Practical aspect also.
Had a friend lose his entire shop to fire....hand carver, but all his big iron was downstairs in the basement, and chips,shaving,sawdust accumulated bit by bit in nooks and crannies...THEN a squirrel chewed through his 220A insulation and fried itself...starting the chips on fire. Who knows...it may have burned anyways, but chips certainly didn't help.
Constantly think about another guys shop 20 years ago, and a drying oil rag got covered with sawdust so he couldn't see it when he swept partially....Poof!
And then James McGrew's "Barrel Fire"....darn good thing it was in the middle of a clean concrete floor!
scott P.
2013 Desktop/spindle/VCP 11.5**
Maine