Swarf Magnet for the milling table slots and other small areas.

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Jan 20, 2018, 04:14 PM
jjr2001

2 Attachment(s)

Swarf Magnet for the milling table slots and other small areas.

This swarf magnet is made of telescoping brass tubing. The business end of the large
outer brass tube is sealed by soldering a copper plug in place.
The magnets were left over from my model airplane stuff and were used
to retain canopies and hatches. Quite strong. I put 5 of them in the inner tube.
A short piece of UHMW was turned to insert in the end for a handle.
The grommet is to "trap" the swarf as the magnet is pulled up into the main tube.
Then it is a simple matter to shake or brush off the chips into the chip can.

Picks up the steel filings from the T-slots in the mill table and other tight areas.

Don't know why I waited so long to make these. They are quite helpful in the shop.

Cheers, JR
Jan 20, 2018, 04:56 PM
thehomeengineer

Hi JR
They are great. Saves having to touch the swarf with your hands and definetly speeds up cleaning of machine/floor/swarf try etc, I haven't done this yet but when I next use my clarkson tool and cutter grinder I am going to try and position it to prevent the very fine steel grinding dust getting all over the machine. I have also finished the lantern chuck and will try and post this week.
The Home Engineer
Jan 21, 2018, 05:35 AM
jjr2001

Looking forward to seeing your lantern chuck.
I think the swarf magnet should collect some of the grinding swarf.
Might need to seal the sliding shaft with some tape to keep the fine dust out of there.

Cheers, JR
Jan 21, 2018, 08:10 AM
tonyfoale

2 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by thehomeengineer

when I next use my clarkson tool and cutter grinder I am going to try and position it to prevent the very fine steel grinding dust getting all over the machine.

On my T&C grinder I built a cover around the wheel leaving just enough cutaway to allow access, I connect a shop vac to the cover and it sucks air in through the access hole and collects ALL the dust.

Attachment 21660 Attachment 21661 Click thumbnails for full size pix.

Wheel cover showing access hole. The outer cover is held on with tape because it was easy and works fine. Not shown in these pix is a tube at the rear to which the shop vac is connected.
Jan 21, 2018, 09:10 AM
jjr2001

Nice one Tony, that setup is better than you see on most commercial dust collection setups.

Thanks for posting.

Cheers, JR
Jan 21, 2018, 11:37 AM
olderdan

I agree a vacuum is the way to go, each to his own of course but I am not a fan of magnets around machinery so I use a shop vac to clean my machines, never use an air gun either. The vac will pick up all types of swarf and dust and cleans out cap screws a treat. I use it on my cutter grinder while in use as carbide dust is not something you want to ingest. The only downside is that it will pick up some things you did not want it to but at least you know where it went.
Jan 21, 2018, 12:07 PM
tonyfoale

Quote:

Originally Posted by olderdan

I use a shop vac to clean my machines, never use an air gun either.

Alan, that could be me talking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by olderdan

The vac will pick up all types of swarf and dust and cleans out cap screws a treat. I use it on my cutter grinder while in use as carbide dust is not something you want to ingest. The only downside is that it will pick up some things you did not want it to but at least you know where it went.

I made a cyclone which dumps all but fine dust in a bucket before it gets to the vac. So anything inadvertently picked up is easy to find.
Jan 21, 2018, 12:14 PM
thehomeengineer

Thank you Tony
Certainly something to consider.
The Home Engineer
Jan 21, 2018, 12:20 PM
thehomeengineer

On the topic of a vacuum, I must agree they do a great job, but used in conjunction with the magnet certainly clears the big stringing staff away first which prevents the vacuum hose tube from blocking. Very fustrating.

The Home Engineer
Jan 21, 2018, 12:34 PM
tonyfoale

3 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyfoale

I made a cyclone which dumps all but fine dust in a bucket before it gets to the vac. So anything inadvertently picked up is easy to find.

Here are a couple of pix of the shop vac with the cyclone. It is not optimised I am sure, but it was easy to make from a metal bucket and it keeps almost everything from getting into the vac, and I hardly ever have to clean the filter.

Attachment 21663 Attachment 21664 Attachment 21665 Click thumbnails for full size.

