# For those who think all PM owners keep pristine equipment



## wrmiller (Nov 16, 2017)

I have to make an adapter for my little blast cabinet. Chips, and oil everywhere. Kept having to stuff those long chip ropes behind the bed. What a mess. 

If I ever get some sheetmetal tools, I may have to make a pull out drawer to put between the stands.


----------



## JimDawson (Nov 16, 2017)

I keep a small plastic trash can right next to my lathe.    I hate it when one string grabs the whole bunch and then throws it at you.


----------



## markba633csi (Nov 16, 2017)

I think I hate plastic chips more than aluminum sometimes- static cling drives you nuts
M


----------



## 4GSR (Nov 16, 2017)

Yeah, I have a 5-gallon bucket next to my lathe so when the curly-stringy chips start filling up the chip pan, I transfer them to that bucket.  When it gets full, it goes to the big garbage can outside.


----------



## Alan H. (Nov 16, 2017)

Here's my pull out on my PM1340.  My bucket is parked on the end.


----------



## darkzero (Nov 16, 2017)

I don't have much space in my garage/workshop. I keep my long stringers & bigger chips in these 2 plastic totes. They fit perfect in between my lathe & work bench. All the other chips I just vacuum up.


----------



## wrmiller (Nov 16, 2017)

I was getting some stringers that were 6' or longer. Wrapping around the levelers and snaking under the tool box. And at .050" thick,
they were strong enough that I had to be careful picking them up. Sharp and tough. Didn't cut myself today though.


----------



## wrmiller (Nov 16, 2017)

JimDawson said:


> I keep a small plastic trash can right next to my lathe.    I hate it when one string grabs the whole bunch and then throws it at you.



That always seems to happen to me on the last pass, when I'm trying to get a really good finish. But when the 'brillo pad' wraps itself around the workpiece I know better than to try grabbing it. Big no-no there...


----------



## brav65 (Nov 16, 2017)

What Bill failed to show everyone is what the Lathe looked like an hour later...my guess it was show room clean


----------



## mikey (Nov 17, 2017)

Thanks for the reality check, Bill. I was beginning to think that Matt was putting some chip/oil/dirt/string-repellent magic ju-ju on his lathes!


----------



## ttabbal (Nov 17, 2017)

I did think that. Bummer. I guess I'll have to clean my own lathe.


----------



## T Bredehoft (Nov 17, 2017)

Clean my lathe? Forget it, I'm not going to photograph it, and no one else sees it.


----------



## marcusp323 (Nov 17, 2017)

Mine's never pristine looking any more either, but everybody that sees it, including some of the guys who do machine work, is still plenty impressed with it. Set up a lot like Alan's with the baking pan & a trash can on the left. Have a large shop vac between the lathe & mill too for all those chips that make it to the floor. Seems that way more swarf ends up on the floor or piled against the backsplash,  than ever makes it into the pull out tray under the lathe itself. Wonder why that is ................???
Mark


----------



## zmotorsports (Nov 17, 2017)

Although mine gets messy from work, I can't seem to go in the house and relax until they are cleaned, really the whole shop needs to be clean before I can relax.  Not one of my better traits as it gets frustrating.

This is probably about the worst my mill has been and the other picture is about 30-minutes later after cleaning it and the shop.

Mike.


----------



## wrmiller (Nov 17, 2017)

brav65 said:


> What Bill failed to show everyone is what the Lathe looked like an hour later...my guess it was show room clean



OK, lets not give away all of my secrets...LOL.

I typically clean up the machines after I am done with all the major machining for a project. I just have a problem with leaving chips/oil/dirt hanging around where it can fall or otherwise get into places and cause accelerated wear. I will never be able to replace these machines (lathe, mill), so I need to take care of them the best I can.

My grandfather on my dad's side once told me that you could judge a man by the condition of his tools. Maybe some of that rubbed off on me?


----------



## richl (Nov 17, 2017)

I must not have gotten the self cleaning option with my machine. To think I keep cleaning mine the old fashioned way... think I may have to talk to Matt about this.
Why did he pick white!!?!! It looks cool all cleaned up... but, jeez


----------



## richl (Nov 17, 2017)

wrmiller said:


> My grandfather on my dad's side once told me that you could judge a man by the condition of his tools. Maybe some of that rubbed off on me?



I believe that, or at least it speaks about the quality of the work he can produce. I'm not sure if paint condition is part of that though

Rich


----------



## wrmiller (Nov 17, 2017)

richl said:


> I must not have gotten the self cleaning option with my machine. To think I keep cleaning mine the old fashioned way... think I may have to talk to Matt about this.
> Why did he pick white!!?!! It looks cool all cleaned up... but, jeez



Prior to my 935, I had a Charter Oak 9x40. And it was black. Loved the look.

