LIDL angle grinder is dangerous [when used backwards]

Corbally

I want to add something: if the grinder is jumping or pulling itself into the work you're putting too much downward pressure on it. Most DIYers I've seen use grinders cut too fast. Use light pressure and let the grinder do the work. Score the line first and keep rolling the grinder back and forth along the cut. Don't try to push it straight through the piece like a chop saw would.

Corbally

Corbally wrote: »

I want to add something: if the grinder is jumping or pulling itself into the work you're putting too much downward pressure on it. Most DIYers I've seen use grinders cut too fast. Use light pressure and let the grinder do the work. Score the line first and keep rolling the grinder back and forth along the cut. Don't try to push it straight through the piece like a chop saw would.

Also disk selection is key,
I hate seeing people side grind on a thin cutting disk.

TheBoyConor

I honestly think that Lidl should not be selling the likes of angle grinders and chainsaws. They are dangerous and lethal in the inexperienced hands of someone who is not competent. And it is very unlikely that the sort of person who buys a grinder in Lidl will be competent in the use of such tools.

I wonder if someone sawed themselves open could they take a case against lidl alleging that they breached their duty of care to customers by selling them an item which could be dangerous if used by an inexperienced person without taking some reasonable step to ensure that the person buying it was some way competent to use it?

sydthebeat

TheBoyConor wrote: »

I honestly think that Lidl should not be selling the likes of angle grinders and chainsaws. They are dangerous and lethal in the inexperienced hands of someone who is not competent. And it is very unlikely that the sort of person who buys a grinder in Lidl will be competent in the use of such tools.

I wonder if someone sawed themselves open could they take a case against lidl alleging that they breached their duty of care to customers by selling them an item which could be dangerous if used by an inexperienced person without taking some reasonable step to ensure that the person buying it was some way competent to use it?

Does ANY supplier require a customer to show proof of experience before allowing purchase??

clivej

I would hold the grinder the same way as I hold a chain saw. Throttle in my right hand handle in my left hand chain bar on the righthand side

Tokyo

TheBoyConor wrote: »

I honestly think that Lidl should not be selling the likes of angle grinders and chainsaws. They are dangerous and lethal in the inexperienced hands of someone who is not competent. And it is very unlikely that the sort of person who buys a grinder in Lidl will be competent in the use of such tools.

I wonder if someone sawed themselves open could they take a case against lidl alleging that they breached their duty of care to customers by selling them an item which could be dangerous if used by an inexperienced person without taking some reasonable step to ensure that the person buying it was some way competent to use it?

Because every other hardware store and supplier demand your angle grinder license before a purchase?

CrankyHaus

sydthebeat wrote: »

Does ANY supplier require a customer to show proof of experience before allowing purchase??

Do some rental places do it for some equipment? Possibly as a term of their Insurance cover?

TheBoyConor

They don't no. And I often thing of this in the context of plant hire. To use any sort of MEWP of cherry picker in construction you need to be trained and competent. Yet I can go down to the local place and say I want one to do work on a chimney or roof or whatever and off I go, they don't require me to show a CSCS card or anything. I could be a complete n00b for all they know.

Imagine that I capsize it and get badly injured. I could bring a case then saying I was totally inexperienced and unaware of the dangers of the machine and yet the supplier, knowing full well the dangers and the training necessary, allowed me to take it away knowing that I was not properly trained and competent and thereby exposed me to the risks of the machine and contributed to the circumstances that resulted in my accident.

And I also often think that the reason a mandatory requirement to demonstrate training and competence of the user or hirer is not introduced is that if it were, those places that enforce it would see a massive drop off in legitimate plant hire companies' business as the casual joe soap and the cowboy contractors won't be able to hire from them anymore and will go to rogue plant hire places willing to take the chance on hiring to the incompetent and will take the occasional rap.

s1ippy

TheBoyConor wrote: »

They don't no. And I often thing of this in the context of plant hire. To use any sort of MEWP of cherry picker in construction you need to be trained and competent. Yet I can go down to the local place and say I want one to do work on a chimney or roof or whatever and off I go, they don't require me to show a CSCS card or anything. I could be a complete n00b for all they know.

Imagine that I capsize it and get badly injured. I could bring a case then saying I was totally inexperienced and unaware of the dangers of the machine and yet the supplier, knowing full well the dangers and the training necessary, allowed me to take it away knowing that I was not properly trained and competent and thereby exposed me to the risks of the machine and contributed to the circumstances that resulted in my accident.

