Metal Shavings

[wrench409]

So, those that have drill presses and lathes.......

Got any practical way to collect the shavings, twists and curls for easy disposal that you can share?

 

[jamesemery728]

Put a magnet in a plastic bag and collect as many chips as you can. Turn the bag inside out so the chips are inside and the magnet is outside. Throw away the bag of chips.

 

[rockchucker]

An Electromagnet on the underside of the Base of the Drill Press. This will catch most of everything if you have some kind of makeshift cardboard 3 sided surround to keep them from flying outward.

http://www.magnetoolinc.com/electromagnets/120-vac-electromagnets.php

 

[Keep]

Place the shop vac hose near the table. Catches most of the chips.

 

[djjsr]

Shop vac. They're cheap enough these days to keep one right next to the drill press. And it works on metal, wood, plastic, pretty much anything you can drill a hole in, it'll **** it up.

 

[kursplat]

magnet for steel, and a

for aluminum or plastic

 

[kazlx]

Yup, shop vac.

 

[TF.120]

Shop vac for dry, unfortunately i use coolant on the mill so that gets messy to clean up

 

[Fastbird]

Three for the shop vac.

 

[justanengineer]

Use a shopvac to **** up chips regularly and it will live a short life. You can build a cyclone to prevent this by separating the chips if you want to do this.

Personally Im a fan of the broom and dust pan. Simple and they dont take up the space of the shopvac.

 

[kazlx]

How do chips shorten the life of a shop vac? No different than sucking up anything else....

 

[Brad54]

I have a small wicker dust broom hanging from the shelf on the upright post of the drill press. When I'm done drilling, I broom off the vise, clamps and table, then sweep up the floor with my floor broom and dust pan.

-Brad

 

[Steevo]

My mill flings chips 6~8 feet in every direction, so I am constantly running a shop vac both while operating the mill and after stopping it. I also have a wood handled wire brush near the exit door, which I use on the soles of my shoes to avoid carrying metal chips into the truck or house.

 

[nehog]

Shop vac, I work with aluminum so magnets are meaningless... But I find we only collect about a third of the shavings, and then have to sweep/vacuum the floor when the project is done.

 

[lilscorpion]

My mill flings chips 6~8 feet in every direction, so I am constantly running a shop vac both while operating the mill and after stopping it. I also have a wood handled wire brush near the exit door, which I use on the soles of my shoes to avoid carrying metal chips into the truck or house.

Same, same. Shop vac handles chips fine except long strings. I've been using the same craftsman one for 10 years with no issue...except it gets heavy when it's full. I also sweep a lot. Lathes and Mills make a mess quickly.

 

[nutjob]

I have one of these and it works pretty good.

http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0256814

From Fastenal web site:

Kevin

 

[srmofo]

I don't drill a lot of metal, but i keep a short section of 5" PVC near the press. I throw it over the hole I'm drilling. Sweep them into a metal pan when I'm done

 

[djjsr]

Just my experience, but vacuuming chips won't hurt a shopvac if you clean the filter once in a while.

Fine dust is a killer. Vacuuming drywall spackling dust, for example, will plug up a filter quickly and the dust finds it's way into the motor and bearings. I have one shopvac that uses a bag and that's the only one I use for fine dust. It seems to work much better.

I own a laundromat with 25 commercial dryers and vacuuming lint from the inside of the cabinets and ductwork has taught me a lot about shopvacs. I destroyed a few of them before I figured out what works.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Bench brush and dustpan as the usual suspects followed by an ocassional shopvacing.

 

[WILD-BILL]

I placed a garbage can (kitchen sized) directly under the table and it does a fine job of collecting the chips. I sweep the larger peices through the hole and the then use the shop vac to get down into the T slots.

It also gives me a place to throw small scrap that I then take to the recycler for a little $$ back

 

[Falcon67]

Brush and shop vac, with an adapter for a crevasse tool to get stuff in the mill slots. The lathe stuff is usually oily, so I vac the big chunks and wipe the rest with blue paper shop towels. On the mill, if I'm doing a big job I will usually clamp the big end of the shop vac right to the table near the work on the chip fly side.

