Hey everyone! For all those suggesting magnets to hold these in place, trust me you would regret that. Magnets are hell around machine tools. They collect chips and magnetize everything around them, causing those things to collect chips… it’s terrible and impossible to keep clean. The switchable mag bases are the only exception.
I definitely thought about magnetic strips for about 5 seconds then thought of all the time I've spent trying to clean my magnetic welding squares. Then I thought maybe velcro but that idea was just as short lived.
To keep the bellows from bunching, you can use little pieces of wire that lay in the troughs of the bellows and bend down on each side and hook underneath the rails. On large way covers they do this in every trough you could probably get away with every fourth one. Keep them loose. We just use velcro to hold the ends in place. Works pretty good, if something happened that they get caught up in a moving part it just rips the velcro off
So True! Those things collect every small and sharp chip in its way, removing it is horrible. Small tip: Only place where I use magnets is in my coolant reservoir. So it will collect the chips which makes is down to the reservoir. That way they dont end up in the pump.
I don't need to say this, because...clearly you are committed to moving forward with this video teaching series, but...If I see that there are several videos covering the same subject...I will first watch your video. And then, if I watch any others, I will compare them against yours. For better or worse, your videos are my de facto standard of excellence. You, and..."This Old Tony". In case nobody else has said this recently...thanks.
I hand all my new maintenance guys a hacksaw when they arrive. So far I am 1 out of 10 for users, one day I am going to take all the cordless tools away and hand them a stick of 3/8 all thread and a bucket and have them start cutting to various lengths.
Character building.. lol Replacing the blade comes down to many variables. Value, productivity, accuracy.. I have a draw full of spare blades for each hacksaw, but rarely change them untill i snap em 🤠
My Father-in-law is a Master Machinist,-. He recently spent a week with me helping me out with learning to use my mini milling machine (a Seig). After the week (and after learning to make and use a SINE bar) dad said I should be able to do most anything I wanted to accomplish as a hobby machinist and that I'd have made an excellent apprentice. Felt pretty good honestly but the main point of all of this is to tell you that Dad also uses and taught me to use both my height gauge and my calipers to mark parts that had been Dykemed just as you do. PS, Just because you spoke so highly of it I added a 3 Axis DRO to my mini mill and It's one of if not the best mod I could have added. Thanks for your info on that too Quinn. Dad said he is going to look you up on you tube when he got home too. He likes the way you teach and so do I. Thank you so much.
Just a thought: If you attach the accordion material so that the end-fold is towards the bottom (rather then up as you did) it should be less floppy when fully extended. Might also close-fold more neatly too
I was about to post the same, but fortunately I looked first. I was mainly concerned with the folding working better when it closes up, but thinking about it you're probably right about it being less floppy when fully extended. It should also leave less of a gap between the cover and the the ways. So less chance of stray chips somehow making their way in under.
"Yeah? Well, you know, that's just, like, uh, your opinion, man." Joking aside, your opinion is probably correct but I almost heard The Dude when I read your comment and I wanted to share.
Theres something very satisfying about improving an existing tool or machine situation or making your own tool thats often even better than a retail item. Nice job.
I love how you dismiss the troll's comments with sheer logic before they even have a chance to speak! Your videos are addicting. I'm a woodworker and cant stop watching them.
When not using, close the accordion stuff to its minimum being careful to make all the folds. Learned that with old cameras. It will learn that position and reduce bulging up like it did.
I have stumbled onto your channel today and I just have to reiterate what all your subscribers already know... you are fantastic! The depth of knowledge coupled with your brilliant teaching style and then garnished with a great dry sense of humour is magical. I can, and will, watch your videos all day. Keep 'em coming.
@20:15 - Precision Starrett Gaffer Tape - found at an auction, you can’t get it anymore… priceless! I perused the comments hoping SOMEONE would ask you for a link to some forgotten supplier, but I guess folks are savvier than I thought. It IS still available at that specialty store that sells unobtainium, but the price is out of this world… Quinn - as always: THANK YOU FOR YOUR CHANNEL!!
I gotta say your dedication to doing things with care and accuracy always blows me away. You could have cut that scrap with a hacksaw and called it a day, but you went the extra mile to properly mill it up and create a nice part for your lathe. It's so refreshing to see someone take the time to turn these sorts of everyday low priority operations into teachable lessons on how to do things with a high degree of quality and accuracy. Like the way you showed milling that angle stock to create a flat bar teaches a lot about work holding, but most UA-camrs would just be like "I use my hacksaw to cut the angle bar in half at the bend." Instead, you turned it into a proper machining operation people can reference for how to make that sort of cut in their own projects. Thank you so much for doing what you do because no one does it quite like you.
Probably turns out there’s a worldwide shortage of silver solder, and she won’t be able to finish it until COVID is a thing of the past, and bacon & ham are readily available again also!
