Wire wheel on angle grinder

[Pops]

Hi Bob,

Just came across this post. Yes, can say I have also been pincushioned, but had all the gear on. I'm a scaredy-cat these days.

I do recall a story I heard about a worker up North who had an encounter with a wire brush wheel and those flying wires.

He reported to the medical centre with an injury. The bad part was that the medical centre injury report got read out to everybody at the next day's safety meeting. Everyone got to hear that a wire had broken off and penetrated his work pants and then a very private part / appendage which required a lady medical person to remove.

Apparently the jokes went on for days. But hell, that is an Ouch !

Cheers
Pops

[Burnsy]

wire had broken off and penetrated his work pants and then a very private part / appendage which required a lady medical person to remove.

Pops, I reckon that would have caused some of the guys I worked with on site to try and get one stuck in the old fella just to have a ligitimate reason to see the nurse with their pants down

[Cruzi]

imagine waht that would do to your eye:eek:

cheers

About a decade or so ago a worker was doing bolts on a wirewheel with safety glasses etc, a piece of the wire went under the glasses and into his eye. RFDS flew him to Charleville then Brisbane where, very luckily, the wire fell out, it had not penetrated very far at all and he has a rust coloured spot on his iris now, he was very lucky.

[Chipman]

On alot of occasions it is not noticed, one of those things that hurt once you realise what you have done. Not speaking from personal experience but 10 years in Mining dealing with Environment and Safety saw a fair few eye injuries.

I too have been a pin cushion, copped a fair few in the thighs over the years when pushing hard to clean of deep rust on sharp edged objects, don't think I would like to get one in the sack

Reminds me of the time I spent the day squatting down welding old plough feet onto lengths of rod that we were going to concrete in the ground to hold 100 m long tents up when I was working with the Ag Department. Only had short King Gee shorts, blundstones and a drill shirt on - was like bad sunburn right up to me treasures Walked funny for days

As a teenager, I bought myself a welder and did the same thing (welding in shorts) You never do it twice do you!

Also quickly learnt the hardway to always wear the trousers over the gum boots when welding and not tucked neatly inside. I still wince 35 years later as I think about the dirty great blob of red hot metal that rolled down the leg and into the boot!

Chipman

[Burnsy]

I still wince 35 years later as I think about the dirty great blob of red hot metal that rolled down the leg and into the boot!

Sounds like those nice perfectly round balls of molten steel that burn their way into the skin between your toes when you do it in thongs - also when I was younger and stupider

[malb]

He reported to the medical centre with an injury. The bad part was that the medical centre injury report got read out to everybody at the next day's safety meeting. Everyone got to hear that a wire had broken off and penetrated his work pants and then a very private part / appendage which required a lady medical person to remove.

Apparently the jokes went on for days. But hell, that is an Ouch !

Been caught by a lot of things in my life, but I avoid rotary brushes like the plague so I haven't been wired.

But about 20 years ago, I was cutting out blackberries with the brushcutter. A huge clump, 30 x 50 foot area and up to 20 foot high. Simple cut a patch abbout 4 ft wide and 18 in deep at ground level, than at about 3ft up, rake and haul the clippings, haul the tangled mess in the air down to ground level, take another slice, rake and haul. Keep going for about 10 days and the're gone. (Haven't come back yet either).

Safety gear, steelcaps, heavy jeans, tshirt, flannelette shirt, heavy duty Yakka full overalls, face mask, welders gloves, basicly everything I could find.

Minor 'electric shocks' sensation around left nipple from lunch time on the third day, occassional test probe during the arvo does show anything abnormal so ignore it. Stripped of that night and into the shower and same thing, soap and scrub the area and a nice little shock sensation.

Got the wife to eyeball it when I came out and she sees a black dot about three quarters of a mil diameter dead centre in the nipple and sitting flush. Try to get it, but can't because its flush, she is a conjenital shaker, and she's laughing.

Next stop is the nurse over the road who gets it out in about 10 minutes, blackberry thorn tip about 10mm long.

However her house has a large dose of 17 yo girls, daughter leaving on a school excursion to WA 6.00am next morning, and has about 5 friends helping with the packing before they go and pack for the rest of the mob.

Guess what the main topic of conversation was on the long bus trip to WA was? The daughter got married about 3 years ago and one of the trip supervisors was in the band chosen for the reception, and all the girlfriends were there, so the topic was revived.

[soundman]

It is surprising how far those wires can go in.

ya start pulling themout and they can be stuck in 5mm easy.

My sisters husband once got a spear grass seed in his boots when out with the CMF, didn't think too much of it.
a couple of day later his toes had swolen up ect ect.

it took two operations and over e week to get it out.
these seeds are nasty & they just keep working in.

As for the welding.
Big brothers advice.
Do not weld in shorts.
Never ever weld in shorts and no underwear.
Don't wear boiler suit overalls to weld in.
If you wear trousers and a shirt to weld in, untuck your shirt and wear boot covers.
big brothers advice comes from bad experiences of all of the above.
Sunburnt tackle is definitely no where near as funny if its is your tackle.... aparantly
cheers