i'm starting the next addition to the shop safety tips

R

richard j

Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Messages
10,080
this one will deal with belt sander safety. the same safety tips for any belt and pulley setup also apply to a belt sander. getting caught between the contact wheel and belt are the main thing to watch out for. i will be adding suggestions to the list as i get them in.
 
If in doubt, just unplug the grinder for safety and slowly rotate the belt a little while sticking your fingers between belt and contact wheel. It'll give you an idea of the potential danger there. I never thought about it until it happen to me while working on belt tracking and rotating the belt manually.

Pad
 
just dont see how much you can take or you migh break a belt. always inspect your belts before running your sander. look for bad spots on the seam tape. your seam might look good but the seam can come loose from the backside without knowing until its too late. i have pictures showing exactly what i mean. i had a belt shoot through plastic sheeting i have up to cut down on dust. i seen my belt was about to fail so i moved out of the way to see what would happen. half the belt went through the plastic before stopping.
 
Here's my tip. If you hear tick tick tick tick tick move out of the way. (Belt in the process of breaking.)

Allen
 
This is why I refuse to wear gloves while grinding. I think that guys who do are nuts.... :)

-d
 
mrnewberry said:
Here's my tip. If you hear tick tick tick tick tick move out of the way. (Belt in the process of breaking.)

Allen
Click to expand...

Yup, been there. It's always good to listen to your machine, whatever it is. Many times you will hear a problem before you see it.

No gloves on the grinder (or drill press or bandsaw) for me, either. No way, uh-uh, not gonna happen.
 
Last edited:
Rotating power tools and gloves will eventually get you hurt, you just have to do it long enough. A glove caught in a grinder could tear up your hand, break fingers, tear tendons or any number of other unpleasant things. This is the same as the loose clothing rule. Everyone who had high-school shop learned these safety precautions because the old machinists with missing fingers figured them out for us.

For what it's worth, I've been hit with 10's of broken belts. Some are less comfortable than others (I have nearly 100 36grit belts who are prone to breaking at the seam), but aside from the scare, they are usually fairly timid as far as shop injuries go.
 
AcridSaint said:
Rotating power tools and gloves will eventually get you hurt, you just have to do it long enough. A glove caught in a grinder could tear up your hand, break fingers, tear tendons or any number of other unpleasant things. This is the same as the loose clothing rule. Everyone who had high-school shop learned these safety precautions because the old machinists with missing fingers figured them out for us.

For what it's worth, I've been hit with 10's of broken belts. Some are less comfortable than others (I have nearly 100 36grit belts who are prone to breaking at the seam), but aside from the scare, they are usually fairly timid as far as shop injuries go.
Click to expand...

I dropped out of high school. ;) Seriously though, I see what you mean. I wear the mechanix gloves when I grind. Maybe I need to rethink that idea.
 
Gloves are also bad because you can't tell the heat produced on the blade, which could be a quick sign to dunk the blade in water before it weakens it. (if it's already HTed)
 
Ah yes,I was switching pulleys on my 2 by 48,and it was coasting down.Somehow my pinky and ring finger got between the v belt and pulley.The fingers actually slipped the belt off:eek:,twisted the pinkie,tore the flesh ,broke the tip..A few stitches plus taking the nail off not to mention the $2K it cost me,no insurance,and the finger still won't straighten out and some numbness still after a couple yrs.Needless to say duffas put a belt guard on...So in closing be careful out there---Regards Butch
 
I suppose the usual rule of power tools applies here; anything it will do to steel it will do to you only faster. Always worth remembering.
 
AfterTFD said:
I suppose the usual rule of power tools applies here; anything it will do to steel it will do to you only faster. Always worth remembering.
Click to expand...

Use a hotdog in place of where your fingers might get put... Messy cleanup though.
 
Garrett Schmidt said:
Why don't you guys where gloves? Is it the getting caught in between the belt and wheel thing?
Click to expand...

No, it's the bit/blade grabbing your glove because you didn't feel yourself getting too close. Then bad bad bad stuff can happen real real fast.

Extreme example... I was wearing gloves once while feeding brush into a chipper... my glove caught on a branch or something... luckily the glove was loose and came off. I still got my wrist and elbow tweaked pretty good, it ached for days.

Never again. I could have been killed if my hand/ arm got sucked into that monster. I'll gladly put up with the occasional scraped knuckle or erased fingerprint.

AcridSaint said:
For what it's worth, I've been hit with 10's of broken belts.
Click to expand...

I've been bitch-slapped by a couple. Luckily the edge of the belt didn't cut me, but it could have. +1 for full face-shields.
 
Last edited:
there are times when i will wear gloves but its when my hands are a good distance from anything the gloves could get caught in. its usually when i'm grinding a blade on my disc sander so i can hold the tang easier. on the blade i have a magnet on a stick so i dont have to use my fingers to press the blade against the disc.
 
new belts have a tendency to grab a blade when you least expect it that can cause an "oops" moment when you least expect it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top