Labor & Industries (L&I), Washington State

Machine Safety Chapter 296-806, WAC

Effective Date: 01/01/05

WAC 296-806-475 Sanding Machines

For printing

In addition to the requirements in this section, you need to refer to the following sections of this chapter in order to fully protect your employees from machine hazards: – Requirements for All Machines, WAC 296-806-200 and WAC 296-806-300

 

This section applies to sanding machines that remove material from stock with an abrasive sanding surface such as a belt, disk, or drum.

Exemption: This section doesn't apply to hand-held sanders. See, Portable Power Tools, Chapter 296-807 WAC, for requirements that apply to hand-held tools.

Reference: If you have multiple specific machines and operations in your workplace, you need to follow all requirements in WAC 296-806-400 that apply. – For example, if you use sanding machines and saws and cutting heads, you need to refer to both of these sections. In addition to the requirements in this section, you need to refer to the following sections of this chapter in order to fully protect your employees from machine hazards: – WAC 296-806-200, Requirements for all machines. – WAC 296-806-300, Requirements for machine parts. See chapter 296-807 WAC, Portable power tools, for requirements that apply to hand-held sanders.

Your Responsibility

To protect employees from hazards associated with drum, disk, and belt sanders

You must

Guard drum sanders	WAC 296-806-47502
Guard disk sanders	WAC 296-806-47504
Guard belt sanders	WAC 296-806-47506
Follow these requirements for feed roll guarding	WAC 296-806-47508

 

WAC 296-806-47502  

Guard drum sanders

You must

• Make sure drum sanders have one of the following to enclose that part of the drum not used to work on the material:
  • – Guard
  • – Exhaust hood

  Reference: Exhaust hoods are required on sanders when dust levels exceed exposure limits. See Chapter 296-841 WAC, Airborne contaminants.

  Exemption: When a table's used for the application of material to be finished, you don't need to enclose the portion of the drum above the table that's necessary to do the work.

WAC 296-806-47504

Guard disk sanders

You must

• Make sure disk sanders have an exhaust hood, when required, or a guard that encloses the part of the disk not used to work on the material.

Exemption: When a table's used for the application of material to be finished, you don't need to enclose the portion of the disk above the table that's necessary to do the work.

WAC 296-806-47506  

Guard belt sanders

You must

• Protect the operator by guarding:
  • – Nip points where the sanding belt runs on the pulleys
  • – The unused run of the sanding belt.
    

WAC 296-806-47508

Follow these requirements for feed roll guarding

You must

• Make sure that feed rolls have a hood or guard to prevent the operator’s hands from coming in contact with the in-running rolls at any point
• Make sure that the guard meets all of the following:
  • – Is constructed of heavy material, preferably metal
  • – The bottom of the guard comes down to within 3/8 inch of the plane formed by the bottom or working surfaces of the feed rolls
    • When the 3/8 inch distance is increased to 3/4 inch, the lead edge of the hood must be extended to 5-1/2 inches or more in front of the nip point between the front roll and the work.