@@mrtnsnp If you silver soldered like I do, you’d understand! Ha! Just referring to the shortages of everything in my area. The grocery store shelves are largely empty, restaurants routinely have items marked off their menus because of shortages, and my in-laws, who own a huge Kubota tractor dealership, can’t get tractors, mowers, construction equipment, or even parts, from Kubota! Just try to find Gatorade around here!
The really thin spring steel (~0.3mm) decorators filling knives are perfect for popping 3D prints off the bed. They can be pushed flat down and hence worked parallel to the bed so there is a lot less risk to the print and the print surface. Dressing one face of the front of the knife with a semi sharp edge helps too.
I use a lot of MIC6, and it's good stuff, but it is indeed gummy. For manual machining, it's probably not a big deal, but if you're running a CNC machine at 10,000rpm, feeding at 50IPM, the chips can weld to the end mill, clog the flutes, and snap it off in an instant. Lubrication and chip evacuation are critical.
@@terrybuydos8489 Velcro does not stay in place when you run coolant I mill the magnets flush to the surface of the iron. So the magnetic circle ist closed You have virtually no chips sticking around the magnets
For my lathe I built a brass tray to the left of my saddle. It fits perfectly under the chuck and moves with the saddle. One side is open so I can brush shaving into a can for disposal.
When you add the little blurbs about precision levels of various methods (like the match-drilling trick), how many of those do you know off the cuff and how many do you have to look up / think about?
Very educational, as always: thx :) For way-covering material: visit your local bicycle shop. They always have a bin full of used up inner tubes which cannot be repaired. Just ask if you can take a couple (they’re going to be thrown out anyway). Cut the circular tube into pieces a bit broader than your lathe ways. Then, cut these tube pieces open along the length and clean them with water (they usually have some sort of protective powder on the inside). Glue together the cut tube pieces and take care to glue them in a harmonica-like structure, so they fold up when the cross-slide nears the chuck. An easy and free solution!
Hi Quinn, first time seeing your channel and what a relief it is to finally find a channel where the presenter knows their stuff and doesn't seem to continuously do things in a way that makes someone else who's spent most of their life on the tools shake their head at. Thankyou. Sub'd and liked
I keep a shop vac with a looong hose, always plugged. in, so that I can make a quick sweep of my chips on my machines. I also use it to clean my bib and shoes after a hairy operation. Great video. I also take great satisfaction in making useful items out of "junk".
I worked with a man who answered "why don't you" with a similar answer as your "shut up" but it wasn't quite as civil as yours! Enjoyed your video, cheers and many happy chips your way! By the by, we used to make bellows protectors for almost anything that came close to the product or water sprays in the steel mill, and they do save a lot of grief on any application.
@blondihacks Pro Tip about the 3d printer. Ditch the blue painters tape and get yourself some hair spray. Aquanet "All Weather Extra Super Hold" in the lavender can. spray your print bed with that and your parts will stay perfectly. Then when you need to remove them, use a little canned air, turned upside down. it will freeze the part and shrink it enough that it will pop straight off. then you will never scratch up the print surface or deal with changing out your torn up baked on painters tape.
Hi Quinn and the wider community, great video as usual, thank you! In an effort to protect the machine and make clean up easier I set out to protect my DRO installation on my Harrison lathe. The 'X' axis scale has a cover but I still feel that having spent the cash I wanted to remove all potential intrusion of swarf and fluids. So I installed a sliding plastic cover that extends in front of the scale and below the vulnerable components, it is about 12" wide and is angled backwards away from the chuck at about 15deg. The cover is self retracting and is anchored to the left hand end adjacent to the headstock, the other end is anchored to the carriage and extends with the 'X' travel. It can be un hooked from the carriage if required. Even better is the fact that it cost £12 from Amazon, original purpose? - A child's sun screen for a car window! It's so simple, cheap and very, very effective. If you're so inclined I have put a video on You tube but I warn you I'm not in you're league when it comes to You Tube. ua-cam.com/video/y7aOpQ6M6Z8/v-deo.html
Too bad you just cut the cover in half. There is actually a neat way of folding the overhang in front and behind the bed downwards 90°. This makes an inverted U shape cover and maybe protects better against chips getting under. Just search for "fold way covers". I wonder though if the material you chose is suitable for folding. Great Video anyway, thanks for sharing, and tbh I just went with the leather :D
Excellent Job!! You can top this off with refrigerator magnets. Cut some small pieces to go over the socket head capscrews that are on the carriage and cross slide. Keeps the chips from clogging the allen key holes. Just brush the chips off. They last for me about 3 months before chemicals soften them. But they are free, so it doesn't matter. Keep up the good work!!!
Hi I have the same lathe and converting it to CNC doing a lathe cover too I am using magnets to hold to the head stock and the carriage makes life very easy to take off, I have also built a control box that bolts to the Lathe, I also machined off the ways and fitted linear rails, I turn 95% Aluminum so magnets are fine for my purpose,
A small horizontal bandsaw is so handy... I still think it would be a cool project for someone to convert one to a rollin- type bandsaw... Great little project, might need to make some way covers for my lathe..thx!
