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Depends.
Normally right.
Sometimes sit on left hand until numb and it feels like someone else is using the grinder.
Sometimes sit on left hand and the grinder, and it's like watching someone else using the grinder.

I find grinding with numb hands comes after much grinding, for the real thrill factor I sit on my hands when I get the oxy cutting kit out

Guard covering myself normally right trigger, left handle ( unless limited access requires otherwise) Also regards numbness check HAVS

I've come across HAVS, 35mins grinding in a 4hr period according to the sheet I last saw with a makita corded 4.5inch. Which is a joke when it comes to getting the job done, and I've never met anyone yet who sticks to them, unless they are on a vibration monitoring system, (which seems to break down after a while, after production falls significantly)
And I was joking about the vibrations,

Generally trigger right, handle left, and standing to one side as much as possible, BUT surely it depends on what you’re grinding and it’s orientation. Basically I adapt to whatever is sensible (sensible being to try to be out of the line of fire if something lets go)…

If he’s new has he had any training at all? Sometimes though it’s about common sense and practical experience…

Right handed - Left hand on handle, right on main body. Will generally move the disk guard around a lot to prevent sparks flying

I'm 30+ years hands on.
I dunno which way round I grind - I just hold it so I don't deliberately fire sparks onto myself.

I won't use a 9" grinder - they have no place in a workshop or shop floor environment there are better safer tools for the job.

They are generally ambidextrous tools and the situation of what's been cut or ground seems to deem how we use it.

Chainsaws on the other hand are built for right handed use only, which makes it seem very odd on the occasions you have to use it left handed.

I'm strongly right-handed, I have terrible coordination in my left hand. I use grinders with right hand on trigger, unless there is some awkward situation that requires holding it opposite. AFAIK, that's the natural way for right-handers to hold them.

My trigger locks on so I dont need to hold it and the guard can move to suit position.
Therefore right hand on the handle for best control and left just taking the weight
I'm right handed.
Also my handle can go either side if I need to get to something awkward.
Mine is only 4" though

Left handed and hold trigger with right. A circular saw is a right pita for me. Always in the firing line of the dust.

Abseil right handed...when I did it for first time lazy scout instructor wouldn't / didn't know how to change. Since abseiled off numerous first ascents in Greenland. I digress....

Following on from my post earlier - I've seen the after effects of a 9" grinder that went through someone's forearm.

They were a customer who did aluminium window profiles. For whatever reason he was cutting some when the grinder snatched and jumped and literally went through his arm.
The wound was made worse by the amount of aluminium swarf that ended up embedded in the soft tissue/muscle. Its years ago now and I can't remember the details of the blade/grinder etc but the healed arm wasn't pretty.

If someone is cack handed with one and doesn't look comfortable with it - I'd pull them on their training/competency. They are not tools to mess around with.

4" grinders though are brilliant for spinning CD's up to speed on the spindle before flicking them off and racing them across an empty factory floor.....

same place as people taping a belt sander to each foot and having their mate plug the extension lead in......

Same place as jamming the safety back on the big Bostich nail guns and playing 'dangerous darts' in the workshop

Following on from my post earlier – I’ve seen the after effects of a 9″ grinder that went through someone’s forearm.

I did this with a 4" grinder, up near my elbow (young and stupid, too lazy to turn the workpiece around in the vice so leaned over one-handed to work on the back of it). Was very lucky, hit the bone but didn't really do any serious harm. Doc said that a centimeter further up, it would have ripped my elbow open and probably lost most of the functionality in that arm.

I also had a workmate who had a chainsaw kick back on him. It cut into his skull but didn't go through. He needed stitches, but was ok apart from being so frightened that he never came back to work after the sick leave finished.

I have a lot of respect for powertools after those accidents, plus seeing numerous other minor injuries and near misses. I would not **** around with a 9" grinder, although chainsaws scare me more. I avoid them, most people don't seem to realize how lethal they are.

I would not * around with a 9″ grinder, although chainsaws scare me more. I avoid them, most people don’t seem to realize how lethal they are.
Posted 2 hours ago

Grinders have a much more pronounced 'kickback' zone but due to perceptions and the fact you don't need a ticket to use them professionally and the wide range of discs and wheels that are useful they seem like the safer option.
I've seen folk set their legs on fire with and stand directly over Stihl saws.

The problem with chainsaws is most folk are *ING idiots with them. Most non injurious accidents I've seen are when folk forgot how long the bar was and clipped stones etc.
The only saw I had an accident with was a wee top handled saw (admittedly taking many shortcuts / doing everything wrong 30m up)

Chainsaws also have more built in safety features grinders don't have.

Rant over I think it all boils down to Macho behaviour/ I don't need any training/ how hard can it be / I won't ask for help in front of the guys (colleagues) / I've been using them for years don't tell me how to do my job / ****ING idiots

Mate recently severed his thumb using an angle grinder. 🤮

My trigger locks on so I dont need to hold it

Can I just say, even with a small one thats a really bad idea.

We only alow grinders on site that have quick stop motors and anti-kick clutches, it's specified on any contacts that are awarded.

Chainsaws also have more built in safety features grinders don’t have.

Grinders only have one safety feature, that being the 'blade guard', and maybe the handle, if that counts.

Oddly enough Stihl saws feel safer in use than angle grinders. Maybe because its mostly used on one side that causes more kicks and makes it want to twist, the Stihl just really pulls forward if it catches in the cut.
Of all the tools in my workshop, the angle grinders probably the most dangerous handheld thing. Total concentration needed.

