I just finished making a chip rake (doll's pitchfork?) for cleaning
swarf out of the chip pan of my 5914 lathe.

I got the idea from a food tool called a "cake breaker" (US Patent
1,858,790) that I picked up in the reusables section of the town dump.
The patent number was stamped into the tool, and I looked the number up
to figure out just what the tool was intended for. Cake breakers are
for dividing cakes without squishing them.

The cake breaker tines are perpendicular to the handle, which is awkward
for swarf removal duty, where one wants the tines more or less parallel
to the handle. And cutting oil does not improve cakes. So I kept the
cake breaker for cakes, and made a dedicated tool for swarf.

The handle is a piece of half-inch stressproof (1144) steel rod, and the
crossbar is a piece of 3/8 by 3/4 mild (1018) steel rectangle 4" long;
these were used because I had them. The times are made of 0.080"
diameter music wire, bought for the purpose.

The cross bar is attached to the end of the handle rod with a 1/4-28
flat head screw with hex socket. At first I was just going to machine
the rod end off flat, and depend on the screw to keep bar tight to the
handle. But my experience is that this usually loosens. What to do? I
recalled lots of Starrett tools where a locking thumb screw prevents
rotation. The general design is a male cone is forced into a female
conical seat by the thumbscrew, everything being made of greasy hardened
steel. It's the wedging action of the cones that makes the difference,
and provides the mechanical advantage so a thumbscrew can generate
sufficient clamping force. So, I decided to implement a conical seat in
the bar, with handle rod tip machined to fit.

First the conical seat in the bar. This is easy to do on a lathe
faceplate. The bar was firmly clamped to the faceplate, with center of
rotation somewhat offset from the bar centerline, to accommodate the row
of holes that will accept the tines. Drill through with 1/4", rough out
the seat with a 3/8" drill, and then make the conical sides. This was
done with a boring bar held on the tool post slide, with the compound
set to 60 degrees. Crank slide in and out, back compound out a bit,
crank slide in and out, until done. Lubricated with lots of black
sulfur oil. This yields a more or less flat-bottomed hole with conical
walls. The depth of the recess is about 3/16, the outer diameter is
almost exactly 0.500".

Then the handle rod. Change to a 5C collet chuck, center drill and tap
for 1/4-28, using lots of black sulfur oil.

Now the trick. We want the cone angle of rod end to exactly match the
angle of the conical recess, but angle settings on a lathe compound are
not all that precise. So, without unclamping the compound, run the
lathe in reverse and machine the cone on the back side of the rod,
running the slide in and out as before. One can use the same boring
tool for this, or (what I did) a regular tool. I used a insert tool
with triangular insert to make the rough cut by moving a long edge
against rod tip, and then did a finish pass with the tip moving in and
out.

The machining was a bit rough (from impatience - no power feed on the
toolpost slide), so I ground things together with the rod in the mill,
the bar on the table, and some valve grinding compound between. After
all this, the bar centers and palpably nests on the rod. This will not
wiggle when clamped by the 1/4-28 screw.

The other side of the bar then got a countersink, and a row of about 20
blind holes to accept the tines. The spacing between tines is 0.200",
and the holes are drilled ~0.250" deep with a #44 (0.086") stub drill. A
pass with a spotting drill was made so the #44 would not be tempted to
wander. The 0.086" drill was used to ensure enough clearance that
solder could easily wick into the space between tine and hole.

[If one has a taper attachment, one can machine a tapered female thread
in the bar and the matching male thread in the rod, again by running in
reverse for the bar. An alternate non-late approach would be to use a
pipe thread tap and die to make tapered threads. In both cases, the
1/4-28 screw is not required.]

Also made was an aluminum fixture, a 1/4 by 1/2" by 4.5" with a row of
#45 (0.082") holes on 0.200" centers.