UA-cam showed me another video of way cover making, what I saw was the bunching up did not happen when the way cover had sides, these are concertinaed like the top, with a ziz-zag seam. It forces the material to keep the same plane.
Next, it's time to cover that lead screw! I found a variation of SCAT hose to put on mine, but I haven't done it yet. I haven't felt like taking the lathe apart to install it.
Thought of a clever way to reduce bunching, without using fatiguing elastic: thin nylon line (like for fishing poles) through the smallest holes that permit travel, affix one end near the headstock, through the cover, then through a smooth hole at the other end, around a radiused curve, to a weight. As you move in and out, the weight(s) keep the line taut.
A great vid on keeping the ways clear. The only tip that i would give is to use a soft material such as cardboard between your hole punch and the plastic when making the holes. It doesn't dull the cutting tips therefore keeps them in good nick.
I have really enjoyed your videos and they've been quite helpful for me as a hobbyist. You often allude to speeds you're running on the mill and lathe by saying "I'm going to slow it down a bit" or "I'm going to speed up a bit" or something similarly noon-descriptive. It would be really helpful, since you usually specify the material, to know the actual speeds you are using. Keep up the great videos!
Nice addition. My mill came with a cheap version of the accordion material. After being so frustrated at the difficulties cleaning it, I removed it and went with an oil resistant rubber. I've been very happy with it. The material is supple enough that it just flops down out of the way. I also use that material as supplemental DRO scale covers for added protection. Another addition that makes me feel a lot better is adding a horizontal strip of rubber slightly stretched over the lead screw. The path has to make a jog where the half nuts are but it's easy with the rubber. It completely prevents chips from getting on the lead screw and a quick brushing gets the chips down to the chip pan.
One of the things on my to do list is to make a similar way cover, but 3 sided, so it straddles the lathe bed. I got the idea from videos on how to build large format camera bellows, and a text document from jbhphoto.
I am from Australia, I commented a couple of days ago on how impressed I am with your machining, I am impressed with your lathe, it would be exactly the size that would suit my needs. Here one costs about three to four thousand dollars, if you don't mind me asking how much they are in America ? Yours Sincerely Bernard Higgins.
I think there IS a really good reason why you cut those t-slot fillers to length rather than modeling them correctly. Most 3D printing enthusiasts would have thrown those out and re-printed them, but that's a bad, wasteful habit to get into. I think this was some combination of a conservation mentality, being familiar with subtractive manufacturing, and of course having a slow printer :D
Nice! IIRC this concertina cover material can also be "origami'd" into folding up/down at right angles, which can make it even more effective, and might also solve the buckling problem at the same time if the vertical part is tall enough. The folds might make it a bit less compressible though.
With your ways covers try placing the bellows material so it goes under the clamps. That way the natural bend to the material will be forced down and should stop the bunching.
they make a fiber enforced version of those covers that wont bunch up nearly as bad they are stiffer so if you buy them, buy it long, and cut it down to the size you need. if you do buy long, you can get one where its double the size you think you need and you have a spare just incase a piece of work catches the ways cover and tears it.
Hi Quinn. One word... Shop Vac! I use mine all the time to clean out all the fiddly and not so fiddly bits on my lathe and mill. Will probably make myself a set of those shut up carriage tee slot fillers though. Even using the vac they are a pain.
Great video. I like when you use what I call “The Blondihacksaw”. If you have room in your toolbox maybe you can show us how you would make a floating reamer/tap holder. Typically they’re used in the tail stock but I’m not sure what else. They’re a little pricey but they come in handy. Anywho, just a suggestion. Thanks for another awesome video👍
I had some of that precision gaffers tape until one day it disappeared. Coincidentally the neighbors had just acquired some brown and sharpe hockey sticks. I wonder 🤔
I made something similar by cutting 1" strips of plastic drawer liner and duct taping them together. Admittedly not a durable as your solution, good watching it!
May I suggest making a hoop extending from the left accordion attachment points made of a bag tie thick enough not to flop or be affected by wind but would prevent the accordion raising up as it approached closely from the right but the hoop would bend left and right easily when touched but not raise. The big problem would be snagging the accordion. Maybe a small ski rider in the middle? (An inch long 1/2 inch wide with small bend up on both ends?)
I hope you know that chips can travel by osmosis and sometimes by magic. Great way cover there. Nothing looks as nice as knurled brass. I think a person should make a few knurling tools so you have just the exact one for every occasion.
I thought of that too, but then I also remember it would be a magnet collecting steel chips and fillings. Then I thought of velcro, but that would collect chips badly too.
Nice project! Haha the whole time I was thinking, "3d printed holders would be perfect but hey, she has a machine shop" and then lo, the 3d printer appears! Nice little exercise in machining and problem solving.
