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- Nov 27, 2012
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Not really a project made by me but it was a project I wanted to get done....
Keith has created a way wiper kit that uses felt wipers for his Rutland lathe using his X-Carve. If you watch his videos you'll know what I'm talking about. He now has them available for purchase on his website. Many of these style import lathes are similar so I decided to try a set on my PM1236.
I'm aware of the disadvantages & advantages of felt wipers vs rubber wipers so no need to debate over it but if you want to in this thread I don't mind. My PM1236 has rubber wipers. They worked perfectly fine & I've never had a problem with them but it seems like the way oil gets wiped away too quick. No problem, just re-oil. Well I've wanted to try some felt wipers & when I saw that Keith made these available I had to try them (and show him some support).
In a recent video, Keith mentioned where I had stated in an email that his kit would be a perfect fit for the PM1236. Well due to a mistake on my part I was only 50% correct so part of this thread is to clarify what he mentioned in that video. Not Keith's fault, totally my mistake & I will show what can be done to make them fit. The L shaped wipers for the far side of the carriage are the ones that don't fit 100% percent.
Here's what you get from Keith, delrin retainers & enough felt to cover all 4 wipers. As you can see the mounting holes are not pre drilled which is good. The mounting holes will probably vary from lathe to lathe so best to make the holes yourself for proper fitment like he mentions in his videos.
My stock rubber wipers.
The L shaped retainers are the ones I had issues with. They are a bit on the short side & don't cover the flat way completely.
Well we're machinists right, at least in some way or another. Don't panic like I sort of did, have mill, easy fix. I milled about .12" off the vertical end to allow the wiper to cover more of the way. I used a endmill with a corner radius.
Next drill out all the mounting holes. I used a 15/64" drill bit to match the oversized holes on my stock wiper retainers. You can see how close the mounting hole gets to the edge after making the modification of shortening one side of the L shaped retainers.
Cut the felt to shape & soak them with way oil.
Then slap em' on. My mounting screws are M5. You'll need M5 x 18mm to mount the new wipers. I was only able to get M5 x 20mm locally for the button heads I wanted to use, they worked fine for me. YMMV.
Here you can see how the modification allows more coverage on the way. But even my stock wipers did not fully cover the flat way.
I'm pretty happy with how they perform. With my stock rubber wipers, it seemed like my ways started drying up after about an hr or so. With the felt wipers, it's like the oil just keeps leaking out! I'm liking that. I'll check up on them after some time to see how quick they get dirty & what kind of chips might get in them. I avoid machining CI when I can so I'm not worried about that, plus I cover my ways anyway. The felt wipers will require more servicing than the rupper wipers but I think the trade off is much better with the felt. I can always add in a rubber prewiper if I feel the need to.
Replacement felt is grade F5, can be purchased at lots of places like Mcmaster, Zoro, or MSC. It's 1/4" thick.
Link to Keith's purchase page & related videos. Keith also has dimensions posted so you can verify fitment for your lathe: http://turnwrightmachineworks.com/the-wright-store/rutland-12-x-36-way-wiper-kits/
Since many of these lathes are similar, they may also fit the Grizzly 12x36 lathes but please check the dimensions first. Perhaps they might even fit the 14x lathes?
I am in no way related to Turn Wright Machine works or gets paid to advertise for him, I'm just a big fan of Keith & wanted to show him some support.
Keith has created a way wiper kit that uses felt wipers for his Rutland lathe using his X-Carve. If you watch his videos you'll know what I'm talking about. He now has them available for purchase on his website. Many of these style import lathes are similar so I decided to try a set on my PM1236.
I'm aware of the disadvantages & advantages of felt wipers vs rubber wipers so no need to debate over it but if you want to in this thread I don't mind. My PM1236 has rubber wipers. They worked perfectly fine & I've never had a problem with them but it seems like the way oil gets wiped away too quick. No problem, just re-oil. Well I've wanted to try some felt wipers & when I saw that Keith made these available I had to try them (and show him some support).
In a recent video, Keith mentioned where I had stated in an email that his kit would be a perfect fit for the PM1236. Well due to a mistake on my part I was only 50% correct so part of this thread is to clarify what he mentioned in that video. Not Keith's fault, totally my mistake & I will show what can be done to make them fit. The L shaped wipers for the far side of the carriage are the ones that don't fit 100% percent.
Here's what you get from Keith, delrin retainers & enough felt to cover all 4 wipers. As you can see the mounting holes are not pre drilled which is good. The mounting holes will probably vary from lathe to lathe so best to make the holes yourself for proper fitment like he mentions in his videos.
My stock rubber wipers.
The L shaped retainers are the ones I had issues with. They are a bit on the short side & don't cover the flat way completely.
Well we're machinists right, at least in some way or another. Don't panic like I sort of did, have mill, easy fix. I milled about .12" off the vertical end to allow the wiper to cover more of the way. I used a endmill with a corner radius.
Next drill out all the mounting holes. I used a 15/64" drill bit to match the oversized holes on my stock wiper retainers. You can see how close the mounting hole gets to the edge after making the modification of shortening one side of the L shaped retainers.
Cut the felt to shape & soak them with way oil.
Then slap em' on. My mounting screws are M5. You'll need M5 x 18mm to mount the new wipers. I was only able to get M5 x 20mm locally for the button heads I wanted to use, they worked fine for me. YMMV.
Here you can see how the modification allows more coverage on the way. But even my stock wipers did not fully cover the flat way.
I'm pretty happy with how they perform. With my stock rubber wipers, it seemed like my ways started drying up after about an hr or so. With the felt wipers, it's like the oil just keeps leaking out! I'm liking that. I'll check up on them after some time to see how quick they get dirty & what kind of chips might get in them. I avoid machining CI when I can so I'm not worried about that, plus I cover my ways anyway. The felt wipers will require more servicing than the rupper wipers but I think the trade off is much better with the felt. I can always add in a rubber prewiper if I feel the need to.
Replacement felt is grade F5, can be purchased at lots of places like Mcmaster, Zoro, or MSC. It's 1/4" thick.
Link to Keith's purchase page & related videos. Keith also has dimensions posted so you can verify fitment for your lathe: http://turnwrightmachineworks.com/the-wright-store/rutland-12-x-36-way-wiper-kits/
Since many of these lathes are similar, they may also fit the Grizzly 12x36 lathes but please check the dimensions first. Perhaps they might even fit the 14x lathes?
I am in no way related to Turn Wright Machine works or gets paid to advertise for him, I'm just a big fan of Keith & wanted to show him some support.