My angle grinder threw a wheel at me last Thursday

I was out on a job near the Port of Houston, grinding down a weld on a storage tank flange. The wheel shattered around 2 PM, and a piece caught me on the arm right through my jacket. I had been using the same cutoff wheel for three separate cuts, kept pushing it past what it was rated for just to save a trip to the truck. Now I'm swapping wheels way sooner, no matter how many cuts I think I have left in one. Any of you guys have a close call that made you rethink your gear habits?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan.nancy1mo ago

Funny how the universe has a way of teaching you that lesson, isn't it? Happens with all sorts of stuff, not just tools. My buddy kept driving on bald tires because he was too cheap to buy new ones, hydroplaned on 45 and spun into a ditch. Lucky he didn't hit anyone. But yeah, once that wheel chunks or a tire blows, you suddenly see that "one more use" math in a whole different light.

the_sandra1mo ago

So you're saying your buddy should have kept driving on bald tires until he killed someone? Sounds like he learned a cheap lesson, @morgan.nancy.