Contractor dies in circular saw accident

[ratcatcher]

The death of this contractor, using the angle grinder with a saw blade is both regretable and tragic. 

All those saying the angle grinder cannot/should not be used with a saw blade haven't seen it in use in the hands of someone properly aware of safety and the limitations of the grinder.

Here are numerous serious cutting blades for use on 4" grinders :

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=saw+blades+for+angle+grinders&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=589&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjN98Sg3bTSAhVCjJQKHRy7ANAQ_AUIBigB

 

 all mountable on an angle grinder. The secret (In Thailand anyway) is to use the  safety guard on the blade (sold with the machine), a handle, and safety glasses,gloves and in the case of working in a tight location, a full face shield mounted on a helmet.

Many hand tools and saws are potential killers or can seriously injure, in the hands of the incompetent.

I have, as have most posters on his forum, seen Thais doing really foolish things with power tools that most westerners would shudder at.

[Shawn0000]

21 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Oh yeah of course, i forgot about them, we call them lamello's. Expensive machines they are.

 

And what are those sanding discs which fit on the axle of the angle grinder for? And those stones discs?? They are about 1 cm thick.

 

 

 

Lamello is a brand.

 

Not sure which disks you mean, there are sanding disks which are quite thick meant for metal, there are also thick metal disks with diamond edge for rapid concrete removal, there are loads of different accessories for angle grinders.

[Shawn0000]

25 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Never heard of that but Makita tools are much cheaper in the USA.  Thailand only has very old models (since 2 years they have the 18V lxt-lines) while i already have that for a decade.

 

Why is Makita so expensive in thailand if there's no importtax? They do have cheaper machines of makita here but those have only 2 wires which is illegal to use in Europe. Also they don't come in a box or so.

 

I always like to see a thai professional at work in a mall or so...they never have makita's or any other high quality tools. Yes maybe a drill with hammerfunction and for heavy jobs they have a Hilti but that's about all they have.

 

I think Makita have a factory in the US, they have factories in several countries making tools that look similar but are not actually all the same, hard to compare them.  Not really surprised that lithium models have come late, they are expensive, most people here go for their budget range, Maktec. 

 

I didn't think Makita was expensive here, it is about the same as the UK, perhaps it is the shops you are looking in, certainly some stuff is cheaper here, I was looking at their beam saws the other day, the 16" hand held circular saw, here it is about 12,000 but in the UK its over 30,000.  I also looked at their thicknesser, it was almost the exact same price as the UK.  I do know that the US is cheap for tools though, lots of people used to buy Dewalt from the US, it was cheaper with the postage than from the UK.

 

Thai tradesmen generally have to buy their own tools, you try kitting yourself out with Festool when you make 350 baht a day. 

[Shawn0000]

17 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

The death of this contractor, using the angle grinder with a saw blade is both regretable and tragic. 

All those saying the angle grinder cannot/should not be used with a saw blade haven't seen it in use in the hands of someone properly aware of safety and the limitations of the grinder.

Here are numerous serious cutting blades for use on 4" grinders :

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=saw+blades+for+angle+grinders&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=589&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjN98Sg3bTSAhVCjJQKHRy7ANAQ_AUIBigB

 

 all mountable on an angle grinder. The secret (In Thailand anyway) is to use the  safety guard on the blade (sold with the machine), a handle, and safety glasses,gloves and in the case of working in a tight location, a full face shield mounted on a helmet.

Many hand tools and saws are potential killers or can seriously injure, in the hands of the incompetent.

I have, as have most posters on his forum, seen Thais doing really foolish things with power tools that most westerners would shudder at.

 

Just because something fits a 4" grinder does not mean it is for a 4" grinder.  As I already said, they are made for biscuit joiners and circular saws, they just happen to also fit in a grinder and no one who is aware of the safety and limitations puts one in a grinder, because that is beyond the limitations of a grinder and unsafe.