I would have been tempted to try folding corners on the sides that went down over the sides of the ways... May have also solved the bunching up issue... Corners like the ones on a old timey camera.pretty sure you can just invert the accordion folds on the section you're folding 90 degrees and it would stay 90 degrees...
Hi there. Thanks for the video, lovely to watch as usual. You might want to chamfer the cover plates at 45-75 degrees to allow the accordion material to collapse more easily. You could also try burnishing a crease into the material a bit back from the factory fold so it lays across the plate and the factory fold falls at the corner. @Andre Berthlaume's suggestion of flipping the accordion (so the first panel is rising from the bottom instead of falling from the top) could also help it behave better when compressed.
I identify with "Keeping the operator emotionally stable"... now maybe this will make you slightly neurotic, but I predict that the chips flying over on the other side of your lathe's tailstock _will_ bother you... So I'm sure there will be a "part-2" to this video... and why did you 3-D print and not measure the... oh right... Shhhh! LOL that was my favorite part!
Great idea ! I noticed that the cover is bending and does not fold completely. I also noticed that you used twine and nuts to weight down the cover. If I can suggest something - you can stick narrow strips of sheet metal on the bottom of the cover, especially at the end of the cover, where it bends. Of course, the sheets must be thin, e.g. 0.5-1 mm. The sheet metal strips must not touch the bends, so as not to cut the cover.
Of course, the best choice for a sheet will be metal with the highest density. Mendleev's table, metals, state of aggregation and solid, density. In order Platinum, Gold, Lead .. The most reasonable (price) will be lead ;)
Ahhh, The reference to you and your family are horse ppl. That explains it all. As is my wife and 1 of 2 daughters that enjoy the equine world. I have noticed that you like keeping your shop very organized, And make items to make your everyday life just a little easier. Instead of the other spectrum of the typical horse ppl that half ass stuff back together with duct tape and zip ties. And worry about fixing right the next time when it breaks again. Which is my father in-law, and it drives me NUTS. And its unsafe. Pretty good idea here, and since McMaster Carr is in my back yard (Aurora, Ohio facility) Im going order some of this up and have it sent to will call. My lathe and the new project, My recently acquired Wells Index 745 Vertical Knee Mill sure could use a cover on the back of the table to protect its 54 yr old ways. Nice hack there Blondie 😉
Hey everyone! For all those suggesting magnets to hold these in place, trust me you would regret that. Magnets are hell around machine tools. They collect chips and magnetize everything around them, causing those things to collect chips… it’s terrible and impossible to keep clean. The switchable mag bases are the only exception.
I definitely thought about magnetic strips for about 5 seconds then thought of all the time I've spent trying to clean my magnetic welding squares.
Then I thought maybe velcro but that idea was just as short lived.
I was actually thimkim duck tape ololol
To keep the bellows from bunching, you can use little pieces of wire that lay in the troughs of the bellows and bend down on each side and hook underneath the rails. On large way covers they do this in every trough you could probably get away with every fourth one. Keep them loose.
We just use velcro to hold the ends in place. Works pretty good, if something happened that they get caught up in a moving part it just rips the velcro off
So True! Those things collect every small and sharp chip in its way, removing it is horrible.
Small tip:
Only place where I use magnets is in my coolant reservoir. So it will collect the chips which makes is down to the reservoir.
That way they dont end up in the pump.
Why not just use "the force" ? It's worked for me and my fellow Jedi for years.
"because shut up that's why"
That's a keeper. 😁
would be great on a T-shirt.
The BEST excuse!
I seriously need that t-shirt!
Possibly a purposeful Simpsons reference? ua-cam.com/video/mG5v2udwOPY/v-deo.html
I love my 3D printer…but I completely agree with your sentiment!
I don't need to say this, because...clearly you are committed to moving forward with this video teaching series, but...If I see that there are several videos covering the same subject...I will first watch your video. And then, if I watch any others, I will compare them against yours. For better or worse, your videos are my de facto standard of excellence. You, and..."This Old Tony". In case nobody else has said this recently...thanks.
Hacksaw sure builds character. Make sure to not replace the blade when dull👍
Sharp blades are for quitters
@@Blondihacks 😂😂😂😂😂
I hand all my new maintenance guys a hacksaw when they arrive. So far I am 1 out of 10 for users, one day I am going to take all the cordless tools away and hand them a stick of 3/8 all thread and a bucket and have them start cutting to various lengths.
Character building.. lol
Replacing the blade comes down to many variables. Value, productivity, accuracy.. I have a draw full of spare blades for each hacksaw, but rarely change them untill i snap em 🤠
Why replace the dull blade when you can simply build a custom jig to resharpen the blades with a tiny file chucked into a reciprocating arm
Thank you for giving me my new favorite reason on why I do things the way I do things. "Shut up, that's why" is now firmly entrenched in my lexicon.
This phrase belongs in every technical book I have. Why? isn't it obvious why? Because...
