweathshirt when it got too close. Be careful out there!
Have to reassess the whole operation, this could have been really bad. Thought good common sense would keep me out of trouble, this proved otherwise. Certain practices and techniques have to be followed, an angle grinder is in a class by itself. Just don’t want to become self conscious though, hate that, just got to go with it. Got the grinder on a deal used, did not come with a handle or guard. Have to try and find a guard for it (Metabo, later found out it is am Hitachi with a Metabo name on it) because proper technique is having sparks flowing at you to get rotation right so kickbacks go forward not into you. Do you really believe a handle can make it possible to control a kickback that violent that I experienced? Got some Walter ceramic discs coming, that might help. I am only using top of the line discs from now on, though my technique may have played a part.
Found a pack of 22 Walter ceramic discs on Ebay for $64, they ate on the way. Hope it makes a difference, there is no guesswork when using an angle grinder. Thanks fot the recommendation…
Saved a guy with a grinder with cut off blade tangled in t shirt and not giving up....he was yelling unplug it....he had some nice wounds....I dont want to see that again.
