[TheForge] grinder stupidity

[John Emmerling]

it was near the end of the day yesterday and i was buffing andirons with 
a cup wheel on a 4.5" grinder. the andirons were sitting on the work 
table and were about shoulder height. i was buffing a scroll element and 
thought i had a good grip on the grinder....wrong. the wheel caught an 
edge and (being an on/off switch) flew back toward my face and hit my 
jaw and went down my neck to my shoulder. i could tell by the feel that 
it did some damage. you sort of get used to how much damage you do to 
yourself (burns, nicks, cuts bruises etc.) by the way it feels, then if 
its not too bad, patch it up and go back to work. my jaw and neck were a 
bit of a bloody mess as i chased the spinning grinder around the shop 
floor. i imagine watching the episode was somewhat comical in retrospect.
long story short...i won't be shaving the right side of my face for a 
little while. wine and ibuprophen was the order of the evening. i was 
lucky. be careful out there in smithy land.
john emmerling