swarf!

I think I have mentioned going to the Scottish parliament last year. Was stopped by security with a hand -held metal detector and searched. All my clothes were contaminated with metal, even my good stuff.. They did accept my explanation eventually.

I change into/out of a VERY old pair of shoes in the utility room. Heaven help me if I get caught around the house in them!

Yes, sometimes the bedroom carpet does glint in the sunlight, as does my "working" woolie. Have to give myself a quick rub down before going indoors. Made a Magnet Swarf Retrieval Tool (telescopic magnet in a copper tube) but no good for Ali or Brass.

The floor where I stand or walk, is covered with hard plastic mats, which let a lot of the swarf fall through (every so often they are pulled up to display the swarf and all the small items, nuts, washers, drills etc that have been dropped, and for cleaning). The swarf still gets EVERYWHERE else, though!

Howard

There was a reason all the old boys used to wear a long dustcoat when machining. It keeps most of the swarf out of the "inside clothes" and is taken off in the workshop and left there. I keep one in the shed for when I am machining brass or cast iron etc. Always used to laugh at the old boys when I was an apprentice and they wore the old school tie and collar under a dustcoat. "Gentleman tradesmen" they were. Wore the collar and tie so as to not be mistaken for a common labourer I guess. The last of a dying breed. But they knew what they were about those old timers.

As far as swarf in the hair goes -- maybe stop using Brylcreem???

Or try a small square of Perspex etc mounted on the tool post when turning brass to stop those chips flying toward your head and face. Used to see the old boys at the works with a piece of brass shim or even a piece of cardboard torn from a fag packet and shoved over the toolbit to act as a chip shield when turning brass. "We didn't always have these fancy safety glasses, y'know boy. Had to make do with fag packet we did. There were a war on, y'know.
Safety glasses, that's luxury that is."

I have a very effective way of clearing up metal swarf: My wife's feet.

They are brilliant at finding the tiniest piece. As a result I never have problems treading on any.

Beyond that, I now mostly machine plastics, and the swarf is a lot less unpleasant. It is weird, though, clearing up pink/gold/blue & green swarf off the lathe when for so many years it was grey or slightly blued. I do have one additional feature though. When I made the stand for my lathe, I made it what I thought would be a comfortable height, but it turned out to be 6" too high. As a temporary fix I found a fully planked pallet to put in front of it to stand on. This proved to be such a surprising godsend that I still use it. The vast majority of the swarf that drops off the front of the lathe falls through the gaps between the pallet planks when I shuffle about, and doesn't stay available to dig into my shoes at all - it is in effect a 6" thick swarf removal mat right next to the lathe. Every few months I lift the pallet and clear out the heaps of swarf beneath it.

Regards,

Richard.

Edited By richardandtracy on 23/06/2015 09:06:24

Hopper Where I was an apprentice in the 50's any body caught on any machine wearing a tie would have been shown the door It also applied to long sleeves

Roy

Richard,

I thought I was th only one who used their wife to pick up the fine metal splinters. All of my family have found the odd bit of metal has found it's way into their feet. This was much more noticeable before I got the last manual mill because it didn't have a chip tray.

I find that if it has been raining and I nip into the workshop for something and I come straight back into the house I trail in loads of bits on my shoes which ends up falling off as the soles dry out.

I wear rigger boots in the workshop, yes I know we have all heard the jokes about being surgically removed but with no laces they are easy to slip on and off. Boots are left in the annex outside or just inside the tiled conservatory.

Jumper stays in the workshop, never leaves and when it gets too dirty it's used to start the fire and another old jumper is relegated to the task. Shop coat when worn is a cotton warehouse coat as nothing stick to that unless sharp. That also stays in the workshop. Make a point of 'washing' you hair with your hands to get rid of chips stuck in. Only works if you have dry hair and don't use any dressing like Castrol R or neat cutting oil

Brass is ALWAYS turned with the lathe in reverse [ no screw on chucks ] and the tool upside down. 3 tools are in dedicated holders just for this. This throws the chips straight into the pan and not over your shoulder. Use chipguards with magnets fitted when possible to deflect the chips.

For any chips that do get in the house in my case the simple answer was well it's paid for all this, what do you expect ?

Many women (some men as well) seem to have a specialised swarf detection feature built into their eyesight.

A tiny piece of swarf can be spotted from considerable distances, I think it's probably a similar process to the one they use to detect very small amounts of dust on furniture.

Edited By V8Eng on 23/06/2015 10:32:52

Edited By V8Eng on 23/06/2015 10:36:11

I think I must be lucky, I don't get the slightest comment, unless I wash my hands in the kitchen sink and spread dirty water all over the clean dishes

Steve

When a sharp metal chip finds it's way into the wife's bra after washday, that's when it starts. (And stops.)

I know we get up to some strange things in our workshops but I`ve never worn the wife`s bra in there (or anywhere else for that matter !)