On Sun, 3 Feb 2008 14:53:07 -0500, "Carl Boyd"
wrote:

All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never
did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. Only 1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better way, what
is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd

Stick an piece of welding rod in the hole, with a slight hook in it,
just before parting off, and when it parts off, it spins nicely to a
stop on the piece of rod.

Folks with turret lathes, CNC lathes and such, often bend a chunk of
wire, and hold it down to the top of the tool holder with a loop under
a washer and the tool holder hold down bolt, and bend it so it enters
the bore a smidge, when cutting off small stuff. Or a piece of rubber
hose big enough for the part to pass into it, down the tube and into a
strainer (or box/can if not using coolant.

Gunner



"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never
did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. Only 1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better way, what
is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd

Carl Boyd wrote:

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. Â*I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place.

Just put some round in the tailstock's chuck and let it stick into the hole
while cutting off.


Nick
--
The lowcost-DRO:
http://www.yadro.de

On Sun, 3 Feb 2008 14:53:07 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, "Carl
Boyd" quickly quoth:

All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole.

Bandsaw or lathe, right?


I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never
did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. Only 1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better way, what
is it?

Magnets held close to the offcut.

For aluminum and brass, use suitable aluminum and brass magnets, sold
separately by your local Unobtainium dealer. Or, if you don't have a
local dealer nearby, try making chutes out of larger diameter PVC pipe
which can be held close to the drop area. Jig it up as required.

--
I think this is the crux of the global warming media hype (not some of
the science). Gobal warming research and it's ugly step-sister, the
media, are a business. They will only feed frenzy that adds to their
business. Hence, the lack of talk about your cold and snowy western
weather, lack of hurricanes in '06, etc. The only things that will
be brought up are those that will "help" their cause and industry.
Do something for something we KNOW about, like the kid down the
street that needs a home, etc. Don't try to help for something
that we are trying (ridiculously) to predict will be a problem
100-200years from now!!
Thanks,

A Liberal, Environmentally Friendly, Global Warming, Anti-Hype Lad
James, 11Jan07 on Weather Channel's "One Degree" hype site

For small stuff and multiple cuts, drill the base of the blank for a
press fit of a length of coat hanger, after drilling the ID. Let it
project past the end a reasonable distance, and you can easily catch the
blanks as they come off.
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Carl Boyd wrote:
All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never
did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. Only 1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better way, what
is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd




--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

"Carl Boyd" wrote in message
...
All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8"
long, with a .144" axial hole. I didn't see any way to
catch them without getting in a dangerous place. 1st one
dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never did find
it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop
down. Only 1 of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There
has got to be a better way, what is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd

Parting them off in a lathe? I usually just stick the tip
of my scribe in the hole with
my right hand just as I complete the parting operation with
my left. Piece of wire works
well too---but the scribe is usually close at hand.

Bandsaw? Good luck. I've tossed pieces lots larger than
yours through a hole
into a parallel universe just as the cut finishes with my
Ellis saw.

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 3 Feb 2008 14:53:07 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, "Carl
Boyd" quickly quoth:

All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole.

Bandsaw or lathe, right?


I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I
never
did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. Only
1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better way,
what
is it?

Magnets held close to the offcut.

For aluminum and brass, use suitable aluminum and brass magnets, sold
separately by your local Unobtainium dealer. Or, if you don't have a
local dealer nearby, try making chutes out of larger diameter PVC pipe
which can be held close to the drop area. Jig it up as required.

Or use a big soup strainer (seive) taped to a wooden dowel for a handle.
This is very common in small commercial shops. Of course, it assumes you're
doing your cutoff with power crossfeed.

--
Ed Huntress

On Sun, 3 Feb 2008 14:53:07 -0500, "Carl Boyd"
wrote:

(snipped)

I keep a piece of 1/8th welding rod in the lathe chip tray. Stick it
in the hole with the right hand and finish parting with the left.

Bob

"Carl Boyd" wrote: .(clip) There has got to be a better way, what
is it?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
After cleaning the chip tray, spread a rag or old towel down there, so they
can't roll.

On Feb 3, 2:53*pm, "Carl Boyd" wrote:
All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. *I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. *1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never
did find it. *So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. *Only 1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. *There has got to be a better way, what
is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd

I keep an old baking pan in the chip tray to catch chips & cutoffs and
make cleaning it out easier.

I have put a removable chip tray as large as will fit, under the
headstock. It not only catches swarf, but catches most off-cuts, too.
But I like some of the other posts better. The idea of sticking a
small rod in the tailstock, for instance.
Anyway, thank you for asking this question. Until now, I always
thought that looking for off-cuts was just part of lathe work!

Pete Stanaitis
--------------------

Carl Boyd wrote:

All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never
did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. Only 1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better way, what
is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd

"Carl Boyd" wrote in
:

All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a
.144" axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting
in a dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray
and I never did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them
drop down. Only 1 of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got
to be a better way, what is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd



For parts with a hole in them, chuck a lenght of brazing rod in a drill
chuck in the tailstock and let it stick into the hole. Requires no
catching at all, and you can push them to the chuck and just keep
working.

--
Anthony

You can't 'idiot proof' anything....every time you try, they just make
better idiots.

Remove sp to reply via email

Carl Boyd wrote:

All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never
did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. Only 1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better way, what
is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd


I just hold a small cardboard box under the drop when it falls.
I have even taught high school kids to do it so it can't be all
that hard. :-)
...lew...

