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Shavings mess from clothes and shoes in the house

N

Niall Johnson

Joined
Nov 26, 2024
Messages
4
Likes
3
Location
Fort William, Inverness-shire, UK
Hi, newbie here. I've worked wood for many years but only recently got a lathe and enjoying it, but not so much the mess I walk into the house from my separate workshop. I'm currently turning 60 Ash spindles for a bench. This makes lots of small shavings which are really good at attaching to clothing and carpet fibres. I leave my smock in the workshop, but shavings drop from my jeans and out of my lace-up trainers. Even taking off shoes at the house door, my socks have usually attracted plenty of shavings.

Do you experienced people have any suggestions on how to reduce the mess? Do you use any different footwear at your lathe?

Many thanks.
 
Welcome to the forum!
I wear a hat and a smock while turning. I shake and brush what I can off of me and then use my air hose to blow off as much as possible. I still track stuff into the house! Lol.
They do make a type of shoe gator that I've seen and read about here somewhere.
 
My contribution to a thread from a year or so ago. Lots of other suggestions here. I'll challenge anyone to get cleaner after a turning session using something other than my shopvac method to clean yourself. They won't.
Post in thread 'Sawdust question and home dryer' https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/sawdust-question-and-home-dryer.21520/post-231682

To cover my feet, I bought a pair of these from Amazon. There's a strap that goes under the shoe/boot sole, I don't use that under my shoe, I just let it go over the top. These have been working well.
 
My workshop is directly off our kitchen. I have a pair of chef shoes that stay just inside the door in the workshop along with a smock on a hook next to the door. I don't wear shoes in the house. When I enter the workshop I put on the smock and the chef shoes. When I leave the workshop I brush off my pants, the chef shoes and smock stay in the shop. I can leave the shop and enter the kitchen relatively dust free. I use the same trick, regarding shoes, when working on my Lotus 7 in the garage. Chef shoes are really cheap!
1742814513353.jpeg13697.jpg
 
I lived next door to a retired farmer for a while. He did flat work in his stand alone garage. He was always tracking in shavings, and of course his wife, who was neat as a pin about everything, complained. His response was that shavings were "clean dirt". This compared to the grease from tractors and other stepped in refuse released by the pigs and cows. It's all a matter of perspective.
 
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There are some gaiters made by AONIJIE that are awesome. I cut off the strap that goes under the shoe and buckles to the other side. They are lightweight, have a hook that goes onto the end of your lace ups and an elastic top that doesn't become uncomfortable. They keep all the crap out of your socks and shoes. The rest of my clothes I can deal with but small chips in your socks is a major pain.
 
Well, I am in shorts most of the time since we have a mild climate. I do sweep off my socks before going into the house. An air hose seems to make the shavings cling on harder. I also empty out my shoes and I have blue rubberized mats which get most of it off before going to the house. If I have been turning a lot, I brush off my beard and smack my hat against my leg a few times....

robo hippy
 
I got these gaiters from a lady at our club, $25. They keep the shavings out of my shoes I believe they’re available on-line as well, sorry I don’t have a link. I also wear a smock to keep most of my shirt clean.

Now I just have to worry about tracking shavings out on the bottom of my shoes.
 

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Ideas for the bottoms of your shoes. Caution, you get what you pay for. Good ones are tough and last for many years. Cheap ones may not last long. Should also be available at farm supply stores, some home improvement stores, etc. Maybe Tractor Supply or Grainger sell good ones.
www.amazon.com

JobSite: Scrubbers

Scrubbers
www.amazon.com
 
I use 2nd hand flight overalls that secure with velcro around the wrist, ankles and neck. They have zippers everywhere and the added benefit of a multitude of useful pockets, including on upper arms.

I take them off as I'm leaving the workshop and I then only have to brush off or vacuum my shoes.

I wear a PAP helmet/face shield while turning, so no need to brush off my beard!
 
