Home made 9 inch grinder guard

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Got a brand new 9 inch Hilti grinder at a police auction, complete with 2  metal cutting disc, and a masonary diamond blade,  case, wrench, collets, handle, extra brushes, etc... thing was never used. For 42.00! Anyway I run out and get a couple of 9 " grinding discs, (the ones with then 5/8 -11  nut built in to the disc) and to my dismay, the guard is not high enough. the guard wont even let me put the disc on, so I made guard  after  a price quote from Hilti for just under 100.00 .  After reading about the guy that was cutting a slot in a loader bucket, and had the disc explode (with no guard) and the fragments  ripped through his leathers and impalled his chest and throat , killing him, I decided to make a guard. Here are the pics. And for you skeptics ,it will be tested next weekend by powering it up, leaning it up against a fence and my brother shooting the spinning disc with a rifle (he is a marksman). And Tex, if you are lurking out there, I have a question...when you make multiple tacks to hold your work, and then weld..(Mig) do you stop at the tacks, or go right over and leave a huge bump  that needs grinding as I have been doing? Thanks for your input.....     Wrench Attached Images
Reply:Here are the rest of the guard pics. My hand still has limited use , so this puppy took me almost 4 hours from start to finish. Paint wont be untill after the "test". Attached Images
Reply:Good work on that guard. I tend to shy away from that tedious, intensive stuff.To me, a nine inch has to have a guard. You did good.
Reply:Nice work, guards are there for a reason, although I am feeling guilty for not having one on either of my 4" angle grinder or my air cut-off tool. John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:After hearing Chris' story (texredneck) about injuring his leg, I put all the guards back on every one of my grinders.-Heath
Reply:What happened to Chris, I briefly read he was injured but didn't know the full story.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:WrenchitI do a lot of shooting and I have no idea what would happen to a projectile that hits a spinning grinder.  There is no way to be sure the bullet won't be redirected without much loss in velocity in an unknown direction.  To get an idea what might happen lob an old tennis ball, ping pong ball etc at the grinder and see where it goes.Might be better to try to rig up a drop test as dropping a grinder is a likely way to have the disk shatter.
Reply:Don't be foolish with the shooting part.  I realize that you will only be out $42.00 for the grinder but what are you going to accomplish by shooting the disk?I teach firearms safety and why would anyone shoot at a metal tool.
Reply:By the way nice looking guard.
Reply:Originally Posted by Rich59Might be better to try to rig up a drop test as dropping a grinder is a likely way to have the disk shatter.
Reply:Originally Posted by Rich59WrenchitI do a lot of shooting and I have no idea what would happen to a projectile that hits a spinning grinder.  There is no way to be sure the bullet won't be redirected without much loss in velocity in an unknown direction.  To get an idea what might happen lob an old tennis ball, ping pong ball etc at the grinder and see where it goes.Might be better to try to rig up a drop test as dropping a grinder is a likely way to have the disk shatter.
Reply:nice job, wrench!
Reply:Ok Lil brother , who has trophies for Rifle  marksman ship, also agreed with you guys as to this test of my home made guard was stupid . Anyway , Having a 30 foot straight up bank on my property and living in the mountains of NC where you can shoot all day long with out P---isg off the neighbors, we did the test., Ok call me silly, but after using a chainsaw  (professionally) for 20+ years and having an entire 4 foot deep by 10/12 wide bank of dirt collapse underneath me while I was making a cut in a 2 foot thick tree that was already on the ground, and missing the chain brake while blocking the bar from cutting my head in two as my feet went out from under me. Yes I would risk destroying a  $250.00  grinder that I got for $42.00. I have found out that hitting 50 years old that I am not indestructable as I (and most ) thought of as we were in our teens. Any way, off my soap box.....taped the grinder to a tree, taped the switch on, and plugged it in with a brand new 9 inchX1/4 grinding disc. Brother took aim, and the disc exploded. Grinder kicked back but only moved 1 inch and the fragmented disc shot out the front....  MY guard , aside from destroying my pretty  internal paint job, had no failure, It didnt even move from the mounting  point! I know that this may seem silly to most of you. BUT, Risking $42.00 of my money is a far cry from risking  being crippled any more than I presently am.You know,You cant compete will UL labratories, but then again, you can if you have the  (safe) space and the idiocy to do it! I ground off 14 linear  feet of poorly torch  cut 3/8 plate to a close to perfect straight edge with out a worry.  Wrench.
Reply:I have found out that hitting 50 years old that I am not indestructable------------------------------------------------------