Long sleeves and angle grinders

Turkeyfoot

Well-known Member
I saw an interesting show today in which a very knowledgeable woodworker was making a ladle holder. He was using an angle grinder with a sanding disc of some sort to to create a depression in a large flat piece of wood. As he was discussing the PPE before starting he stated to never wear long sleeves. He didn't explain why. I've never used an angle grinder on wood that I remember. But when I do use my angle grinders on steel or other metals I always wear long sleeves. So I was surprised when he said very clearly never to wear long sleeves. I understand that the spinning disc could get tangled in clothing although it shouldn't get caught on sleeves because you should have both hands on your angle grinder. But I just wondered is this something that woood workers do because they're not throwing hot Sparks and they consider the danger of getting clothing caught in the disc when deciding not to wear long sleeves? So is the general rule long sleeves with metal no sleeves with wood?

Like I said I always wear a long sleeves and a face shield and I never use that continual operation trigger lockdown that is on one of my angle grinders that just seems really dangerous.
 
I wouldn't be too concerned about a hand grinder getting wound up in a sleeve.

I sure don't take off anything long sleeve when welding every time I pick up the grinder.

But I sure don't wear long sleeves around any high torque equipment like a mill, lathe, or drill press.

I saw the aftermath of a man getting his sleeve caught in a slitting saw on a Bridgeport. They basically reattached the shredded remains of the arm, pretty much useless after that.
 
Had a friend with long sleeves get tangled up in a angle grinder with wire wheel. Went right through jacket and shirt and gouged the arm, all before he could react and pull the plug. The switch was buried/wrapped up in sleeve.

I don't think it is sleeve vs no sleeve, but a better thing would be no baggy clothing, regardless if it sleeves, shirt, jacket.
 
Friend was working on a Dozer repair that included welding. Had a helper who was going to use a hand held grinder. He plugged it into the welder and locked the trigger. No power, he put it under his arm and switched the welder to aux. power. Lost the sleeve off his shirt and got some nasty scuffs and abrasions. He only did that one time.
 

Loose or baggy would have to be the determining factors .
My friend and neighbour for more than a decade had a terrible accident , sparks from a grinder ignited the flannel shirt he was wearing . We heard his and his wife's screams , I leapt over the fence to see a horrifying image of a pillar of fire .
Once extinguished I bundled him into a cold shower , he had wanted to sit and have a cup of tea , such was his shock and rush of adrenalin.
20 minutes later he was taken by ambulance and airlifted to a major burns hospital where he remained in a coma for three weeks . Eight skin grafts , other operations and a year later he was in good shape and looking forward to a trip around Australia .
Sadly he succumbed to Pancreatic cancer shortly afterwards , that accident had cheated him out of the last two years of his life's enjoyment .
 
Wow. That's one tragic and sad story
Charles.. I always wear cotton and have a
thick jean jacket for welding that's all
cotton. One time I was fixing a hinge on
a steel fence post in wintertime. I was
on my knees using a stick welder. When I
flipped my helmet up the grass was on
fire and licking at my jeans. It was
just a little fire but it made me realize
what could happen in certain
circumstances.
 
Most woodworking machinery you shouldn't wear long sleeves or gloves running. I wouldn't worry so much about an angle grinder however they make a disc for them that has chain saw teeth on it. That I would worry about.

Back when I was young I had long hair and got my hair tangled up in a turning I was doing on a lathe. I've seen a guy get his shirt sleeve caught in a dado blade on a table saw. He realized it immediately and pulled back against it and it completely pulled his shirt off. Then another guy let a belt sander drop down on his leg while it was running and it pulled the cloth into the sander and part his skin. We had to cut the belt and pull it back in the opposite direction to get his leg out of the sander.
 

It certainly had a profound effect on me Turkey foot. I miss him a lot , he was a true old school gentleman , an ex navy marine engineer who would rather cut off a finger than swear . There was very little he couldn't do or would do for others .
I wear a wool jacket and leather apron when grinding in anger now .

Many years ago I wore a gold chain my mother had given me around my neck . One day while using a router the chain slipped out of my shirt and fell into the vent holes adjacent to the motor brushes .
I threw the router away, still running it gouged into the dirt then stalled . The chain survived , so did I, since then I have never worn a skerick of jewelry including my wedding ring .
 
Makes a lot more sense to watch which way the debris is being thrown from the grinder and keep it going away from you if you can. I've seen the grindings from angle grinders start leaves on fire in the fall with dead dry ones around where I was working as well as the sparks from welding. As for the sleeves I wear long sleeves all the time even in summer, never had one get caught in anything yet.Always a first time for everything though. A leather apron from chest to below knees would help with catching clothes on fire I suppose though again would need to be tied back snugly so it is not flapping loose to catch on things. I know when Out on the plains doing any kind of welding Brazing or grinding we always would try to be in a bare spot or on a dirt drive to reduce the risk of a fire during wheat time. Otherwise we went to the famers yard where we had water hose or driveway with dirt,stone,gravel to work on.
 
I about gutted myself with one. I had a wire wheel on it. I had a fender on saw horses, dropped off the edge with the angle grinder and it kicked back in to my bibs. It wrapped up in my T shirt and burned right in to my belly. It took a while for that to heel up.
 
A friend wanted me to weld a broken part on his ZTurn mower. I wouldn't do it unless he removed the gas tank. When I got over there the tank was off, and nowhere to be seen. Mower was outside and about 25' from his shop, but I quickly learned that he had set the tank just inside the walk-in door when the sparks from my grinder set it on fire. He managed to calmly put the fire out, saving the shop and even the plastic tank, while I was acting like a chicken with its head cut off.

I have matching burn holes in two shirts and a jacket caused from grinding sparks.
 


I think that the key to this is yes, wear long sleeves, but be sure that the cuffs are buttoned.
 


I think that the key to this is yes, wear long sleeves, but be sure that the cuffs are buttoned.
 

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