Do you clean your workshop at the end of the day?

[Phil H1Participant @philh196021]

I try to do about a weeks work – say 40 hours (which could be over several days or even a couple of weeks), then put all the tools away and sweep up etc.

[Iain DownsParticipant @iaindowns78295]

I tend to clean up just before starting work.

By the time I've got to the end of a session, I'm either ecstatic (rare) because things have gone well or miserable because things have gone as usual. In the first case, why depress myself with the mundanity of a brush and shovel. In the second case, I can't bear to deal with the corpse of my disasters…

With my current project I've been making a LOT of swarf. To the point where i really have to clean up a few times in a session as the cast iron mountain gets to the point where it's hard to see the work…

Whilst, posts on this forum often produce 'differing views', it's rare to see something so polarised. You're either a messy pup (me) or on the OCD Spectrum. And not much in between!

Iain

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

My home shop is not a mess of swarf but I dont seem to have enough storage space to put everything away. I try, liberally do. But it still seems cluttered. But everything is where I can find it, usually.

On the other foot, the workshop at Wentworth is constantly under a foot of sawdust and wood shavings, bloomin wood rats! You cant shame them into sweeping up, elf and safety have apparently passed them by and if you want to keep any money safe put it on the Hoover, they will never find it. Not as clean as we metal worms.

Regards Mick

[BufferParticipant @buffer]

I clean and put away on the days I'm too tired after work and can't be bothered to try and make bits.

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

Comes and goes for me!

Sometimes i'm really good, other times, I just shut the door!

Jim

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Posted by jimmy b on 28/06/2019 18:21:52:

Sometimes i'm really good, other times, I just shut the door!

Jim

It is Friday night at the end of a hard week. There are three doors and a bottle of red wine between where I am sat in the living room and the workshop/garage.

What's the chance??

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

Posted by Nick Clarke 3 on 28/06/2019 18:25:15:

Posted by jimmy b on 28/06/2019 18:21:52:

Sometimes i'm really good, other times, I just shut the door!

Jim

It is Friday night at the end of a hard week. There are three doors and a bottle of red wine between where I am sat in the living room and the workshop/garage.

What's the chance??

If you are like me, low!

JIm

[Pete RimmerParticipant @peterimmer30576]

I like to keep my workshop moderately tidy. I have a good bit of bench space and like to keep it clear so that anything I strip down doesn't get lost or scattered.

Swarf is easy to keep control of, I put on gloves and shovel handfuls into a waiting rubble bag then use a Numatic hoover to clean up the small bits Works for the lathe and the mill alike.. I sweep then hoover the floor (with the same numatic), takes half a minute. I don't keep the place pristine but I do hate losing stuff just because it's fallen into a mess. Plus the wife really gets annoyed if I walk swarf into the house.

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember53456]

[This posting has been removed]

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

Tidyness has nothing to do with being anal or snobbery about makes of equipment in the workshop, it comes down to the simple fact that in industry, especially the aerospace industry tidiness is drummed in to you, benches must be clean and tidy, only the job you are working on is on the bench, there is absolutely no clutter, machines are cleaned at the end of every day, time is allowed for it, this is all due to the quality management system 5s or 6 sigma etc. Having worked in aerospace as a toolmaker for many years old habits die hard.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The lathe gets cleaned down, (swarf brushed into the chip tray ) at the end of each session. When the swarf builds up in the tray, it is removed, and hammered into empty baked bean/broad bean/peach tins and the lid hammered on before being put into the recycling bin.

The Mill Drill tends to be kept cleaner, since it has such a small chip tray, and the bench around it gets swept up more frequently.

Swarf that falls on the floor tends to go through the holes inn the plastic matting. About once a year this is removed and the floor cleaned up before the mats are replaced, ready for the next annual "Mucking of Geordie's byre".

I dislike cleaning up, but it is a necessary evil! Nice feeling of satisfaction when viewing the clean machine, tho'

Howard

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

I tend to clean my lathe after every job but must admit not so my bench drill and when it comes to my work bench I only tend to clean it if I need more room or have 'lost' something

H

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember53456]

[This posting has been removed]

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

I leave cleaning up until the next day before work starts I find that on colder days the vac and me cleaning makes it warmer to work for that session.

[Paul MParticipant @paulm98238]

My grandson threw his box of lego over the lounge floor. My daughter asked why he did it. He said that he wanted a messy room like grandad's workshop.

Draw your own conclusions.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

If I did as the OP suggests, I might be cleaning up far longer than using the machines! I’m a hobbyist, not a full-time operative. It may take weeks before I have done one equivalent full day of machining.

That means the workshop could be as tidy at the end of any particular day as at the start – even without any further attention, so regular cleaning and tidying each and every day does not necessarily have any correlation with whether one runs a tidy or untidy workshop.

I think it is more important that the machine(s) is/are clean, not so much the whole workshop. Putting away tools, which will need to be got out again at the next (short) session, seems a waste of useful time to me.

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

Cleaning the machines depends on the nature of the swarf/oil residue and the next day's work schedule.

Brass and ali won't hurt the machine overnight, a brush soon clears the ways. With steel swarf and CI dust I tend to get rid of it asap and annoint the moving bits with a spray of INOX.

One big time saver is with tool use, I am probably a bit anal about this (military background) but each and every tool is returned to it's designated place immediately after use.

Next time that I require to use the tool it is exactly where I left it, can probably find half my tools blindfolded if required. Walking to find the 10mm open ended spanner for the mini-lathe chuck nuts exactly where it is supposed to be is probably useful exercise but much less frustrating than a search party.

Get organized people! It really does save time

* Danny M *

[colin hawesParticipant @colinhawes85982]

If I am doing intricate work I tidy all around that area first otherwise something is certain to disappear but I do keep the machine surfaces wiped clean. I do the floor if I think it needs it. Colin

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Quote:- Quentin Crisp — ‘There is no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse.’

(but I am not being serious here )

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 29/06/2019 13:02:07

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Just swept & hoovered the floor yesterday… found some grey coating on it… Oh! its the floor paint! …

George.

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

I tend to brush and vacuum the floor several times a day. Not so much for tidyness although I like to be tidy, but to prevent the cats getting swarf in their paws. Also to try and prevent it getting in the house/carpets.

Colin

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

I clean my workshop completely when I run out of tools to do even the simplest job, for example :

An Allen key

A rule

A spanner ,which I had 5 minuets ago

A hammer, of which I must have about 5 off.

The list goes on and on and on

So yes, I do clean my workshop [now and then ]

I,m sure there must be a name for this condition.

[Author]

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