But I am NOT going to tear apart my lathe and mill to paint them black, even though I do like the idea. 

EDIT: Oh, and the condition of the paint on my lathe is going downhill fast...


----------



## magu (Nov 17, 2017)

Huh.... I looked at the picture and thought you were showing off how clean it is. You mean you call that dirty?


----------



## Ray C (Dec 17, 2017)

LOL:  Clean Machine?  NOT!  Here's old faithful.  Pretty sure I bought it in 2012 and it's seen nearly continuous, daily use for the last 6 years.   Still rock solid and all I dois oil the ways and give it a half-decent cleaning every few weeks.   Take that back...  The 2 drive belts wore out and had to be replaced.   I turned a shaft the other day that was spec'd for 1.250" +0.000, -0.001.   Material was 1045 with starting diameter at 1.5".   Nailed the final diameter at 1.2497 at the two critical race ways.

It ain't pretty but it can cut!   I think I might paint it a different color some day.   That eggshell white always looks dirty/grimy.


Ray C.


----------



## JPigg55 (Dec 17, 2017)

Not a PM owner, but mine doesn't look as good as the pictures AFTER I've cleaned. LOL


----------



## 7milesup (Dec 17, 2017)

Ray C said:


> LOL:  Clean Machine?  NOT!  Here's old faithful.  Pretty sure I bought it in 2012 and it's seen nearly continuous, daily use for the last 6 years.   Still rock solid and all I dois oil the ways and give it a half-decent cleaning every few weeks.   Take that back...  The 2 drive belts wore out and had to be replaced.   I turned a shaft the other day that was spec'd for 1.250" +0.000, -0.001.   Material was 1045 with starting diameter at 1.5".   Nailed the final diameter at 1.2497 at the two critical race ways.
> 
> It ain't pretty but it can cut!   I think I might paint it a different color some day.   That eggshell white always looks dirty/grimy.
> 
> ...



What's the blue stuff in the bottle?  And what type of system is it?


----------



## Ray C (Dec 17, 2017)

7milesup said:


> What's the blue stuff in the bottle?  And what type of system is it?



Kool Mist.  Started using it many years ago and never looked back.  Hands-down the best cooling/lubricating system for lathe, mill and grinding work I've ever encountered.  If you set it up like I have in the picture (with the bottle at roughly same level as the discharge nozzle), it will run on very little air.   I used to wait hours for parts to cool or, make the final pass using expansion coefficient tables.  Not any more...  With Kool Mist, the parts are sometimes cold to the touch even after significant cutting.    The amount in the blue bottle will last for several days of turning.  No muss, no fuss, no slippery floors, no algae, no rotten smell, no skin reactions.  

As with everything, there are little tricks to using it but, the learning curve is not complicated.


http://koolmist.com/portamist-wo-tank

Here is a knock-off clone.  No experience with it but, see no reason why it's not a good functional substitute.  The system is remarkably simple.

https://www.banggood.com/Mist-Coola...r-p-987371.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN


Regards

Ray C.


----------



## wrmiller (Dec 17, 2017)

I'm ordering a Fogbuster for the lathe tomorrow. Love the one on my mill.


----------



## Ray C (Dec 17, 2017)

wrmiller said:


> I'm ordering a Fogbuster for the lathe tomorrow. Love the one on my mill.



Hi Bill...

FogBuster, Koolmist...  Koolmist, Fogbuster.     I'm pretty sure they are just competitive work-alikes that do evaporative cooling.   If memory serves, they both hit the market around the same time.  I'm guessing they each have their own brand of miracle juice, magical potion that keeps things cool.   Truth be known, I ran out of KM solution and just ran water for a few days.  It worked fine.  Not recommended though as the real solutions have some rust retardants in them.  An 8oz bottle of the KM stuff lasted over a year.   



Regards

Ray C.


----------



## Alan H. (Dec 17, 2017)

Actually Fogbuster doesn't sell a proprietary coolant.  They simply sell their atomizing/droplet systems.
http://www.fogbuster.com/


----------



## woodchucker (Dec 17, 2017)

wrmiller said:


> I'm ordering a Fogbuster for the lathe tomorrow. Love the one on my mill.


Wow, is that pricey.
Does it spit little droplets like it shows?


----------



## Ray C (Dec 17, 2017)

woodchucker said:


> Wow, is that pricey.
> Does it spit little droplets like it shows?



