Vaccum for a milling machine.

It is, as you confess in more detail later, likely to be overthinking!

You need to make something! I recommend the PottyMill Engine from the forums very own Stewart Hart. Plans available from various places on the Internet, I used this version. They're a bit cramped, and Stewart's original plans are better laid out. Not really into engines myself, but I learned a lot of technique by building a few. Actually translating a plan and lumps of metal into a working engine reveals more about real needs and issues than any amount of web-browsing. One lesson I learned was that unless small parts are perversely hacked from gigantic lumps of metal, building a modest model engine doesn't produce huge quantities of swarf. Nor do most of my other activities. I spend more time planning and setting up than cutting. You may be different, say into full-size loco spares or car parts, but I doubt it - hobbyists tend not to mass-produce swarf.

Of course much depends on what the machines are used for. I make experimental things in support of other hobbies. Relatively low volume means I can control swarf with a brush and periodic clearance. In a professional outfit, a machine that's not cutting metal is wasting money. They're more likely to have a swarf clearance and cooling problem because their machines are worked hard all day. I don't think many hobbyists play that game other than on special occasions. Therefore we don't normally need to worry about it. Ordinary methods do the job. KISS

In any case a vacuum may not be practical. At slower hobby cutting speeds most swarf comes off in ribbons# rather than chips, and it's easier to manhandle ribbon than to vacuum it. Heat might damage the hose. The other objection is noise. Loud machinery in a workshop takes most of the pleasure out of a pastime. My mill is conversationally quiet, last thing I want is an air-pump and vacuum running.

I have a magnetic wand for clearing steel, and a Henry-like Vax for general purpose cleaning. Neither gets used all that much.

# My best for a single unbroken length of ribbon is about 8 metres. Normally ribbons aren't wanted, but it is quite a useful test of skill to deliberately make a long one. Have a go with your Myford and let us know how you get on! (I give no clues about the metal or type of cutter used - your choice!)

I bet others have made much longer ribbons than my 8 metre worm. Who claims the forum record?

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 12/03/2020 16:47:02

Could not match that SOD, but got some pretty long ones machining some Acetal last week. Usually ends up wrapped around the work at some point.

Steve.

I did have a "Henry" but not the space for it (him?). I gave it to a friend for his own workshop.

Recently I bought a small, hand-held rechargeable vacuum-cleaner from Aldi or Lidl, with workshop use in mind, but it will probably be more use in the house, such as on the stairs, or the computer's ventilation grilles.

To be honest I have never found it a great chore to clean the machines and workshop floor manually. Takes a bit longer perhaps, but not that much, to extract a nice clean lathe from a heap of swarf!

I bought a cheap polythene toy spade - useful, is living in a seaside resort - to use as a very effective dustpan on the lathe chip-trays. It just fits sideways on between the tray side and the raising-blocks, on the Myford cabinet.

I've also a standard floor-brush whose shim-thin steel tube handle I managed to break at half-height. I think I accidentally stood on it!. Surprisingly that proves very useful for cleaning in cramped areas.

To help with cleaning the Harrison L5, having discovered the swarf's favourite hiding-places, I cut two left-overs of standard white PVC rainwater down-pipe lengthways at slightly below centre-height to form gutters. These simply lodge by their own springiness on the bed under the shears, below the headstock and tailstock, preventing the large voids below from swallowing the debris. That under the full length of the headstock also directs oil seeping from the gearbox, into the chip-tray. A by-product is that the tailstock gutter often temporarily holds small tools or work-pieces out of harm's way!

+++

Years ago I was the materials store-keeper in a factory making printing-machines. The millers had a horrible habit of using air-lines to clean their machine tables, squirting fountains of swarf and suds for some distance across the machine-shop floor.

Well Nigel that is what you see to commonly on you tube. Which really purged me to ask the question. Rather than blast it everywhere, suck it up. Anyway for now it is living under the bench by the lathe. I clean all the shavings & anything large & then vac the debris up that is left.

I was using a small vac I got from a friend for a while. But as some comments said it got bunged up too easy & a cow to clean out. The Henry is much more powerful & seems so far to be clog free.

Not had chance to use the mill much as I am waiting for some Carbide cutters coming.

Steve.

I use a Nilfisk wet and dry vac on my milling machine all the time. Blowing stuff around with compressed air was frowned upon at my last place. It’s an excellent way of forcing dust and swarf into places it wouldn’t normally reach and isn’t clever from a H&S aspect either. There was still one idiot that used to use one, including blowing his own clothes down with it at the end of the day.

Don’t worry too much with long ribbons of swarf from the mill. Only when drilling is that likely a problem. Once on the floor, chips are easily cleaned up - nowhere to fall further, generally.

Blowing swarf with compressed air may feature on YouTube, but it's plain bad practice. Don't do it. Vic explains why!

Always take Internet videos and advice with a pinch of salt. Anybody can publish anything, including stupid bad habits. Good fun counting the errors in certain YouTube contributions; some come over like the Hazard Perception section of the Driving Theory Test!

Dave

Some of the stuff I see on YouTube is really quite worrying at times. The Americans do have a penchants for blowing stuff away with compressed air guns - it’s much more fun than hoovering it up. I saw one guy blowing a cloud of wood dust out of his shop into the yard, no doubt for the benefit of anyone walking past. They seem to wear gloves for absolutely everything as well for some reason.

I'm sure there are a couple of members on here who use a leaf blower to clear the garage of wood dust.

Steve.