THAT SMELL Many shops are now using CNC machining centers, with coolant tanks/sumps. With time, the coolant will grow a foul-smelling bacterium, especially during the warmer summer months. The cure for foul-smelling is "Coolant Deodorizing Tablets", available from...

CLEARLY CURTAINS Due to a recent addition of shop equipment, all our machines were moved to make room. To help keep close or neighboring machines from getting each other dirty from flying debris, I used an inexpensive shower liner as a wall between them. Hung with a...

BEFORE COVID AND BEYOND Way before the Covid virus I was concerned with getting infection by customary handshaking. I was cutting or scraping my hands on a regular basis in the shop. To keep any germs from entering my body I used the “newskin” liquid bandage to seal...

CATALOG SIX-PACK  I know catalogs are online, but most of us would rather use paper catalogs.  So, hang on to those old catalogs, because some companies are not printing them anymore. Our solution is to use beer boxes to file them.  They are available for free at any...

TRACKING WORK ORDERS Because we have a stack of work orders, about an inch thick, we have a system that helps us match a customer with their job, when they call. The work orders are kept in numerical order on a clipboard. The customer is assigned a work order number,...

BEHIND CURTAIN #1    Everyone hates cleaning the flywheel grinder. Chipping or scraping takes time and is not very productive. We found that lining the inside of the machine with a cut up shower curtain or plastic sheet and using spring clips to secure it at the top...