I know you directed your question at the Chief Tinkerer (wrmiller)...  hope you don't mind if I mention something related to your question.

There is nothing special (or new) about evaporative cooling.  Evaporation releases and carries away more heat from the part vs. it just being doused in coolant.  All of these systems (and there are others besides KM and FB) just deliver a small mist (or spritz or fog or droplett -or whatever their marketing department wants to call it) that easily evaporates when it hits a searing hot junction while a chip is being created.  Early on, the KM systems were criticized because they made a fine mist that if run long enough, would raise the humidity in the shop.   Duhhh... turn it off when the lathe is not cutting.

I raise the supply bottle to about the same level as the discharge tube, turn the air regulator on that line down to about 40 PSI and adjust the nozzles on the KM system way, way down.   It spits out little droplets instead of a fine mist.   I can reduce a piece of stainless down to nothing and the part will be +/- 10 degrees of room temperature.  Of course, if you don't adjust the cut/carbide to put the heat in the chip, the part will get a little warm but, still cooler than with flood coolant alone.

Regards

Ray C.


----------



## wrmiller (Dec 17, 2017)

woodchucker said:


> Wow, is that pricey.
> Does it spit little droplets like it shows?



Yes, it spits droplets, no mist. It may or may not cool the part as well as a mister, but that's not why I use it. I use it to keep cutting fluid on the cutter and part. I run mine at about 8 PSI, and that keeps the droplets from getting all over the place.

When Mark did up a VFD control system to replace the one I hacked together, he added a circuit that can either enable the coolant only when the spindle is turning, or manually with a switch. 

Yea, it's a bit spendy. Won't argue that.


----------



## woodchucker (Dec 17, 2017)

Ray C said:


> I know you directed your question at the Chief Tinkerer (wrmiller)...  hope you don't mind if I mention something related to your question.
> 
> There is nothing special (or new) about evaporative cooling.  Evaporation releases and carries away more heat from the part vs. it just being doused in coolant.  All of these systems (and there are others besides KM and FB) just deliver a small mist (or spritz or fog or droplett -or whatever their marketing department wants to call it) that easily evaporates when it hits a searing hot junction while a chip is being created.  Early on, the KM systems were criticized because they made a fine mist that if run long enough, would raise the humidity in the shop.   Duhhh... turn it off when the lathe is not cutting.
> 
> ...


Good explanation. I'm not there yet, Still use mostly HSS and oil, but am considering a coolant system.


----------



## 7milesup (Dec 17, 2017)

I am pleased that my question resulted in so many answers.  Now I have more research to do regarding one of these systems for my new PM-833T (when it gets here).


----------



## middle.road (Dec 20, 2017)

My better half came up with an idea for the long aluminum strings and chips - she's been stuffing them into glass jars and decorating with them...
Works out well, shop gets cleaned up and she's being creative.


----------



## zmotorsports (Dec 21, 2017)

Ray C said:


> LOL:  Clean Machine?  NOT!  Here's old faithful.  Pretty sure I bought it in 2012 and it's seen nearly continuous, daily use for the last 6 years.   Still rock solid and all I dois oil the ways and give it a half-decent cleaning every few weeks.   Take that back...  The 2 drive belts wore out and had to be replaced.   I turned a shaft the other day that was spec'd for 1.250" +0.000, -0.001.   Material was 1045 with starting diameter at 1.5".   Nailed the final diameter at 1.2497 at the two critical race ways.
> 
> It ain't pretty but it can cut!   I think I might paint it a different color some day.   That eggshell white always looks dirty/grimy.
> 
> ...



Ray, good to see ya back.  It's been a while since you've been on the forum.

Mike


----------



## Ray C (Dec 21, 2017)

zmotorsports said:


> Ray, good to see ya back.  It's been a while since you've been on the forum.
> 
> Mike



Thanks for the hello...    Its nice to see a lot of the old fellows still around.  I try to check-in once a day now.


Ray C.


----------



## benmychree (Dec 21, 2017)

wrmiller said:


> I was getting some stringers that were 6' or longer. Wrapping around the levelers and snaking under the tool box. And at .050" thick,
> they were strong enough that I had to be careful picking them up. Sharp and tough. Didn't cut myself today though.


A method of dealing with long chips is to make a chip hook; a piece of spring wire about 1/8" diameter and perhaps 16" long, bend a 90 deg. 1/2 " long on one end and drive the other into a file handle on the other, when a curled chip gets long enough you just hook it and pull on it close to the tool holder and break it, also good for pulling drill chips out of the way and breaking them.


----------