And I also often think that the reason a mandatory requirement to demonstrate training and competence of the user or hirer is not introduced is that if it were, those places that enforce it would see a massive drop off in legitimate plant hire companies' business as the casual joe soap and the cowboy contractors won't be able to hire from them anymore and will go to rogue plant hire places willing to take the chance on hiring to the incompetent and will take the occasional rap.

A friend of mine showed me a video of his three nearly four year old daughter about 50ft in the air in a cherry picker he had overnight for a job he was doing in work. He thought it was the best thing ever and I was sh!tting my pants watching it swaying in the wind and the child with it.

10pennymixup

Doolittle51 wrote: »

Snip.... You say you're a tradesman? I wouldn't be too impressed if a tradesman showed up with parkside tools. I wouldn't consider them adequate for professional use......Snip

Not disagreeing with anything else you said and kind of also get your point above, as in I would be more impressed with a trades person that used higher quality goods. But wouldn't have a problem with those that didn't

I'm not in the trade, but use a mix of these type tools and more "professional" ones for maintenance and repair for my own business.

I've a lidl 2.8kw generator now for 12 years, used nearly daily from March to October and it's still going well. (had to swap out the AVR about 2 years ago though).

The gears on a deWalt drill went on me about two years ago and a replacement part would have set me back over €100. Bought similar in Lidl for circa €60. Gets only occasional use but still going strong.

Brother in law (tradesperson) also impressed with some of these tools when he had to quickly replace the ones stolen out of his van. He did eventually replace them all with the likes of DeWalt/ Festool though.

Most of these tools are made in Germany by the factories that supply the likes of Bosch and are of decent enough quality. They're not cheap Chinese crap.

And remember any tradesman that uses tools that can cost a small fortune, is charging you in the long run for their purchase and repair.

GreeBo

GinSoaked wrote: »

Keep a look out because Lldl are also notorious for selling left handed screwdrivers

You just bought one of their lefty loosey ones, you need a righty tighty.

GreeBo

clivej wrote: »

If you want to use it left handed do you not just :
Stand on the other side of the grinder
Flip the grinder 180
Flip the guard 180

Start grinding?

Ah, I guess that will change the disk to rotate in a clockwise direction.

to solve this, just stand on your head.
Simples.

CrankyHaus

TheBoyConor wrote: »

They don't no. And I often thing of this in the context of plant hire. To use any sort of MEWP of cherry picker in construction you need to be trained and competent. Yet I can go down to the local place and say I want one to do work on a chimney or roof or whatever and off I go, they don't require me to show a CSCS card or anything. I could be a complete n00b for all they know.

Imagine that I capsize it and get badly injured. I could bring a case then saying I was totally inexperienced and unaware of the dangers of the machine and yet the supplier, knowing full well the dangers and the training necessary, allowed me to take it away knowing that I was not properly trained and competent and thereby exposed me to the risks of the machine and contributed to the circumstances that resulted in my accident.

And I also often think that the reason a mandatory requirement to demonstrate training and competence of the user or hirer is not introduced is that if it were, those places that enforce it would see a massive drop off in legitimate plant hire companies' business as the casual joe soap and the cowboy contractors won't be able to hire from them anymore and will go to rogue plant hire places willing to take the chance on hiring to the incompetent and will take the occasional rap.

I've only used chainsaws I own but Boards is full of people saying they either aren't available for hire or are only available for people with some form of certification, so I think you're wrong.


https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=66684109

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=75805260



As far as MEWPS go, IME they're rented with safe usage instructions. The renter has the responsibility for safe use.
Comparisons with Employer's Liability aren't appropriate, as an employer owes a totally different and far higher duty of care to the employees acting under their instruction and supervision.
Anyway a lot of the time, if not most of the time, things like MEWPS and Scoffold are rented by an employer so when their employee gets injured because it was set up wrong the employer will be the one on the hook, good luck saying it was the rental shop's fault unless there was an actual fault with the equipment.

TheBoyConor

yubabill wrote: »

I have an older Parkside grinder and it's been fine. Turns the right way.

HOWEVER I bought some metal-cutting discs from Lidl and two of them blew to smithereens last year, after a few minute's work on regular angle iron and the second time on something pretty similar (i.e.; nothing heavy duty).

I still have a good mark on my hand from the first incident, where the disc fragment cut through my work glove (the fabric part). Thought it was just a one-in-a-million the first time, went back to a different (non-Lidl) disc later and finished the job the next day.

