Keeping the floor swept

[David Utterback]

My pattern is as needed. Every few months, I move machinery out from the wall to get at what is there. The most frequently swept area is at the working side of my bench over to the front of the table saw. Hand planning, routing and hand sanding require the most attention, several times during a full day.

I was amazed, almost stunned, when helping Roy U clean up at the end of a class. Most students lent a hand with broom and grain shovel to pick up the bulk. After nearly everyone had cleared out, I noticed a robotic vacuum skimming across the floor - quietly getting the residue under the multiple benches and along the edges. A thoroughly practical and modern solution to an age old problem with a need for consistency. What a genius!

[Jim Becker]

The robotic vacuums/sweepers can be pretty effective as long as the debris remaining for them to pick up is reasonably small. There's actually a "heavier duty" version available for this kind of thing for folks who want to pay the piper. I don't know that I'd ever want one for the shop, but it's been an essential for keeping our large master bedroom floor tidy...our house is a dust generator!

Makes sense that Underwood would employ something like that in a commercial teaching environment both for safety and aesthetic reasons.

[Michael Costa]

I sweep up every day, so get the bigger stuff off the floor.
I have a leaf blower plugged in the back of my garage. Every time I go to work (cant be bothered when I'm done) I open my garage door and blast the left over crap out.

[Ron Selzer]

vacuum the floor after using the wide belt sander as I prefer to vacuum it out and then vacuum the floor, vacuum after emptying the dust collector, vacuum after running the router even tho router has dust collection. Definitely vacuum a lot more now that have shop vacuum piped in to various areas, then use 20' hose

[Charlie Jones]

I have dust collection. I vac off anything on the bench or machines at the end of my work session as well as anything on the floor nearby. Prior to starting a new project I vac the whole shop as much as I can reach . Sometimes I clean the whole shop with a leaf blower. Wearing a mask of course.

[David Utterback]

An afterthought: If one were to retire an existing machine, it might be an opportunity to experiment. Knowing very little about them, I could not conscientiously suggest to borrow one from the house to see how it would work.

The robotic vacuums/sweepers can be pretty effective as long as the debris remaining for them to pick up is reasonably small. There's actually a "heavier duty" version available for this kind of thing for folks who want to pay the piper. I don't know that I'd ever want one for the shop, but it's been an essential for keeping our large master bedroom floor tidy...our house is a dust generator!

Makes sense that Underwood would employ something like that in a commercial teaching environment both for safety and aesthetic reasons.

[George Yetka]

I sweep and organize at the beginning of working. that way when the dinner bell rings I can just go eat.

[Rege Sullivan]

My vac is convenient and reaches most of the shop with a 20ft hose from the ceiling so I vac my work area as I work or more accurately as I complete a task. It takes just a few seconds and keeps me from tracking stuff to other parts of the shop. Really a time saver in the end considering I used to vac the entire floor each time before leaving the shop. About once a month I make an effort to blow off all the high dusty surfaces, scrape and wipe down all the work surfaces, wax the cast iron surfaces and glue up table and give the shop a good vacuuming. I have dust collection and a ambient air filter that keeps the shop pretty free of fine dust.

[Rick Potter]

Ron S.

What did you use to pipe the shop vac system? What is your longest run of pipe plus the 20" hose, and how well does it work with that length?

I have an old 6HP (sure it is) shop vac I would like to pipe in. Got a bunch of 2" ASB fittings, but haven't gone any further yet.