Broke down and bought a chip auger for my mill after 6 years of shoveling swarf

I got tired of stopping every 45 minutes to clean out the machine during a big steel run. The auger was like $400 but it paid for itself in a week of saved time. Has anyone else rigged up a simple conveyor or just stuck with the shovel?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_webb911mo ago

Buddy of mine ran his manual lathe for years. Shoveled chips into a 5 gallon bucket every 45 minutes like clockwork. Finally rigged up a little belt conveyor from an old treadmill motor. Said it was the best 20 bucks he ever spent.

adams.uma1mo ago

Honestly, that's the kind of hack that makes you wonder why you put up with the old way for so long. It's like once you see a better method, the old one feels almost ridiculous in hindsight. Small stuff like that really does change the whole vibe of a job.

blairc901mo ago

Have you noticed how most of our life is just little things adding up until you finally snap and fix it? It's like with cooking - I used to chop garlic by hand forever until I got a garlic press, and now I wonder why I waited so long. The auger thing reminds me of those weird daily hassles we just accept as normal until someone shows us a better way. Small upgrades like that can totally change how you feel about the whole job.