# What to do with Flying Chips?



## modamag (Apr 25, 2008)

Guys, I need a little help here.

I've always seems to struggle with keeping my shop clean and keeping the chips and coolant where it should be (AWAY FROM PEOPLE).

For my Mini mill I've build an enclosure for it. Using misting and cold air the chip pretty much accumulate on left hand side of the enclosure which makes it pretty easy for cleanup.






More pictures here.

However, when I use my large mill, I'm cutting with 0.050"-0.100" DOC and much higher metal removal rate. Chips start flying in all directions.

I only have a few PPE to battle against this.
1. Safety glasses - they are on every wall in my shop.
2. Gloves - just another layer another layer of skin
3. Long sleeves - yeah I know against the safety rule. But I normally use power feed or turn the machine OFF before I get near the spindle.

I've also installed couple of these chip guards.





*BUT, it still does not prevent hot chip (almost blue) from attacking me. Two nights ago, I was turning some 304 SS and couple dwarfs struck me at just the right angle and went down the collar of my sweater, leaving a nice "V" burnt mark at my lower neck.* My wife even though of something else :kiss:

So, what do you guys to contain the hot flying chips?


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## cmacclel (Apr 25, 2008)

The guys at my local shop use pieces of cardboard held in there hand to deflect chips 

BTW Nice 80/20 enclosure!

Mac


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## will (Apr 25, 2008)

cmacclel said:


> The guys at my local shop use pieces of cardboard held in there hand to deflect chips
> 
> BTW Nice 80/20 enclosure!
> 
> Mac



We used cardboard. Another option would be something like they have over salad bars. 

with some planning - take cuts so the material comes off the back of the work. 

the best is flycutting aluminum - chips all over the place....


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## gadget_lover (Apr 25, 2008)

will said:


> We used cardboard. Another option would be something like they have over salad bars.
> 
> with some planning - take cuts so the material comes off the back of the work.
> 
> the best is flycutting aluminum - chips all over the place....



My neighbor wears a short sleeve dress shirt with the collar buttoned, and wears a shop apron over that.

I use a denim shop apron and clean up after playing. 

I seldom do steel, so the moderately hot chips from the aluminum are not too bad.

Daniel


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## Torque1st (Apr 25, 2008)

I still have scars from hot steel chips from a lathe that went over the top of my safety glasses and stuck between the glasses and my cheek. It is real fun to finish a cut while the skin under your eye is sizzling and smoking. Many machinists wear ball caps but then some have found that chips bounce off the underside of the bill down into the eyes also. At least a cap will keep the chips out of your hair. Ears like to catch chips. Some guys even took to wearing two caps, one backwards, to help keep chips from going down the back of their neck. There does not seem to be a foolproof protection method.

Most machinists learn to set the machines to throw chips away from them, or deflect the chips, and ignore the ones that get past their defenses. It is bad juju to dance around when struck by a hot chip and ignore your machine while it crashes and destroys your workpiece or worse itself. 

*Never ever wear clothing made if synthetic material.* Always wear cotton, leather, or wool. Synthetics melt and the chips stick to them causing burns to the underlying skin. Hot chips won't stick to the natural materials. Synthetics are highly flammable and very dangerous in the shop. Of course the safety regs on long sleeves should be followed. Short sleeves are best, the hot chips will bounce or slide off your bare arms. Some guys wear the tail of their shirt loose so that hot chips that find their way inside can slip right on out.

As far as keeping the shop clean, sweep it often and learn to live with the chips in every corner and crack. 

Guard your electrical outlets to avoid getting chips down against the prongs of plugs.

BTW- Watch the bottom of your boots, hot chips or welding particles have a tendency to melt into the soles and leave nasty scratch marks in the wife's floors....


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## VanIsleDSM (Apr 25, 2008)

I think I've become almost immune... not so much from machining, but welding.

Welding 48" pipelines.. doing the bottom.. well, there's just no other way, you're gonna get burnt!

Not just blue hot.. molten light emitting bright orange globs going down your sleeves and back.. and if you flinch and arc burn the pipe outside of the bevel.. the company you're working for won't be too happy about the $60,000 cutout they'll have to do.

I know one guy who got a molten glob into his ear one time.. said he could hear his ear wax bubbling and boiling until the point that his eardrum burnt through.. then there was no sound... But most of the time your face is pretty well protected with the welding hood... a face shield would give you similar protection while machining.. but that's a little much hassle for myself... I do mostly aluminum too.. so I can't speak too much about chip burns, but I thought I'd throw my similar hot flying metal story out there.