[Beats56]

3 hours ago, kannot said:

My boy is  so  dumb he puts the blade on backwards and spends 20  minutes trying to cut some  half  inch plywood..............hilarious to watch

Seen someone do the same with a chain saw chain. You can only shake your head.

 

[Anthony Loh]

7 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

The contractors and workers practice unsafe working methods all the time...almost every electrical tool they use has been bastardised in some way....bare cables held into power outlets with nails....cables joined with tape to make them longer...and angle grinders used for everything....and this example...a 7" or 9" grinder with a saw blade....was only a matter of time!

I'm a project manager working in a construction company and I always educate all my guys to work safely at site in the morning before they start working but sometimes I still can see some worker working without any safely at all. I stopped they works and started to explain to them, they only and always said to me " SORRY boss and will not do it again" .But later, I come back again to check the area and the same issue happen again. This is human, always done think about themselves and they're family and wait till something happens then they will start to cry up and down................that's is life........

[lungnorm]

This is not a circular saw its a hand grinder with a saw blade affixed and to make it worse there is no retractable guard over the blade. Only an idiot would use such a tool in this way. Poor old bloke was just trying to earn money. R.I.P.

[Crossy]

3 hours ago, fruitman said:

This is a tilecutter, is this the one which should be used with the mini circular sawblades?

These ones also can have a double diamond cuttingblade for routing electric pipes in stone walls.

What's the advantage of using this machine with a mini circular sawblade? 

 

It is indeed, and as I noted in my earlier post, ours came with a 4" circular saw blade, it didn't come with the diamond or tungsten blade for cutting tiles or concrete.

 

Advantage of using it with a circular saw blade? You can cut wood, non-ferrous metals (if you use a tungsten-carbide tipped blade) or plastics, none of which cut well with the diamond cutter. Being small it's great for small jobs, cutting halving joints and the like where a 9" saw is just a tad brutal.

 

I must admit, even the tiny amount of exposed blade makes me nervous and extra careful when using this device, even with the innocuous looking diamond blade.

 

I wonder how many of the posters in this thread are regular users of power tools (even in a DIY situation).

[Crossy]

2 hours ago, fruitman said:

Oh yeah of course, i forgot about them, we call them lamello's. Expensive machines they are.

And what are those sanding discs which fit on the axle of the angle grinder for? And those stones discs?? They are about 1 cm thick.

 

Sanding discs are for sanding, actually they are great for removing heavy rust and even sharpening of blades, a bit violent for wood. The thicker wheels are for actual grinding on the side of the disc (angle grinding), the thin discs (1-1.6mm) are for cutting, nip off a protruding bolt. Wire brushes are handy and polishing mops (don't use one on the car) also available and intended for the grinder.

[fruitman]

14 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Sanding discs are for sanding, actually they are great for removing heavy rust and even sharpening of blades, a bit violent for wood. The thicker wheels are for actual grinding on the side of the disc (angle grinding), the thin discs (1-1.6mm) are for cutting, nip off a protruding bolt. Wire brushes are handy and polishing mops (don't use one on the car) also available and intended for the grinder.

Yes those expensive wire brushes are great but sometimes the needles/wires fly out...very fast and dangerous.

 

I have seen even smaller circularsaws for cutting laminated wooden floors along the edges...i don't like to use them though. Circularsaws are always waiting for a finger to cut off.

 

Many farang in Thailand do DIY, i met many of them at the homepro toolsection arguing with the dumb sales there haha. I won't even talk to them at all and have my own ways to avoid them (the sales that is).

 

It takes a special kind of farang to live in Thailand, most are the kind of guys who can work with their hands. But in Europe almost all men can do DIY and even better than the thai "pro's". Also they all have a cordless powerdrill in Europe or a whole shed full of tools.

 

For small woodjobs i have a handheld batterypowered makita circular saw, works well and saves a lot of time. But Festool are the real pro saws and better than makita's.  Those are very hard to find in Thailand but in Europe the carpenter isn't a pro if he doesn't have them.

