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This isn't a how to question, I thought I would try to get a light hearted discussion going. I was cleaning My shop every Saturday morning then I got lazy and let it go for a couple of weeks, what a mess. There is dust everywhere and it's probably a major fire hazard. From what I can tell most People that make pipes are really well organized, I'm not there yet. Do You clean on a regular schedule, are Your tools where They should be all the time? Have You ever bent over to pick up something with a pipe in Your mouth and dumped hot ashes on some briar dust? I just thought I would ask how others maintain Their shop and maybe pick up some good tips and things to do that I may be missing. If this seems like a stupid question then please disregard it. Thanks, Norm

Meet your new best friend:

http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Vac-2021000- ... l+shop+vac

It's the size of a lunchbox. No prep, no hassle. Just pick up, switch on, and go. Three minutes at the end of every shop session works wonders.

I have the shop vac, I swear I do.....I work really late at night most of the time and this is what my bench looks like until the next morning when I can turn the damned thing on to clean up my mess. I do sweep the dust off the floor and benchtop every night when I am done and then hit it with the vac in the mornings. The mess of boxes under the bench are there all the time, though....I'm a really really organized person

Um... cleaning? Are we supposed to do that?

The best thing to do for cutting down on cleaning is a dust collector. A shop vac will do for starters, but I love my dust collector. The shop vac will clean stuff off your bench, normally a dust collector will not.

If a clean shop is a requirement to be a good pipe maker, I am going to have a list of stuff for sale in the classifieds shortly. I usually clean up with a snow shovel and a tractor cart, and I am not exaggerating. I do keep a "clean area" for smoking a pipe. That's where I work on my pipes and other small stuff as well. My wife prefers I do not smoke cigars in the shop. She is afraid the smell will linger and go out the door with furniture or turnings. But the pipe doesn't seem to have that effect.

I use a shop vac as a dust collector as my sanders have a vacuum port, it doesn't work as well as a dust collector but it helps keep it out of the air

BigCasino wrote:I use a shop vac as a dust collector as my sanders have a vacuum port, it doesn't work as well as a dust collector but it helps keep it out of the air

I use a shop vac as a dust collector too. I wear a mask and eye protection because I still wind up putting more dust into the air than into the vac. Dust collector is the way to go.

BTW, I didn't intend to imply that a small shop vac was a substitute for a proper high CFM dust collection system. Merely that it was a good way to keep the nooks and crannies of your shop from accumulating chips, bits, escaped dust, and etc.. A quick pass after every shop session is like brushing your teeth every day, or keeping the grass of a golf green short.

notow1 wrote: From what I can tell most People that make pipes are really well organized,

WCannoy wrote:

notow1 wrote: From what I can tell most People that make pipes are really well organized,

+1

Realize, most people clean up before they take pictures.

I clean when it gets dirty and starts to hamper work. Or if I am having visitors

Tyler wrote:

WCannoy wrote:

notow1 wrote: From what I can tell most People that make pipes are really well organized,

+1

Realize, most people clean up before they take pictures.

Add me to this list. My shop gets really bad and I only clean and reorganize when I can't stand it anymore. Ask Nate. It drives him crazy and really messes with his OCD.

I'm so glad I'm not alone! Scottie, your place is clean!

Charl wrote:I'm so glad I'm not alone! Scottie, your place is clean!

Uuummmmmm.....I thought I lost a file yesterday and found it under a pile of ebonite dust.....

Keep this in mind: If you're cleaning your shop, you aren't making a pipe.

Rad

RadDavis wrote:Keep this in mid: If you're cleaning your shop, you aren't making a pipe.

Rad

IAWR

PremalChheda wrote:

RadDavis wrote:Keep this in mid: If you're cleaning your shop, you aren't making a pipe.

Rad

IAWR

wdteipen wrote:
Add me to this list. My shop gets really bad and I only clean and reorganize when I can't stand it anymore. Ask Nate. It drives him crazy and really messes with his OCD.

Nah, I just joined. You've been to my shop recently Wayne, you know what kind of sty it is!