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Toolbox Talks

The grinder guard and the right wheel

The grinder guard and the right wheel

Hand and power tools 5 min 29 CFR 1926.300 · 29 CFR 1926.303

Welding, Ironwork

Why it matters

A grinder wheel that is cracked can fly apart when it comes up to speed. The guard, the handle, and the right wheel are what stand between you and those pieces. Stand to the side until the wheel is up to speed, and wear the face protection this site gives you.

The talk

The guard stays on the grinder. It is there to catch pieces if a wheel breaks, and to keep the wheel off your hand. Do not take the guard off to reach a tight spot. Move the work, or use a different tool for that spot. The wheel has to be the right wheel for that grinder, and it has to be a wheel that is not cracked. A crack, a chip, or a missing chunk means you do not mount that wheel. A bad wheel lets go when it gets moving, and the pieces do not stay in the guard if you already took the guard off.

A ring test is one way to listen for a crack you cannot see. Do that test only if someone on this job showed you how. If nobody showed you, do not invent a method and do not guess at the sound. Ask the person who was shown, or get a wheel you can see is whole. Before the wheel touches the work, let it come up to speed. Stand to the side while it does. Do not stand in front of the wheel. A wheel that is going to fail often fails as it speeds up, and the front of the wheel is the wrong place to be. After it is running smooth, feed the work with a steady pressure. Do not jab the wheel into the metal.

Leave the handle on. The handle is how you hold the grinder if the wheel grabs. With the handle taken off, the tool can twist out of one hand and the wheel walks across your arm or your leg. Wear the face shield or the goggles the site provides for grinding. Sparks and grit come off in a fan, and the site decides which face protection goes with this work. Use the wheel that is rated for the metal in your hand. Do not grind a metal on a wheel that is rated for something else. If the wheel is not rated for that metal, stop and get the wheel that is.

Key points

  1. Leave the guard on the grinder.
  2. Use the right wheel for that grinder, and do not mount a cracked wheel.
  3. Do a ring test only if you were shown how.
  4. Let the wheel come up to speed before it touches the work.
  5. Stand to the side while the wheel comes up to speed.
  6. Do not take the handle off.
  7. Wear the face shield or goggles the site provides, and match the wheel to the metal.

Do this

  • Keep the guard on for every grind.
  • Look the wheel over and do not mount one that is cracked or chipped.
  • Ring-test a wheel only the way you were shown.
  • Stand to the side until the wheel is up to speed.
  • Use the face protection the site provides and the wheel rated for that metal.

Do not do this

  • Do not remove the guard to reach a tight spot.
  • Do not invent a ring test if you were not shown how.
  • Do not stand in front of the wheel while it speeds up.
  • Do not take the handle off the grinder.
  • Do not grind a metal on a wheel that is not rated for it.

Talk about it

  1. Which grinders on this job are missing a guard or a handle?
  2. Who here was shown how to ring-test a wheel, and who needs to ask before they mount one?
  3. Where is the face shield or the goggles this site wants on a grinder?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

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