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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Vic
    Age
    48
    Posts
    544

    Default Workshop best practices

    Hi All,

    Do you normally clean up the mess on the lathe/mill after the job regardless or you leave it until the next job or do it weekly? I am trying to spend an extra 5 minutes afterward and that seems to be better, getting into the good habit and I think its working for me, less stuff going into the house and the wife is happy.

    Thanks,
    Trong

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Norwood-ish, Adelaide
    Age
    59
    Posts
    6,540

    Default

    Yes - as I dislike walking in swarf I'll even sweep during cuts if needed. I also find that cleaning machines when needed during jobs is a good idea otherwise the swarf builds up and cause problems. Particularly on the lathe it can get caught on the chuck and go whizzing around.

    I had a retired fitter visit my shop and one of the things he commented on was that 'at least you keep your machines clean'. He trained in Germany I think and one of the things that was ingrained was the idea of keeping the work place tidy as part of the job.

    Michael

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    Hi all.

    I never make new years resolutions but if i did it would be to clean up immediately after making a mess!

    I will confess to being a very untidy person in the shed and i really hate that about me. I am trying to improve wigh age though although at 48 i dont think im going to change much!!

    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Sydney, NSW
    Posts
    1,249

    Default

    HI,

    I like to clean up after finishing. I have to oil everything up as I don't know when I'll be back in there.

    Ben.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Southern Highlands NSW
    Posts
    1,894

    Default

    It's very important to leave swarf on the lathe. It protects sliding surfaces from dust between jobs.
    Also, allow the tray to build up with debris as high as possible. This prevents parted pieces from landing on the steel tray with a loud bang, which can be alarming and could damage the part.
    I like to see the hollow spindle get really jammed with swarf, as this adds weight to the revolving mass, good for smooth operation with more momentum.
    Also, though this is arguably a small point - a machine that is heavily covered in chips, filings, swarf and other debris leaves observers with a good impression - that you are a busy fellow that has bigger things on his mind than merely keeping things neat all the time.

    Jordan

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Oz
    Age
    73
    Posts
    459

    Default

    I used to be very messy and only clean the lathe when I saw rust starting to take a hold. I can only use the lathe for very short periods now, winding the handwheels is extremely difficult , so I spend more time doing less hand intensive jobs like cleaning up. Bonus of course is I now have a very clean workshop. Some are repulsed by that: a squeaky clean workshop, machines covered in fresh oil and draped in white sheets is just not normal they say!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    moonbi nsw Aus
    Age
    69
    Posts
    364

    Default

    A few weeks before Christmas I got tired of dodging crap (swarf, tools and other odds and ends) and cleaned out the "trough" I made as a chip tray. [I say trough because the casting of the lathe bed to accommodate the gap in the bed would be 250mm deep and I figured if I ever added pumped coolant the cascading liquid would end up on the floor and me long before it would find a shallow tray.] The quantity of swarf etc filled a quarter of a wheely-bin.
    Once the trough was cleared I was able to brush down and oil the whole lathe. You couldn't say that the lathe was looking for oil but I felt better spreading the stuff around
    The whole "cleanliness" thing raises a large issue with me in the shed. My "creative side" is very keen to start new projects of repair things but it has no time for the mundane part of cleaning and tidying up after using tools and equipment.....so you can easily imagine what the rest of the shed is like. The cleaning, tidying etc is quite a stumbling point to my shed work, then mix that with the parralising effect that The Black Dog has on forward progress and you may be able to appreciate the situation I am permanently in.
    I get so frustrated and annoyed with myself because shed work just gets too hard and leaves me inside with the computer or in front of the TV
    Just do it!

    Kind regards Rod

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    sydney ( st marys )
    Age
    64
    Posts
    4,887

    Default

    I seem to follow Jordans approach and chambezio although my ar?e pain is a brindle and is always of late laying behind me waiting to get stepped on.

  9. #9
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    7,182

    Default

    Compare to other metal workers I'm also on the messy side. I keep a broom near the lathe and sweep floor swarf away from walkways into a pile to reduce tracking elsewhere. When the pile gets to large it gets picked up sometimes it could even be a month. It depends on use but usually he lathe gets lubed regularly while I'm working, but cleaned/wiped only down only about once a week or sometimes two. The swarf tray gets emptied when approaching full. I really need to improve this.

    My worse practice is to try to keep too many projects on the boil (well, . .. . maybe off the boil) on the go at any one time and then the problem comes about what to do with all the bits and pieces.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    3,112

    Default

    I try to keep chips under control during a job, but don't get too fussed about it, unless they're really going everywhere or are building up. At the end of the job I have a major cleanup and put all the tools I've been using away, clean down the machines, etc etc. It basically marks the end of the job. I don't like it when one major job rolls in to the next one (as it has now) as it means there's crap everywhere. Before going away I will try to tidy things up a bit, store any paints, solvents etc in my powder coating oven (I use it as a fireproof cupboard), and vacuum up anything that's seriously combustible (like oily swarf for example). In case of a fire I try to limit the amount of things that can fuel it.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Oz
    Age
    73
    Posts
    459

    Default Clean workshop.

    Clean workshops? Eat your heart out... Used to work with a bloke whose workshop was always like this and he was of sound mind and body - well perhaps not sound mind.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Murray Bridge S Aust.
    Age
    71
    Posts
    5,942

    Default

    Who does he operate on . This is my shed/trailer about 5 L X 2.5 W X 2.1 H
    DSCF0153.jpgDSCF0150.jpgDSCF0151.jpgDSCF0152.jpgDSCF0148.jpg
    A bit crowded I know, but I manage I'll admit I'm an untidy person, but I hope that'll change when I get the "proper" shed
    extension up 8 m X 4 m.
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Helensburgh
    Posts
    618

    Default

    Cleaning up is a habit we mostly don't have but it pays off and once the habit is gained it is hard to go back. I habitually clean up and more importantly put the tools back where they belong, being able to find stuff is a time saver in itself. If it is a small workshop I think cleaning up and putting things back is even more important and easier than a larger one because you don't have to walk so far and keeping it tidy maximises work space available. For some years when I was using my shed as a business and it was impossible to work in there I swore it would be tidy when I retired and it is.
    CHRIS

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Oz
    Age
    73
    Posts
    459

    Default

    Ewww, that's disgusting KB, I'm ashamed of you! I can't even see a walkway in there.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Helensburgh
    Posts
    618

    Default

    I must admit I simply could not work in there at all.
    CHRIS

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