Equipment Maintenance/Cleaning Share your Secrets

[John Cahoon]

Hi all, I just got in from extended blade profiling on my horiz/vert bandsaw and saw a fair amount of debri (mostly wood but there's got to be some metal in there) in and around the motor when I was cleaning up. On mine the motor sits directly below the back of the cheesy work table that I should replace. So I figured I'd blow it out but should I cover the motor loosely with a bag or something? It's about 25 years old so fairly good quality, I still have the paperwork but it doesn't really talk about that and I don't want to have to replace it anytime soon.

But it got me thinking I haven't really seen a thread on machine care and maintenance in this most excellent and helpful sub forum. Seems like an important topic given all the expensive stuff we get to play around with AND how dirty the work is.

So how do you maintain/keep your machines optimal for maximum life? Any special secrets or things to watch out for?

Talk amongst yourselves!! (old SNL skit for the youngers)

 

[john april]

it couldent hurt to cover it with a bag if you are not sure how well it is protected from dust. i use a vacuum because a blower will just spread the mess wider. i clean up after every use of each machine, so it never builds up into a mess. metal dust can also be a fire hazard. i have had more than one smoldering pile of metal dust since i started.

 

[KNelson]

Yesterday after beveling 12 blades I went through the machinery/floor with a shop vac and a horse hair brush. Fluff up the dust/debris and suck er up. I also swept the walls as weird as that sounds. I notices also that metal dust was magnetized to the sheetrock screws in the wall, made me go "HMmmm".

 

[John Cahoon]

Ah yes, the old vacuum cleaner trick, much better than blowing thanks. I'm usually pretty good at cleaning up and I grind outdoors but hadn't looked at the bandsaw in a while.

 

[Drew Riley]

Worked in industrial maintenance for years, so I guess I can add a couple thoughts.

Most of us are hobbyists, so a little down time isn’t a huge issue, and one to two day shipping via Amazon and other retailers means that more often than not, your machines will only be down a day or two, but it's still a huge pain to plan a day of work, only to break a tool after 5 minutes and not be able to do anything about it. Keeping that in mind, it's not the worst idea to have a list of "consumables" or "replaceables" for your main tools, and have parts on the shelf if needed.

Things like glass platen liners, various wheel bearings for grinders, bandsaws, etc..., spare blades, drive belts, tool bits, end mills, various oils and fluids, etc...

Having a PM (preventative maintenance) schedule might also be a little bit of overkill for the hobbyists, but having a calender with scheduled reminders can be helpful. Most PMs will consist of simply inspecting parts and/or cleaning them, but it's a good idea to check for loose fasteners, set screws, pulleys, etc..., loose or damaged wires, worn points of contact on moving parts, oil (fill or replace), drive belt wear, pulley wear, filter changes, and so on. I like to write down dates that think like oil filters are changed, usually right on the filter, but if you have a maintenance spreadsheet or a calendar, you can add it in there as well.

Don't forget the hand tools too... clean, sharpen, repair, adjust, etc... Most of us do these things as they come up or while we are using them, but getting them all knocked out at once on a down day can save some time when you're trying to actually get something done.

 

[John Cahoon]

Some great ideas there Drew Riley , especially like the periodic inspection, which I don't do enough of. I've had the occasional loose nut surprise myself. Nothing spectacular happened, but it could have.