How often do you clean up the swarf on your lathe/Mill

GK1918 said:
Then its speaker magnets in the pan covered with newspaper.
Those shaper sharp moon chips not good for any four legged friend.
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That's a cool idea with the MAGNETS and good consideration for the PET !!
Kudos !!!
aRM
 
I'm with you on the pet protection bit! Alfie stays with me in the shop all the time and there is no way I would want to walk on sharp swarf...so why should he!?

I was taught in the old school way to clean up after every job...look after your tool and your tool will look after you! I am a slob by nature but this has been drummed into me so hard right from the beginning...it's hard for me to leave any swarf at all without feeling bad.

I NEVER use compressed air...not only does that blow all the bad stuff under every mating surface and cause wear but it can blow anywhere including over goggle and into eyes and pet's eyes and little places where the rats live...so just W/D vac and paintbrush for me.

It only takes a small amount of time to clear up after every job...and you've got to do it eventually anyway so why wait until it looks like a tip to do so?

Jim and Alfie!
 
Hi All...

The one & only time I ended-up in the emergency room because of my metal addiction was because of compressed air... I had just swept a bunch of swarf into a pile on the desktop and was reaching for the dustpan on a hook near where the compressed air nozzle is hung. I knocked the line off the hook and it discharged when hitting the table and blew the pile right smack into my face/eyes. Oh brother, what luck. Managed to rinse it all out myself but one very tiny piece was visibly sticking in the eye so it had to get picked-out by someone with a steady hand.

Even prior, I never used C-A on the machines... doesn't add-up.

If a split second blast of air can lodge a teeny, tiny particle in my eye -imagine how much crap ends-up in the ways.

Ray
 
Well, I see I am in the minority with using air to assist in cleaning my machines, and my 40yrs experienced mentor is too. While my lathe and mill are only some 10yrs old they show only the slightest of (normal) wear. My friends machines are some 20 years old and look to have been bought last year. Our thinking on use of air is to use it with a bit of common sense and with a bit of care on pointing the gun can be a very helpful aid in the removal of chips. I dont recommend it to anyone, just adding another point of view...

This topic on compressed air reminds me of the endless debate of using plastic pipe/metal copper pipe in plumbing the air:thinking::thinking::thinking:
 
4gsr said:
On the lathe, I brush them off the ways after each heavy cut with a 2" or 3" paint brush. I use the one's that you used to get at HF in bulk. Wipe down the ways and oil before use each day if used, sometimes twice a day if starting to show "black" crud. Shovel the shavings from the chip pan once a year, sometimes sooner, just when the shavings get deep in the pan. This is on my 13" Sheldon lathe. 9" SBL stays clean all the time and ways wiped dwn and oiled before use. Both lathes stay covered when not in use.
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A clean chip pan might just save a fire you can't put out. Aluminum alloy and magnesium chips burn furiously when ignited by hot steel chips!, Save a fire clean the chips after every job.
safetgord
 
After 30+ years of working around cars and electronics it was natural to grab the air hose to clean most things off but I have found that with my machines it causes more issues than it is worth. A bit of dust or a piece of dirt in a hole is one thing in mind to use the air for but I prefer just to vac up my swarf that I can't easily pickup. For the shop vac I made a collection system out of the bottom of a old central vac system and it collects all that metal great. I would have to agree I have always been taught to clean up my mess right after I make it.........right dear. :))
 
shop vac and wipe down the important surfaces after a day of use. major clean up about every 6 months. really have to watch the tooling that I handle often, even with so much oil and such around it seems like I can get rust starting to form on the vise or chuck if not careful.
 
Lowe's sells a 6.5 amp ShopVac head for about $22 (Item #: 49940 | Model #: 6004511). It is a bare-bones unit that fits on any 5 gallon paint bucket. The power cord is short and the hose is only about 3' long. It makes a perfect dedicated unit for metal swarf pick-up. It works much better than compressed air. Compressed air just moves the swarf somewhere else. Then you get to clean it up later for a second time. With the ShopVac, it is in the bucket ready for recycle.
 
I suspect the real reason for discouraging compressed air is to keep folks from horsing around. The hose is a much too tempting an item for males to play with, like yarn to a kitten. ;-)

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
 
We have moved the mother in law out of the house and all her s...tuff. I am taking back my life and my shop! :thumbsup:
It is the new year, and as another poster said once a year it is time to REALLY clean out and organize the shop! (and tools). Well that time of year is now!
I have the wood stove going, the shop is warm and I am making progress. I may even make a trip to the dump today!

I have even organized the scrap/surpus metal into various bins and pails. What do you do with your swarf? Do you toss it or take it to the scrap yard? Will they take swarf if it is seperated or do you bury it in the bottom of a pail with other scrap metal (of same type)?

So as long as I dont tick off the wife I may even get the "work" done and have some fun in the shop this afternoon!

Happy New year and good and happy times to all!
 
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