Thread: Static charge
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Old 03-31-2017, 01:28 PM
jimmontg jimmontg is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Now live in Las Cruces NM.
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Dave you can also use a ground wire held between your fingers, nothing bigger than a very small speaker wire, I use a single strand of bare wire about .003 thick and hold it between my fingers and blade. The wire is just taped to the grinder out of the way on the right side. I have the same issue too, also remember to just touch the metal of the grinder with the blade often when in a position where you can't use the wire. TAKE NOTE! NO thick wire, three thousandths is plenty to stop static build up. I just stripped a strand of wire off of an extra telephone line I had. If the belt did grab the wire it isn't going to snatch my hand into the belt pulley, good enough reason to use very thin wire. Can't always use it, but for just hogging steel it works pretty good. Could tape it to top of your hand as well.

I think Ray's solution of grounding the metal frame of the grinder is a better solution to static build up, it has somewhere else to go, the mat will protect your feet, but you will still get charged up. Try that first, save your money Dave the sprayon stuff won't help here, it conducts the static into the sides of the dryer, try grounding the grinder to the screw on an electric plug, it doesn't have to be big, just bare all the way to dissipate the static along the way. Run a damp sponge lightly on the back of the belt will work as well, lightly.

For some reason my 2x48 doesn't do it, don't know why except maybe I rest my hand on the top guard sometimes as I grind from the top in the flat position away from myself, but I don't usually touch the top guard. I have no reason to remove the guard as it doesn't get in my way at all. It will if I convert to a 2x72 though. My grinders sit on a big plastic cart and my 1x42 builds up a charge which is why I used the wire in the first place, never did it before as as far as I can remember, most all the grinders I used were grounded on a metal table. Now that I think about it, my 2x48's platen is grounded to the motor, my 1x42 runs on a pulley while the 8" disc is on a shaft from the motor and never shocks me. Food for thought.

Last edited by jimmontg; 03-31-2017 at 01:44 PM.
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