Damn Near Lost a Testicle to my 2X72 !!

I wasn't correcting you, Rob! I was thinking you were teaching me something I didn't know. :) After my post I went to Gates and saw that some belts are static dissipative, but not necessarily all. So, see, you taught me something anyway! And I still thank you!
 
Whenever I have used something non-metallic on my platen, I have gotten lots of static shocks. I just use a steel platen because of that.

As a side note, when I first read the title to this thread, I had an impulse to ask jsut what was being ground or polished?
 
Wearing rubber shoes, standing on the rubber mat, etc...did NOT help my situation one dern bit....the blue arcs stopped only when I used the chain link belt. This trick was explained to me by a Georgia Power Company lineman. Sounds like a lot of other responders have basically the same idea. Anyway, I was about to walk away from my favorite hobby until I was elightened by that guy.
Bladsmth: I was hiking on the Appalachian Trail when I got zapped. Three of us were in a nylon tent and I was the lucky one. The other two guys saw my hair stand on end, and then the blinding flash, and I was lifted a foot off the ground. It hit at my right ankle, but did not do too much damage to me. The nylon tent on the other hand was fried!
I can't even take a little "carpet zap" from shuffling my feet anymore...it will literally cause my heart to skip a beat.
 
wait, wait, wait, wait a minute here Rob, if your not sure what you said will work, then I'm taking the 4 cents back. Geez, some people will tell you anything for a penny. :D :D

Bill
 
If the beer is on Bill, I'll take one too. :D

So, if you simply had a wire running from your grinder to your motor casing, some o' them fancy shoes would do the trick?
 
Here is what worked for me...Anti static rubber floor mats.....The only time I have static problems was when I starteed using a glass faced platen.Not sure why but did..The mats helped out dramaticaly.

My 2 cents worth
Bruce
 
If the static charge is being generated ala VanDeGraff generator by the belt friction on the platen, wouldn't grounding the grinder frame give the static a less restive path to ground than me? If I'm wrong and ther person is somehow generating the charge that needs to ground (as some have suggested), can anybody esplain the mechanism of generating that charge?

Can't help it, I'm just always curious :)

-d
 
The type of ground rod, mineral content of soil, depth of ground rod and soil moisture make a big difference. We have a 100' well which is the ground rod for the house and shop. The entire county is an aquifer so the soil is always moist year round. I have never had a static problem with my grinder so it is interesting to hear of all the static problems.

If the ground rod itself is not conducting well then everything else is acting as a giant capacitor, this includes your entire shop and houses appliances. That can build a huge potential charge and when it does jump you will conduct the entire capacitor worth.

I used to be into amatuer radio and an isolated ground can make a big difference. You either have to go deep or go big with mass. An easy way to go big is to get an old aluminum wheel and attach a 1/4" cable to it and dig a hole as deep as you can and bury it. The lug nut holes are a good attachment point. Then string the cable back up to the piece of equipment. That will always be the path of least resistance vs. you. It sounds goofy but it really works, if I did not have a 100' well casing that would be my plan "B".
 
Guys

There were several good points brought out on reducing static electricity. The ground strap is an excelent way to go. The commercial ground straps have a high resistance, somewhere between 500K ohms and a megohm. This allows the static electricity to drain off slowly as it builds and also reduces any current your body might draw in the event something on the grinder shorts out and tries to light up your world. If you build your own ground strap add a resistor in series with it.

Yes the motor, and the grinder frame need to be tied together and to ground.

Your typical fabric softener/static gurad works on the principle that it is conductive and drains off the charge build up. Try thinning out some fabric softener with water and spray a light coat on the grinder wheels and the belts. This should help eliminate the charge if your grinder frame is grounded. If it doesn't work, just wipe it off with a damp sponge. Yea you may screw up a belt, so don't spray all of them until you test it out first!!!

Now if you really like sparks, clean the wheels, wax the metal ones, and use a mylar belt. When the hair on your arms starts to stand on end, unzip your .... well you get the idea. Van de Graff would be proud of you.

Jim Arbuckle
 
You may have to hook up a wire to your nuts and then to a ground so any future shocks go right to the wire and dissipate harmlessly into the ground connection.
 
tmickley said:
You may have to hook up a wire to your nuts and then to a ground so any future shocks go right to the wire and dissipate harmlessly into the ground connection.
Click to expand...


Not such a bad idea, (yea right) do you suggest a slip knot, allegator clip or a good solder connnection? Oh yea, which one, left or right? I guess if you only have one left it doesn't much matter.

Jim A.
 
deker said:
If the static charge is being generated ala VanDeGraff generator by the belt friction on the platen, wouldn't grounding the grinder frame give the static a less restive path to ground than me? If I'm wrong and ther person is somehow generating the charge that needs to ground (as some have suggested), can anybody esplain the mechanism of generating that charge?

Can't help it, I'm just always curious :)

-d
Click to expand...

Deker,

I think you got it here.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/vdg.htm

For info on a Van de Graaff generator. When using a glass, pyro-ceram, etc platen, you can build up a really good charge. If it is humid, the charge will disapate.

Anyway, I am thinking of hooking up a wire to close to the platen to help discharge the static before it can zap me. Currently, I just grin and bear it.