Then made the tines. The tines are 6" long when cut, ignoring the curve
of the wire as removed from the 12" diameter spool. Each tine is
mechanically deburred and one end sharpened on a vertical belt sander,
and the blunt end abraded clean for at least 1/2" using a wet 3M
polishing pad. When pointing the tines, it's useful to use the aluminum
fixture to hold the tine while the other hand rotates it as grinding
proceeds. There are about 20 tines.

The cross-bar was also cleaned and polished where there will be solder,
and the screw liberally coated with anti-sieze compound.

The tines are then soft-soldered to the cross bar, using the aluminum
fixture and some black iron wire to keep the tines aligned during
soldering. Soft-soldering does not seem to soften the music wire. The
solder I used appears to be 60/40 radio solder, but this isn't all that
critical.

For soldering, the bar was assembled to the rod and the rod was clamped
vertically in a vise, arranged so the top of the bar is horizontal and
the tines are vertical. The tine-bar joint area was liberally doused
with acid flux (tinners' flux), and the bar was heated from below using
a mapp torch, with care not to heat the tines directly (which would
anneal them).

Flowed the solder till everything had nice fillets, turned the torch
off, and went off to read newsgroups without touching anything. This
step is critical, as the assembly will cool far slower than impatience
demands, and the joints will be ruined if anything is moved too soon.

Wash it all off with hot water and a brush, replace the now softish
1/4-28 screw with a new one, and we are done. The anti-seize compound
prevented the screw from being soldered to the bar. And will prevent
the screw rusting to the handle.

Initial tests show that the rake works quite well for its intended
purpose.

Joe Gwinn

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:39:29 -0500, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

I just finished making a chip rake (doll's pitchfork?) for cleaning
swarf out of the chip pan of my 5914 lathe.

I got the idea from a food tool called a "cake breaker" (US Patent
1,858,790) that I picked up in the reusables section of the town dump.
The patent number was stamped into the tool, and I looked the number up
to figure out just what the tool was intended for. Cake breakers are
for dividing cakes without squishing them.

The cake breaker tines are perpendicular to the handle, which is awkward
for swarf removal duty, where one wants the tines more or less parallel
to the handle. And cutting oil does not improve cakes. So I kept the
cake breaker for cakes, and made a dedicated tool for swarf.

The handle is a piece of half-inch stressproof (1144) steel rod, and the
crossbar is a piece of 3/8 by 3/4 mild (1018) steel rectangle 4" long;
these were used because I had them. The times are made of 0.080"
diameter music wire, bought for the purpose.

The cross bar is attached to the end of the handle rod with a 1/4-28
flat head screw with hex socket. At first I was just going to machine
the rod end off flat, and depend on the screw to keep bar tight to the
handle. But my experience is that this usually loosens. What to do? I
recalled lots of Starrett tools where a locking thumb screw prevents
rotation. The general design is a male cone is forced into a female
conical seat by the thumbscrew, everything being made of greasy hardened
steel. It's the wedging action of the cones that makes the difference,
and provides the mechanical advantage so a thumbscrew can generate
sufficient clamping force. So, I decided to implement a conical seat in
the bar, with handle rod tip machined to fit.

First the conical seat in the bar. This is easy to do on a lathe
faceplate. The bar was firmly clamped to the faceplate, with center of
rotation somewhat offset from the bar centerline, to accommodate the row
of holes that will accept the tines. Drill through with 1/4", rough out
the seat with a 3/8" drill, and then make the conical sides. This was
done with a boring bar held on the tool post slide, with the compound
set to 60 degrees. Crank slide in and out, back compound out a bit,
crank slide in and out, until done. Lubricated with lots of black
sulfur oil. This yields a more or less flat-bottomed hole with conical
walls. The depth of the recess is about 3/16, the outer diameter is
almost exactly 0.500".

Then the handle rod. Change to a 5C collet chuck, center drill and tap
for 1/4-28, using lots of black sulfur oil.

