Hello Makers!
This is a Cleanliness PSA on a few things I noticed walking around today. This is not an attempt to blast or shame anyone but rather a reminder to take a few minutes during your cleanup and lend a cleaning hand to a tool or space near you as well as checking those often forgotten spaces.
There are 7 different points addressed below. Please give them a look
And if there’s something you would like to see to help make cleanup easier, let me know your thoughts!
The grinder in the wood turning area often has metal dust lining the top surface. I don’t expect the turning tools are being ground this much for this amount of dust and is likely a combination of that plus any other chisel, planes, or drill bit sharpening.
If you notice this dust pile, please vacuum it up!
Additionally in Wood Turning.
I often see a layer of dust on the wall-hanging tool rack, but earlier found a lot more wood chips. Lathes are dirty, and fun, and messy. Please look around where you may be spraying your chips and give it a quick vacuum.
Below the lathes, especially around the feet and in the corners, I often notice missed piles of dust and chips. Clean feet lead to a healthy body! Really though, the narrow hose attachment works great around these parts and can make cleanup a breeze.
The Stationary Sanders are a great way to sand down to that line, or get that nice round over. But if left dirty, they will make what could be a quick task turn into a long, slow, burning task. Really, clogged sandpaper can burn or scar your work rather than cleaning it up.
In each of these examples, this is what it looks like when the sander is used and the end pile isn’t cleaned. Additionally the sandpaper isn’t cleaned with the rubber “eraser”.
If you’re ever using these and don’t see a rubber eraser, please submit a report for it! We there should be at minimum one (ideally 2-3) around these sanders at all times. To use it, leave the sander running and smush that eraser into it just like you would with wood. Just be careful to still brace it properly so it doesn’t slip out of your hands.
The Panel Saw is awesome, but arguably one of the messiest tools in the shop. Often times I see the floor in front left with a layer of dust, but I almost always see the back with layers of dust.
Please use this tool! Please don’t forget to sweep and vacuum behind the tool.
The same thing goes for the big bad Powermatic sander. The dust collector is hooked up to this, however it can still spit out fine dust like an amateur with fine wine. A quick use of the broom or vacuum can get this collected and looking sharp for the next person.
In the laser room, the trash can can easily start to overflow with large scraps. The best way to combat this is to break down the scraps so they fit in the trash can, or take them to the dumpster right away.
Sometimes the pieces can be quickly broken by hand, but another trick I like to do is draw a cut line through the piece once I’m done. I might do this in a few places so that I have smaller and more manageable chunks to deal with.
To help keep the cabinet supplies clean and fresh, please keep the doors closed.
In the Textiles domain, this area is often kept very neat and organized.
To keep it that way, always check the floor for your scraps and loose threads that may have fallen to the ground. We keep a vacuum in this room to help with the fine pieces and there’s a number of small trash cans to collect the larger ones.
It’s really hard to tell by the picture, but there were more than a few threads and scraps on the carpet near this chair.
Sublimation paper is here! But please help the room stay organized by pushing the box back in place.
We have trash in every room and it’s up to all of us to help prevent overflowing cans. If you notice a can is this full, please make a dumpster run (and grab any big laser trash scrap with it for bonus points). If everyone empties a trash can on their visit, we should have significantly reduced trash cans filling up like this.
This one is dusty…
If you’re using a vacuum and have this feeling that “It just doesn’t suck enough!” Then your gut is probably right. Open the vacuum and see what’s inside. We keep extra filters on hand as well as air bags for these. This particular vacuum (#7) was missing a bag and quite clogged. If a steward isn’t around to replace the filter or bag, it would be greatly helpful for us (and you) to empty the vacuum and put in a problem report notifying us that a vacuum needs a new filter.
For all the CNC folks, the everyone does a good job of cleaning off the CNC bed. Folks often forget about it’s long lost cousin, the Dust Collector. It collects dust inside of it, but also gets quite a lot outside of it. Give cousin DC some attention every now and then so it doesn’t look like termites are building an empire behind it. Also, bonus, spray the DC filter with an air hose every now and then to help with suction.
Last but not least!
This is this second wooden mallet I’ve found in the tool wall (this month) that is splintered and not the safest to use right now.
This kind of damage happens! I’m not worried about that. If this does happen to you and you’re not sure what to do, please notify me, or put in a problem report so that someone can address it, or see if it’s worth addressing.
In this case the fix is easy! Wood glue, some cauls and clamps. This will be back in working order in no time.
The miter saw is another place that seems to accumulate quite a bit of sawdust. People often go in for “just one cut,” so don’t feel the need to clean up after. “Just one cuts” add up pretty quickly.
I’ve noticed that just in the few months I’ve been a member, the vacuum attachments have slowly disappeared and the vacuums themselves are increasingly less serviceable. Keeping them in good shape and fully functional is essential to maintaining cleanliness.
Just wanted to follow up here and mention we’ve placed an order for a bunch of new cen-tec attachments. Thanks for bringing this up.
