Sage Grinder Safety Advice....Guard Related....

["Bob Hackett" <kinfolk@zzzzzzz>]

An option that nobody has mentioned up till now is to cut down the guard. I
have cut a few down from a 1/2 wheel guard to a 1/4 and have also fabbed up
guards to allow me use of  the full face of the wheel. If you can fab up an
alternate guard then it also pays to add afew new mounts for the accessory
handle.
Nothing like making your own kit to add to your safety and comfort.

Most anything that can bind the blade (a non straight cut, swarf in the
kerf, etc.) will make a grinder kick back. Think about where the grinder will
head if it does kick and keep body parts you'd like to keep out of the "line
of fire". This would include hands and forearms (that's why it's good to have
extra mounts for the auxillary handle).
One of the reasons I favored pneumatic tools was because you could cut back
the air so if they did kick they would just stall rather than attack
you. Stall an electric grinder for any amount of time and it's cooked.
Also, don't use that switch lock on electric grinders. Most of the really bad
accidents I've seen with grinders, drills, etc have been because the operator
had the switch locked on.

Bob