Chip Guard attached to the cross slide

[great white]

You can make a tool to bend plexi with a 12v power source, some mdf, a spring, some aluminum channel and an old hair dryer.

You take the heating element out of the hair dryer and straighten it. Either get a very thick piece of mdf or take 3 pieces and glue them together, leaving a gap in the center. put your aluminum channel in the groove (hopefully you used the channel to size the gap). Put a screw at either end of the gap and take your heating element and attach it directly to one screw. Attach the other end of the wire to the spring and hook the spring on the opposite screw.

Now take the plexi and lay it on the mdf. Hook the 12v source up to either end of the heating element. Do not hook the power source to the spring or it will melt, hook it to the element where it connects to the spring. Make sure the element does not protrude above the MDF surface or it will scar the plexi.

In about 5-10 seconds, the plexi will soften over the groove, but remain hard over the mdf. You then hold down one side of the plexi and lift the other to the angle you want. Now either turn off the power and wait, or move the plexi off the element while holding it at the angle you want. In 0-5 secs the plexi will re-harden and you now have your shape.

Only woks for angle bends though. you need a different process if you want a circle shape.

Here's a similar one to what I made, he just makes it a little fancier by hinging one side of the mdf:

 

[Chewy]

Where do you want the chip guard? If between the the headstock and cross slide, see Blondihacks. She got some stuff from McMaster and attached it. If behind I would use some light aluminum sheet attached with magnets. That way the plate wouldn't jam if it wasv set wrong.

 

[Just for fun]

Where do you want the chip guard? If between the the headstock and cross slide, see Blondihacks. She got some stuff from McMaster and attached it. If behind I would use some light aluminum sheet attached with magnets. That way the plate wouldn't jam if it wasv set wrong.

I want something like Mark @mksj posted.

 

[Chewy]

There are only two choices. Make your own custom from plexiglass or lexan or buy commercial ones for prices starting at $100 for just the shield and going up to $600 for a complete shield and mount. Goggle lathe chip guard and the different places show up. McMaster cheapest is $114. FlexBar has a huge assortment. I think I would trying heating 1/4" plexiglass first. Should be able to get some cutoffs from a glass shop.

 

[mksj]

The Impact resistance chart shows why I would not recommend using acrylic/plexiglass for a comparable thickness. I typically use polycarbonate 1/4" or 3/8" for machine shields. Polycarbonate is not as stiff ass acrylic, so for a chip shield on a lathe if you were to bend it I probably would use 3/8", the ones from Flexbar are around 1/4" but it is fashioned to increase the rigidity as well as the frame. I swing it down for higher speed work and also when applying coolant, it also helps with the chip control and splatter all over the place. Low speed work like threading I flip it up. Down side to mounting on the cross slide is that it can hit the back splash when flipped up, on my 1340GT I had it mounted fixed at the headstock, it was wide enough to cover most of my turning. Acrylic may be easier to bend looking at the flexure vs. temperature chart.

 

[Just for fun]

Thanks for all the replies guys, not as easy as I expected and to buy one it's kind of expensive but I might just go that route.

 

[Jake P]

The Flexbar seems to be called the LatheGuard, seems like the least expensive is direct from the manufacturer. It has almost doubled in price sing I bought it.

https://www.flexbar.com/collections/latheguard/products/latheguard-medium[/UR

Mark, two questions if you don’t mind please.

First, I’m wondering if you got the standard mounting bracket with yours and just made a block to make the turn from your upright coming off the cross slide,



or if you got this mount with it instead of the standard:



Additionally I am wondering how the mechanism works concerning moving the shield up and down. Is there some sort of spring loaded pin that retains the main rod in the up position or do you have to loosen and tighten a knob every time you move the guard?

I like the idea of the design. In my small shop it’s very much an inconvenience to have chips flying off the cutter and sometimes finding them all the way behind me on my work bench and table saw. I have a very full shop and every last usable inch seems to be used up now and chips flying around the place are a real pain in such a confined space, so this looks like a possible solution.

RIght now I’ve got a piece of cardboard that I hold over the machine when the chips are flying, but it’s not very convenient and I don’t like having one hand occupied should I need to react to something quickly.

 

[mksj]

Hi Jake I have the first mount with the knob. The pin attached to the knob fits into a slot in the tube that connects to the chip shield. The slot in the tube limits the lower and backward position of the shield and has a friction ring which locks it in place when you tighten the knob. It is not balanced or spring loaded, so you move it to the position you want and then tighten the knob. The aluminum mounting plate originally was mounted fixed at the headstock on my 1340GT, rather than tossing it I just drilled new mounting holes for the aluminum block that the bracket is mounted to. On my cross slide mount he vertical mounting plate attaches through a series of adjustable holes in the horizontal plate so that it can be incremented forward or back (Z axis), the horizontal plate attaches to T-nuts so I can adjust its position on the cross slide (X axis).

This was how it was mounted on my 1340GT. I used the mounting holes where the original light bracket was installed and moved the light to the center of the splash shield.

 

[Jake P]

Hi Jake I have the first mount with the knob.

Thanks for the reply Mark!

 

[keeena]

I bent up a piece of acrylic and mounted it to a mag base. Works to help manage the chips and can put it on the carriage or headstock (though I'm not sure I'd trust it; a fixed mount seems safer vs. mag mount). I made a bending tool exactly like the one in the video great white linked.

Also agree on Poly vs. Acrylic. I wasn't able to find any locally when I made mine and I know mine is more for convenience of managing chips as opposed to a proper shield.