swarf!

Easiest way is just keep out of the house.

Take your boots off before going back in the house.

I change shoes as I enter/leave my workshop (Man Cave as SWMBO calls it)

Dave

This reminds me of Last of the Summer Wine, when Edie always used to lay a trail of newspapers from the Kitchen door before Wesley was allowed into the house.

Edited By V8Eng on 20/06/2015 17:28:25

Slippers are compulsory indoors at our house (change at door), so nothing from outdoors gets into the domestic environment.

Edited By V8Eng on 20/06/2015 18:15:49

This thread reminds me of the time I went to visit a fellow model engineer who I discovered nearby. He had an indoor workshop. As he let me in through the front door, he turned to me and said " I work mainly in brass and aluminium; when I open this door and the sun is shining, my carpets scintillate! " I can see me getting away with that; I don't think !!

Maurice

I used to convert tired pairs of shoes into workshop slip-ons by squashing the back of the heel.

My wife came up with a better idea - crocs! Not so good for welding though.

Neil

Would love another good pair, Sweden is a great place to go Clog shopping (?). Now there's an idea!

graham.

We have a couple of mats at the door from the Man Cave (aka garage with no room for cars). I have a pair of safety boots that I slip into (don't do the laces up unless working outside) and leave the slippers at the door

Bruce

A big rubber mat full of honeycomb holes in front of the lathe catches most of my errant swarf. It is made for use in restaurant kitchens and industry and is designed to catch droppings while providing a thin area around each hole that you stand on. So not crunching around on swarf to start with, and the swarf does not get all over the workshop (so much). I bought it at the local hardware store and could not get by without it.

Still take my shed boots off before going inside though. But more due to ancient motorbike grease than swarf.

This is the stuff. The big holes are about 20mm diameter.

A similar but smaller mat in front of the house door catches any odd cling-ons if I have to duck inside quickly without taking boots off.

Edited By Hopper on 21/06/2015 04:01:51

Edited By Hopper on 21/06/2015 04:04:45

Edited By Hopper on 21/06/2015 04:05:21

Ultimately extend the workshop into your personal second residence and have er in doors serve your meals in there. (She might be glad of the fresh air!)

Or... Get divorced and live happily ever after doing what you want when you want . Only drawback is you will have to do all the meals, shopping and house work yourself. However since there's only one to worry about there will only be half the house work.

My girl is very understanding,she even let me strip and rebuild my Series 2a landrover engine in the living room, there were bits of landrover all over the dwelling,not a word of complaint,down side is I seem to be responsiible for the housework,seems fair don't it

Mick

Yes yes yes I get the bit about shoes but nobody seems to be talking about the stuff that you shed from your hair / jumper / hairy arms or is this just me. I have on occasion got into bed after taking a shower only to find a tiny coil of steel digging into my back. How did it get there?

David.

David, it must be your, 'Magnetic' personality, true, one finds bits of swarf all over the place, and I have bought one of those mats that pick up all the stuff off ones shoes, only about £5 or something. A coir mat outside the door does wonders too.

Clive

The father of a neighbour of mine was a model engineer. His widow moved twice after his death before getting rid of the problem of swarf.

How can one possibly control swarf if one has a workshop within the house?

JA

Some years back ,a factory in Holland insisted that all the workers shall wear steel toe capped boots, the workers protested, and at long last the bosses relented and said that clogs could be worn but only if they passed the same tests that the safty boots had, the clogs pasted, and the safty boots failed, the weight dropped on the boots flattened the steel toe cap.

Swarf, you have to change foot wear, but it still comes in caught in clothing no matter how hard one tries to brush it off. I suppose I could wear overalls(I'v got a couple of pairs), but I find it hard work getting them off, stiff joints.

Ian S C

I wear a warehouse coat, a pair of safety toe capped trainers which I change into / out of when I go into /out of my man cave, I use a pair of cheapo crocs for moving 'tween the two... Crocs are quite cheap at 'Boyes' ( usual disc' ) bought a pair for my wife a couple of months ago... £5.

George.

Edited By mechman48 on 21/06/2015 11:08:18

I think we are down to installing a shower room, a large chip guard, a full body shave and possibly working in the nude.

There again the way I read it is that might be steel dandruff.