 

 

[kannot]

lets  liven it up with our  old friend Reg Prescot the handyman, Im a keen fan as it seems many base their work practice on him here

 

 

[ratcatcher]

1 hour ago, kannot said:

lets  liven it up with our  old friend Reg Prescot the handyman, Im a keen fan as it seems many base their work practice on him here

 

 

   Hilarious.

[canuckamuck]

He should have used one of these...

 

[r136dg]

Supprized the strong OSHA presence here didn't catch him first

[starky]

23 hours ago, jaltsc said:

"A building contractor died after he fell from the roof of a house when a circular saw cut into his mouth and neck."

 

I'm sure his union rep will give the builder hell for not following safety procedures.

 

 

Stupid Farang Standards: According to safety standards, all sawing and other mechanical procedures must be preformed on the ground on a secure platform/workbench , while wearing safety gear, by a qualified journeyman or apprentice under the supervision of such journeyman.

 

Thai Standards: "Somchai, stay on the roof, press the button and aim the round thing that looks like your mother's teeth towards the long stick. "

 

 

hahaha union rep love it. I am sure the OH&S rep will conduct a full investigation under the auspices of Worksafe Thailand including checking the pre start, JSA's and stepback 5x5's were all completed prior to starting the job and of course the tool manufacturer must assume some responsibility as all grinders now must have cut off switches so the power switch must be held on or the disc stops spinning.

[kannot]

8 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

He should have used one of these...

 

unfortunately "Somchai Prescott"   has none of the other tools  to make this one and  looking at the skill involved I severely doubt he'd  know where to start

[Ace of Pop]

I look upon DIY Tools with the same nervous glance I give when about to sit in the Dentists Chair.[emoji102][emoji382][emoji125]


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Crossy]

I must admit to getting somewhat ticked off when someone sets out to test my knowledge by asking question to which they already know the answers.

 

Gloves and eye protection always when doing anything involving power tools. Period!

 

You get ten fingers (ok 8 plus 2 thumbs) but only two eyes, look after them.

 

Many years ago when I was an apprentice, a colleague lost a finger by failing to use a simple piece of safety kit. The kit in question was a paintbrush, to be used for clearing swarf from a horizontal milling machine. Every machine had one (it was also used for applying coolant), get it wrong and you had a minced paintbrush. Using a finger is not wise

 

[kannot]

16 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I must admit to getting somewhat ticked off when someone sets out to test my knowledge by asking question to which they already know the answers.

 

Gloves and eye protection always when doing anything involving power tools. Period!

 

You get ten fingers (ok 8 plus 2 thumbs) but only two eyes, look after them.

 

Many years ago when I was an apprentice, a colleague lost a finger by failing to use a simple piece of safety kit. The kit in question was a paintbrush, to be used for clearing swarf from a horizontal milling machine. Every machine had one (it was also used for applying coolant), get it wrong and you had a minced paintbrush. Using a finger is not wise

 

The lad who helps me lost 3   fingers in a  chopping machine somewhere in Thailand..............the worse part about this is that hes learnt NOTHING from this experience.........this I find  truly  staggering

[sugarcane24]

On 1/03/2017 at 7:59 AM, Don Mega said:

My Makita  table saw cuts straight.

From Japan I assume.

[fruitman]

On 2-3-2017 at 7:22 PM, kannot said:

The lad who helps me lost 3   fingers in a  chopping machine somewhere in Thailand..............the worse part about this is that hes learnt NOTHING from this experience.........this I find  truly  staggering

Even in Europe there are plenty carpenters who miss a finger or piece of.

 

The Thai are so scared to get suntanned but when welding they don't wear gloves, long sleeves, masks...don't they know about UV from welding?

 

The new Bosch mitresaws have a feature that when the sawblade gets touched by a hand it immediatly stops really fast. That fast that the sawblade is damaged by the emergency break but the finger will have a minor cut only.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/more/news-and-extras/specials/reaxx-2-final/

 

 

Edited March 3, 2017 by fruitman

[dbrenn]

We saw this coming. No safety standards in Thailand