"ZAP POW" static electricity

[Dan Graves]

I like the sound of running a wire to a water bucket. Will try that today. Thanks.

[Frank Niro]

Of course some locations are way worse than others but as I have said several times spray the moving belt for just a couple of seconds with that anti static stuff for clothes and it will do a great job. No wires no machines to drag with you when you forget to unhook . Frank

[PaulD]

The wrist bands have a resistance (usally 100,000 to 1,000,000 ohms) in them that drains off the static charge slowly. Connect the cord to a known good ground only. The high resistance will keep you from getting blasted if you get across a live circuit. A solid wire is a major safety NO NO:evil :evil :evil If you use one, make sure your life insurance is paid up.

[B.Finnigan]

A belt grinder is also a VanDegraffe generator, one of the first devices developed to expirement with electricity. A large VanDegraffe generator can put out over a million volts but very little amperage. The synthetic belts will be the worst for static generation. I have ben playing with my grinder and some nylon slabs and I have jumped over 1" sparks and I am in the very damp, humid Northwest. If I was in the eastern side of the state I could really get some fireworks.

I know, I should be making knives not #%*ing around with sparks. We might be adults but all guys still have a little chunk of brain that stopped maturing at twelve.

[Rob Frink]

For me..it's as simple as changing my shoes. If I grind with Nikes on...ZAP!

But when I wear my industrial safety shoes...no problem. They have a static dissapative sole. It's very common for industries where static can be a problem...Micro chips, explosives...etc.