PLAY IT

SAFE
AT THE
WHEEL
DONT BELIEVE EVERYTHING
YOU SEE AND READ
WITHOUT CONSIDERING
THE SOURCE!
MOVIES, TELEVISION AND PRINTED MEDIA
SOMETIMES UNKNOWINGLY SHOW ABRASIVE
PRODUCTS BEING USED UNSAFELY.
Have you ever watched a television show or movie and noticed an unsafe practice
using an abrasive product? We in the Product Safety Department have seen these
misguided and disturbing practices. In addition to our observations, we have been
sent examples of articles or advertisements with technical errors. Such errors cause
us great concern for the safety of the individual shown in the media, bystanders and
any mislead future users.
Some examples of unsafe safety practices we have observed are:
Television shows that demonstrate conversion of products or do it yourselfshows
(motor cycles, cars, repairs, etc.) have been observed using cut-off wheels on
pneumatic die grinders and un-guarded cutoff machines.
A movie showing a Type 27 depressed center wheel being used without a guard! The
spark stream makes for a great special effect. However, a Product Safety Engineer
would think, What if the wheel broke? We would have one less stunt person in
Hollywood.
continued...
PLAY IT
SAFE
AT THE
WHEEL
...continued
Another famous movie where the villain wanted to cut the power and phone lines to
an office building; he took a gas saw and cut liveelectrical conduit. In real life, this
could have been a real electrifying experience.
A woodworking magazine where an expertprovided instructions on how to build
a routerwhich included a photograph showing a Type 1 abrasive wheel used on a
bench grinder without a work-rest, proper guarding and improper application in the
form of side grinding. The author
stated that grinding wheel
manufacturers dont recommend side
grinding but Ive always felt safe. It
appears he knew it was wrong, but did
it anyway. What he failed to tell the
reader is that side grinding on a Type 1
wheel is not only unsafe, but is a
violation of ANSI and OSHA safety
requirements. A reader of this article
sent a written complaint to this
magazine. In this complaint he correctly
stated that You could put an eye out by
side grinding with a Type 1 wheel.
The last example was a famous shoe manufacturers advertisement that has a
photograph of a worker holding a large right angle
grinder without a wheel guard on it. They are selling
shoes for those who grind it out every day.
However, from this photograph they seem less
concerned with the shoe wearers remaining body
parts.
What you must remember is that no matter what
you see in the movies, on television or in printed
media you must take the responsibility to know how
to safely use tools. Sometimes, safety is not the
media publishers top priority. We recommend you
make the New Year a safe year and always play it
safe at the wheel!
For additional information on this topic or if you
need any other abrasive safety information, please review ANSI, OSHA and all
literature provided by the abrasive wheel and machine manufacturer. You may also
contact the Saint-Gobain Product Safety Department at Tel. (508) 795-2317 or Fax.
(508) 795-5120 or contact your Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc. representative with any
safety related questions.
Roger E. Cloutier
Senior Product Safety Engineer
Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc.
PO Box 15008 - M/S 413-201, One New Bond Street
Worcester, MA 01615-0008
Email: NortonSafety@saint-gobain.com