I have a smaller vac which I use on a bead blaster, the one pictured is just too powerful for the blaster. Some fine dust (broken beads) would get through to the vac filter. Last week I needed to use the blaster and I started playing with bubbling the evacuated air through water to trap the dust but the system needed more development so I tried a very simple method instead. I just put about 50 mm of water in the bottom of the cyclone tub. It exceeded my expectations and hardly any dust got through to the vac filter.
Jan 21, 2018, 12:42 PM
jjr2001

Oh, I like that Cyclone. I could use that in my shop...I use a combination now of the swarf magnets and the vacuum. There always seems to be a certain amount of stuff that the magnet won't pickup so both methods work. That cyclone seems like a great idea. Easier to find the small drill bits that get sucked up in the shop vac.

Cheers, JR
Jan 21, 2018, 01:14 PM
tonyfoale

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjr2001

Oh, I like that Cyclone. I could use that in my shop...I use a combination now of the swarf magnets and the vacuum. There always seems to be a certain amount of stuff that the magnet won't pickup so both methods work. That cyclone seems like a great idea. Easier to find the small drill bits that get sucked up in the shop vac.

Cheers, JR

Most of my swarf is aluminium so magnets are of little use to me. Although If I drop a drill bit or similar and can't find it I wave a stick with a magnet on the end under the lathe cabinet and I am always surprised at how much non-magnetic swarf gets caught up in the steel bits.
Jan 23, 2018, 10:06 AM
olderdan

Great idea Tony, it would be nice to separate the dust from the swarf but I never thought of a DIY version of a cyclone, I will have to look into that.
Thanks for posting.
Jan 24, 2018, 05:07 AM
jjr2001

Check this one out. Here are the plans to make one!

Homemade Cyclone Dust Collector - HomemadeTools.net
Jan 24, 2018, 06:52 AM
tonyfoale

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjr2001

Check this one out. Here are the plans to make one!

Homemade Cyclone Dust Collector - HomemadeTools.net

i would suggest that one is too small unless you produce very little mess. Little, if any, more work would be involved to make a larger one. There are heaps of examples on the net if you search. Some are made out of plastic traffic cones, others are all wood and some are made by rolling metal cones from sheet.
Mine was made from stuff that I had laying around and which involved minimum work. A metal water bucket and a few bits of chipboard. I mentioned that I had another one which I use with a smaller vac for the bead blaster, but that has the same size bucket. If the bucket is too small then you will get remixing of the debris which will transfer to the vac. My larger one produces so much suction that it pulls the gloves in and holds them stiff making it very hard to manipulate your hands, hence the need for the small one.

Attachment 21767 Click thumbnail for full size
Here is the bead blast vac and cyclone. A plastic flower pot was used as the cyclone. The parallel upward extension is to reduce the velocity of outward moving air, this allows for a bit more debris/air separation in that area.
Jan 24, 2018, 07:42 AM
jjr2001

Good point Tony, I have an extra 5 gallon HDPE container that is taller than the standard 5 gallon paint bucket.
Nice tapered sides with plenty of space for chips.

Cheers, JR
Jan 24, 2018, 09:12 AM
tonyfoale

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjr2001

Good point Tony, I have an extra 5 gallon HDPE container that is taller than the standard 5 gallon paint bucket.
Nice tapered sides with plenty of space for chips.

Cheers, JR

That sounds ideal. Height is good.
Jan 25, 2018, 06:09 AM
DIYer


Thanks jjr2001! We've added your Swarf Magnet to our Cleaning category,
as well as to your builder page: jjr2001's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-swarf-magnet-2"> <img src="/uploads/209548/homemade-swarf-magnet-2.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-swarf-magnet-2">Swarf Magnet</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/jjr2001">jjr2001</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/magnet'>magnet</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
Jan 25, 2018, 06:12 AM
DIYer


Thanks tonyfoale! We've added your Grinder Cover to our Grinding category,
as well as to your builder page: tonyfoale's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-grinder-cover"> <img src="/uploads/209553/homemade-grinder-cover.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-grinder-cover">Grinder Cover</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/tonyfoale">tonyfoale</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/grinder'>grinder</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/shop-vac'>shop-vac</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/cleaner'>cleaner</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
Jan 25, 2018, 06:16 AM
DIYer


Thanks tonyfoale! We've added your Cyclone Dust Collector to our Cleaning category,
as well as to your builder page: tonyfoale's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-cyclone-dust-collector-6"> <img src="/uploads/209558/homemade-cyclone-dust-collector-6.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-cyclone-dust-collector-6">Cyclone Dust Collector</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/tonyfoale">tonyfoale</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/shop-vac'>shop-vac</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/dust-collection'>dust collection</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>