Ed Huntress wrote:
Or use a big soup strainer (seive) taped to a wooden dowel for a handle.
This is very common in small commercial shops. Of course, it assumes you're
doing your cutoff with power crossfeed.

Ed Huntress

I just hold the catcher with right hand and turn the cross feed
with my left hand. No problem for the small bits the OP mentioned.
...lew...

"Carl Boyd" wrote in message
...
All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I
never did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down.
Only 1 of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better
way, what is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd


Thanks for all the good ideas. I was using the lathe.

Carl Boyd

On 2008-02-03, Carl Boyd wrote:
All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never
did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. Only 1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better way, what
is it?

Put a smaller rod (say 1/8") in the tailstock drill chuck and
run it 3/4 of the way into the workpiece after the hole is drilled, This
should control the workpiece when it parts off.

I've also held a metal mesh basket under the spindle to catch
workpieces parted off from stock held in a collet. This would be more
dangerous with a chuck, with the jaws flying past. With the right size
mesh, the chips from the parting off fall through, but the parts don't.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On Feb 4, 6:53 am, "Carl Boyd" wrote:
All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting in a
dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray and I never
did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them drop down. Only 1
of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got to be a better way, what
is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd

I was taught to keep the machine clean, both as a safety ruling and as
a desirable work habit. And it certainly makes finding things in the
chip tray dead easy....

Andrew VK3bFA.

PS its not hi-tech either...

spaco wrote:
I have put a removable chip tray as large as will fit, under the
headstock. It not only catches swarf, but catches most off-cuts, too.
But I like some of the other posts better. The idea of sticking a
small rod in the tailstock, for instance.
Anyway, thank you for asking this question. Until now, I always
thought that looking for off-cuts was just part of lathe work!

Me too. And of course, the smaller the diameter, the faster the spindle
speed, so when you part off that 1/4" OD part you spent the last hour
getting just right, it's flung off at a tangent, and hits the next
surface spinning at 2000 RPM, sending it to parts unknown.

Pete Stanaitis
--------------------

Carl Boyd wrote:

All

I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a
.144" axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting
in a dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray
and I never did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them
drop down. Only 1 of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got
to be a better way, what is it?

Thanks.

Carl Boyd

In article ,
Anthony wrote:
:"Carl Boyd" wrote in
:
:
: All
:
: I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a
: .144" axial hole. I didn't see any way to catch them without getting
: in a dangerous place. 1st one dropped in the swarf in the chip tray
: and I never did find it. So I cleaned out the chip tray and let them
: drop down. Only 1 of the 4 was easy to find and reach. There has got
: to be a better way, what is it?
:
: Thanks.
:
: Carl Boyd
:
:
:
:For parts with a hole in them, chuck a lenght of brazing rod in a drill
:chuck in the tailstock and let it stick into the hole. Requires no
:catching at all, and you can push them to the chuck and just keep
:working.

And for parts without a hole use a catcher with a hole. I usually have
a few short pieces of PVC pipe nearby and just hand-hold one surrounding
the part as it nears cutoff.

--
Bob Nichols AT comcast.net I am "RNichols42"

On Feb 3, 11:53*am, "Carl Boyd" wrote:


I just finished making 4 spacers, 3/8" diameter, 3/8" long, with a .144"
axial hole. *I didn't see any way to catch them ...

It's easy with a properly trained service dog.

Would you believe a ...

lathe dog?

On 2008-02-04, Lew Hartswick wrote:
Ed Huntress wrote:
Or use a big soup strainer (seive) taped to a wooden dowel for a handle.
This is very common in small commercial shops. Of course, it assumes you're
doing your cutoff with power crossfeed.

Ed Huntress

I just hold the catcher with right hand and turn the cross feed
with my left hand. No problem for the small bits the OP mentioned.
...lew...

Once I have engaged the cross-feed, I have both hands free.
I've even been known to catch light parts with a small Allen wrench with
the short arm into the hole.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

DoN. Nichols wrote:

I've even been known to catch light parts with a small Allen wrench with
the short arm into the hole.

And your short arm, was that a work accident when you stuck it into a
hole? ;-)


Nick
--
The lowcost-DRO:
http://www.yadro.de

Nick Mueller wrote:
DoN. Nichols wrote:

I've even been known to catch light parts with a small Allen wrench with
the short arm into the hole.

And your short arm, was that a work accident when you stuck it into a
hole? ;-)

Is that anything like the "short arm inspections" my Navy BIL used to
tell us about?

On Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:06:02 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

Magnets held close to the offcut.

That's quite clever. But wouldn't the part be strongly magnetized by
spinning in a magnetic field like that?
--
RoRo

On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:07:33 +0100 in rec.crafts.metalworking,
Robert Roland wrote,
On Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:06:02 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

Magnets held close to the offcut.

That's quite clever. But wouldn't the part be strongly magnetized by
spinning in a magnetic field like that?

I think you mean demagnetized.

On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:37:29 -0800, David Harmon wrote:
On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:07:33 +0100 in rec.crafts.metalworking,
Robert Roland wrote,
On Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:06:02 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

Magnets held close to the offcut.

That's quite clever. But wouldn't the part be strongly magnetized by
spinning in a magnetic field like that?

I think you mean demagnetized.

Actually, it would depend on the scenario. If it's spinning, and the
permanent magnet is slowly removed, it will demagnetize it. If it's
just spinning near a magnet, it probably wouldn't change much - but
when it falls off, and is attracted to the magnet, and goes "THWACK"
into the magnet, THAT could leave some residual magnetism.

But demagnetizing is easy with a degaussing coil.

Cheers!
Rich