Way wipers

[zytooohParticipant @zytoooh]

Hi again

I’m just looking for a consensus of opinion regarding materials for use as way wipers.

I am thinking of making and fitting some to the saddle of my zyto.

My ideas are thick felt, but would this become a dirt trap and cause more trouble than it prevents?

The second is thick leather, a bit less absorbant than the felt but a similar idea.

Or finally sheet rubber, I have some 1.5mm from a rubber roof job and could even double it up if needed. Flexible, fairly tough, not exactly absorbant (perhaps with oil slightly).

Please let me know what you think either way or even not to bother.

Thanks

Peter

 

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

Original wipers on my Southbend lathe are felt

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Choice of material should account for whether the Zyto saddle has oil points to enable lubrication of the interface between it and shears ‘from within’?

..or whether it relies on an oil film externally applied to the shears..?

 

 

[Andrew CrowParticipant @andrewcrow91475]

The ones on Myford lathes are felt, but the ones on my old Colchester appeared to be made from Cork, I have just replaced them using leather.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Got a 3D printer? if you use one of the flexible filaments then you can print a set of wipers. This is one I drew for the late JS to go on Debs Colchester Bantum

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Don’t overthink it.   Felt works well enough, and that used on my lathe is about 2mm thick.

Keeping the ways relatively clean takes most of the stress off the wipers.

• Before every new session I wipe the ways and squirt oil into all the oiling points.
• Mid-session, I brush swarf off the ways and from under the chuck when it piles up.
• Cast-iron gets extra care because it’s filthy and can be very abrasive – I lay paper and position magnets to keep it off the ways.  And the rest of the house – it goes everywhere!!!  Wood also calls for extra cleaning, and so do some plastics – they’re surprisingly abrasive.
• I do a deeper clean and re-lube after particularly heavy sessions, and once or twice a year if I remember.

None of the above takes long, and it doesn’t need to be applied rigorously. I’ve not had to change a wiper yet.  I’d be a notch fussier if my lathe didn’t have hardened ways.  I expect Zytos are soft, so pay a bit more attention to cleaning.

Dave

[cogdobblerParticipant @cogdobbler]

A sheet of neoprene attached to the leading edge of the saddle keeps 90 per cent of the swarf away from the ways. Mine is about 120mm wide and runs full width of the saddle, so it protects the leadscrew to some extent too. I just replaced mine with a sheet of silicon oven mat, about 2mm thick, so red hot chips off carbide tooling don’t melt into it.

On the Myford it is easily attached by a strip of metal laid across the front of the saddle and held down by a screw into the hole provided for the travelling steady.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Similar on my WM250 using a length of plastic DPC material sandwiched between two bits of aluminium flat.

I have just used a couple of hex head bolts to hold it in place but you could make a couple of knurled head screws. The bolts / screws use the mounting holes in the saddle for the travelling steady and serve the other function of preventing ingress of swarf to those holes.

More lathe projects on Journeyman’s Workshop

John

 

[IanTParticipant @iant]

If you are going to use felt wipers (which I do) – then a ‘hard’ (compressed) felt is the best type to use. You can purchase sheets of this (oil seal) felt in various thicknesses from vintage car restorers such as these folk:

Hard Felt – Vintage Cars

 

Regards,

 

IanT

 

[IanTParticipant @iant]

PS Some of my older machines also have a neoprene ‘wiper’ with a felt ‘oiler’ behind them. The neoprene sheet is easily cut out (using a cardboard template) with a craft knife…as is the felt. Use a leather punch to make any required holes…

Regards,

 

IanT

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

The felt wipers were primarily for lubricating the ways each and every time the carriage was moved. I fail to see the improvement of a plastic roof to keep the chips off if the felts are not kept and oiled as normal.

[Dave Halford]

• On Dave Halford Said:

  The felt wipers were primarily for lubricating the ways each and every time the carriage was moved. I fail to see the improvement of a plastic roof to keep the chips off if the felts are not kept and oiled as normal.

• I use both. Regulation felts plus the plastic “bib” to minimise chips getting into the felt. It’s not a new idea, just an update of the sheet metal trays that were described in many of the old books by Sparey, Duplex etc. I tried them but they always seemed to get in the way, catching on extended chuck jaws etc  and needed removing for many jobs.

The sheet of silicon baking mat sits down flush with the ways, drops down into the gap, and can be rolled up out of the way if needed. Very handy. It is only 0.5mm thick (not the 2mm I wrongly said earlier) yet seems to be indestructible. Earlier versions using bits of rubber and even vinyl cut from an old handbag all did not wear or age so well.

PS. And using a piece of aluminium angle to retain the silicone sheet, with the sheet wrapped around it up the vertical side, swarf is kept out of the cross- slide moving surfaces, an added bonus.

[Clive SteerParticipant @clivesteer55943]

The simple Felt/cork/leather wipers are simple to make. I rather like the apron method or better still a concertina type cover that keeps all debris off the ways but where does one buy such a product.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Get them while you still can

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

I have felt wipers on my M Type Myford Drummond held in place with an aluminium shaped to be just clear of the bed. I also use a plastic bag with magnets inside to catch swarf when machining cast iron. The swarf sticks to the magnets and carefully remove bag turn it inside out and the swarf is inside the bag.

 

David

[HOWARDTParticipant @howardt]

Commercial way wipers use polyurethane or NBR as the wiper.  They are used as a wiper to clean in the direction of travel and will remove some oil from the surface hence the use of automatic lubrication systems.  Felt or soft materials risk trapping filings in the material although they were used in the past.  I used to design high volume cutting machine so have real life experience although now twenty years ago.

[ryan.carter848Participant @ryan-carter848]

Good video on the topic, also discussed replacing felt for rubber:

[HOWARDT]

On HOWARDT Said:

Commercial way wipers use polyurethane or NBR as the wiper.  They are used as a wiper to clean in the direction of travel and will remove some oil from the surface hence the use of automatic lubrication systems.

Indeed Howard. When I was referring earlier to some of my older machines using both felt and neoprene wipers, the neoprene is used to keep the swarf out and the felt is for lubrication.

To answer Dave H’s comment about being able to keep the felt oiled, the aluminium covers have an oiling point in the top. Below is one such wiper fitted to my Atlas 7B. They work very well. I do remove the covers occassionally to clean/wash-out the felt (it gets dirty over time) but there is very little swarf (if any) present.

Regards,

 

IanT

 

 

 

[ryan.carter848]

On ryan.carter848 Said:

Good video on the topic, also discussed replacing felt for rubber:

Meticulous work, nicely demonstrated

MichaelG.

[Author]

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