开云体育

I use cardboard. I use it under the ways. Its deep enough to reach from the front of the bench to near the rear of the bench. I also have large piece as backsplash. It rests on the piece under the lathe. Works rather well for me. Collects debris, swarf and oil. Lathe can easily be brushed clean into the tray, then cleaned onto the cardboard. It is then pulled out and the swarf , etc, can easily dumped. Then the cardboard is then returned. Once it gets bad it's easily replaced. The piece under the lathe is cut to perfectly fit.

george

On Saturday, December 30, 2023 at 10:27:07 AM PST, Charles Kinzer <ckinzer@...> wrote:

I don't see any reason you can't store a mini-lathe on end.? (Unlike some larger lathes, it doesn't have any "oil bath" areas where oil could run out.)

Regarding clean up, usually it is common to just use a brush(es) to brush everything to a point and sweep it into a dust pan or container.? Yes, most chips fall down.? But some will inevitably go elsewhere, especially on the floor, onto the bottom of your shoes, and tracked elsewhere if you aren't careful.? (I just have an old piece of regular carpeting from where my machine tools are to a door into the house and it works nearly perfectly for the "shoe" problem.)

I think it is exceedingly uncommon, if ever, to use "dust collection" with a lathe except in an industrial setting where a hazardous material like pure beryllium is being machined.? Usually, the chips aren't very dust-like.? And if using any cutting oil, also damp.? Machining cast iron will produce something that is closer to "dust", but still not that fine.? I would not relate it to the dust produced in woodworking.

For small lathe, it can be handy to have a little removable tray that just fits under the full length of the ways.? Most chips will end up there and it is easy to remove and dump, and then, by brush or vacuum, clean the little that is left around the area and on the lathe.? These lathes come with a chip pan which the lathe is bolted to, but you don't need to use it.? Sort of a judgement call in my view.? On a larger lathe, you may be using a lot of oil, or coolant, and need something to catch it.? That's not typical on a mini lathe.

You can certainly use a vacuum device if you want.? But you mentioned "long swirls of swarf" which I think are more commonly called "stringy chips."? That suggests another topic which is that you should NEVER be producing long stringy chips.? They are a hazard as they can suddenly wrap around and grab something like fingers and instantly pull them into the spinning chuck and workpiece.? In fact, in some machine shops, producing stringy chips can be a firing offense.? They are way to control chip production, especially having a "chip breaker" feature ground into the tool.

If you want to store the lathe front to back on a workbench when not in use, you might be able to put the lathe on wood or MDF piece bolted near the end of the bench (left or right) where you want to store it front to back.? Then it could just be swiveled to normal position? ?Then swiveled back to the storage position, and as a bonus be held down to the bench, at least at one end..

Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer

On Saturday, December 30, 2023 at 09:57:04 AM PST, Paul Fox <pgf@...> wrote:

My small shop is decidedly mixed-use:? wood work (manual, plus

occasional CNC milling), some electronics (Raspberry Pi type stuff),

general homeowner workbench use, and, hopefully someday soon,

machining.

So, in thinking about getting a mini lathe, I'm trying to think about

how it will fit into my shop, in various ways.? And I'm sure other

folks here have had the same issues.

The first is simply space:? my shop is "cozy".? I think it's about 12'

x 12' out of a longer room that also holds our furnace and laundry

machines.? I have two workbenches, a band saw, a grinder/sander, and a

drill press in that space, and some low cabinets which currently hold

my CNC mill at chair height.? The lathe will live either where the CNC

mill is now (but currently that would mean sitting and/or leaning to

use it, rather than standing), or on one of the work benches (but that

means losing the other uses of that bench while doing lathe projects).

It might also be able to live crosswise at the end of one of the

benches, since the benches are about as deep as the lathe will be

wide, but I'm not sure how practical that will be.

Thoughts on any of that?? Is sitting in front of a lathe a no-no?? It

works for the CNC mill, but they're somewhat different animals.

Second, other than hand tools and drill press, the lathe will be the

first metal machining equipment I've introduced to the shop.? Clearly

I'll want a good cover for the lathe when it's not in use, since it will

basically be a magnet for sawdust and dryer lint, otherwise.

But it will also be generating a lot of chips and swarf.? How

controllable is that?? Is a "dust collection" solution possible?? I

assume most of the chips land under the lathe, but how much get

launched several feet away?? My shop vac doubles as dust collector

for the bandsaw and mill, and since I wanted really good dust

collection, it's a Fein, and has a bag.? But its hose is just 1-3/8".

That's okay for sawdust, but I'm picturing it jamming up with long

swirls of swarf if I use it around the lathe.? Will it be at all

useful?

What tricks/techniques do you all use for controlling machining mess?

(I've been watching a bunch of YT videos, and was really hoping

Blondihacks had covered this -- it would be right up her alley.? But

haven't found anything, really, by her or anyone else.)

And finally -- a lathe storage question.? Floor space is at a premium

in my cellar, not just in the shop, so if I want to move the lathe

elsewhere (to free up its workbench, or to use the CNC mill instead),

it occurs to me that storing the lathe on end might make finding space

easier.? Can that be done?

I know -- too long, too many questions in one post.? Sorry!

paul

=----------------------

paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 41.9 degrees)