Has anyone started a fire with an angle grinder?

[Serf Life]

Was throwing sparks in the shop today marveling that I’ve never even had an ember get started (except in the tool’s motor). Any flare ups?

 

[Brando CalPankian]

Yes. Small ones. Nothin crazy but some grass fires, my clothes, and a dust pile in the corner

 

[flushcut]

I have set a few welding jackets on fire, a hoodie, two garbage cans smoldering, but no grass fires (excluding the two grass fires during the smoke bomb wars during the drought of 88’),

 

[Bart_]

I've degraded some clothing. Sometimes you feel the heat, sometimes you don't.

 

[Boomslang]

Singed some arm hair, but nothing flaming

 

[Matias]

Definitely been sure it was possible when grinding in short sleeves

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Grinder and welder sparks freak me out.

I have some quilted welding blankets that I use like drapes. My current shop project is to make a simple 'booth' for welding and grinding. When possible I do that stuff in he driveway but sometimes I need to be indoors.

 

[flushcut]

Fire watch for an hour after welding, cutting, and grinding is good practice.

 

[ghostice]

Was throwing sparks in the shop today marveling that I’ve never even had an ember get started (except in the tool’s motor). Any flare ups?

Yes



Addenda - Some Time Later - We were grinding flash off welds on a car frame and had finished up in a garage (or so we thought) and after some clean up we could smell something burning - we looked and looked and the first one we found was a black spot near where the sheathing met the bottom plate of the framing - apparently fuzz and dandelion seeds 'n stuff can ignite. Wet the spot but could still smell smoke or smouldering. After couple more of these discoveries, we ended up moving everything away from framing and spraying water on the walls (uninsulated garage) and then waiting, and waiting. Firewatch took hours and the ladies of the house were not impressed.
On a more industrial level, some of our welders at an oil and gas battery one time moved their welding outdoors and managed to start a "grassfire" (on lease thank heavens) when they got some weeds burning in the laydown area somehow. Coulda been pallets and stored stuff that night if somebody on dayshift hadn't noticed. This kicked off a weed control frenzy on all our operating properties that summer.
And when it's dry around here, grassfires are always hanging over your head if you're making sparks.

 

[Mick Dempsey]

My BiL lost a barn full of hay exactly like that.

 

[Matias]

Man, I have always done these things in locations where there wasn't a single flammable thing nearby. Growing up in Florida, I saw so much short sleeved grinding, that I took it for granted that it wasn't that big a deal. I will be much more careful when the time comes for me to do some grinding out here in Firefornia