--Carl
 
"Damn Near Lost a Testicle to my 2X72 !!" HMMMMM. Thinking to my self ive never seen a post labled like this before:D :D... So I opened it and ill have you know I almost choked on my sandwich:eek: .. Well I know very little when it comes to stuff like this but Rfrink is on to something "you'll see it everywhere...for example, you might see fork lifts with anti-static straps dragging on the ground."
Will something like this work?
DSC03444-idea.jpg


Oh and sorry for the crappy pic but M.S. paint is nothing like Auto-Cad

Pj
 
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Got a link, Pj? ;) LOL. Silver and jewels are made for each other...:D

My KMG is mounted on a plywood base and constantly zaps me because of the ceram platen liner. Grounding the grinder to the grounded motor (city water pipe) didn't help. I went out and got an $11 wrist strap from Radio Shack this afternoon because of this thread and it totally eliminated the problem. Thanks!
 
How come nobody is listening to pso?

Here's a guy that knows electricity, yet it seems like most people's advice is exactly the opposite.

disclaimer = I'll be sure to catch some heat on this - and I apologize if anyone is offended.


But attaching a "grounding strap" to your wrist makes about as much sense as "packing the edge".

It is a bad knifemaking MYTH that has somehow continually perpetuated amongst us...comes up again and again and again. And those "in the know" say the same thing over and over again:


"Ground the MACHINE ..not the MAN"



Grounding wrist-straps are for protecting circuit boards from YOUR static electricity. Not for protecting you. If you touch a "live" wire, you will still get shocked.



The problem is simple = static electricity is building up at the platen and needs to dissipate. It just wants to take the path of least resistance.


Everybody here is generating some static electricity when they grind. Happens. The smart way to solve the problem is to let the electricity discharge to a ground....not through you.



EASY SOLUTION - go to the junkyard, and pick up a big-ole piece of scrap steel. Lay it against the wall behind your grinder...preferably on bare concrete or wood (something with moisture in it). Run a wire (with alligator clips on each end) from the grinder base to the steel. Problem solved.


No need to worry about shoes, straps, humidity, etc.

You will be giving the electricity a path of lower resistance to get back to earth.


FWIW - The "proper" solution would be to ground the grinder base back to a rod buried in the earth. (if you can at least "approximate" this idea...you'll be doing good)



Normark - sorry about the rant, and sorry about the shock you got, Bro. :(
I've been hit by some heavy voltage/current and I know it's not fun.



FWIW - I grind on a pyroceramic platen, in regular shoes, right on the concrete and don't get zapped.
 
Daniel, what part of, "It worked!" didn't come through about the strap?

My grinder is grounded (and has always been) to the water pipe as it comes out of the concrete in the floor of my basement and runs out to the mains in the street. That's a pretty good ground. Grinder to motor case, case to earth. Doesn't stop the static buildup though, and it doesn't happen if there's no ceramic liner......

Keep a finger on the workrest as one grinds and zap doesn't happen. Since I don't grind blades using a workrest, Mr. Pinky can't act as that connector, so I get zapped once I touch something metal. The static is building up in ME, not the grinder.

I got the strap and connected it, no ZAP. Disconnect it, ZAP. Experimentally, it sure seems like good observational evidence of some kind to me.

Now maybe that doesn't fit the theory, but it works; so, I think that sort of disqualifies your comment about it being a "myth". Now, personally, I don't much care how who solves their static problem in what way. I just reported something that definitely worked for me. I don't discount what PSO Phil said at all; he's one of the people I typically recommend for electrical questions.

I'm always ready to reconsider what I think I know, but what I observe makes it tough for me to ignore.
 
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Do they come with a coupon for $35.00 off an aluminum beanie to stop the alien brain scanning waves? (sorry, I couldn't resist either...that's what comes from reading a "ballsy" post such as this one)
 
I got the strap and connected it, no ZAP. Disconnect it, ZAP.
Click to expand...

Hey Mike, That sounds like an early Pavlo experiment...and you're the test specimen. "hmmm..lets see what happens when we shock this guy!!" ..or else you're just a sick bastid who enjoys self inflicted pain for pleasure.. :) :)


"lookie!..it hurts when I do this..."
SNAP! "ouch!"
SNAP! "ouch!
SNAP! "ouch!"
...
..
.

Mike, Don't do that!


PJ....Tell me about your KMG. That's an early one! Wow!! it looks great! When and where did you get it? Nice work with MS paint. Your concept is clear as a bell. I'm still from the school of thinking that the grinder is already grounded and has no electrical potential....but by being grounded through the cord and wiring.... the grinder becomes and effective ground. And that the source of electrical potential is on the hosting grinder operator...such that when they touch the grinder...or ANY ground for that matter they get snapped. Here's another test....if you are getting snapped when you touch the grinder....then try to touch something else...say, your drill press...or water pipe. If you still get snapped...then you've eliminated the grinder as the host for the charge. There is no doubt that the grinder creates the charge...but for me...I think the operator carries it.

On the other hand...you simply cannot argue with success...if grounding the machine with a steel plate ...or rod works...then do it. It needs to be grounded and with modern electrical code and wiring...it should already be grounded by simply plugging the machine into the wall outlet.


Dan....a discalimer is not required..(hee hee) Nothing wrong with speaking your mind in an open discussion...after all....the thread started by asking what we thought. (BTW...I have the smelliest opinion! :))


OK Bill...where's my beer..?
 
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