Housekeeping in the workshop - cleaning and servicing

[malmac]

As I look at the Youtube videos and see people turning a thread on lathe that is sparkling clean - probably clean than when t was brand new - I reflect on the swarf that is floating around my lathe, milling machine etc.

Yes I regularly sweep the floor, brush off the lathe etc, but how clean is clean enough?

I would be interested in what you do in terms of cleaning and servicing.

Mal

 

[Boswell]

Looking forward to the replies on this one. My usage sounds similar. I can let the swarf build up under the ways and I try to do a good cleaning when I finish a project or two (or three ) I try to remember to brush the top of the ways while I am in the middle of a project to lessen the change of getting swarf under the carriage but I am not consistent in that. I generally go through all the lube points when I do a "good cleaning". My lathe is clean (sort of) but not even close to showroom clean

 

[Technical Ted]

I keep my ways clean and if chips are building up on them during an operation I'll brush them off between cuts. When I'm done using the machine for the day I brush it down and wipe the ways off with a rag or paper towel and sweep the floor. We were expected to clean our machines at the end of our shift when I worked as a machinist/tool maker and I just got into that habit. I oil the machine pretty much prior to each day I use it.

You certainly can't eat off my machines, but dirt, chips and lack of proper lubrication kills and I just think it's the right way to treat a machine tool.

Ted

 

[Submachine]

I am not a machinist and have never been in a machine shop. I would love to learn, from other more experienced people, things like broom types, safe brush types, can I use air to blow things off, chemicals, air filters and all the other stuff that I am supposed to know about cleaning.

 

[bhigdog]

All my machines are old school. They were made to work and work hard. I give them a brush clean (NEVER use air) at days end and oil semi regularly. They wear their scars, stains and patina with pride. I fully expect them to wear me out as they likely have already worn out others before me............................Bob

 

[David S]

I have an Atlas 618 which is quite compact and the chip pan is right below the bed. Currently am machining alot off of a Ø2" aluminum rod, which generates lots of swarf. I stop frequently and remove all the swarf and brush down the ways. I think mostly out of safety since if too much builds up it can catch on the jaws of the 4 jaw and throw it in my face.

In a one hour session I will remove the swarf numerous times and also clean up the floor.

I just see there are some other questions while I was typing.
I don't use any compressed air, only a long round handled brush that is often used in parts cleaners. Also smooth handle long lose pliers to pull balls of swarf away from the cutting tool. The serrations have been removed from the jaws and the handles purposely smoothed in case something tries to catch they will be pulled from my hand. With the machine OFF I remove as much swarf as possible by hand and then vacuum the rest.

Only chemicals used on the machine are various cutting fluids and wd-40 for aluminum, and wiping down the ways after use. Lube for the atlas is SAE 20 non-detergent, which I use at the start of every session.

David

 

[Cadillac]

I have a dedicated shop vac for all my metal clean up. From lathes to mill to surface grinder. I try and vac after every job I do on any given machine. I don't necessarily clean it spot less just the working surfaces. My lathes have expandable bellows covering the entire way surface chuck side. I find myself constantly wiping the tailstock side ways when moving carriage far right. Machining cast iron I dred the clean up which my mill is filled of right now. When I use my surface grinder I don't move anything till I wipe any exposed ways in shop including most surfaces like tailstock quill. I keep my machines well oiled so usually I squirt everything down and oilers before a long job. Right now I'm in the process of a contained dust system for the surface grinder. I've been tossing the idea of a air cleaner for all the smoke from a lot of machining. I have a sealed heated garage so I'm trying to think of something I can put in the rafters that I won't hear and it returns the air so I'm not just heating the outdoors. It's a task either way.

 

[jbobb1]

Where I worked, if I had been caught using a air hose (which I never did), my supervisor would have ripped me up one side and down the other. Dangerous projectiles, not to mention the damage to the machine it could possibly cause.
Keeping the messes cleaned up is mandatory for me. Safety first off, but also not wanting to start my day cleaning up the mess from the day before. Big jobs, the chip pan gets cleaned frequently. I brush off the machine....ways, cross slide, anything that looks grubby. Sweep the floor.

 

[dulltool17]

I brush and vacuum every time I change workpiece materials. I oil the ways about 1/2 as frequently.
I would never blow off with compressed air.

Since my combo machine is located such that I would back up into the mirror of the wife's car, I vacuum the floor every work session.

 

[benmychree]

In the shop I apprenticed in, air hoses were used with regularity; one time we took the carriages of one of the 14" Lodge & Shipley lathes apart for repair, and it was pretty awful the amount of crud that was driven into every nook and cranny, and the machines, built in the early 1940s were quite worn out, this in the mid 1960s; they were run frequently 3 shifts per day, all day. The air hose is a convenience in a production situation, but it carries an expensive price; When I opened my own business, this practice was little used, same for my retirement home shop. For cast iron cleanup, a shop vac works well, for most anything else it does not work well, especially at the lathe, end milling chips it will tolerate, and grinding particles. I lately got a coolant system reinstalled on my Micromaster surface grinder, and it is great! Keeps the dust down, all I have to do is squeegee the top of the chuck, and that's it.