My Father-in-law is a Master Machinist,-. He recently spent a week with me helping me out with learning to use my mini milling machine (a Seig). After the week (and after learning to make and use a SINE bar) dad said I should be able to do most anything I wanted to accomplish as a hobby machinist and that I'd have made an excellent apprentice. Felt pretty good honestly but the main point of all of this is to tell you that Dad also uses and taught me to use both my height gauge and my calipers to mark parts that had been Dykemed just as you do. PS, Just because you spoke so highly of it I added a 3 Axis DRO to my mini mill and It's one of if not the best mod I could have added. Thanks for your info on that too Quinn. Dad said he is going to look you up on you tube when he got home too. He likes the way you teach and so do I. Thank you so much.
Just a thought: If you attach the accordion material so that the end-fold is towards the bottom (rather then up as you did) it should be less floppy when fully extended. Might also close-fold more neatly too
I was about to post the same, but fortunately I looked first. I was mainly concerned with the folding working better when it closes up, but thinking about it you're probably right about it being less floppy when fully extended. It should also leave less of a gap between the cover and the the ways. So less chance of stray chips somehow making their way in under.
Yep. I’d suggest trying this too.
"Yeah? Well, you know, that's just, like, uh, your opinion, man."
Joking aside, your opinion is probably correct but I almost heard The Dude when I read your comment and I wanted to share.
That was exactly my thought also. Less bouncing and better folding.
"Precision Starrett gaffer tape" made me laugh. Good stuff, as always!
"Why didn't I print it exactly the right length? Because shut up! That's why!" Oh, that's comedy gold, there!
The "Steve Summers position " works pretty good on those little saws😁. Thanks for sharing 👍
Theres something very satisfying about improving an existing tool or machine situation or making your own tool thats often even better than a retail item. Nice job.
I love how you dismiss the troll's comments with sheer logic before they even have a chance to speak! Your videos are addicting. I'm a woodworker and cant stop watching them.
Your sense of humor would make a day at work just fly right by. Delightful.
I'm a 43 years machinist. Very impressed with your knowledge of the trade.
When not using, close the accordion stuff to its minimum being careful to make all the folds. Learned that with old cameras. It will learn that position and reduce bulging up like it did.
Oh heck I remember that now, nice info Art!!!
I have stumbled onto your channel today and I just have to reiterate what all your subscribers already know... you are fantastic!
The depth of knowledge coupled with your brilliant teaching style and then garnished with a great dry sense of humour is magical.
I can, and will, watch your videos all day. Keep 'em coming.
I like this type of small work when there are no large projects to work on. nice video Blondi....
@20:15 - Precision Starrett Gaffer Tape - found at an auction, you can’t get it anymore… priceless!
I perused the comments hoping SOMEONE would ask you for a link to some forgotten supplier, but I guess folks are savvier than I thought.
It IS still available at that specialty store that sells unobtainium, but the price is out of this world…
Quinn - as always: THANK YOU FOR YOUR CHANNEL!!
I gotta say your dedication to doing things with care and accuracy always blows me away. You could have cut that scrap with a hacksaw and called it a day, but you went the extra mile to properly mill it up and create a nice part for your lathe. It's so refreshing to see someone take the time to turn these sorts of everyday low priority operations into teachable lessons on how to do things with a high degree of quality and accuracy. Like the way you showed milling that angle stock to create a flat bar teaches a lot about work holding, but most UA-camrs would just be like "I use my hacksaw to cut the angle bar in half at the bend." Instead, you turned it into a proper machining operation people can reference for how to make that sort of cut in their own projects.
Thank you so much for doing what you do because no one does it quite like you.
All the cool tools she has... and I'm blown away by the ratcheting die tool!
I’ve always thought you were of bad character so it was good to see you hacksawing your way to redemption. 😜
You really know how to keep us waiting for silver-soldering that boiler…
Probably turns out there’s a worldwide shortage of silver solder, and she won’t be able to finish it until COVID is a thing of the past, and bacon & ham are readily available again also!
@@tomt9543 The two are hopefully uncorrelated, as I do not recommend using bacon fat as an alternative to silver solder.
@@mrtnsnp If you silver soldered like I do, you’d understand! Ha! Just referring to the shortages of everything in my area. The grocery store shelves are largely empty, restaurants routinely have items marked off their menus because of shortages, and my in-laws, who own a huge Kubota tractor dealership, can’t get tractors, mowers, construction equipment, or even parts, from Kubota! Just try to find Gatorade around here!
@@tomt9543 Sadly only one of those will be true in America, and definitely none in Kalifornia
The really thin spring steel (~0.3mm) decorators filling knives are perfect for popping 3D prints off the bed. They can be pushed flat down and hence worked parallel to the bed so there is a lot less risk to the print and the print surface. Dressing one face of the front of the knife with a semi sharp edge helps too.