Second incident was a good while later, decided to give Lidl discs the benefit of the doubt - blew up after very light work, no bodging, no twisting etc. - hit me smack in the heart. Luckily, the fragment hit me flat on its side - got some fright. Imagined what could have happened if it hit sharp-side-on.

Threw them out, will never buy again. Sticking to good quality discs from now on. Be warned, folks.

Jesus lad, you are lucky to be alive or not left very seriously disabled. Breaking discs have killed many people. The consequnces of a disc at 5000rpm hitting someone are cataclysmic and horrific. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Google image search broken disk accident to see what a horrific injury or death you narrowly avoided by just sheer luck.

However, fool me once shame on lidl for supplying dangerous low quality disks likely to disintegrate, fool you twice by buying them again, shame on you.

Whatever about the machine, disks should never be used unless they are from a reputable manufacturer of proven experience and quality, and that they are within date, and that they are of known origin. - If you find a Klingspor disk in the back of the garage of a house you just bought, don't use it. You don't know what condition it is in or what has happened it.

A year ago I had a foreman in the workshop of the water treatment plant I was working in gather up all the disks older than a year and bin them, but not before breaking them in two, just in case someone found them in the skip and decided to bring it home and use it.

Personally, if I had my way I would have banned them in the plant and had them put beyond use in the same way that councils have banned the use of chainsaws amongst their staff. But unfortunately, there are some jobs where a there is just no reasonable alternative to using a hand held grinder so I was not something that I could suggest as it would be unworkable.

listermint

TheBoyConor wrote: »

I honestly think that Lidl should not be selling the likes of angle grinders and chainsaws. They are dangerous and lethal in the inexperienced hands of someone who is not competent. And it is very unlikely that the sort of person who buys a grinder in Lidl will be competent in the use of such tools.

I wonder if someone sawed themselves open could they take a case against lidl alleging that they breached their duty of care to customers by selling them an item which could be dangerous if used by an inexperienced person without taking some reasonable step to ensure that the person buying it was some way competent to use it?

No Conor, just no im sorry. Im with you sometimes but this is daft. Do you want to stop the sales of everything everywhere? These tools come with warnings plastered all over them. That should be enough for the safety police i.e you.

listermint

clivej wrote: »

Back from LIDL now, with another grinder. This is how i have it set up.
Disk is as shown lable to the inside, if put in the other way round it scrapes off the guard.
According the the disk arrow it's going backwards

I have always used them with my right hand on the trigger, left hand on the handle, I'm right handed. never used a angle grinder before so i made up their operation in my head

Fixed your post a bit.


You use your left hand for power and right hand for control if thats your primary hand.



Best of luck clive

TheBoyConor

listermint wrote: »

No Conor, just no im sorry. Im with you sometimes but this is daft. Do you want to stop the sales of everything everywhere? These tools come with warnings plastered all over them. That should be enough for the safety police i.e you.

I know what you mean but I am just being devils advocate here.

I mean this thread and the OP are the perfect example of why I think non-essential tools that can be highly dangerous in inexperienced hands should not be on sale in supermarkts. It increases the likelihood that they will be bought by complete n00bs like the op who may well go home and accidentally butcher or kill themselves within minutes. FFS, some on here don't even know the right way to hold the damn thing or don't know what way to turn the nut that holds the disk. That level of incompetence and ignorance and yet they will go buy one and try to use it.

I think these two types of tools, chainsaws and grinders should not be on sale to the public without some sort of evidence of competence being shown because these two classes of tools are extrememly dangerous and can inflict terrifying injuries.

When you go to hire a car, you cannot take it without showing them your licence.

If you need to use a grinder for your work, then by right you should be trained to use one.
A 9" angle grinder is not an essential household item and should not be for sale in a supermarket between the eggs and the vegetables.

GreeBo

TheBoyConor wrote: »

I know what you mean but I am just being devils advocate here.

I mean this thread and the OP are the perfect example of why I think non-essential tools that can be highly dangerous in inexperienced hands should not be on sale in supermarkts. It increases the likelihood that they will be bought by complete n00bs like the op who may well go home and accidentally butcher or kill themselves within minutes. FFS, some on here don't even know the right way to hold the damn thing or don't know what way to turn the nut that holds the disk. That level of incompetence and ignorance and yet they will go buy one and try to use it.

