[Magnum164]

As each has its benifits I decided to do both. While my machine is a Novakon NM-200 the concept is the same.

Outer enclosure of 1" PVC pipe, shower curtain hangers and thick clear poly.
This will ensure coolant & chips stay constrained.

While this works well, some have encountered coolant shortage problems, caused by the inability to return the coolant quickly to the container.
Additionally the mess is spread far and wide.

After using this for a while I decided to design a table top enclosure capable of accomadating 1 or 2 vises, various depths of cut and work positioning.

See attached pictures. The front, slides up and is composed of 1 or two pieces depending on vise(s) location.
The back allows for a 2" piece to be removed for really close to the vise operations. There are also small removeable hunks to allow access the "Edge" setup tool attached to the vise.

Finally the whole contraption is attached to the table with ceramic magnets.
Funky but effective. If you crash into the table in theory it should simply move away. If your work piece is too big the whole assembly can be quickly removed.

Expected benifits have been achieved. Most of the coolant is contained & quickly returned to the tank. The majority of the chips are also contained, making cleanup faster & easier.

John

Looks good. But my last machining I was throwing stuff higher than your curtains I think I have some plastic now but definitely want something more permanent up front.

When I was about 21 I worked as a mechanic, the owner of a nearby shop we worked with was killed when he was grinding a part on a table top grinder. The disc broke and hit him in the temple. Ever since I have been overly cautious about having something solid between me and object revolving at high speeds. Probably the reason I don't use my lathe as much as it is and at low speed when I do..