Slow Shift?

Remember that your primary job is to keep the shop a safe and enjoyable place for everyone. You may practice machining if there are no users in the shop and if there is another proctor present (no solo machining). In general, don’t go on “side quests” while users are around unless you are doing light maintenance or cleaning.

General

Poke around - Open drawers! Look around! Familiarize yourself with the space and things you do not use as often so that you are better prepared for users with odd requests / projects.

Check tool organizers - Check that each lathe and mill station has all of its appropriately color-marked tools. If a station is missing something, first check other stations (because users like to travel with tools), and then file a missing / broken tool report if it does not show up.

Lathes

Check lathe tool post alignment - In order for the cutting tools to work properly, the tool post must be perpendicular to the spindle axis. To check the alignment, move the tool post close to the nose of the empty collet chuck (or chuck jaws if a 3- or 4-jaw chuck is installed). The left face of the tool post should be flush with the nose of the collet chuck. Reference the “Squaring a Lathe Tool Post” video on the shop’s YouTube channel.

Check lathe compound angle - Read this angle by finding the tick mark at the 9 ’oclock position of the circular base of the compound. It should be set to 15° with respect to the Z (spindle) axis. If it is anything else, slightly loosen the two nuts on either side of its circular base using the 13mm wrench on the lathe workbench, and rotate it to read 15°. Then tighten the nuts, switching from one to the other until it's completely tight. Then adjust the post alignment as described above.

Clean chips out of the lathe bed - If a lot of chips have built up under the lathe, move them to the trash can. Use gloves for this! You may also have to sweep up a bit afterwards. Empty the shop vacs - Dump the contents of the shop vacs into the large trash bins by the front door.

Mills

Clean vise and table - Wipe down the vise with the rag, clear the chips out of the grooves in the table, and vacuum up chips on the guards. There is a T-shaped tool on some of the mill tables that can help in getting chips out of the t-slots in the table.

Check vise alignment - This is a little more involved, but you may have learned how to do it in proctor training. Put an indicator in the spindle, then feed back and forth along the fixed (back) jaw of the vise to see if it is square to the X axis. If it isn't, loosen one bolt and gently tap the vise with the orange deadblow mallet until it's aligned again. If you don't feel comfortable fixing it, just email the maintenance proctors to let us know that it isn’t aligned.

Wood Shop

Empty dust collectors - There are three dust collectors connected to the table saw, the sanders, and the ShopBot. There is a zipper at the bottom of the bag. Lift it into the trash can, unzip it, and shake the dust out. Then lift off the top lid. If the container is more than half full, dump or scoop the contents into the large trash cans.

Empty the shop vac - Pour the contents into the large trash cans. You may want to wear a mask.

Sweep / Vacuum - This may not be the most exciting activity, but it is certainly necessary. If you have some good music, it can even be meditative.

Last Resort

Make a shop playlist - Tunes can make the shop a more fun space for both you and users! The login for the shop Spotify should be on the proctor desk. Remember to not play music too loudly – classes in Big Beckman can hear our music.

Homework - If there are no users in the shop, and you either do not feel qualified to do any of the above tasks or are really behind on homework, feel free to catch up.