Bought a Bridgeport

[projectnut]

How in the devil do you make chips and keep it that clean? I keep plugging away and keep failing at it.
I'm going to get these images printed out at 8x10 and put them on my shop door so I can attain that level of shop organization.

I clean the shop religiously after each use. We have 2 Cocker Spaniels that love to come into the shop. They also love to take things back into the house and be rewarded for it. The last thing I want them to do is pick up swarf from drilling, tapping, and/or turning into the house for a treat. I'm afraid they could swallow something, or get it caught in their paws. The last half hour in the shop is spent cleaning which includes vacuuming and wiping down all the machines I've used, vacuuming the floor, and putting away all tooling.

I have 4 vacuums in the shop. One is mounted to the wall by the mill. It's on and the suction hose is in position when I do anything more than drill a hole. There's a second hooked to the surface grinder that is on anytime the grinder is being used. There's a third in the area of the 2 lathes that I use to clean the floor, and a fourth on the opposite side of the shop by the woodworking equipment. The woodworking machines are also connected to a home made central dust collection system to help keep things clean.

Once the cleaning process is complete I open the sliding partition between the shop and the stairs and let them come in. It's a real pain in the --- to be continually cleaning the place, but I couldn't live with myself if the dogs got injured because of my laziness.

 

[projectnut]

To help keep the mess in the shop to a minimum I made a fixture to hold the vacuum hose in place on the Bridgeport. This isn't my design. I borrowed it from a member of the Practical Machinist bulletin board.

 

[dlane]

Projectnut that’s quite a Contraption to suck up the swarf. Any prob with hot chips melting hoses ?.

 

[projectnut]

So far no problems with hot chips. I've been using it for around 5 years. I must admit that if I do need to remove substantial amounts of material 90+% of it is done with roughing mills. They make considerably smaller chips that cool almost instantly.

Here are some pictures of the original:

 

[Ropata]

So far no problems with hot chips. I've been using it for around 5 years. I must admit that if I do need to remove substantial amounts of material 90+% of it is done with roughing mills. They make considerably smaller chips that cool almost instantly.

Here are some pictures of the original:

The only problem I've had with my multiple vacuum's is that the oil seems to weaken all the plastic thus shattering when tugged or hitting the ground. I think I've made more vac adaptors than other parts in my shop.

 

[JimDawson]

I am sure I will have many questions, but my initial one is does any one recognize the long handle with the ball end that is sitting laid across the vice in this picture? If it is mill related I will take it with the mill when I pick it up next week.

No idea, but not part of any mill I have ever seen. Good find, congratulations.

 

[projectnut]

The only problem I've had with my multiple vacuum's is that the oil seems to weaken all the plastic thus shattering when tugged or hitting the ground. I think I've made more vac adaptors than other parts in my shop.

So far oil hasn't been a problem. The vacuum that gets the most oil is the one by the mill. The original vacuum died over 15 years ago. It was an indoor/outdoor commercial vacuum I purchased in the 1970's. I still use the original hose from that vacuum. I don't know what compound it's made of, but it still remains flexible and works just fine.