Request for service - lathe related.

[TomG]

This thread got me curious and I popped off the plastic wipers on my Hardinge to see how well they were doing their job and as it turns out, they weren't doing their job at all. There was all kinds of crud packed underneath them to the point where it was lifting the wipers off the ways. It appears that while Hardinge makes an excellent lathe, they don't know beans about how to make oil wipers. The next project on my list is going to be a set of aluminum wiper frames with a polyurethane foam insert for the wiper. I think the springiness of the foam will keep it pressed against the ways and keep them a lot cleaner than a molded hard plastic wiper.

BTW, there are no wipers on the tailstock of the Hardinge, only on the carriage and since it has an oiling system, felt is not required. South Bend used hard felt for wipers and it worked quite well, not only to keep debris out but to hold oil. You can get the stuff at McMaster Carr if you'd like to make your own.

Tom