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Warning: a chip pile avalanche at a shop in Tacoma taught me a lesson
I was clearing out the chip pan on a big VMC, and the pile looked solid. I gave it a tap with a shovel, and the whole thing collapsed like a mountain slide, burying my boots. Now I clear in small sections, no matter what. Anyone else have a messy cleanup story?
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hollym827mo ago
Yeah, that's a classic move. I always heard it called a "chip cave" instead of an avalanche, same idea though. It looks like a solid wall but it's just hanging there by a thread. I learned the hard way too, but mine was with aluminum stringy chips on a lathe. That mess wrapped around everything like metallic spaghetti.
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anthonyp917mo ago
That metallic spaghetti sounds rough, but how bad can a chip cave really get?
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averywright6mo ago
You ever read about the guy who had a chip cave break his wrist? I saw it in a safety report once. It wasn't just a mess to clean up, the whole wall of steel chips fell and pinned his arm against the machine. That's the real danger, it's not just chips. It's the weight and the sharp edges all moving at once. Makes you respect even the small tangled piles.
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