Ever been bitten by your belt grinder? ouch!

rfrink

rfrink

Joined
Aug 1, 2000
Messages
863
I was teaching myself to hollow grind over the weekend and the question came up: " do I wear gloves or not?"....

As I was contemplating the safety issues of "burned fingers -vs- catching my glove in a piece of rotating machinery"..... I started thinking about some of the hazards of the belt grinder.

So I ask you: ....
Have you ever been bitten by your grinder?... and what happened?
 
I switch around a bit...when I'm hogging off material, I usually wear heavy gloves, but when I switch to finer finishing, I take them off.

I was told, early on, that once your blade has been heat-treated, you shouldn't wear gloves again to work on it...the logic being, if it's too hot for you to hold, you're in the danger zone for screwing up your treat...

That said, I've only had a couple of incidents with my grinder...once, I had jury-rigged a tool rest for it, and my glove got sucked in between the belt and the contact wheel. Luckily, I was able to hit the power switch VERY quickly, and suffered little damage, other than the increased heartbeat commensurate with almost losing a fingertip. The other time, though, I WASN'T wearing gloves, and my work got grabbed. The grinder shot out the blank into my feet, as my knuckles skated across the contact wheel. "Ooh, looky mommy...at the pretty white bone and gooey red messy bits!!" That has always stood as a reminder to me, since that time.

BE CAREFUL, YOU STUPID A$$! It says to me. THIS IS A MACHINE DESIGNED TO REMOVE M*E*T*A*L...SKIN IS NO CHALLENGE TO IT!!

So, I guess I didn't really answer your question, but I doubt you'll get a definitive yes or no on this one...
 
Rob, except for the occasional removal of a knuckle from a fresh 36 ceramic belt, I have had a scary thing happen. I was using the burr king 8" wheel and grinding the inside back part of the guard on an intagrel. The blade tip was inside the relieved part on the wheel and caught the spinning wheel. It tore the knife out of my hands so fast it made my heart stop. Well maybe not stop. Anyway if I wernt standing to the side of the grinder I would have been hit by it. It thumped the wall hard 25 feet away. The tip left a gouge inside the wheel about 1/8" deep. I know burr king had legal problems with this model 960 maybe Im not alone. It took some of my finger nail off and swelled another finger but no ER run. I wonder if a solid, not recessed wheel would be safer.

I dont grind with gloves on for fear of getting a loose fitting glove in the belt to wheel area.

Belt grinders wont usually pass an OSHA inspection because of no guards on the wheels.
 
Hey, You're supposed to be making machines, not grinding blades. Back to the dungeons:)
 
I am just learning to hollow grind, and I have found that gloves are cumbersome, they dont let you feel what the steel is doing, and they seem to get in the way. I have never liked doing anything with gloves on though, so maybe it is just me.
Kyle
 
it sting don't it rob,I never wear gloves it will not let you fell the steel,also wearing gloves does not let you fell wear you are putting your thumb on the handle,bottom pressure on the blade to make the line grow up the blade and thumb pressure on the top to the middle of the blade to make the edge thinner,watch those belts
they hurt they cut you so fast you do not really know you have been
cut until it stats to burn and then the baby really starts to hurt
hope this has been of some help Nathan;) ;)
 
no gloves rob, they will get you into more trouble than they protect you from. it's always that loose tip or lack of sensation that get's thing exciteing! :eek: real fast. beteew this and that part and the belt.
 
No gloves for me!! Or loose fitted long sleeve shirts. I have worked around heavy machinery since I was a kid and have no interest in getting clothing caught in machinery.

I hollow grind my blades and use a push or lift stick to hold the blade against the wheel. Tool rest is there just to give me a rest between passes. I just modified my stick this weekend and put a 3/16 brass rod with a notch in the end. I was just using a hardwood dowel rod. This brass stick is the ticket for me. Ground 10 folder blades with it. Worked great.
 
i dont wear gloves, i think that they can do more damage then good. i havent gotten caught in my grinder, but i've had one of my 3"x11 foot belts snap, hehe scares ya. i have hogged off more then metal on that machine from slips, i have somewhat more "square" thumbs and knuckles then most ppl. treat your machine w/ respect and dont do anything stupid, THINK! and you have LESS a chance at getting hurt.
 
