# Who is using a lathe chuck guard ?



## cuslog (Jan 27, 2021)

I've never used a manufactured one. A few times I've jury-rigged a piece of cardboard to deflect hot chips from a particularly nasty job.
While picking chips out of my hair yesterday, I thought about the chuck guards I've seen in ads and thought "that might be a good idea".
If you have one, do you use it ? Do you like it ? Is there a make or model you like ?


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## kevin.decelles (Jan 27, 2021)

It’s on my list . Took a few pieces of 4140 on the cheek last week, and in the back of the neck and on my scalp (little hair left)

Burns like crazy. Plus the slinging of this around the shop means being ultra diligent on solvent baths etc


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## kevin.decelles (Jan 27, 2021)

I won’t be integrating it to the power switch though..... if it is worth using, I shouldn’t need a prompt to do it ......


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## Tom Kitta (Jan 27, 2021)

For me main problem is when boring and there is a space behind the part for chips to escape. Yes they burn and yes you better wear eye protection. 

I would use a guard for these occasions only, otherwise its off as it obstructs view (hence transparent ones).


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## cuslog (Jan 27, 2021)

Yeah, I had a bit of an "incident" yesterday. Putting the new lathe through her paces "lets see if she'll do .100 DOC - yep, she peeled it off pretty nicely too, tried another one, birds nest @1000 RPM, chuck grabbed the nest, it grabbed another one behind in the chip pan. It was like an explosion - swarf hit me in the face, I ducked and lurched at the fwd / rev lever. Glad that lathe has a brake that stops the chuck almost instantly. That "explosion" of swarf sent stuff flying all over my garage. Luckily, no serious injuries (I was wearing safety glasses W/side shields - exciting for a few seconds though - and could have been a lot worse. Later, after calming down, I started thinking about chuck guards. My lathe has an interlock on the headstock door - if I do buy a chuck guard, I think I'd move that interlock to the chuck guard.
I do suspect though that similar to other safety devices people tend to forget or they can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes.


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## Tom Kitta (Jan 27, 2021)

I had that happen few times already. I sort of know when it is coming and only happens when I am lazy and don't clear things up. Usually the chip breaker does a good job - the problem with bird nest occurs with some steel combinations at some DOC at some feed rate.


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## YYCHM (Jan 27, 2021)

Birds Nest..... Yup... been there done that  More than my lathe I would like some sort of shield on my mill.


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## Johnwa (Jan 27, 2021)

I’ve never seen a great need for one on my 9” Southbend (relatively low speeds and HSS tooling)  It’s a different story with the SM 1120 though.  A guard is high on the to-do list for it.


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## Dabbler (Jan 27, 2021)

I have a chip guard but never use it.  Perhaps one day.


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## John Conroy (Jan 27, 2021)

My lathe came with one and I find it is quite effective, especially at keeping me from doing stupid stuff like forgetting the key in the chuck. The spindle will not run if the guard is up.


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## cuslog (Jan 27, 2021)

For me, this is the biggest attraction of a CNC lathe or mill with full enclosures - swarf control and coolant splash control. I do like making things, working with my hands etc. but being showered in hot chips is not part of the enjoyment for me but I'm too old to start learning to program CNC (besides they're too expensive for me).
Thinking about this incident some more, I should have probably kept the RPM down (1000) the DOC less and been more diligent in clearing swarf away from behind the chuck.


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## Dabbler (Jan 27, 2021)

Recently I was turning down some 4300 series steel and getting dozens of burns on my hands as I was turning it.  The guard wouldn't have helped, but not my funnest moment.

In deference to 'Chewy' gettingin an accident, I'm going back to wearing gloves.  Never had an accident or near miss in the previous 38 years of machining with gloves.


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## Desab (Jan 27, 2021)

My lathe never came with one so I always keep an eye out for crazy shit to happen.


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## cuslog (Jan 28, 2021)

Dabbler said:


> Recently I was turning down some 4300 series steel and getting dozens of burns on my hands as I was turning it.  The guard wouldn't have helped, but not my funnest moment.
> 
> In deference to 'Chewy' gettingin an accident, I'm going back to wearing gloves.  Never had an accident or near miss in the previous 38 years of machining with gloves.


Yes, I've heard several times that "you should never wear gloves while operating a lathe" and mostly, I don't - there's been a couple times though where it was like you describe and I said "nuts to this" (or something similar) and put on gloves (I think that's when I clamped on a piece of cardboard to deflect the majority).


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## Brent H (Jan 28, 2021)

This is the lathe at work- note the guard around the chuck - lathe will not start if this is not in place. I do not really care for it as it is close to the chuck and interferes with 4 jaw work and can be a pain in the but.  

Note as well there is a larger guard that folds out of the way and can be brought down over the work.  It follows the carriage (you can see the line on the wall) and deflects most chips and is needed if you are using a lot of coolant. It does hurt visibility to a certain extent, however, it can’t crash into the work/headstock and can be folded away when not required.  It is not on a safety switch like the chuck - this would be something I could add to my lathe at home.

For the milling machine I am looking to make a mag base shield Out of plexi I can move around as required.


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