Now the trick. We want the cone angle of rod end to exactly match the
angle of the conical recess, but angle settings on a lathe compound are
not all that precise. So, without unclamping the compound, run the
lathe in reverse and machine the cone on the back side of the rod,
running the slide in and out as before. One can use the same boring
tool for this, or (what I did) a regular tool. I used a insert tool
with triangular insert to make the rough cut by moving a long edge
against rod tip, and then did a finish pass with the tip moving in and
out.

The machining was a bit rough (from impatience - no power feed on the
toolpost slide), so I ground things together with the rod in the mill,
the bar on the table, and some valve grinding compound between. After
all this, the bar centers and palpably nests on the rod. This will not
wiggle when clamped by the 1/4-28 screw.

The other side of the bar then got a countersink, and a row of about 20
blind holes to accept the tines. The spacing between tines is 0.200",
and the holes are drilled ~0.250" deep with a #44 (0.086") stub drill. A
pass with a spotting drill was made so the #44 would not be tempted to
wander. The 0.086" drill was used to ensure enough clearance that
solder could easily wick into the space between tine and hole.

[If one has a taper attachment, one can machine a tapered female thread
in the bar and the matching male thread in the rod, again by running in
reverse for the bar. An alternate non-late approach would be to use a
pipe thread tap and die to make tapered threads. In both cases, the
1/4-28 screw is not required.]

Also made was an aluminum fixture, a 1/4 by 1/2" by 4.5" with a row of
#45 (0.082") holes on 0.200" centers.

Then made the tines. The tines are 6" long when cut, ignoring the curve
of the wire as removed from the 12" diameter spool. Each tine is
mechanically deburred and one end sharpened on a vertical belt sander,
and the blunt end abraded clean for at least 1/2" using a wet 3M
polishing pad. When pointing the tines, it's useful to use the aluminum
fixture to hold the tine while the other hand rotates it as grinding
proceeds. There are about 20 tines.

The cross-bar was also cleaned and polished where there will be solder,
and the screw liberally coated with anti-sieze compound.

The tines are then soft-soldered to the cross bar, using the aluminum
fixture and some black iron wire to keep the tines aligned during
soldering. Soft-soldering does not seem to soften the music wire. The
solder I used appears to be 60/40 radio solder, but this isn't all that
critical.

For soldering, the bar was assembled to the rod and the rod was clamped
vertically in a vise, arranged so the top of the bar is horizontal and
the tines are vertical. The tine-bar joint area was liberally doused
with acid flux (tinners' flux), and the bar was heated from below using
a mapp torch, with care not to heat the tines directly (which would
anneal them).

Flowed the solder till everything had nice fillets, turned the torch
off, and went off to read newsgroups without touching anything. This
step is critical, as the assembly will cool far slower than impatience
demands, and the joints will be ruined if anything is moved too soon.

Wash it all off with hot water and a brush, replace the now softish
1/4-28 screw with a new one, and we are done. The anti-seize compound
prevented the screw from being soldered to the bar. And will prevent
the screw rusting to the handle.

Initial tests show that the rake works quite well for its intended
purpose.

Joe Gwinn

Interesting.

This is what I use.

http://www.amazon.com/Northwestern-T.../dp/B002SJXJFY

Got em on every machine.

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

In article ,
Gunner Asch wrote:

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:39:29 -0500, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

I just finished making a chip rake (doll's pitchfork?) for cleaning
swarf out of the chip pan of my 5914 lathe.

[snip]

Initial tests show that the rake works quite well for its intended
purpose.

Joe Gwinn

Interesting.

This is what I use.

http://www.amazon.com/Northwestern-T.../dp/B002SJXJFY

Got em on every machine.

I have those on the mill as well, for T slots, but they are not
successful for shoveling piles of swarf into the trashcan. I made a
little copper scoop for cleaning out the end bells on the mill, and
while the scoop works on the lathe, it really isn't large enough. So I
made the machinist's comb.

