Geez, what can I write?
If you want to trust your life and limb to a stressed wheel go right ahead. God watches out for fools and drunks.
Makes me wish I saved the manual with graphics of grenaded wheels. Had one picture of a wedge dropped between a rest and wheel to illustrate the need for a guard. Thousand words omitted.
Agreed! I'm not sure who had the courage (or stupidity) to start the wheel once the part was removed. As I stated, the crash occurred on the opposite shift. However, when you come in to find the machine has been running for hours, seems to me the wheel has been through the trial period that says it's likely to stay together. It did.
I'd like to think I was neither of them. I know I wasn't a drunk. On the other hand, I'm not sure there's a God. We agnostics are like that.
You're talking with someone that has used grinding wheels long enough to more than understand your point. A point I had concluded way back in the early 60's, in fact.
Ever had any wheels blow on you? I've had two. One was on an internal grinder with a spindle speed of 18,000 RPM. We had used the wheel way too long (production job) and had dressed it down until it was just a thin shell. When it blew I was standing right over it and the effect was much like a fly landing on you. Seems all the energy was spent coming apart, with particles so small they didn't do any damage. Call me lucky!
Second one was on a tool post grinder when I started it up without changing the pulleys (it had been used previously for some internal work). Talk about having your head in a dark place. A portion of the small diameter wheel (roughly 4" diameter) was buried about 2" deep in the edge of a piece of 3/4" plywood, a bench top. All I could visualize was my head in place of the plywood.
I'm more careful now! :-)
Harold
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