I think these two types of tools, chainsaws and grinders should not be on sale to the public without some sort of evidence of competence being shown because these two classes of tools are extrememly dangerous and can inflict terrifying injuries.

When you go to hire a car, you cannot take it without showing them your licence.

How abouts steak knives?
Or pitch forks?
Perhaps Domestos?

I saw a guy choke on a crisp once, so thats them out too.

sydthebeat

GreeBo wrote: »

How abouts steak knives?
Or pitch forks?
Perhaps Domestos?

I saw a guy choke on a crisp once, so thats them out too.

blenders?
electric carvers?

kangos?
hedge trimmers?
chop saws?

glue guns?
hammer drills?


who decides what is dangerous and what is not?

id prefer darwin to decide.....

sydthebeat

funnily enough... LIDLs own pic of the tool shows it set up correctly

BarryD2

I have various power tools inc bench saws and chain saws etc. The one tool I hate using is the 9" angle grinder. I've had more near misses with injury with that fecking machine than all the others combined.

Yes, it's been my fault on each occasion - the material I've been cutting has not been adequately clamped/ supported. Or I've tired a little, got a bit complacent etc

The point is though that for the average competent DIYer they are fundamentally dangerous as hand held tools. Never mind putting them in the hands of casual DIYers. I can never figure why they're sold cheaply as household tools. It's a tool that really needs an experienced user.

Grizzly 45

GinSoaked wrote: »

Keep a look out because Lldl are also notorious for selling left handed screwdrivers

****e screws more like.

CJhaughey

Where do you stop with this kind of stuff?
Do you ban table saws , planers, nail guns ,chopsaws, Just because you may lose digits using them?
At some point people have to accept responsibility for their actions.
We don’t need to blame retailers for selling power tools we just need to accept their own decisions and actions.

9935452

yubabill wrote: »

I have an older Parkside grinder and it's been fine. Turns the right way.

HOWEVER I bought some metal-cutting discs from Lidl and two of them blew to smithereens last year, after a few minute's work on regular angle iron and the second time on something pretty similar (i.e.; nothing heavy duty).

I still have a good mark on my hand from the first incident, where the disc fragment cut through my work glove (the fabric part). Thought it was just a one-in-a-million the first time, went back to a different (non-Lidl) disc later and finished the job the next day.

Second incident was a good while later, decided to give Lidl discs the benefit of the doubt - blew up after very light work, no bodging, no twisting etc. - hit me smack in the heart. Luckily, the fragment hit me flat on its side - got some fright. Imagined what could have happened if it hit sharp-side-on.

Threw them out, will never buy again. Sticking to good quality discs from now on. Be warned, folks.

I wouldnt fully trust the discs eithre. I had some that the centre separated and the disc took off from the grinder across the yard.
That said there are sell buy dates stamped on discs. This is for the glue used to glue the centres in the discs.

Another reason for not using cheap discs is tget dont last as well as dearer discs

SC024

You've it setup wrong as clear as day in these photos,as other posers have said you've got the handle on the back of the grinder it should be on either the left or the right depending on if you are left/ right handed and on what you cirection you are cutting. The best thing you can do is instead of going back to lidls & taking up space in the Q for no good reason, call them on the phone ask to speak to the manager and explain that you were honestly mistaken, apologize for wasting her time and ask to put said grinder back on sale or better yet as a gesture of goodwill & to show solidarity with the good work lidl and there staff are doing in the current trying times offer to buy that one also and then you will have a spare.
Then go on about your daily business and not waste anymore peoples time

Thank you.

clivej wrote: »

Back from LIDL now, with another grinder. This is how i have it set up.
Disk is as shown lable to the inside, if put in the other way round it scrapes off the guard.
According the the disk arrow it's going backwards

I have always used them with my right hand on the trigger, left hand on the handle, I'm right handed.







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Doolittle51

Doolittle51 wrote: »

You say you're a tradesman? I wouldn't be too impressed if a tradesman showed up with parkside tools. I wouldn't consider them adequate for professional use.
.

Wouldn't say that about all of them my dad has just over 50 years experience as a carpenter and even during tough times he's always had work due to the quality of his.
He loves some of the stuff from Aldi and Lidil, and can get the same results from a Parkside drill that he can with the brand name one I bought him as a present last Christmas.

Some of their stuff is rubbish sure, but then again so is some of the brand name stuff for a lot more money.

Given that some of the once top names in tools have moved to making lower quality for high prices and the fact that they are less likely to be nicked from the back of his van is another win is his mind.