Joe Gwinn

On Jan 22, 6:11*pm, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article ,
*Gunner Asch wrote:







On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:39:29 -0500, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

I just finished making a chip rake (doll's pitchfork?) for cleaning
swarf out of the chip pan of my 5914 lathe.

[snip]

Initial tests show that the rake works quite well for its intended
purpose.

Joe Gwinn

Interesting.

This is what I *use.

http://www.amazon.com/Northwestern-T...aner/dp/B002SJ...

Got em on every machine.

I have those on the mill as well, for T slots, but they are not
successful for shoveling piles of swarf into the trashcan. *I made a
little copper scoop for cleaning out the end bells on the mill, and
while the scoop works on the lathe, it really isn't large enough. *So I
made the machinist's comb.

Joe Gwinn- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I inherited a gardening tool that I use on the SB, my dad found it in
some bucket of junk he had, probably from one of the multi-greats.
Stamped out of heavy tin with 4 claws about an inch apart. Handle is
rolled into a taper for a good grip. All one piece, nothing to split,
chip or absorb oil. Works well enough for getting the big bundles
out of the pan, then I can use a brush and pan for getting the small
stuff out. Don't know what the original purpose is, they still have
similar ones in the hardware stores. Probably for busting clods
before planting flower seeds, I suppose.

Stan

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:11:52 -0500, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

In article ,
Gunner Asch wrote:

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:39:29 -0500, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

I just finished making a chip rake (doll's pitchfork?) for cleaning
swarf out of the chip pan of my 5914 lathe.

[snip]

Initial tests show that the rake works quite well for its intended
purpose.

Joe Gwinn

Interesting.

This is what I use.

http://www.amazon.com/Northwestern-T.../dp/B002SJXJFY

Got em on every machine.

I have those on the mill as well, for T slots, but they are not
successful for shoveling piles of swarf into the trashcan. I made a
little copper scoop for cleaning out the end bells on the mill, and
while the scoop works on the lathe, it really isn't large enough. So I
made the machinist's comb.

Joe Gwinn

Cool! Can you post a picture?

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:21:35 -0800 (PST), Stanley Schaefer
wrote:

I inherited a gardening tool that I use on the SB, my dad found it in
some bucket of junk he had, probably from one of the multi-greats.
Stamped out of heavy tin with 4 claws about an inch apart. Handle is
rolled into a taper for a good grip. All one piece, nothing to split,
chip or absorb oil. Works well enough for getting the big bundles
out of the pan, then I can use a brush and pan for getting the small
stuff out. Don't know what the original purpose is, they still have
similar ones in the hardware stores. Probably for busting clods
before planting flower seeds, I suppose.

Cultivator, used to open up the soil so weeds can come out more
easily. http://tinyurl.com/7kh7mxb They're great for getting handfuls
of nails out of a bucket, too.

Newfangled version is called the Garden Weasel, a tool which sounds
like the Old West. The tines ring like spurs.
http://tinyurl.com/7ohl384

--
I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune during
my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are empty.
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Count Diodati, 1807

In article ,
Gunner Asch wrote:

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:11:52 -0500, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

In article ,
Gunner Asch wrote:

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:39:29 -0500, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

I just finished making a chip rake (doll's pitchfork?) for cleaning
swarf out of the chip pan of my 5914 lathe.

[snip]

Initial tests show that the rake works quite well for its intended
purpose.

Joe Gwinn

Interesting.

This is what I use.

http://www.amazon.com/Northwestern-T.../dp/B002SJXJFY

Got em on every machine.

I have those on the mill as well, for T slots, but they are not
successful for shoveling piles of swarf into the trashcan. I made a
little copper scoop for cleaning out the end bells on the mill, and
while the scoop works on the lathe, it really isn't large enough. So I
made the machinist's comb.

Joe Gwinn

Cool! Can you post a picture?

I did take some pictures. I think I'll put pictures and posting text up
on the dropbox in the next week or two.