Left handed, left hand on handle, right on the trigger, unless a lack of space dictates something odd.
All grinders scare me. Chainsaws do too. Although since I use a saw more than a grinder I'm more comfortable with them. Enough respect to ensure you hold the things firmly is a good start.
Although as timber says, chainsaws are handed, it feels like I have plenty of control with My dominant hand on the handle.

Remember burning out a load of steel work from a oil rig deck once, and this plater was really struggling with his gas axe, lost his footing did 2 big 360 spins lit gas axe flailing every where all while hanging on a rope 30 meters above the sea never touched the ropes thankfully but did put a big scorch mark over some high vault cables.

I bet that wasn’t the only mark!!😂

Mine has a locking switch, normally operated with my right thumb, and I keep my right hand on it. I am right handed. I have been known to switch my grip if the task is safer done that way...

The more fundamental thing from what you described OP is a lack of planning/thought/adjustment to make the operation as safe as possible.

They need to be thinking about what or who is potentially in the line of fire for sparks and debris and also if their grip on the tool is the safest/most effective. Handles and guards are adjustable for a reason.

Angle grinders are really useful, and incredibly bloody dangerous.

Just tell them, Don't rush the cut, don't rush the setup, if it feels a bit 'wrong' stop, reassess, ask someone more experienced and make changes if necessary.
Nobody really cares about an extra ten minutes spent on a "simple job" it's still a damn sight quicker than growing a severed digit back...

The guy was getting on fine, infact he even had a leather apron on to protect from the sparks, which got me thinking about why does he need one and I don't usually have that problem. Which made me take notice of how people use one.

On this occasion it was a vertical cut, so like I say I have left hand on trigger, right on head of grinder/handle where appropriate and stand to the right.

But it seems the general consensus is the other way round, and people prefer to stand to the left of the disc or behind with their left arm right in the danger zone of the disc. Seems very odd to me.

Now if I was grinding on a bench horizontal, I would switch and use right hand on trigger and left on handle/head.

Appears I'm the odd one out.

What was he cutting with a 9" grinder? See a lot of contractors at work using machines that are overkill, big, awkward and more dangerous than a smaller one.

Yeah 9inch, and I would use a 9 and 4.5 in exactly the same manner as I've described.

I'm not saying they're wrong, and in my experience there is always a multitude of ways to get the job done, and do whatever you feel comfortable and safe doing.

9" grinders are a bugger to use but reading through this I cant decide how I use one! although I think I can use either hand as long as the disc is behind the guard. If I had the choice I'd rather use a gas axe to be honest, I was pretty handy with one years ago.

If I've got to use a 9" then I'll try to be machine side, cutting vertically top down left hand on trigger and right on handle making sure the projectile path would be guarded and blocked.
Sparks in the direction of crotch seems to be a common favourite technique.

I remember watching a "mate" (two of us watching and waiting for the magic moment) cutting an RSJ on the floor, all the sparks blasting straight onto his jeans leg. First they started to smoulder, then a small burn hole developed, then flames and dancing, what a moment we were creased up laughing!

First they started to smoulder, then a small burn hole developed, then flames and dancing, what a moment we were creased up laughing!

Oh, how I miss the days of seeing people setting themselves on fire. Such happy, joy-filled days they were.

Such happy, joy-filled days they were.

Oh they were you had to be there. It's the fastest Pikey ever moved, got a proper jig on, put Flatley to shame let me tell ya!

TBH I think it may have been the end of that pair of jeans. They don't burn all that fast unless soaked in fuel!

I've found all rotating tools can be dangerous, just sometimes the dangers are less obvious.
Chainsaws, really obvious
Grinders, less so but still a cutting tool. Never liked the look of those chainsaw discs
Drills especially the big ones, an ex colleague broke his wrist on a hilti DD150 core drill when the drill bit snagged and the drill kicked.

When cutting something big with a 9 inch grinder I'll have left hand on the trigger and right hand on the handle. I always stand off to the side. When using a Stihl / cut off saw I always use it on my right hand side like a chainsaw. Unless Im hanging on a rope then best achievable comes into play.

Some guys (because it normally is guys) could kill themselves with any tool.

We were cutting 2" long weep pipes off the underside of the buckle plates of a big red bridge between north and south queensferry.
I had one guy who insisted the only safe way to remove them was to hold them while using a 4" grinder. I got him to reluctantly use some molegrips on a lanyard.

Oh they were you had to be there.

Oh, I've been there. My favourite was when the guy nobody liked set his hair on fire. It took him a bit to notice, he could smell burning but couldn't see where it was coming from. Oh, man, did that guy dance a crazy dance once he realized what was happening.

I've had a 9" grinder kick out of a mortar bed I was cutting down to remove a wall into new extension. It's the closest I've come to really, really injuring myself. The grinder was at the top of cut really, about my forehead level...it slammed backwards into my shoulder and tipped me off the scaffold step I had built. Still I have no idea how I was left unscathed.

I have them set up right hand trigger, left hand 'steer' and the body & guard between myself and blade.

And I have healthy respect for any rotating saw or chainsaw.

I plugged in my new 4imch belt sander in and turned the socket on.

Asyard thing was on from the box. It shot across the room and did a big ark before I recovered and turned the socket off.

At that point I stopped DIY for the day. Just glas I wasn't hiding it in my lap or something.