I use a lot of MIC6, and it's good stuff, but it is indeed gummy. For manual machining, it's probably not a big deal, but if you're running a CNC machine at 10,000rpm, feeding at 50IPM, the chips can weld to the end mill, clog the flutes, and snap it off in an instant. Lubrication and chip evacuation are critical.
A clever machinist and a poet, you are quite the wordsmith.
I made my covers for the mill and lathe with neudymium magnets glued into iron bars.
Super convenient quick release for the covers
I did same! If magnets bother you, velcro is fast and works too
@@terrybuydos8489 Velcro does not stay in place when you run coolant
I mill the magnets flush to the surface of the iron.
So the magnetic circle ist closed
You have virtually no chips sticking around the magnets
The reason is... "Because!" Witty as always. Nice overview of this quality of life project.
For my lathe I built a brass tray to the left of my saddle. It fits perfectly under the chuck and moves with the saddle. One side is open so I can brush shaving into a can for disposal.
When you add the little blurbs about precision levels of various methods (like the match-drilling trick), how many of those do you know off the cuff and how many do you have to look up / think about?
Very educational, as always: thx :) For way-covering material: visit your local bicycle shop. They always have a bin full of used up inner tubes which cannot be repaired. Just ask if you can take a couple (they’re going to be thrown out anyway).
Cut the circular tube into pieces a bit broader than your lathe ways. Then, cut these tube pieces open along the length and clean them with water (they usually have some sort of protective powder on the inside). Glue together the cut tube pieces and take care to glue them in a harmonica-like structure, so they fold up when the cross-slide nears the chuck.
An easy and free solution!
Hi Quinn, first time seeing your channel and what a relief it is to finally find a channel where the presenter knows their stuff and doesn't seem to continuously do things in a way that makes someone else who's spent most of their life on the tools shake their head at. Thankyou. Sub'd and liked
Quinn, you are the most amazing person I've ever encountered! So knowledgable! What? 200 years worth of knowledge? And you're only 25?
I keep a shop vac with a looong hose, always plugged. in, so that I can make a quick sweep of my chips on my machines. I also use it to clean my bib and shoes after a hairy operation. Great video. I also take great satisfaction in making useful items out of "junk".
30 seconds long excuse-rant for not doing the 3d print in the right length. Like it. Nice video, Quinn
Your "scrap bin" made me reassess my current methods
I worked with a man who answered "why don't you" with a similar answer as your "shut up" but it wasn't quite as civil as yours! Enjoyed your video, cheers and many happy chips your way!
By the by, we used to make bellows protectors for almost anything that came close to the product or water sprays in the steel mill, and they do save a lot of grief on any application.
@blondihacks Pro Tip about the 3d printer. Ditch the blue painters tape and get yourself some hair spray. Aquanet "All Weather Extra Super Hold" in the lavender can. spray your print bed with that and your parts will stay perfectly. Then when you need to remove them, use a little canned air, turned upside down. it will freeze the part and shrink it enough that it will pop straight off. then you will never scratch up the print surface or deal with changing out your torn up baked on painters tape.
So much economy in the setup, so much lavish machining to make raw stock. Love it.
Hi Quinn and the wider community, great video as usual, thank you! In an effort to protect the machine and make clean up easier I set out to protect my DRO installation on my Harrison lathe. The 'X' axis scale has a cover but I still feel that having spent the cash I wanted to remove all potential intrusion of swarf and fluids. So I installed a sliding plastic cover that extends in front of the scale and below the vulnerable components, it is about 12" wide and is angled backwards away from the chuck at about 15deg. The cover is self retracting and is anchored to the left hand end adjacent to the headstock, the other end is anchored to the carriage and extends with the 'X' travel. It can be un hooked from the carriage if required. Even better is the fact that it cost £12 from Amazon, original purpose? - A child's sun screen for a car window! It's so simple, cheap and very, very effective. If you're so inclined I have put a video on You tube but I warn you I'm not in you're league when it comes to You Tube. ua-cam.com/video/y7aOpQ6M6Z8/v-deo.html
Too bad you just cut the cover in half. There is actually a neat way of folding the overhang in front and behind the bed downwards 90°. This makes an inverted U shape cover and maybe protects better against chips getting under. Just search for "fold way covers". I wonder though if the material you chose is suitable for folding. Great Video anyway, thanks for sharing, and tbh I just went with the leather :D
Excellent Job!! You can top this off with refrigerator magnets. Cut some small pieces to go over the socket head capscrews that are on the carriage and cross slide. Keeps the chips from clogging the allen key holes. Just brush the chips off. They last for me about 3 months before chemicals soften them. But they are free, so it doesn't matter. Keep up the good work!!!
Hi I have the same lathe and converting it to CNC doing a lathe cover too I am using magnets to hold to the head stock and the carriage makes life very easy to take off, I have also built a control box that bolts to the Lathe, I also machined off the ways and fitted linear rails, I turn 95% Aluminum so magnets are fine for my purpose,
"The reason why I did it that way, is because shut up, that's why." LOL! Brilliant ;-)
A small horizontal bandsaw is so handy... I still think it would be a cool project for someone to convert one to a rollin- type bandsaw...