Rob,
I tried gloves. I couldn't get the tactical feedback I needed to feel the grind line. I now keep a pan of water just a few inches from my contact wheel and dip the blade in after just two swipes on the wheel out of habit now since I know on the third swipe, I'm going to burn my thumb.
I'm not sure that saving the occasional skinned knuckle, belt cut or burned thumb is worth the trade off of getting a glove sucked up in a 1 & 1/2 horse power belt grinder. There's a reason for all the legal warnings about loose clothing around moving machinery. This will sound smart ass and it isn't meant to be -- Do you wear them when you are running a lathe or mill in your shop when you are working 'close in'?

(BTW I am using a Grizzly and need to step up to a better grinder. Know of anyone having a sale on one soon? ;))

Question for you now:
Do you have an attachment on your grinders for a small wheel/spindle that I can do a tight radius with? I'm having a bugger of time getting a smooth finger groove. I've been using a half round file and find the joy/zen in that waning rapidly. I saw your free standing miniature spindle on your web site and that size looks like just the ticket.
If you have a grinder attachment for that 1/2" spindle that changes out as quickly as the contact wheel and flat platen shown in the video on your web site, I'll place an order.
 
I've gotta jump on the no gloves bandwagon. I used to wear them but I also used to buff before heat treating. You live and learn.
 
I wear leather welder's gloves thru all of it except after heat treat grinding. Had a blade spit back at me like Bruce mentioned. I was working on the grinder at the side like you're not supposed to do so that was my fault. Never had a glove grabbed but have skinned up lots of knuckles and such. I did have a glove grabbed by the drill press once. It didn't have enough power to hurt me but it sure scared me.Try it both ways and you'll find what works best for you Rob.
 
I had the fingertips on my right hand semi-squared the very first time I used a beltgrinder. I had a new 60 grit belt on and was attempting to taper a tang on the platen. Did not hold on to tight and the belt grabbed the blade from under my fingers. Eina!

I have been using a notched stick for hollow grinder for a long time. A habit I developed after getting my hand into a fight with a band saw and it hurt too much to hold the blade the normal way. Fresh scars are very heat sensitive!

I do not wear gloves when working with machinery as I almost lost a couple of fingers when the leather glove on my right hand got snagged by a 3' circular saw a while back. (The three pieces of the glove hangs on my brother's workshop wall, bloodstains and all to remind him - I have a couple of fingers with very little sense of touch to remind me!)
 
I don't wear gloves, iam more sure of my grip without them also I want to feel the abrasive in the steel. i just can't do that in gloves.

I did loose hold of one several years ago, I was buffing (final buffing) a blade and snaged the wheel. It bounced off my head, I didn't find it untill the next day. The Knife was OK. I'm just lucky swedes got hard heads. (and my wife dosn't freak out at the sight of blood)(any more)

lesson...If you are to tired, or just not paying attention put it down and come back later..
 
<font face=arial color=indigo size=4><b> Gloves no. Push stick yes; 1 1/2X1/4X4 inches made from wine crate pine. Yup.

regards,mitch
 
The day is not complete until you slip your entire finger nail into a new 60 grit regalite.I try to do this as little as possible,but it always wakes me up when it happens.
Brad
 
I don't wear gloves to grind. I find that gloves tend to make me less carefull, something not needed when grinding.

I have gotten knuckles, fingers, nails, an elbow and the bill of a cap on a belt. None are pleasant. The ones that scare me the most are the edges of the belts--- MANY cuts from watching the blade so hard that I forget to watch my fingers. Those edges go straight to the bone before you realize anything is going on- and they are NOT nice clean quick-healing injuries.

Dave Evans
Tenino, WA
 
I use gloves when profiling blades....never when grinding the bevels.
I got cut by the grinder a few weeks ago while slackbelt grinding the handle on a miniature......handle was about 1" wide and I noticed that the belt was sharper on the other side....so I slided the knife over to the other side and put my indexfinger right into the side of the belt...it cuts AND burns pretty good. It was a 400 grit belt so it healed up pretty fast though.

And Tom....I don´t believe you!
 
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