Lathe tidy

[bogstandard]

I am just putting the finishing touches to my shop, and came across a real PITA. So I decided to do something about it.


These are the main PITA bits, always stuck on top of the lathe, ready to drop down onto the chuck to get themselves launched into space. The chuck mounting key, the chuck key and the allen key used to tighten up the cross slide. There are a couple more bits, but I will show about them later.




I grabbed a piece of 1/2" thick PVC plate (it could be almost anything, even a bit of thick ply, as long as it is strong enough).
Ignoring doctors orders, I got onto my mill and did a bit of work on it. The half round recesses are not totally necessary, you could just use normal slots instead, but don't go too deep, just enough to stop things jumping out of the slot. I rounded over every corner, just in case. If and when I bend down, and if my noggin catches it, or if I bang into it, I won't do too much damage (to myself, not the tidy).
This took me about 3/4 of an hour to get to this stage, it doesn't need to be precise, just good enough to retain the bits.




This is where I fitted it onto my machine, you would have to find your own ideal place, maybe mod it so it sits on the wall, but within very easy reach, so that it is just as easy to drop things into the tidy rather than sitting on or around the machine. I used this sort of thing on industrial machines, and after a few sessions, it becomes automatic to use it.
It only sticks out by about 3", so really it doesn't get in the way.




And this is how it works, a place for everything, and everything in it's place.
I have yet to make a swish swarf rake to match the other ali handled bits, but when I do, it will drop into the hole allocated for it.
You might say that the door on the stand won't open fully now. All that are in there are my steadies, so if I do need one, it will only take a few seconds to clear everything out of the tidy.




Simple, easy to make, and makes the shop just that little bit safer.

What more could you ask for?


Bogs

[Bernd]

What more could I ask for? Well, how about you tidying up my shop John? 

It took me a while to find that allen wrench. When you said all in their proper place I didn't see it. Now I do. It's hidding behind the lathe wrench. Very nice little project. Even from the tight close in pictures it looks like you've got your shop in almost tip top shape.

Can't wait to see what projects your going to turn out once you get up to full speed. 

Bernd

[rleete]

I made something similar (even used P.V.C. as well), but double-sided taped it to the back of the headstock housing.  Where you have yours is much too likely to catch on the tender bits for my liking.

[Stilldrillin]

Nice & tidily done John 

Where you have yours is much too likely to catch on the tender bits for my liking.

I`d be just a little wary of that air gun standing to attention...... 

David D

[bogstandard]

That was why I said you would have to find your own position. Where mine is, is absolutely perfect for myself, even if I was standing by the machine. If standing, I always stand in line with the toolpost or a little towards the tailstock. When you have had so much thrown at you over the years, you tend to find a spot that is well away from the chuck firing line. But normally I will be sitting down, so it just won't be in my way.

Just the mill to clean down and all finished.


Bogs

[John Hill]

Looks very neat and tidy John,  what I did was to make my swing out tool box (which is described here http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1026.0 )which seems to hold all those bits quite nicely but it does have the habit of catching stray swarf and chips which yours will not!

[bogstandard]

John,

I considered your method, as it would give me a lot more storage space, but my problem is that I have to use a tall chair most of the time, and the swingy out bit would mean I would have to move it out of the way to access the tooling.

Mine is made for me and me alone, as I can just move my left hand and it is onto the tooling that I use most on the lathe. By leaning a little more, I can access my toolholders and collets.

This is what I am trying to get across, not the actual bit I made, but the fact that if you position things that are in perfect reach for yourself, machining becomes 1% easier to do. Do that 100 times around the area you work in, then machining really does become a joy to do.

That is where the 'slippers' effect comes in. Just like driving a car, steering wheel and pedals in front of you, but a PITA if the ignition switch and gear change was in the boot (trunk).

John

[John Hill]

Neat solution to your unique requirements John,  re the car thing, personally I hate driving cars in America where for some reason it is impossible to reach the steering wheel from the drivers' seat.

[John Stevenson]

John,
I cheated, as you know I do a lot of motor rewind repairs, so I robbed a few screw in lifting eyes and screwed one to the front of the gearbox for the chuck key to drop into.

Not as neat as yours but does the same thing.

Pic tomorrow, that bloody workshop is haunted at night.

John S.

[SPiN Racing]

Very Cool, quick bit O Kit.

Its funny... to me at least.. I feel natural to stand out of line to the cutting tool.
All the car thnigs I have donw over the years, being in line with the belts when the engine is running can very very quickly be a bad thing if you have coolant or any other liquid drip onto the belt. Possibly the engine runup stand time I had when learning to re-build rotaries.. and first starting them, with no cap on the coolant, watching for the initial opening of the 2 stage thermostat, then closing it... if you were 20 or 30 seconds slow, you got wet. And if you were running the RPM up a tad when the first stage opened, you got wet.
Then again, my first time using a lathe, the owner of the shop said for me to touch the part with the brush in the ATF. So I did.. and promptly got splattered with ATF from the top of my bald head to my beltline.
After that happened a couple times, or a couple small pieces of swarf smoking on my arm, or bouncing off safety glasses.. I got the point.

I have made sure to tell my boys they are NOT permitted to stand in line. My youngest (Almost 14 years old) had brass swarf/dust land on his arm from 6 or 7 feet away. He thought it was cool. I said it was... now. He didnt understand.. so I Joked and said to put his arm closer to the lathe, near me, where the hotter swarf was... sooooo being a split second slow... he did. And was shocked to learn it was REALLY hot, as he danced brushing it off his arm.
He now comprehends a little better when I say.. dont stand here (X) he listens.

My oldest was helping me mill something 5 or 6 months ago.. and had some small bits land on his arm, and they were not hot.. but still hot enough to get the point across. He is very cognisant of the fact he can get hurt.

/shrug. Live and learn.... hopefully people standing in front of the lathe as it spins dont get hurt when they have a learning experience.

[bogstandard]

Everyone can do their own little bit to make life easier when machining.

Either sitting or standing, I can easily reach 75% of the tooling that I require on my lathe. The other 25% is only half a step away.

Spin,

Sometimes, you just can't help being in the firing line of the chuck, because you need to get up real close to see what is happening. But for most jobs, standing to one side keeps you safe. It is better on the floor, where it can be swept up later, rather than all over yourself. There is nothing worse than having a left arm covered in micro blisters and extracting brass needles from under your skin.
You might say wear a long sleeve shirt. Only under very exceptional circumstances do I wear long sleeves in the shop, too much of a safety hazard. I keep meaning to buy a box of those paper elasticated sleeves for doing certain jobs, designed to rip off rather than drag you into the machine. Maybe now is the time.

John,

I have seen that trick before. As you know, when in a production environment, the machinists will make there own little holders and doodahs to make life easier for them. So why not in our little empires?

John