slippery floor.........

[Peter Scoma]

I'm not much of a turner save for the tool handles I frequently make for old chisels. I use mostly cocobolo and figured maple but have turned all types of materials into some nice handles. Anyway, the cocobolo blocks I buy are often waxed to prevent checking. I scrape off what I can before starting to turn but probably end up leaving about 30-40% on the piece. When the shavings hit my (oak) floor, it makes it incredibly slippery, almost to the point that it is dangerous. I've since used an anti-fatigue mat in front of my bench but its still very slippery.

Just curious if anyone else has this problem and/or how they remedied it.

Thanks
PJS

[Marty Eargle]

I've tried just about every type of mat on my garage floor where I turn. Some are better than the others but a little slipping and sliding is almost inevitable. Good shoes and regular cleanups combined with an anti-static mat are how I keep myself from busting my tail.

I also had good results by tacking down a sizable piece of indoor/outdoor green carpet in the work area. You don't have to deal with slipping and sliding any, but I couldn't deal with how much longer a good cleanup took.

[Jim Heikes]

I believe it has been mentioned on the Forum before, but a quick dip of the wood into hot water removes virtually all of the wax. Then the water cools and you simply skim off the solid wax. I now use this hot dip method for all of my blanks up to 16" using an old crab pot.

[Eric Holmquist]

What I found to be helpfull was something I got at either Lowes or Home Depot. Some garage floor coating mixed with some sand like stuff. Made the floor rough enough not to slip on, but not so rough as to be hard to sweep up.

[Michael Mills]

I like the hot water technique but my method is lower tech. I just turn (skim – 1/64 deep) as much of as I can when I first mount the item and then sweep those shavings into a place I won’t be stepping. I know what you mean by slippery, my floor is smooth concrete and it only takes one bowls worth smushed in to make it dangerous. Some people use a paint scraper to remove most of the wax if it has a flat surface.

[Jim Underwood]

Well if I'm any judge, then most folks on this forum don't have that problem because they have at minimum 6 inches of shavings on the floor......:D

They might sink out of sight, but they're in no danger of slipping...:rolleyes::p

[Betty Fox]

I can attest to that. My shoes used to be black. Now I can't see them to tell what color they are.
:P

[David DeCristoforo]

Maybe you need to get some of those spiked shoes. Like the ones they wear for playing golf.

BTW, I used to know two guys in Nv named Scoma. They were a couple of bad muthas!

[Dick Strauss]

I assume the coco shavings might be slippery as well because of their oil content (?)

[Brian Vaughn]

Maybe you need to get some of those spiked shoes. Like the ones they wear for playing golf.

BTW, I used to know two guys in Nv named Scoma. They were a couple of bad muthas!

Shut yo mouth!

[Peter Scoma]

Thanks for the advice guys.

David, I didn't think the family name extended outside of NY but good to know. I wonder if we're related.

RE: painting the floor and sprinkling in grit. This is what I did in my last shop that had a concrete floor. Since my floor is now oak, its no longer an option.

Dick, I never considered the oil content of cocobolo being an issue but you make a good point and are probably correct. I'm thinking of giving the floor in front of my lathe a wipe with alcohol and just boiling off the wax on my next block.

Thanks again for the advice.

PJS