Great little project, might need to make some way covers for my lathe..thx!
UA-cam showed me another video of way cover making, what I saw was the bunching up did not happen when the way cover had sides, these are concertinaed like the top, with a ziz-zag seam. It forces the material to keep the same plane.
Next, it's time to cover that lead screw! I found a variation of SCAT hose to put on mine, but I haven't done it yet. I haven't felt like taking the lathe apart to install it.
I never knew that about 3d printing and lathes, an important point everyone should take to heart.
Thought of a clever way to reduce bunching, without using fatiguing elastic: thin nylon line (like for fishing poles) through the smallest holes that permit travel, affix one end near the headstock, through the cover, then through a smooth hole at the other end, around a radiused curve, to a weight. As you move in and out, the weight(s) keep the line taut.
Very interesting. Loved your poking the trolls and “it’s my shop and I’ll do it my way “ with the 3D printing. You crack me up. 😂
A great vid on keeping the ways clear. The only tip that i would give is to use a soft material such as cardboard between your hole punch and the plastic when making the holes. It doesn't dull the cutting tips therefore keeps them in good nick.
The tool has a brass anvil in the jaw. The makers thought of that. 🙂
I have really enjoyed your videos and they've been quite helpful for me as a hobbyist.
You often allude to speeds you're running on the mill and lathe by saying "I'm going to slow it down a bit" or "I'm going to speed up a bit" or something similarly noon-descriptive. It would be really helpful, since you usually specify the material, to know the actual speeds you are using.
Keep up the great videos!
Nice addition. My mill came with a cheap version of the accordion material. After being so frustrated at the difficulties cleaning it, I removed it and went with an oil resistant rubber. I've been very happy with it. The material is supple enough that it just flops down out of the way. I also use that material as supplemental DRO scale covers for added protection.
Another addition that makes me feel a lot better is adding a horizontal strip of rubber slightly stretched over the lead screw. The path has to make a jog where the half nuts are but it's easy with the rubber. It completely prevents chips from getting on the lead screw and a quick brushing gets the chips down to the chip pan.
One of the things on my to do list is to make a similar way cover, but 3 sided, so it straddles the lathe bed.
I got the idea from videos on how to build large format camera bellows, and a text document from jbhphoto.
It would also help with the cover lifting.
@@morpheox Indeed.
You can by three sides way cover material as well
I am from Australia, I commented a couple of days ago on how impressed I am with your machining, I am impressed with your lathe, it would be exactly the size that would suit my needs. Here one costs about three to four thousand dollars, if you don't mind me asking how much they are in America ?
Yours Sincerely
Bernard Higgins.
I think there IS a really good reason why you cut those t-slot fillers to length rather than modeling them correctly. Most 3D printing enthusiasts would have thrown those out and re-printed them, but that's a bad, wasteful habit to get into. I think this was some combination of a conservation mentality, being familiar with subtractive manufacturing, and of course having a slow printer :D
Nice! IIRC this concertina cover material can also be "origami'd" into folding up/down at right angles, which can make it even more effective, and might also solve the buckling problem at the same time if the vertical part is tall enough. The folds might make it a bit less compressible though.
Finally!!! I've been waiting for a video like this.
The blue T slot plugs look sharp in contrast.
With your ways covers try placing the bellows material so it goes under the clamps. That way the natural bend to the material will be forced down and should stop the bunching.
That's the most detailed and understandable reason why I have ever heard. :D
Great solution and very well constructed.
Dang the classic Quinn sense of humour was on fire this week! Why do I think that? Because shut up that's why!
Hey Blondi! Wondering how this worked out after a year plus, and if you've considered one of those telescoping leadscrew covers as well. Cheers!
I like how you use the horizontal bandsaw’s vertical capability which frees up an end to sit on. I do the same thing! 😉
they make a fiber enforced version of those covers that wont bunch up nearly as bad they are stiffer so if you buy them, buy it long, and cut it down to the size you need. if you do buy long, you can get one where its double the size you think you need and you have a spare just incase a piece of work catches the ways cover and tears it.
Hi Quinn. One word... Shop Vac! I use mine all the time to clean out all the fiddly and not so fiddly bits on my lathe and mill. Will probably make myself a set of those shut up carriage tee slot fillers though. Even using the vac they are a pain.
You can even make a chip cover project interesting and informative!! Love the videos, thanks 👍🏻
You're very patient and it seems you do like milling and generally doing such things with precision. For mine I just used angle grinder 😁
Love the covers and fillers . I too hate cleaning slots and other chip hiders. Nice job Blondi
We make silicone tslot covers that are popular you might be interested in.
