Anybody have any recommendations? I had a pair of Teva's that were cushioned enough, but the soles were hard enough plastic that they didn't pick up metal chips. Super expensive now and hard to find the same. My Brooks tennis shoes are great, but the chips embed and don't easily come out scraping across with the brush/mat.

I clean lathe bed, pan, floor and shoes daily. And the shoes are used only at the lathe; they do not leave the shop. Problem solved.

Buy a spare pair, and switch them out when you're going away from the machine. Takes 10 to 15 seconds to change shoes.

I learned something from my kids. Don't untie your tennis shoes. Just slip them off. You don't have to tie them with a death grip on your feet anyway. When I find shoes that I like, I buy 2 or more pairs of them. At the moment, I have a set of shoes by the outside door. When I walk out and get my shoes wet on the snow, I slip them off and put on a dry pair when I come in, so I don't get water on the hardwood. I often do the same when I come in from the shop. I also have a couple of "shop only" pairs in the shop. I slip them on when I'm doing something dirty, mowing the lawn, etc.

When I'm running my duplicator I simply used those disposable surgical covers. Got 3-4 uses for about 10 cents a pair

Bare feet?

quote:

posted 24 January 2022 20:50 Hide Post
Bare feet

beat me to it

I was going to say that but figured everyone would think it was stupid.
As for wearing shoes in the house, clean or not, my wife is Korean and if you wear shoes in the house you will be immediately killed. Verbally. After you leave, I will get punished for not making you take your shoes off.
I, also, never untie shoes; I leave them tied. Not boots.
But the answer is, obviously, different shoes for different uses.
Surgery covers? Might work for wood but definitely won't work for lathe chips. They will cut through anything.

quote:

Might work for wood but definitely won't work for lathe chips. They will cut through anything

Yep. I was thinking of a wood lathe

Thanks, all.

Would have replied a little earlier, but had trouble getting the tourniquets on my feet...

quote:

Originally posted by skl1:
Thanks, all.

Would have replied a little earlier, but had trouble getting the tourniquets on my feet...

Hahaha

I wear cheap generic steel-capped safety boots. All the time. Have to wear boots because I have a short leg (result of a botched surgery after a car accident) and thus have a thick inner sole on one side. I find them more comfortable than name-brand hiking boots four times the price, and although they are not completely impervious to chips, they are nearly so. They also don't slip as much on oily surfaces.

Not going to name brand and model because I highly doubt mine are available in the US, but I have had several sets from different manufacturers and they have performed similarly.

I wear the ugliest, most comfortable shoes I own. They are "Time Out" by SAS. I have spent the afternoon on the lathe, and they have picked up zero chips so far.

Irish Setter pull on work boots. I run a lathe virtually everyday. Chips can get stuck in between the lugs but they don't dig into the tread.

When the Germans were successfully building the first jet fighters, the US engineers could not come up with a metal for the turbines capable of withstanding the intense heat. They invited the German engineers to some type of gathering with a lavish meal. They laid special carpet which snagged chips from the German's boots. The Americans later retrieved the chips of exotic metal and analyzed it. It was Titanium.

Timberland PRO Men's Powertrain https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N..._encoding=UTF8&psc=1

The best sole in any shop and some of us make chips by the truckload