Floor Mats

I bought 3 floor mats from a woodworking supply place - I don't know how many years ago(15?). Couldn't have been more than $15 a piece. They move around a bit to the places that I'm typically standing. They have spills and stains. Now that I'm doing mostly metal, they get a lot of swarf worked on them by my shoes, but are still doing quite well. I vacuum them the end of the day (most of the time) the chips do get stuck a bit but running the hard narrow vac attachment over them usually pops them right out. I don't sweat it - occasionally I need to work a little harder to clean the chips off.

Softish - you can deform with your thumb a bit if you press real hard, softer than the gym floor puzzle block mats I also have. Flexible, they roll up easily. I have no idea what they are (some sort of closed cell material) or who made them. Solid mat, no holes or grid or gap size is maybe 40" by 20". about 1/2" thick.

My point is that they were not expensive or supper fancy and they have served me well for many years. I would consider them a must have in any cement floor shop. If/when I need to buy more - I'd go with "economy" after I checked them out in person.

Second that "on sale" comment - I think that's why I grabbed them when I did. It only took a few weeks of working daily in my shop to realize that I needed them.
 
 
I use the Harbor Freight mats stacked 3 deep. They're cheap and do wonders for my back as opposed to standing on cement. They do get imbedded with chips. If it starts to bother me, I rotate the stack. They are hard to beat at just $20 for 4' x 8' of floor coverage.

Bruce
 
I use rubber stall mats from a dairy barn. If you buy them at Tractor Supply, they are in the $40 range for a 4x8' piece. I bought a whole trailer load from a farm going out of business for $10 per and have used them over compacted gravel in a pole barn as an inexpensive floor and a few here and there in front of machines over concrete for fatigue relief. Cheap and durable and not likely to wear out in my lifetime.
 
My wife bought me a couple of Foam-Cell Anti-Fatigue Mats from Lee Valley. I keep one down in front of the lathe the other I put down in front of the Mill when I'm working there. Very nice and cushy, and so far, all the swarf just swipes off no problem.

Foam-Cell Anti-Fatigue Bench Mat - Lee Valley Tools

www.leevalley.com www.leevalley.com
 
BGHansen said:
I use the Harbor Freight mats stacked 3 deep. They're cheap and do wonders for my back as opposed to standing on cement. They do get imbedded with chips. If it starts to bother me, I rotate the stack. They are hard to beat at just $20 for 4' x 8' of floor coverage.

Bruce
Click to expand...
I've found that tapping the mat with the attachment while vacuuming shows what bits of swarf are still "available" to be vacuumed up. Maybe it also makes it easier, too. Maybe not, but it feels better to abuse them a little bit :grin big:.

I have an old carpet remnant underneath the pad and it's about impossible to really clean up.
 
I use 'Dri-Dek' which is made for marine use. It's well perforated, so chips tend to fall through and it immediately reduced the amount of swarf I tracked into the house. Years ago I used foam mats, but I had one start sliding on me (oil had gotten under it) while I was trying to wrestle a 140# chuck in place, so those went out pronto! The Dri-Dek doesn't feel very soft, but I've definitely noticed a reduction in fatigue vs standing directly on the concrete. Properly attached (usually takes a mallet) the trim pieces stay in place with the sometimes exception of the corner pieces.

Originally I was over-ambitious and covered too much of my floor, but now I just have generous mats in front of the mill, lathe, grinders, and shaper.
mat.jpg

GsT
 
From the barnyard animal section at the local co-op. No little holes to pack full of swarf.
PXL_20230327_165411960.jpg
 
I had the Harbor Freight interlocking mats. I liked them a lot - much more comfortable than standing on concrete. But the concrete under the mats was sweating and mold started to form. So I had to trash the mats. I now have an open weave throw rug. It provides enough airflow and wicking to keep the concrete dry and prevent mold.
 
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