According to OSHA, unsafe grinders are one of their most cited offenses. There are several common safety issues with grinders. This month, we’d like to focus your attention on the tongue guard – a small protective shield located at the top of the grinding wheel.
Each tongue guard should be positioned 1/4 inch from the wheel and the adjustment should be checked frequently. During safety inspections, we frequently find that tongue guards are missing or not adjusted properly. (See photo at right.)
The purpose of the tongue guard is to make sure that, if an object gets sucked up into the grinder, it doesn’t come back out at the top and hurt the operator. Serious injuries can occur if the guard is absent, or poorly installed.
Bench grinder with missing tongue guard.
KPA Resources – How to make sure your grinders are safe:
- Poster – Grinder Safety Checklist*
- Video – Engineer Zach Pucillo Covers Basic Grinder Safety
- Blog – Your Parts Grinder Can Pass an OSHA Inspection. Here’s How.
*This poster is typical of materials provided to KPA clients. If you’re not a client, you can request more info here.