Great video. I like when you use what I call “The Blondihacksaw”. If you have room in your toolbox maybe you can show us how you would make a floating reamer/tap holder. Typically they’re used in the tail stock but I’m not sure what else. They’re a little pricey but they come in handy. Anywho, just a suggestion.
Thanks for another awesome video👍
I had some of that precision gaffers tape until one day it disappeared. Coincidentally the neighbors had just acquired some brown and sharpe hockey sticks. I wonder 🤔
I made something similar by cutting 1" strips of plastic drawer liner and duct taping them together. Admittedly not a durable as your solution, good watching it!
May I suggest making a hoop extending from the left accordion attachment points made of a bag tie thick enough not to flop or be affected by wind but would prevent the accordion raising up as it approached closely from the right but the hoop would bend left and right easily when touched but not raise. The big problem would be snagging the accordion. Maybe a small ski rider in the middle? (An inch long 1/2 inch wide with small bend up on both ends?)
"...because, Shut up, that's why." Rolling... 🤣
Uri Tuchman watches your videos, so that's an easy sub from me!
I hope you know that chips can travel by osmosis and sometimes by magic. Great way cover there. Nothing looks as nice as knurled brass. I think a person should make a few knurling tools so you have just the exact one for every occasion.
Your right.they even end up under my pillow 2 weeks in the future 😀
Great idea to keep that drill straight on the carriage.
great project for quality of life improvement. I'm definitely going to try it - I'm thinking using magnets on the carriage end for quick disconnect
I thought of that too, but then I also remember it would be a magnet collecting steel chips and fillings. Then I thought of velcro, but that would collect chips badly too.
I think this material is supposed to ride directly on top of the ways. That way it's supported and won't bunch up 😊
hello internet my name is quinn! love this channel.
Check out octane workholding’s t-slot covers
"Shut up, that's why!" Haha, been there just yesterday, printing the wrong version of my part for three hours.
I love how prismatic ways make rainbows
hahahahaha, awesome "because shut up, that's why." too funny
Thank you for another really great project.
"Because shut up that's why", LOL~
Nice project! Haha the whole time I was thinking, "3d printed holders would be perfect but hey, she has a machine shop" and then lo, the 3d printer appears! Nice little exercise in machining and problem solving.
Nice lathe addition. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week :)
Nice to see that I am not the only one to sit on there horizontal band saw.
I would have been tempted to try folding corners on the sides that went down over the sides of the ways... May have also solved the bunching up issue... Corners like the ones on a old timey camera.pretty sure you can just invert the accordion folds on the section you're folding 90 degrees and it would stay 90 degrees...
Been quite a while that I have seen somebody print on bluetape!
Great video garnished with special humor! Big thumbs up for that!
Hi there. Thanks for the video, lovely to watch as usual. You might want to chamfer the cover plates at 45-75 degrees to allow the accordion material to collapse more easily. You could also try burnishing a crease into the material a bit back from the factory fold so it lays across the plate and the factory fold falls at the corner. @Andre Berthlaume's suggestion of flipping the accordion (so the first panel is rising from the bottom instead of falling from the top) could also help it behave better when compressed.
awesome , Quinn.
Full admiration, thanks a lot for your videos!
Expanding/collapsing Lead screw covers next!
Quinn, you are so awesome!
Besides what you used the gaffers tape for. what is the intended use and what makes the Starrett tape different from others?
I identify with "Keeping the operator emotionally stable"... now maybe this will make you slightly neurotic, but I predict that the chips flying over on the other side of your lathe's tailstock _will_ bother you... So I'm sure there will be a "part-2" to this video... and why did you 3-D print and not measure the... oh right... Shhhh! LOL that was my favorite part!
Great idea ! I noticed that the cover is bending and does not fold completely. I also noticed that you used twine and nuts to weight down the cover. If I can suggest something - you can stick narrow strips of sheet metal on the bottom of the cover, especially at the end of the cover, where it bends. Of course, the sheets must be thin, e.g. 0.5-1 mm. The sheet metal strips must not touch the bends, so as not to cut the cover.
Of course, the best choice for a sheet will be metal with the highest density. Mendleev's table, metals, state of aggregation and solid, density. In order Platinum, Gold, Lead .. The most reasonable (price) will be lead ;)
Ahhh, The reference to you and your family are horse ppl. That explains it all. As is my wife and 1 of 2 daughters that enjoy the equine world. I have noticed that you like keeping your shop very organized, And make items to make your everyday life just a little easier. Instead of the other spectrum of the typical horse ppl that half ass stuff back together with duct tape and zip ties. And worry about fixing right the next time when it breaks again. Which is my father in-law, and it drives me NUTS. And its unsafe. Pretty good idea here, and since McMaster Carr is in my back yard (Aurora, Ohio facility) Im going order some of this up and have it sent to will call. My lathe and the new project, My recently acquired Wells Index 745 Vertical Knee Mill sure could use a cover on the back of the table to protect its 54 yr old ways. Nice hack there Blondie 😉