I re-invented the wheel.

cet said:
Started using a small 3-in-1 lathe/mill combo for small projects about 4 months ago, mostly aluminum and Delrin.
For conveniance, I installed it in the basement, in my work shop, lots of room.
Because of my hobby, I do spend a lot of time in machine shops, not a stranger to them.

But this is one THING I never, ever, thought about.................metal shavings on the floor.

The wife started complaining about a month ago, the shyte hit the fan when the damn cat
got one stuck in it's paw................well..........that did it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Questions:
- Is there anyone else out there also in shyte with the wife ?
- If yes, how do you deal with the mess ?
- Does anyone have a pair of twisers and magnifying glass I could borrow?

Note: I do have an excellent exaust system, change my shoes before going upstairs, have a carpet
to wipe my feet, and YES I have a shop-vac.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I have a lathe and mill in the garage and still get the odd metal shaving into the house. I was warned not to install a lathe in the house itself and I am very thankful I did not. I have some perforated rubber matting that helps to contain the swarf.
 
My wife has been patient, and mostly understanding, with regards to metal chips migrating. It does help to try keeping the swarf in control, though.
Have had machine tools inside the last 2 homes, with few problems.
Coolant has been limited to water soluble, applied with a dropper or brush.

Flood coolant or pipe cutting oil would... strain the domestic harmony a bit too much, methinks!

Cheers
Trev
 
I remember one cat I had made it a point to be around the steel chips when the lathe was running. Quite fascinated with them.
My wife certainly hates them and I do my best to sweep em up, but no matter how good I try some manage to find their way upstairs.
C'est la vie.
 
While some chips will get hung up in my clothes and still get into the house, to control the migration, I use one pair of shoes in the shop area and another in the house or anywhere else that chips shouldn't be.
 
All you can do is make the floor broom friendly. Put a skirt of vinyl cove base around the machine so it's tight to the floor. If the floor is raw concrete then paint it with a thin watery sealer and then paint it with a good floor paint. Otherwise you're constantly sweeping up dust from the concrete eroding. And the small chips just get caught by the raw and rough concrete surface. A LIGHT dusting of the grip grit on the top coat of paint will be more than enough for grip and not bother the sweeping.

Needless to say NO FLOOR CLUTTER around the machines. You can't sweep if you can't reach.

If your machine isn't sitting in a chip tray and has a back shield that catches and drops the chips down into the tray then now is the time to correct that. If you need to space the machine up so you can sweep under the machine easily with a bench brush. A good back shield that extends up about 18 to 20 inches higher than the spindle bore will catch all of the chips that fly up and back. And if you make this shield decently sturdy then it's a great spot to install a parts shelf that has a 4 foot fluorescent under it to provide SUPERB light for the machine.

Finally, there's some c*r*i*s*s-cross matting that allows the chips that fall into your standing area to pass down to the floor. You still need to lift the mat to sweep the chips up but by settling through the gaps the amount you get caught up in your shoes or slippers is HUGELY reduced.

EDIT- the word c*r*i*s*s is actually in the swear word filter? Really?

Finally yeah, keep both the cat and your wife out of the shop area....... :D
 
My small shop is in my basement so I kinda know what the OP is talking about. Lab coat and shop-dedicated shoes that never passes my shop's door did it for me. Even tried a painter's hat but it made it bit too hot.

But my shop was becoming a real mess: shavings and small droplets of cooling liquid everywhere (ruined a couple of T-shirts because of that). So I added a high back board and even covered the shelves behind it with vinyl. For fly-cutting...which is the worst for making chips fly, I even saw people running full skirts hanging from the ceiling around the machines on some machining forums. May have to try it with vinyl shower curtains.
 
I've seen some creative shower curtain type arrangements around CNC knee mills, but they really seem, well, overkill for a hobby machine in the basement.

Lots of guys have built enclosures out of the 80-20 (I think that's the name of the stuff) extrusions too.

In my dealings with upgrading my indoor lathes over the years, I bought a Myford ML7 on a pretty nicely home built stand that had a backsplash and a shelf above the lathe. I kept the wooden stand when I bought the Myford Super 7 that now resides upon it, and placed the ML7 on the Myford steel cabinet which was under the Super7. The gent that bought the ML7 from me was quite pleased to get the steel stand, and I was quite pleased to keep the wooden one, so that worked out well.

If you cannot have a full backing, at least a spray shield around the chuck area to catch the flying bits and pieces is a really good idea.

Cheers
Trev
 
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