 

[camarotoolman]

I blow it all out the door with an air hose, no bush or broom needed.

 

[Rated ///M]

I blow it all out the door with an air hose, no bush or broom needed.

god I hope you never have children/grandchildren over who just so happen to be running around your yard/property barefoot...

That doesn't seem overly responsible..

 

[GRX]

A pair of pliers for those razor sharp curly ques. Dust pan & broom. Shop vac for the smaller stuff.
No magnets anywhere near my work areas.

 

[Falcon67]

god I hope you never have children/grandchildren over who just so happen to be running around your yard/property barefoot...

That doesn't seem overly responsible..

I do have grandkids in the shop/grass driveway and that's why I sweep up. I'd also be rather pissed if I got a sliver in one of those $200 drag slicks.

 

[A_Pmech]

An Aluminum coal shovel and a wheelbarrow for most of it.

Then a broom and the coal shovel for the stragglers along with a shop vac for cleaning machines and hard to reach spots in the shop.

 

[Falcon67]

Hah - many of us won't make in a life the kind of swarf you can make in a day.

 

[shopnut]

For the drill press, I made this little chip catcher - keeps them from flying all over.

You just slide it in there before you make the plunge. Clear plastic still lets you see what's happening. If the curly chips get too long, just release pressure on the handle for a split second to break them off and continue drilling.

It was made from a laundry detergent lid, so zero cost.

From more details, see this link:
Asylum Thread Reply #1296
.

 

[justanengineer]

How do chips shorten the life of a shop vac? No different than sucking up anything else....

Yes, and small SHARP chips will eat their way through filters if you have a decent amount. Chips covered in coolant will also lose said coolant in the vacuum which then eats motor bearings alive. **** out a full chip tray and youre talking quite a few gallons. On my lil Clausing the chip tray is ~15 gallons and regularly doesnt get cleaned until its full. Cleaning a machine that has already been swept off is one thing, sucking up chips as theyre being made is quite another.

 

[kazlx]

I don't know...maybe it's just me. A shop vac is just one of those disposable things in my shop. I think I've had my current one for close to 5 years now. If it dies and I can't finx it, I just go buy another one. On the other hand, I don't think I would vac out an entire chip tray of chips and coolant. I usually scoop out what's wet and then vac the little pieces.

 

[jwith68]

This wouldn't be the setup for someone making wheelbarrow loads of chips, but it works for me:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_49940-20097...rentURL=?Ns=p_product_avg_rating|1&facetInfo=

I keep one around for the nasty stuff, such as chips with cutting fluid, etc. It's super easy to clean up, or just transfer to another bucket if you need to. If it dies, I've probably got my $22 out of it by then. These things really **** too - in a good way!

 

[Oldbear]

I have one of these and it works pretty good.

http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0256814

From Fastenal web site:

Kevin

We use these at work.

I use old speaker magnets on a string.

 

[GRX]

For the drill press, I made this little chip catcher - keeps them from flying all over.

You just slide it in there before you make the plunge. Clear plastic still lets you see what's happening. If the curly chips get too long, just release pressure on the handle for a split second to break them off and continue drilling.

Good idea. I have done similar with the clear plastic cover which comes on a 50 pack of blank CD's.

 

[metalmagpie]

I have had a variety of machine tools over the years. I have used a shop vac a lot for chips, including oily chips. I can't say for sure whether it's from one specific cutting oil or not, but the thing that happened to my shop vac was that the hose became very soft from some chemical action, or perhaps it was just the chips abrading away the inside. So I've had to replace the hose periodically.

Speaking of which, you can buy that entire shop vac kit from Lowe's for less than a replacement hose around here! And I like the idea of a US made top that fits a 5-gallon bucket, which is something I have lots of.