Tool and Machinery maintenance/cleaning thread

[lilscorpion]

I just completed the machining of some aluminum control arms for my Jeep and I realized that I’m beyond OCD with how I care and maintain my end mills, taps, and drill bits.

To start - when I’m done with a project I always clean my tooling. It’s fairly quick and this subtle details can really prolong the life of them and even increase the finish of my parts. Here’s a better example why they should be cleaned especially after machining aluminum. The silver finish you see inside the flutes of this large drill bit is actually aluminum buildup.



The buildup can impact the drills ability to cut on the tools edges.



After just a little work, it’s possible to completely clean the bit.



And the cutting edge can easily be restored.



I clean them using regular old lye.



Take the end mills and taps and soak them for 10 minutes or so.

.

After soaking I rinse them off with carb cleaner to remove all of the lye and residue.



I coat them liberally with WD40 and let the excess drain off.



I blow off with compressed air and then return them to their tray.



Anyone else a little OCD with their tool and/or equipment maintenance?

 

[tarbellb]

Impressive level of maintenance. Keep it coming!

 

[Renegade1LI]

I try to clean & put away whatever I used, otherwise it snowballs into a bigger mess, they key is putting everything back.