water water everywhere

Kevin McGovern

Kevin McGovern

Joined
Jul 31, 2015
Messages
3,118
Is there any way to cut down on the amount of water that winds up on the floor in front of the grinder when wet grinding? This wasn't a big issue before i started making kitchen knives, but it's a nuisance now. I put together a spark bong for metal grinding that is in front of a small wet/dry vac. It worked well to keep down on the dust but the water is still an issue. I may be moving from my 120 year old well house shop and into one bay of our 4 car garage. It would be more space, better electric, heat/ ac. But I need to keep it cleaner. I am most likely going to build a grind room in the corner of this space to keep down on the dust, but I would like to solve the water issue if possible. Thanks.
 
I built a simple frame from 2x4s, set it on the ground, dropped a piece of pond liner over that, and hung 1/16x48x96" plastic sheets to make walls. Pic here https://www.instagram.com/p/BRgsEZ1hcBh

I wear rubber boots and let the water collect in the 'pond', then shop-vac it all up when I'm done. I would love a solution that keeps water off the floor, but this is simple and straightforward.
 
You could just put a perimeter of caulking around the area you'll be working in, to keep it from running into the rest of the garage. Then vacuum it up with a shop vac when done.

For cutting down on dust you could take two or three long two by fours and attach them to the ceiling, and then to a boarder on the ground made of 2x4's as well. Then staple painters tarps to it. That's what I do in my basement and it works like a charm.

Oh, I just had an idea... maybe you could use one of those washing machine drip pans. You can get one for like $10-$20 from Home Depot or Lowes. They're around 4'x4' and about 3" deep. You could use multiples if you needed.
 
The best way to cut down on off-spray is to put less water on the belt and/or put it on more efficiently. Shields will help, too.
 
Floor? In my shop all seems to end up on the back wall and the front of my shirt. :D
 
Using a spray bottle helps to regulate the amount of water, but you have to spray pretty often. Might not be that great for production work.
 
how about a shallow plastic tub on the floor, catches some water
mine's is actually a heavy duty tote used in manufacturing industry. made of fiberglass
 
I recently converted to wet grinding, it's great.

And this is how I handle the mess. Pretty much all gunk and water either get caught in the chute or the super handsome collector-bucket-combo. I keep both collector-combos free roaming so to say, so that I can put them at the right spot in regard to what kind of tool arm I'm using.

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That's a nice setup. I should fab up some trays like that.
 
I like the funnels. What is the 45 for? Also, is this a straight gravity catch, or do you hook up a vacuum?

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Kevin McGovern said:
I like the funnels. What is the 45 for? Also, is this a straight gravity catch, or do you hook up a vacuum?

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The 45 is for attaching a vacuum. I have two vaccuums in the ventilated cabinet to the left. For grinding stuff that I don't want wet. Fortunately I mostly use materials that don't mind getting soaked, like steel and Micarta.

So when wet grinding I'm using gravity, it works just fine. A lot of the water get caught in the chutes which I have elevated toward the funnel. The grind gunk just goes right down the funnel, or at least sticks somewhere inside it. There's not a lot of gunk on the floor. Obviously it's unavoidable to get some on your apron and faceshield, but that's mostly if I overdo the waterflow, like for heavy lean-in grinding. Otherwise I can use a moderate waterflow and it doesn't spill much at all. I guess that's why they call it a mister and not a sprinkler. :)
 
Brock Cutlery said:
That is a sweet setup! Where did you get the parts?
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The chute is just some folded sheet metal, with a top coat so it doesn't rust.

The funnel and connectors are for woodworking machines and I bought it at a Home Depot equivalent here in Sweden. Cheap enough. But it's heavy plastic and the wet system means there's no excessive heat to worry about.

The bucket is a ash bucket from the same Home Depot-like place. I cut out the top and fitted the funnel and also installed some rivet nuts with screw knob handles for the top cover to stay in place.
 
Very clean shop!! It must be a real pleasure to work in such a well organized environment. I like your solutions very much
 
stezann said:
Very clean shop!! It must be a real pleasure to work in such a well organized environment. I like your solutions very much
Click to expand...

Thank you. I try to constrain myself from going too far with the organization. At some point it tends to get counterproductive since you spend more time organizing than you do actual work. But I really enjoy a well laid out workshop, no matter if it's big or small.
 
beyond the organization, I don't understand how you can keep it so clean.
I have a dust collector catch and air filtration and still there's dust everywhere all the time.
 
Exactly HSC. I'm pretty good on dust collection as well. I thought I was doing ok until I tried blowing my shop out with a leaf blower over the weekend. Holy cow, glad I had a mask on....

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Well, I have a thorough cleaning ritual I initiate just before I shut down for the evening. I vacuum the floor and benches, wipe all the machinery, cleans the dust filters, put everything where it's suppose to be etc.
 
I use a similar set up, although much more dirty. The PVC at the bottom has water in it to act as a spark bucket for grinding steel. The Y connection runs to a little HF dust collector that takes the wood and handle dust out through the shop wall. I don't run the dust collector when grinding steel.
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