I find that 90% of my work on the milling machine is held in the vice and I hate cleaning up the widely flung swarf. I did have rigid acrylic guards but they tended to get in the way of the vice and/or tooling and were not very efficient; others on the site testify to this.
What is required is a clear thin flexible guard round the tool and the workpiece; something that will do the job but not be harmful to self or machine in a c..k-up. I use an A4 laminator in my business and it produces a strong clear flexible encapsulation of a document. It occurred to me that if a sheet was processed without the document the result could be re-laminated to produce a clear sheet with double the strength. This does work and it can be folded and cut with scissors to any shape or size. Most small businesses use a laminator and if you supply the pouches, which are available from supermarkets (Tesco UK, being one) for approximately £2 for a 25 pack, they might be persuaded to oblige.
I now use three sheets anchored to short pieces of steel angle with rare earth magnets and the swarf is contained - Oh Joy! The sheets seen in the photo have been in use for eighteen months and are still going strong. They can be removed/replaced in less than a minute. The steel angle is pop riveted to 5mm black acrylic sheet which I use to protect the table.
I had contemplated adding a coolant system to the mill but it was put on the back burner because I was wary of the stuff being thrown far and wide by centrifugal force. The laminated sheets could be the answer and I now intend to pursue the matter further.
What is required is a clear thin flexible guard round the tool and the workpiece; something that will do the job but not be harmful to self or machine in a c..k-up. I use an A4 laminator in my business and it produces a strong clear flexible encapsulation of a document. It occurred to me that if a sheet was processed without the document the result could be re-laminated to produce a clear sheet with double the strength. This does work and it can be folded and cut with scissors to any shape or size. Most small businesses use a laminator and if you supply the pouches, which are available from supermarkets (Tesco UK, being one) for approximately £2 for a 25 pack, they might be persuaded to oblige.
I now use three sheets anchored to short pieces of steel angle with rare earth magnets and the swarf is contained - Oh Joy! The sheets seen in the photo have been in use for eighteen months and are still going strong. They can be removed/replaced in less than a minute. The steel angle is pop riveted to 5mm black acrylic sheet which I use to protect the table.
I had contemplated adding a coolant system to the mill but it was put on the back burner because I was wary of the stuff being thrown far and wide by centrifugal force. The laminated sheets could be the answer and I now intend to pursue the matter further.
