Watchmakers lathe custom chip shield

Custom Chip Shield on Watchmakers Lathe
Hello friends
Just completed a smaller project that has a big impact on my comfort and eye safety when using the little Watchmakers lathe. I've designed and custom fabricated an adjustable and tilting chip shield.
In the process I not only got to do some fun brass work but I also worked in Acrylic (had to make the shield itself).
Custom Chip Shield ready to use

The overall design uses a length of 5.5MM steel rod held in place behind the lathe by an adjustable arm.

The arm itself is mounted to the accessory slot I designed into the lathe base (elsewhere in this blog). The pivot mounting is also achieved using the standardized mounting brackets I also custom design and have 3D printed in bronze-infused stainless steel (also elsewhere on this blog).
Adjustable mounting arm and rail for Custom Chip Shield on Watchmakers lathe

The arm for the shield is captured in a carrier that has stops machined into it about 60 degrees apart. The carrier itself is adjustable to tune where the shield drops to as well as where it is placed longitudinally along the lathe.
Chip Shield arm and carrier
Chip Shield arm assembly on support arm and rod
Chip Shield Carrier with clamping collar

If there is any doubt why I wanted to make this chip shield just look at the amount of tiny chips thrown off on another project I had underway. Always ends up in my hair and all over the shop.
Big mess 

In order to make the carrier, I had to come up with a solution for holding it on my small mill and rotating it. Not having an indexing head yet, I came up with a nifty solution that worked extremely well! I have a spare couple of lathe beds and mounted that in the milling vice. it was just a simple matter of removing the headstock from my lathe, mounting my 3 jaw chuck, attaching an old (and rather beat up but functional) tailstock and voila!
Lathe used as dividing head on mill

Note that I've also attached the custom spindle lock from a previous project.
Spindle lock in use

Additionally, the tailstocks on these old lathes are exactly 8MM in bore so they very accurately fit any of the collets that fit the headstock so I had my center to use.

The shield is already in full use and I'm very happy to feel cleaner and safer (have to protect the eyes after all).

Cheers, Kevin

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