How do I keep from shocking myself?

H

Hiker Boy

Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Messages
43
I find that working on the belt sander builds up a considerable static charge. I get shocked even when wearing rubberized work gloves. Do I need to figure a way to ground myself?
 
I started using static guard spray, just bought a cheap bottle at the market, when I installed a ceramic platen on my grinder. I had heard that ceramic platens generate a lot of static and the static guard was a recommended remedy. Just spray down the backside of the belts before you use them. I respray a little bit after a few days if I'm using the same belt. It's worked well enough for me.
 
I had already ordered a ceramic platen when I read about the possibility for shocking, I hate getting shocked and the platen has sit on the shelf for a couple years now unused. I use one of Nathans steel platens and have never been shocked. Anybody ever get shocked while using a steel platen?
 
I've seen a guy with a copper bracelet with a lead to his grinder frame.

But the static guard sounds like a safer way.



Dave from Diller
 
This really has little to do with grounding. It has to do with static build-up in your body while grinding. A grounded grinder won't help unless there is a path for the electrons to travel down. The belt, rubber wheels, and a glass platen, make for a very basic Van de Graaff generator. You are the ball at the top...the sparks come from you to any good earth ground. Grounding yourself is one solution, and providing a path through the belt and platen so the electrons will bleed off without a build-up is the other. Laundry static guard does this well. Unless the static spray won't solve the problem, it is the simplest solution. Raising the humidity also helps provide a bleed path. While the static straps surely work, they are not all that convenient, and you probably won't bother to put them on most of the time. Improperly made, they can be a hazard.
 
After we turned fifty I started making my wife wear a bathrobe, that cut down on the shock factor by a significant amount ;0)


On a serious note maybe you could use this silver trace paint on the side of your platen making several electrical pathways as close to the belt as you can get leading to the steel/grounded metal frame,maybe the static will jump there instead of your hand, I discovered this stuff about 15 years ago, I used it to reconnect factory cut L1 bridges on AMD processors

http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Repair-Add-On-Circuit-Traces/dp/B008F8PCBQ

Edit, this is a little cheaper http://www.vetco.net/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=931&gclid=CIq-6KfbsL4CFZSMMgod9nkAFQ
 
Stacy your explanation was excellent. Thanks.

I almost said something about humidity, but this only happens to me in the winter when the shop is really dry.

Dave from diller
 
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