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## tvodrd (Apr 25, 2008)

As stated by others, a piece of custom-trimmed cardboard, strategically duct taped-down has done the job for the last 20 years in my shop at work. :nana:

Larry


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## precisionworks (Apr 25, 2008)

I've spent many hours running a 2", 4-insert face mill in an old Bridgeport. Bpts have no great excess of power, but they can be run at higher speeds with moderate (0.100) DOC. We'd set the speed dial to 1400-1500 rpm for most any mild steel ... roughly 800 sfm. The chips were tiny, dark blue, and flew about 20'.

Gloves were not allowed in the shop, but we all wore long sleeve cotton shirts & cotton pants. A number of cardboard shields were always stored near the machine - some had a Kurt cutout to fit just behind the jaws, others were different sizes & shapes for specific jobs.



> *went down the collar of my sweater, leaving a nice "V" burnt mark at my lower neck.*


Still have a few of those, even after changing jobs. It seems to help if you curse loudly as you listen to the chips sizzle into the skin, not much else you can do at the time. Not much way around it, other than a VMC with full enclosure.


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## Torque1st (Apr 26, 2008)

precisionworks said:


> I've spent many hours running a 2", 4-insert face mill in an old Bridgeport. Bpts have no great excess of power, but they can be run at higher speeds with moderate (0.100) DOC. We'd set the speed dial to 1400-1500 rpm for most any mild steel ... roughly 800 sfm. The chips were tiny, dark blue, and flew about 20'.


I know those chips intimately. The other guys in the shop I worked at used to just love you mill-line guys when you did that...-grrrrr 

-One of my scars came from that type of chip.


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## Mirage_Man (Apr 26, 2008)

I don't know what to tell you about the chips because I don't have a mill yet. But when did you get the HLV-H?? Last I remember you had a 10EE.


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## modamag (Apr 26, 2008)

Thanks guys for all the recommendation.

You guys also hit the problem right at the heart. The problem is it's worst when I do the final face mill to remove the 0.125" bottom clamp material. I normally use my 2" 4 cutter face mill @ 0.050" DOC & 1100 RPM for mild steel (400 for SS). The amount of chips produced is just mind boggling for a MiniMill guy.

I tried to adjust the cut entry angle so all the chips are aimed at the rear so it hit and bounce off my liner cover. However, if the angle / speed / feed are off the chip are flying in all directions.

I find that aluminum will produce consistent chip size & direction of projections, while steel is a little less predictable.

I used to have dozens of USPS Priority Mail box fortifying my MiniMill before the enclosure was built. I didn't think that would work with my big guy. I guess I'll revisit the use.


*Torque1st: *Thanks for the warning about the "bad juju dance and ignoring the machine". I was doing exactly just that, while the X-axis auto feed was going @ 6 ipm. 

I'll also have to revisit my outlet protection. I got over a dozen of outlet in the garage and most of them are around the mill/lathe.

*precisionworks: *I'm a midnight tinkerer so the last couple times this happen @ night there was some cursing but not that loud. I might have to up the volume to excercise more throat muscle to relieve the pain.

*Mirage_Man: *I got the HLV from a retired tool/die machinist at a price of a song. At one time I had both the 10EE and HLV in my garage. But after a year I noticed that the foundation of my garage started to crack and all of the lines was pointing to the 10EE. So it had to go before more damage was done.

After searching for a month, I found the perfect home. He was a retired Nuclear engineer with a major passion for the machine restoration. This is a sample of what he did to the tailstock. Isn't it a beauty!


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## will (Apr 26, 2008)

That tailstock looks better than new. I bet he did a lot of body work on that to get it smooth, Castings are generally rough in nature, they can be sanded smooth, then like a car, primed and painted. 

By the way - that is a good tip about the outlets,


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## Torque1st (Apr 27, 2008)

will said:


> ... By the way - that is a good tip about the outlets,



It can be a real shocker and dangerous when a person pulls a plug and gets a plasma flash right in the face because a chip falls across the prongs.

Covers can be purchased here:
http://www.lectralock.com/commercial.htm
They do not seem to be designed for chip protection but might do the job. Many times I have seen people use just a bent up ABS sheet plastic cover installed like a shed roof.


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## wquiles (May 2, 2008)

Great thread - lots of good info here 

Man, I can't believe how nice that tailstock [email protected]

Will


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