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  1. #1
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    Default Angle grinder accident.

    I would like to share with you all an incident that occurred at my place of work last week.
    A worker was using an angle grinder with a 1mm disc to cut 75 x 5mm steel flat bar in order to cap 75 x 50 rhs. After a brief conversation with the boss, the worker restarted the grinder and I heard it start cutting briefly, followed by the familiar sound of a 1mm wheel grabbing and fracturing folowed by the worker's exclaimation of "oh gosh, I just made a really poor life choice and I regret my actions deeply" (not quite the way he put it, but you get the picture). In the time it took me to cover the 10 or so metres to the worker, he had done a fair approximation of a Pro Hart painting on the floor with the claret flowing from the wound on his left hand.
    So, what happened?
    Firstly, he was using the grinder one handed (yes he has been previously counselled about this), secondly, he was holding the work with his other hand directly in line with the path of the grinder, thirdly it would appear he had been using the 1mm isc as a grinder to deburr the stel already cut, which contributed to the ease of which the wheel fractured.
    Upon examination by myself of the grinder after I had photographed the scene, the grinder and the workpiece as well as cleaned up the blood, it was apparent that the grinder had grabbed and the disc had fractured into a more or less square shape which had munched the workers hand very effectively.
    What we semed to be a relatively simple case of clean up, stitches and a battle scar turned into surgery (severed tendons etc) and a reportable incident along with at least a six week recovery period.
    My workplace received a visit from Workplace Standards the following day. Nobody wants to receive a visit from them after an incident I can assure you.
    Be safe people, use two hands and clamp you work down. Respect 1mm discs as they cut flesh really well, particularly when square in shape.
    This was total operator error, but how many of us have been guilty of at least one of the factors that led up to the final outcome?

  2. #2
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Thanks for that Karl.

    Still not really clear what happened.

    Are you saying the wheel grabbed and broke and the remains of the wheel on the grinder turned into a square shape and it was that that minced the hand holding the work?

  3. #3
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    Yep! yer tell em, yer tell em, yer tell em. And they still do it.

  4. #4
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    You can can have all the safety gear available but you can't prevent stupidity.

  5. #5
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    Thanks for that Karl.

    Still not really clear what happened.

    Are you saying the wheel grabbed and broke and the remains of the wheel on the grinder turned into a square shape and it was that that minced the hand holding the work?
    The wheel grabbed in the workpiece and fractured, losing parts of its circumference, thus becoming more a square shape than a round disc. The grinder still under power, carried forward and impacted the worker's left hand and minced his hand as it moved forward. As you can imagine, a squarish cutter at 10,000 rpm was very agressive and bit deeply.
    The fractured pieces flew away into the wide blue yonder and did no damage as they were probably quite small and of low mass.

  6. #6
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by Karl Robbers View Post
    The wheel grabbed in the workpiece and fractured, losing parts of its circumference, thus becoming more a square shape than a round disc. The grinder still under power, carried forward and impacted the worker's left hand and minced his hand as it moved forward. As you can imagine, a squarish cutter at 10,000 rpm was very agressive and bit deeply.
    The fractured pieces flew away into the wide blue yonder and did no damage as they were probably quite small and of low mass.
    Thanks Karl, a good reminder to us all.
    The thought of that accident has been making me wince all morning.

  7. #7
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    +1 what BobL said.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    Thanks Karl, a good reminder to us all.
    The thought of that accident has been making me wince all morning.
    I've been in the trade for 25+ years and have seen the odd accident along the way, but I was quite surpised at the damage done in literally a split second. Had the wheel either remained round or totally exploded, the damage would probably have been less, but the jagged edged disc shredded like nothing I'd ever seen. These were quality discs as well, not bargain store imports.
    I keep thinking back to all the youtube videos showing Americans using grinders with their guards removed (seen the odd one locally as well) and I cringe at the possibilities.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Karl Robbers View Post
    I keep thinking back to all the youtube videos showing Americans using grinders with their guards removed (seen the odd one locally as well) and I cringe at the possibilities.
    Yep. I follow the SV Seeker channel on Youtube where he's building a steel boat in his front yard. Every single grinder (and they have a lot) has its guard removed, and it's not obvious why, as when you see them using the grinders, there's no way the guard would be any kind of hindrance.

    The one time I removed the guard off my battery grinder to get into a difficult spot, I cut myself no less than 3 times - nothing serious, just grazes, but enough for me to realise to not ever do it again, no matter what the reason, as it could have been a lot worse, and far worse again with a mains grinder.

  10. #10
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    I've had a thin cutting disc disintegrate and go in just below the knee cap, requiring several stitches.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by RustyArc View Post
    Yep. I follow the SV Seeker channel on Youtube where he's building a steel boat in his front yard. Every single grinder (and they have a lot) has its guard removed, and it's not obvious why
    I really enjoyed his (Doug's) earlier videos, but then he started getting on the whole life coach bandwagon as well as really downplaying the safety hazards. The guy is obviously pretty bright and therefore has the mental capacity to recognise danger properly and take calculated risks. There are plenty of people that can't (for a variety of reasons including gross stupidity) and I think some of the examples set by the SV seeker channel are really poor.

  12. #12
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    nasty !

    i bet his glove tore apart too?

  13. #13
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    I'd caution against pointing a finger at the fractured 1mm disc.

    30 years ago I was involved in a similar incident -- worker on a ladder using an angle grinder to cut steel. The grinder "slipped" and almost severed the workers hand.
    The injury required micro surgery and months of rehabilitation.


    Can you let us know what Workplace Standards ultimately determine?
    My guess it won't be pure "operator error"
    regards from Canmore

    ian

  14. #14
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    I'm guilty of one-handed grinding too often. But I only use flap discs and grinder wheels.

    Was he wearing gloves? And it still ate his hand?

  15. #15
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Even though it relates to chainsaw (CS) this diagram is VERY instructive
    Probably there are fewer injuries to feet with angle grinders but I think the rest will parallel sngle grinder incidents.

    Notice the very high count of injuries on the hand area.
    By far the most injuries occur on the left hand because the operator (usually an inexperienced operator trimming a small branch that is dancing around under the action of the CS) has tried to operate the saw its the right hand and use the left had to hold the work.
    This is numb-nuts territory.

    I showed this to the mens shed and it did not seem to make much of a difference.


    Injuries3.jpg

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