Tom Senior vertical guards

The T S light vertical we are working on at the museum is nearly finished, but there is one point I have so far failed to address, namely the fitting of some type of guard. This machine will be used by some of the volunteers at the museum, and must at least pay lip service to health and safety. I have never seen pictures of one of these mills with any type of guards. I have a supply of 6mm polycarbonate which has been used to make guards for the mill drill, and I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has any type on their machine.

This is my go-to polycarbonate guard. Magnetic base and knuckle to hold sheet.

David

I have used acrylic sheet on my WM16 which has done well to date, possibly change for polycarbonate when this arrangement gets too opaque to see...

Original OEM guard...

Acrylic sheet formed to cover full table...

Held on with neodymium magnets attached to the angle brackets... bottom right corner

George.

Remember, there is a marked difference between guards and screens. Guards are simply for avoidance of operator contact with moving machinery/parts. Screens are there as alternatives to PPE, or where others, without protection from flying chips, might approach within range.

Guards need to be fixed such that they are not easily removed without tools - or, movement immediately halts the machine operation and removal prevents the machine from starting.

Guards, I would suggest, are compulsory from the elf’n’safty point of view while screens are dependant on other factors - like getting splashed by coolant is different than a mangled hand after contact with moving machinery.

Food for thought, they are all good, and if the health and safety people visit and see that we are making an effort, they can be remarkably helpful. The 6mm polycarbonate is pretty much bomb proof and it can be bent when a hot air gun is used. Some of my efforts at heating it have ended badly with a local overheating which makes it start to bubble up. The TS does not lend itself easily to a permanent guard, a small one might fix to the quill where a substantial aluminium ring is clamped on to connect to the Z axis digital readout.

A bit expensive, but we use this type on our Senior mills at school :

https://www.technologysupplies.co.uk/milling-machine-guard-m1.html

Must be other ones around for less. They mount directly onto the tee slot at each end of the table and can rotate right around that axis.

I've had a look at the Technology Supplies milling machine guards, and particularly the fitting at the ends of the bed, which may be the way to go. Tee slot mounting could be made very adjustable to suit different jobs.

When I bought my Tom senior light vertical milling machine it included this shield,produced by " silvaguard Ltd, Walsall Staffs still in business, Plenty .of different guards on their web site:

**LINK**

as you can see it fits to one of the T slots and be easly swung out of the way.

I only use mine when using coolant to stop it spraying every where.

These pictures and links will be very useful when we get to designing guards, we can't afford to buy them, and will have to utilise the materials to hand, thanks, guys.

We made a cheap and cheerful guard which will do for most jobs, the 6mm polycarbonate guards are quick dedachable and can be bade any size and shape. The modified mount is for a pc monitor.

**LINK**

The original desk clamp screw is at the top of the column, connected to a 10mm tee nut in the table slots. With the extension on the left of the table for the X axis wheel, there are further opportunities to move the mount just off the end of the table. The mount fits just as easily at the right hand end of the table.