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Keeping the Lathe bed clean

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Alan Worland02/02/2011 22:06:40
247 forum posts
21 photos
I am quite fussy when it comes to keeping the lathe bed clean, particularly as I am doing a lot of cast iron work. On the Myford I have a thick piece of rubber sheet nipped under a piece of ally screwed to the top of the apron (spare 1/4 BSF hole) which keeps most of the swarf out of those vulnerable shears when turning.
However, I have had the Myford VM-D mill attachment on and off quite a bit and the rubber got in the way.
I have found a good temporary swarf cover for the bed is a piece of newspaper held onto the cross slide with small round magnets - when you have finished carefully remove them with the swarf to discard!
Don't know why I didn't think of it years ago!
Ramon Wilson02/02/2011 23:10:55
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1655 forum posts
617 photos
'Great minds' Alan,
 
I have the magnet but use kitchen roll especially when turning brass and C.I.
 
Hows the ST?
 
Regards Ramon
Alan Worland02/02/2011 23:27:19
247 forum posts
21 photos
Works well doesn't it! I also vacuum it out of the T slots etc, then pump oil in the nipples to make sure if there is anything under the saddle - it gets pumped out!
 
ST's coming on well (but slower than I thought) same old story, spend an hour setting up and then 10 mins machining! Must say the castings machine well with the only holes so far are on the base of the cylinder - JB Weld ready!
 
Alan
ady02/02/2011 23:43:36
612 forum posts
50 photos
If you need to rough out cast iron I've found that an old knackered carbide tool can do the job from the back side, the parting tool side, with the back gear on low speed.
The machine just chews its way through the bulk of the work and no mess.
I've done a bunch of awkward cast iron castings over the last few days, turning them into user ready stock.
 
With the back gear engaged, instead of cast iron bits flying all over the shop, including into your hair and down your collar, you get a nice neat mound of cast iron swarf building up behind the lathe which can be sooked up in a few seconds by a vac.
 
Once the roughing out is done then you can do finishing cuts from the front with a decent carbide tool and a higher speed for a better finish.

Edited By ady on 03/02/2011 00:02:04

Alan Worland03/02/2011 00:06:06
247 forum posts
21 photos
Sounds a good idea - except that I haven't got one!
I do wonder how all that CI dust gets on in the vacuum though!
Big bang coming up?
ady03/02/2011 00:11:05
612 forum posts
50 photos
An old hoover aquavac, made in Britain to last forever, bought as a product of the hoover free flights debacle of the early nineties...
 
...which is one of the reasons so many of our companies went bust...
 
...my lathe was made in Britain in 1944...(got a spare unused bed as well)
 so there's not too much future profitability for that British company either.

Edited By ady on 03/02/2011 00:16:05

Peter G. Shaw03/02/2011 13:05:04
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1531 forum posts
44 photos
I bought a Vax Powa4000 back around the late '80's/early '90's and that has been used for just about anything going, liquid or dry, fine or bulk. So far without any failures except for the hose. Mind you, it does have a bag, followed by a v.fine filter followed by another filter so any muck really does have to be fine to get into the motor.

Best vac I've ever bought.
 
Regards,
 
Peter G. Shaw
Nicholas Farr03/02/2011 19:02:25
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3988 forum posts
1799 photos
Hi, I don't know for sure, but I think dust explosions/ignition only happens while you have dense particals suspended in free air (a dust cloud) but I might be wrong. Don't think it could be substained in the fast flowing air of a vacuum cleaner, otherwise we might get such things poping up on a windy day. I do know it is not possible to do MMA welding on a vacuum system when is in operation.
 
Regards Nick.

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