I think Steve has the best gators I've seen so far. They are made out of cows and kevlar and look you can get a matching hood! Plus right now the gators are only $16 which is cheaper than any of the plastic ones I see.
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Having just moved shops, its become an issue, before I had a decent walk back to the house and this solved much of the problem. Now its just a doorway, so I have a cleaning ritual :) for fear of the wrath from the cleaning god. Hats, smock, brushes , airgun etc. life has taking on more complexity for me in this regard
 
hughie said:
Having just moved shops, its become an issue, before I had a decent walk back to the house and this solved much of the problem. Now its just a doorway, so I have a cleaning ritual :) for fear of the wrath from the cleaning god. Hats, smock, brushes , airgun etc. life has taking on more complexity for me in this regard
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Shop vac. One and done.
 
Always wear a slick fabric jacket that chips wont stick to, pants long enough to keep chips off the socks. Pants are a ripstop cotton that chips dont stick to.

Shop vac is right there, use it to get the chips out of shoe laces and fine dust off the pants and upper arms & hands. Works pretty well to get chips out my hair if needed. Also have a stiff bristled brush attached to a piece of wood, on the floor, to brush chips out of shoe soles.
 
I think my wife is so excited about the pieces I bring in, she doesn't notice the trail. (until later) It helps that my shop is about 3 1/2 miles away. I leave a lot of it in the car or truck. In warmer weather, I will sometimes ride one of my motorcycles, but it usually takes a much longer time to get home. (good weather + motorcycle = long way home :cool:)

I usually blame the dog for dirt/debris of any kind tracked in. 🤪
 
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I'm wearing the protective suit that farmers wear to apply pesticides. In the end, a compressed air bath and I'm clean...
 

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Vitor- that loose, one-piece suit makes me nervous in case that rip-stop fabric becomes entangled with the spinning wood, causing serious injuries.
 
Thanks everyone for your comments. Living in a climate that's often cool and damp, I'm not usually too hot in long trousers and smock. I like the idea of pull-on boots, to avoid laces getting clogged up. I don't want to use compressed air, so I'll start using the shop vac on my clothes when I've finished turning. Thanks again; this is a very useful and friendly forum.
 
I'm thinking about those suits that like ... Chippendale dancers wear, where you just grab the front and rip the whole thing off in one go. ( I have a whole closet full of them from a former career :). I wish ).
Generally I apply the survival of the fittest principle with clothes. I wear what I ever I have on to do whatever I have to do. The weak die off. Same with the laundry wash it all together. The stronger colors win. But in this situation my wife is fitter than me. So I'm the one who has to adapt. Maybe someday I'll find something so easy to put on and take off that I'll actually do it consistently.
 
Niall Johnson said:
Hi, newbie here. I've worked wood for many years but only recently got a lathe and enjoying it, but not so much the mess I walk into the house from my separate workshop. I'm currently turning 60 Ash spindles for a bench. This makes lots of small shavings which are really good at attaching to clothing and carpet fibres. I leave my smock in the workshop, but shavings drop from my jeans and out of my lace-up trainers. Even taking off shoes at the house door, my socks have usually attracted plenty of shavings.

Do you experienced people have any suggestions on how to reduce the mess? Do you use any different footwear at your lathe?

Many thanks.
Click to expand...
How about a change of clothes in the shop?
 
Niall Johnson said:
I don't want to use compressed air, so I'll start using the shop vac on my clothes
Click to expand...

I don’t like to spread dust and stuff around inside the shop with compressed air. When I built my shop I ran air lines to multiple places inside and one to a retractable reel outside on the entry porch. If I want to clean off my clothes before walking up the house I step outside and blow off the dust.

Also handy after wrangling llamas, catching peacocks (a real job), and moving and stacking hay bales.

JKJ
 
Just a quick note . . . I have never found that shavings and large chips are a problem getting off my clothes with either a softer dustpan brush or just with my hands. Since I generally don't turn wet wood, I'm not sure about the differences and whether wetter wood chips stick to clothes more. I do, however, have a line with hood from my dust collector to the lather. While this certainly won't collect the large chips and shavings, it does a great job of sucking sawdust and the smallest chips into the hood and collector. The dust, especially the fine dust, is what is most important to collect out of the air and also the most likely to stick to your clothes unnoticed (I believe). At the end, I also vacuum my clothes and shoes off. I'm guessing that some remnants still are missed but I'm confident that, between all of these methods, I get the worst stuff for the non-shop environment. I also change out my top covering, which is actually a denim long-sleeved shirt. The chips and dust really don't stick to that for the most part or can be brushed off easily.
 
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