Wire wheel on angle grinder

Being close to Easter, late this afternoon I decided to start the resurrection of a small 28 year old workbench that I think can still serve a purpose in my shed. This bench has a rusty 1.5" angle iron frame, a badly installed standard 5" vice, and an uneven 150 x 40mm thick Jarrah board top that is studded with drill holes and saw cuts. Despite this, the frame is still solid and the underneath of the jarrah boards look reasonably serviceable.

Anyway after taking it apart I decided to use a stiff wire wheel brush on an angle grinder to take the excess rust off the frame. Dressed in my standard shed apparel of t-shirt and footy shorts, but using the all important safety glasses and ear muffs I felt moderately safe. While working with the grinder I felt a number of small stings on my upper legs and arms which I thought were just flakes of rust hitting my skin. About half an hour ago in the shower I discovered about half a dozen, 1 - 10 mm long bits of wire hanging out of my skin. These wires are clearly from from the wire wheel.

Normally I use this wire wheel on timber where I don't have this problem. Long pants/sleeves and maybe a leather apron next time?

er...I think if you read the recommended rpm speed rating on the wire brush, you will find that they are not really meant to spin as fast as angle grinders spin..... How did you get one that mounts on an angle grinder?

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Originally Posted by martrix

er...I think if you read the recommended rpm speed rating on the wire brush, you will find that they are not really meant to spin as fast as angle grinders spin..... How did you get one that mounts on an angle grinder?

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Martrix, to get one that mounts on the angle grinder, go to the nearest hardware store or auto parts shop and buy a wire wheel or wire cup brush that are made with a hole or threaded nut to suit a angle grinder.:p
Seriously you can buy them easily.

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Originally Posted by Wood Butcher

Martrix, to get one that mounts on the angle grinder, go to the nearest hardware store or auto parts shop and buy a wire wheel or wire cup brush that are made with a hole or threaded nut to suit a angle grinder.:p
Seriously you can buy them easily.

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I have one of each, had them for ages, metal fabricating shops use a lot of them too.

I bought one of the cup versions when I was stripping the paint off my BS to restore it. They are fantastic, but be careful if they catch:eek: And yeah I ended up like a needle cushion too!

Even the wire wheels intended for use on a fixed bench grinder will shed their wires in use. They wear out, and that's what happens. Can be a painful and risky procedure, and saftey protection including gloves is a must. I actually stopped buying the wire wheels for use in the student's workshop, too risky for eyes, and instead use a 3M abrasive product. Its a similar size wheel, but made of an open rubbery compound imbedded with abrasive particles. Rips off paint and rust but not as good for getting into corners etc...and wear$ away too.

Cheers,

Yes it is the wire wheel type with the threaded hole that fits directly onto the angle grinder. The thing is, using this on wood was fine, I think it was losing wire because I was using it on angle iron with all those hard edges etc. Maybe I was just forcing too hard.

Been there, done that, in shorts and t-shirt as well.

Chris :o

Bob, any time I play with my angle grinder, I wear Steel cap boots, Long trousers (King Gee Heavy drill), Long sleeve shirt, Glooves, Safety glasses, Ear Muffs, Full face Shield and my forum cap! Too many time being a pin cushion:D

Went through two of these grinder wire wheels a day when I was a labourer at a steel works. I had to de-pincushion my shirt every smoko and before going home. SWMBO got MOST upset if she found a 'steel splinter' in the wash. In the end we had to go back to hand wire brushes 'cos the welders (18 feet away behind metal shield walls) complained about getting 'wired'.
Trevor.

Big brother who is the metalwork division of the family would give this advice.

wire wheel, angle grinder, two hands, farriers apron, full face shield.:D

This is from a man that uses a 9" angle grinder to cut metal in shorts.:eek:

I've been spiked thru heavy drill trousers.

imagine waht that would do to your eye:eek:

cheers

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Originally Posted by soundman

........imagine waht that would do to your eye:eek:

cheers

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I'd like to measure the frequency response of the output shreak when it happens!

I only joined this forum to thank you all for giving me many hours of reading and advice over the last few weeks.I am in Bairnsdale Victoria Australia. And I am what you would call a budding home hobby engineer. Again thankyou all.
Matt

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Originally Posted by BobL

I'd like to measure the frequency response of the output shreak when it happens!

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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:oo:

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:doh: Walked funny for days:D

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Originally Posted by Burnsy

.......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:doh: Walked funny for days:D

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Now that's gotta win the botty winking story of the week!

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

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Originally Posted by Pops

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

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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:doh:

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Originally Posted by soundman

imagine waht that would do to your eye:eek:

cheers

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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.

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Originally Posted by Burnsy

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:oo:

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:doh: Walked funny for days:D

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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!:oo:

Chipman

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Originally Posted by Chipman

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!:oo:

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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:oo:

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Originally Posted by Pops

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 !

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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.

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:D.... aparantly
cheers