What was your longest continual spiral of swarf?

[derekg]

Turning some brass today and the swarf came up over the tool post and just started sliding down the shop floor in a perfect spiral, without kinks, in a straight line. So enthralled I had to measure it. 17'-2" without stretching it. .0010 thick and continual shape. If I had more to cut and the shop was longer, am sure it would have crawled to 30 feet.

So, if you have ADHD as bad as me, what is your longest continual piece?

Derek (on a lazy Sunday)

[LKeithR]

I've never measured--but I have wondered...

[John Stevenson]

Derek,
I'm very impressed you can get continuous swarf off brass, all I get is 10 million needles that get stuck everywhere including behind your for.............. forget it, we won't go there.

[Peter.]

I once produced one so big I sold it on eBay as a spiral staircase

[flylo]

Was cutting Alum both forward & back & had about 3 tightly packed gallons in a 5 gall pail. I'm sure I could have filled it but a guy I hired to help me dumped it in the trash. First thing I ever saw him put in the trash. It was just peeling off like a long tiny Slinky.

[flylo]

I once produced one so big I sold it on eBay as a spiral staircase

I heard about that! Stairway to Heaven I believe.

[Peter.]

Think the longest I've had is about 6 or 7 feet really. Gave me a fright when it caught around the chuck jaws and turned into an almighty flail - now I knock off the feed lever every so often to cut them short.

[Evan]

Let's see now.... 12 inches of 2" diameter acetal bar at 20 tpi wrapped around the stock comes out to about 104.71975511 feet....

[dockrat]

I have never measured it but when I cut UHMW plastic it just flows to the right in an arc and makes a nice continuous pile like this:

[jkilroy]

Like Ernie, when cutting UHMW, I can make the swarf spiral up into the air and fly right into a well placed trash can. I am sure I have cut continuous chips that would measure over a quarter mile in length on larger diameter parts. I have used them as Christmas decorations.

[Tony Ennis]

I got about a quarter mile long piece of swarf from a piece of cast iron the other day.

[Fasttrack]

I've gotten hundreds of feet long continuous chips off of 4140 and a couple of varieties of SS, but I try to grind in a chip breaker whenever possible. Those long chips can be dangerous! Bust 'em up before they slice you up or get wrapped around the chuck.

[Lew Hartswick]

I got about a quarter mile long piece of swarf from a piece of cast iron the other day.

Now we know who is the biggest liar. That one just cant be beat. :-)
I thought the brass was it but NO ONE can top doing it with Cast Iron. :-)
...lew...

[EVguru]

I had the poor old badly work Myford ML7 at work in lowest speed back gear reducing an oversize piece of material down to size and I was using a pair of pliers to control the swarf.

The electronics workshop is 25 meters long and I walked it's length more than four times pulling one piece of swarf.

[John Stevenson]

I'm waiting for the person who reversed the lathe and put it all back on.