Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

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SteveHGraham
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Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by SteveHGraham »

Popular Mechanics is a useless hipster magazine, but I thought I'd link to them anyway. They put up a brief article featuring a photo of a guy with a piece of an angle grinder disk stuck in his safety glasses.

The title of the article is "This is Why You Wear Safety Glasses." Of course, that's wrong. When you use an angle grinder, you're supposed to wear a full face shield and keep your head out of the plane of the wheel. If the guy in the picture had been hit in the nose or the mouth, the fragment would have gone right into him. I may be wrong...if having a piece of grinder disk shot into your face is "safety."

That being said, I use my angle grinder with glasses way too much, even though I got hit in the eye with a knot wheel fragment while wearing glasses AND a shield.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/to ... y-glasses/

I just read up on this, and it looks like I forgot two things: gloves and a leather apron. My grinder is loud, so I wear earplugs, but I forgot to mention that, too.

Hmm. I also forgot the dust mask.

Maybe I should just lock this thing up where it can't hurt people.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by SteveHGraham »

On a related note, can anyone recommend a good apron for grinding? Obviously, denim will not stop a blade fragment, and I have doubts about soft welding aprons. I just found out about cut-resistant kevlar aprons, and I'm thinking it might be a better choice.

I have one or two kevlar fillet gloves, and I think they would work pretty well. They have wires inside them to prevent cuts.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
Magicniner
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by Magicniner »

Get a leather apron, one without comedy Hoo-Hoos printed on it :D
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by SteveHGraham »

Right, but almost all leather aprons are split leather, which is weak.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by warmstrong1955 »

Do you have a wheel guard on your grinders?

All I have ever used is leather.
Without Hoo-Hoos....
;)
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
Magicniner
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by Magicniner »

SteveHGraham wrote:Right, but almost all leather aprons are split leather, which is weak.
Use one with Hoo-Hoos then :D
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by SteveHGraham »

warmstrong1955 wrote:Do you have a wheel guard on your grinders?

All I have ever used is leather.
Without Hoo-Hoos....
;)
I'll put it this way: I don't even know how to take the guard off.

It sounds like almost nobody has a hard core safety rig.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by warmstrong1955 »

I use the guards, to my advantage. I turn them where it works, and stay in a place should a wheel blow up, I'm out of the line of fire. Let the guard catch it, and/or deflect it.
Been there....blown up plenty....especially cut-off wheels.
I wear both a face shield, and safety glasses. No exceptions.
I wear gloves, so long as getting snagged up is of NO concern.
Sparks & things comin' at me, I wear a leather apron.

That's as hard core as I get.
I'm old....it must work! Been doing it since Shep was a pup.

;)
Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by SteveHGraham »

I got myself some dust cartridges for my mask, and I dug up a fillet glove to put on my left hand. I think I'll invest in a cut-resistant apron.

By the time you get all the crap on, it's a wonder it's possible to grind.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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GlennW
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by GlennW »

Are you saying that you aren't supposed to have a big rusty area on the belly area of your white tee shirt from grinding dust? :?
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by SteveHGraham »

I've been reading about grinder accidents all day. Here's something I never knew: grinder wheels have expiration dates stamped in the hubs. Also, if you get oil on a wheel, you have to throw it out immediately, because the oil will weaken it.

It's like these things were designed by the devil. Maybe they should just make them with shafts parallel to the grinder bodies so the wheels turn in a direction that throws the fragments at other people.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Popular Mechanics Gives Bad Safety Advice

Post by warmstrong1955 »

Wear your Iron Man suit.

Mother's milk.....causes cancer......

;)
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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