Cleaning up after turning brass

[timdotdParticipant @timdotd]

What’s the secret to cleaning up after turning brass? The stuff gets everywhere – I thought pet hair was difficult, but this is in a league of its own…

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Yes. If you use the grey brass it can be picked up with a magnet and is harder but goes brown when wet. Just can’t win.

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

A shop vac comes in handy for this.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Use a **GT insert rather than the traditional zero top rake HSS tool and it does not come off in a shower of small chips.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Recalibrate expectations by machining a large lump of cast-iron.   It’s off-the-scale filthy, even when most of it’s caught with a magnet.  Brass is saintly compared with cast-iron.   Don’t get Brass in your eyes though!

Dave

 

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

I try to hold thd vac pipe so it catches the shower of chips straight off the tool, but you have to watch out for chuck jaws. One of these days I’ll make up a cross slide mounted clamp

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Here you go, two cuts at different feed rates with HSS then two similar with CCGT – curly swarf with the CCGT particularly the second cut just like steel or ali and not a shower of small chip. Deal with the problem rather than cleaning up the symptoms.

I can also get quite curly and dust free cast iron swarf using them too.

Either way I let it pile up a bit in the chip tray then scoop the swarf up with a dustpan

[Eric OlthwaiteParticipant @ericolthwaite]

The traditional method is to tear a square of cardboard out of the side of a fag packet and poke the toolbit through the middle of it so it sits a half an inch or so behind the cutting tip and acts as a shield to stop chips flying everywhere.

[timdotdParticipant @timdotd]

Maybe something 3D-printed would be the 21st century fag packet…

@jasonb what rpm are you running at there? My (n00b) understanding was that carbide needs speeds that smaller machines can’t reach?

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Possibly does for optimum performance but they work fine at any speed on hobby machines though run them fast to get the best power out of the motor if it is electronic speed control.

I was likely running around 1000rpm, brass is about 30mm so 100m/min of 300ft/min cutting speed.

 

[Kiwi BlokeParticipant @kiwibloke62605]

Jason, that’s impressive! Duly noted in workshop notebook… Thanks.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

I have a Dyson hand held battery operated vac in the workshop for all cleaning purposes, permanently sat in its charger ready for use.  Its on about its third battery now.  It takes only a couple of minutes to clean off the lathe or the milling machine, no matter what I have been doing.  Its also good for flies, spiders and cobwebs which, in a rural area is a constant battle.

Lovely to see Jason’s continuous chip, just goes to show getting back to basics always has value.

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

If you are using HSS with zero top rake then making sure you have a very sharp honed edge really helps to avoid tiny chips.

[Eric OlthwaiteParticipant @ericolthwaite]

When you say zero top rake, do you mean side rake or back rake? I’ve always used 5 degrees or so of side rake on the top surface, zero back rake, and found it satisfactory. But I do hone all my tools on a bench oilstone as a matter of course, putting a small radius on the tip at the same time.

[Graham MeekParticipant @grahammeek88282]

I use the same inserts as Jason, but contrary to popular belief I also use a cutting oil, (the manufacturers of the oil recommend its use on Brass). This not only improves the finish but it makes sure the swarf does not fly. There is an even greater tendency for the swarf to form strands of curly swarf. Which makes cleaning up even easier.

Regards

Gray,

[Eric Olthwaite]

On Eric Olthwaite Said:

When you say zero top rake, do you mean side rake or back rake? I’ve always used 5 degrees or so of side rake on the top surface, zero back rake, and found it satisfactory. But I do hone all my tools on a bench oilstone as a matter of course, putting a small radius on the tip at the same time.

I meant both actually, essentially flat topped tools. However if you do use side rake the sharpness still matters.

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

Another video showing the spiral swarf made when using the G type inserts on brass, these are produced for non ferrous materials so work well with brass but I like others use them for all materials.

Spiral or chips is controlled by DOC and feed rate, too fine cut and slow feedrate will give chips.

Emgee

https://youtu.be/Ajao-KAAC_s?si=rgRFri2et06sigL_&t=43

 

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Absolutely agree that the tiny chips produced by traditionally machined brass are the very devil to clear.

My Smart & Brown 1024 was nicely cleaned when I bought it but sometime before it had done considerable brass machining.

Pre-install go over shifted a lot but 5 years later at its second good go over in my hands I was still cleaning out chips from nooks and crannies.

20 years on I’d take money on a bet that there are still some hiding.

I rarely machine brass but when I do I take extensive precautions to collect the chips before they hit the bed.

Must remember the CCGT insert tip if I ever get euchre into doing a job big enough to bill the customer for a tool.

And just don’t mention the chip that burrows into thumb or finger right where the maximal pain nerve runs!

Clive

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

If using a vacuum make a small centrifugal separator on the pipe so you can catch the metal for recycling before it gets mixed with general crap.

[Taf_PembsParticipant @taf_pembs]

A good while ago I bought a Dust Commander cyclone and a couple of 30L barrels. 1 barrel for chips and swarf and 1 for general stuff. It works fantastic, coupled up to my old Sealey wet n dry shop vac anything that will fit up the pipe it will suck up. It works that well I hardly sweep up any more, just run round with the vac as it gets more up.

I also have it on a remote control socket adapter so I can have the hose near me at the machine (it’s about 5m long) and start and stop the vac with the remote (not that I’m too lazy to walk to the hoover to turn it on! 😁)

In the last – about 8 years – I have just bought my 2nd filter for the vac. It only gets a bit clogged when sucking up lots of building dust or saw dust but a quick blow out with the air line and it’s almost good as new.

It was the best addition to my workshop ever I think!

It is perfect for brass and proper chips and makes cleaning up the machines really quick and easy and it doesn’t mind oily or coolant soaked chips (I leave them drain out for a good while first) but I use one of those Evolution Cyclone Magnets for all the noodles and the bulk stuff. All then goes for recycling.

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Excellet Taf.

Thanks for yet another ” than what I do now (Henry equivalent with two bases) idea” that I’ll not live long enough to actually copy!

Clive

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

I did 18 months instrument turning as part of apprenticeship,all we had was a 1 inch paintbrush to brush the machine down and dustpan/ brush to remove the pile of swarf,if the swarf was was flying a strip of brass sheet was clamped on top of the tool to deflect the flow of chips away from the operatodo not use thin shim can easily get cuts to your fingers ,a polo neck neck jersey kept the  brass going down the neck of your shirt,Kept at it all week ,wide variety of jobs only small batches so no boredom,42 hour week then,Why the need for carbide,good HSS can be honed to sharp edge, lot cheaper and easier to grind to any shape required ,and the plain instrument 5 inch lathes had a good turn of speed around 3000 rpm, A good 5 year aprenticeship always kept me in a job and promotion in the future.

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