The agricultural implement that this backscratcher most resembles is a
9-prong potato fork.

Joe Gwinn

On Jan 23, 4:01*am, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:21:35 -0800 (PST), Stanley Schaefer

wrote:
I inherited a gardening tool that I use on the SB, my dad found it in
some bucket of junk he had, probably from one of the multi-greats.
Stamped out of heavy tin with 4 claws about an inch apart. *Handle is
rolled into a taper for a good grip. *All one piece, nothing to split,
chip or absorb oil. * Works well enough for getting the big bundles
out of the pan, then I can use a brush and pan for getting the small
stuff out. *Don't know what the original purpose is, they still have
similar ones in the hardware stores. *Probably for busting clods
before planting flower seeds, I suppose.

Cultivator, used to open up the soil so weeds can come out more
easily.http://tinyurl.com/7kh7mxb*They're great for getting handfuls
of nails out of a bucket, too.

Newfangled version is called the Garden Weasel, a tool which sounds
like the Old West. *The tines ring like spurs. *http://tinyurl.com/7ohl384

--

The first item is more like it, only that one is pink and plastic.
This one is black iron and has one more tine. I think it's got a bit
longer handle and maybe longer tines, too. Garden Weasel may be used
for the same purpose in the garden, I guarantee it's not going to be
much use for pulling swarf out from under a lathe bed!

I've seen and used the gadgets for getting bulk nails out, some of the
Real Hardware stores had them in the bins. Were a lot like that
cultivator gadget but I think the tines were closer together. Newer
joints make do with sugar scoops if they carry bulk hardware at all,
just not the same. One of the really deluxe old-timey stores had a
squared-off sheet metal scoop/pan to go with the rake, made getting
the nails out really easy and easy to dump in the scale pan, too.

Stan

On Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:32:07 -0800 (PST), Stanley Schaefer
wrote:

On Jan 23, 4:01*am, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:21:35 -0800 (PST), Stanley Schaefer

wrote:
I inherited a gardening tool that I use on the SB, my dad found it in
some bucket of junk he had, probably from one of the multi-greats.
Stamped out of heavy tin with 4 claws about an inch apart. *Handle is
rolled into a taper for a good grip. *All one piece, nothing to split,
chip or absorb oil. * Works well enough for getting the big bundles
out of the pan, then I can use a brush and pan for getting the small
stuff out. *Don't know what the original purpose is, they still have
similar ones in the hardware stores. *Probably for busting clods
before planting flower seeds, I suppose.

Cultivator, used to open up the soil so weeds can come out more
easily.http://tinyurl.com/7kh7mxb*They're great for getting handfuls
of nails out of a bucket, too.

Newfangled version is called the Garden Weasel, a tool which sounds
like the Old West. *The tines ring like spurs. *http://tinyurl.com/7ohl384


The first item is more like it, only that one is pink and plastic.

I did that on porpoise. titter


This one is black iron and has one more tine. I think it's got a bit
longer handle and maybe longer tines, too.

http://tinyurl.com/83hy3xk Ideal for swarf?


Garden Weasel may be used
for the same purpose in the garden, I guarantee it's not going to be
much use for pulling swarf out from under a lathe bed!

I can just imagine the tangles it would cause...


I've seen and used the gadgets for getting bulk nails out, some of the
Real Hardware stores had them in the bins. Were a lot like that
cultivator gadget but I think the tines were closer together. Newer
joints make do with sugar scoops if they carry bulk hardware at all,
just not the same. One of the really deluxe old-timey stores had a
squared-off sheet metal scoop/pan to go with the rake, made getting
the nails out really easy and easy to dump in the scale pan, too.

The small rakes were just great. Real hardware stores were great,
weren't they? The ACE/Fields around here is pretty much still intact
as it heads toward a Lowes in size and content.

--
I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune during
my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are empty.
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Count Diodati, 1807