Drilling Metal in the Wood Shop

[John K Jordan]

.... One trick I learned from the machinists at work a long time ago was to use a paint brush to knock the chips and tailings off the bit as it went. It doesn't stop the amount of mess, just kind of directs it into one area. I also have a small shop vac at the drill press.

I have a tiny shop vac I bought at a yard sale for $5. It's maybe 8-9" wide. I use it only for metal shavings, mostly at my metal lathe and milling machine. I keep cheap paint brushes there too for brushing away shavings so I can see what I'm doing. The shavings are usually soaked in sticky oil.

[Andrew Joiner]

My current practice is clunky. I have a cardboard box that I set on the DP table and set the DP vise in it. This catches 95% but is awkward to use and doesn't support the vise well.

A wood or metal box instead of cardboard would be a simple fix to try.

[Rick Potter]

Back in the days when I did more metal drilling i built a cabinet for my Bench drill press. 24" square roughly, with drawers, but the top was inset. It sat down a couple inches, so I could brush off drill waste and it would stay on the top of the cabinet.

I cleaned it as needed. Not much hit the floor.

[Ole Anderson]

"Back in the days" when I processed aluminum in my basement shop, I had a 55 gallon barrel that got filled a few times over 15 years, turnings from drilling, milling and small stuff from sanding the finishing product to give it a brushed finish. Broom and vac together. Few wood projects at the time. Now it is the other way around, mostly wood projects with the occasional steel or aluminum project. No special procedures, just a broom and/or vac. I just remove the Rockler drill press table and use a machinist vise. My mill/drill sits mostly unused, but my 3 hp Kalamazoo 10" abrasive cut off saw gets used fairly frequently, as well as my two grinders. No welding.

[Doug Dawson]

When drilling metal I try to contain the chips and curls and clean up right away. This keeps them from scratching wood, getting stuck in my shoes and tracked into the house, scratching me when I handle 'clean' wood etc.

My current practice is clunky. I have a cardboard box that I set on the DP table and set the DP vise in it. This catches 95% but is awkward to use and doesn't support the vise well. I'm sure I don't want this stuff in my dust collector. Any ideas?

I use cutting oil. I wipe it up when I'm done, or if swarth accumulates. There is nothing like "fine metal shavings" to be collected or flying off into the atmosphere. What am I missing here?

[Jacob Reverb]

My shop is 30x34 and mostly wood work, but I have one corner set up for welding and metal work. The walls are metal lined to 4'. I realize that it is not the best set up due to fire concerns. I keep all the wood and wood debris out of that area and if I am doing any grinding clean thoroughly before and after as well as orienting the spray. The drill press is in that area and the shop vac is the tool of choice for clean-up. I do not catch the metal at the bit but do so after it is cooled.

A "fire watch" of 15 min or so before you vacate the shop is also a good habit to get into if you're welding/grinding/cutting metal...I use the time to put away tools and tidy up some of the chaos.

But if a hot spark goes into the dust collector, it might take a lot more than 15 min to make its presence known...