DeWalt 'grinder' works as advertised (and 'Tips of the Day').

[flintknapper]

So I was cleaning up my shop a bit this morning and found a set of mower blades I had put aside to be sharpened. They didn't need much really...just a quick touching up of the edges.

Got out my grinder and figured I'd just make a quick, light pass down each edge and put them away.

BUT...rather than clamp the blades down, I decided I would 'free hand' the grinder down the blades.

So with the blade in one hand and the grinder in the other....I squeezed the paddle switch on the grinder and it promptly torqued itself right out my hand.

Today's 'Tips' are two:

1. Use BOTH hands when operating a hand held grinder.

2. IF you should drop the grinder...DO NOT grab it by the cord, just let it hit the ground. Otherwise....chances are excellent it will swing back toward your body.


And that Boys and Girls... concludes this episode of 'Did you know'.

 

[weejub]

Not sure "wearing stout pants" is helpful if it is dangling there.

"Don't let your dingle dangle dingle in the dirt"

 

[e9999]

glad you're OK
(and better a grinder than a chainsaw...)

 

[flintknapper]

glad you're OK
(and better a grinder than a chainsaw...)

Yeah, I'm more careful with chainsaws. I have seven of those (from 32cc up to 103cc) and so far have remained unscathed using them. I did sling a copperhead back onto my feet one time using a chainsaw, because I forgot to use the top of the bar (chain going away from you) to dispatch him with.

The 'grinder' was just stupidity on my part. It has quite a bit of 'start up' torque and I should have been using both hands. Then...when it got away from me, I tried to keep it from hitting the ground and ended up grabbing the cord...which let the grinder (wheel still coasting) touch the inside of my leg.

It's nothing more than a little 'road rash' kind of wound. Hell....I skinned my knee worse than that as a child, but I thought I'd just 'remind' others not to be as foolish/careless as I was, because it could have been worse.

Anyway.... the grinder DOES 'grind' just as the name suggests.

 

[Helipilot]

Ouch! Thanks for the tip. I have a blade holder I built to hold the blade while being sharpened. Will post a pic tomorrow.

 

[flintknapper]

Ouch! Thanks for the tip. I have a blade holder I built to hold the blade while being sharpened. Will post a pic tomorrow.

^^^^^^

No need...I usually clamp them down to sharpen them. In this case they had actually been sharpened before but had been laying around and gotten a bit rusty. I was just going to go down each edge briefly to clean them up and put a keen edge back on them. Then spray them down with some oil for storage. I keep a couple of sets of sharpened blades ready to install on my mower at all times.

This was just a lapse in judgement. Not that I couldn't have done the sharpening procedure (limited as it was) alright. It's just that the torque of the grinder starting up...got away from me this time. Still...what I hoped to accomplish was NOT a particularly 'safe' method to employ.

I was fortunate that the flat part of the grinding disc hit my leg and not the edge of it. Even though the disc was just 'coasting' at that point it was enough to easily remove skin.

So what do we take from this...aside from the safety issue:

36 grit grinding disc vs. Epidermis= Grinding disc...the clear winner every time.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

So I was cleaning up my shop a bit this morning and found a set of mower blades I had put aside to be sharpened. They didn't need much really...just a quick touching up of the edges.

Got out my grinder and figured I'd just make a quick, light pass down each edge and put them away.

BUT...rather than clamp the blades down, I decided I would 'free hand' the grinder down the blades.

So with the blade in one hand and the grinder in the other....I squeezed the paddle switch on the grinder and it promptly torqued itself right out my hand.

Today's 'Tips' are two:

1. Use BOTH hands when operating a hand held grinder.

2. IF you should drop the grinder...DO NOT grab it by the cord, just let it hit the ground. Otherwise....chances are excellent it will swing back toward your body.


And that Boys and Girls... concludes this episode of 'Did you know'.

View attachment 1681231

you got lucky-luckier...I got staples - same spot, but right leg...Truth be told, I tossed the guard in the trash with the directions, and was getting cocky with one hand... I did has goggles on tho! and when you get a chunk of metal in your eye, the eye doctor uses a grinder of his own to get it out... my eye doctor is named Fogg. kinda like having a construction company named Teter...

 

[flintknapper]

you got lucky-luckier...I got staples - same spot, but right leg...Truth be told, I tossed the guard in the trash with the directions, and was getting cocky with one hand... I did has goggles on tho! and when you get a chunk of metal in your eye, the eye doctor uses a grinder of his own to get it out... my eye doctor is named Fogg. kinda like having a construction company named Teter...

^^^^^^ Hah!

Yeah...or the Law Firm (Dewey, Cheatham & Howe).