way wiper length

[3strucking]

I have purchased a sheet of 1/4" thick F1 felt to make new wipers for my lathe. Should I cut the new felt to be a little longer than the brass wiper housing?

 

[4GSR]

Yep! A good 1/16" all the way around and trim as needed to get a 1/16" squeeze against the ways.

Just made a couple of sets the other day using a piece of F1 and F10 in a much thicker piece of felt.

 

[darkzero]

Yup, I did the same thing as Ken, left about 1/16" to compress in. I was told F5 is best for way wipers though. I also have 1/4" thick felt, purchased from Mcmaster.

 

[4GSR]

Yup, I did the same thing as Ken, left about 1/16" to compress in. I was told F5 is best for way wipers though. I also have 1/4" thick felt, purchased from Mcmaster.

Yeah, I bet McMaster is wondering why there was a rush on 1/4" F1 felt here lately.
I also bought some wicking felt, too, for using in some of the Gits oil cups I have on some of my machines.

 

[darkzero]

Yeah, I bet McMaster is wondering why there was a rush on 1/4" F1 felt here lately.
I also bought some wicking felt, too, for using in some of the Gits oil cups I have on some of my machines.

Haha! Yeah I bought a 12x12 1/4" thick sheet of F5 from Mcmaster last week. It was like $25 & will last me a long time. But I just placed an order last night with Zoro. I was using a 20% discount code & I found that they sell rolls of felt for much cheaper than Mcmaster. Since I don't need more 1-1/2" wide strips, they had F5 1/4" thick in 1-1/2" width rolls in 60" length for only $5.77. With the coupon code it came down to $4.62. That's a great deal if the felt isn't cheap crap. I'll compare when I get it on Monday.

 

[4GSR]

Yeah, I saw the 1-1/2 wide F-5 felt on McMaster site, too. The wipers I made were about 1-3/4 wide, which cancelled that option out. With the way I was cutting them out to save on the amount needed. Oh well.

 

[darkzero]

The 1-1/2" wide felt roll I purchased was from Zoro Tools. Their prices on rolls of felt is much cheaper than Mcmaster. Zoro carries wider rolls also. So much cheaper than Mcmaster, I'm wonder how the quality compares to Mcmaster. I got free shipping shipping from Zoro, anything $50 & over is free but if under $50 it's a flat rate of only $5.

 

[4GSR]

Here's some pictures of the one's I made last week. I used a X-Acto knife with a sharp pointed blade, I believe a no. 11 blade. Went thru a couple cutting the felt. Had to kind of chop at the cut to get all the way thru the felt. That F-1 is a little harder to cut than some of the lessor dense felt that I on hand. Didn't take a picture of it, I have a hollow punch I made out of a piece of drill rod to punch the hole in each wiper. Think I need to go buy some more felt?

 

[ch2co]

I've looked around and can't seem to find what the F number of felt actually refers to. I know that it's the hardness and softness, but what is the
difference between F1 and F5 for instance? Thanks for the Zoro tip, I've never done business with them. I use McMaster Carr a lot (at least for me).
Thanks.

 

[4GSR]

I've looked around and can't seem to find what the F number of felt actually refers to. I know that it's the hardness and softness, but what is the
difference between F1 and F5 for instance? Thanks for the Zoro tip, I've never done business with them. I use McMaster Carr a lot (at least for me).
Thanks.

If you go to McMaster-Carr's website and look for the section on felt. They give very good definitions for the F numbers as well as the different types of felt they offer. Some of the types, they even mention the applications of the felts. It seems like every one likes to use the F-1 which is a hard dense felt for way wipers. All the years I've made replacements I've used a very soft low density black looking felt to make felt wipers out of. The thickness was double so it had lots of compression when assembled. Never saw where it made a difference. Of course, it makes a difference, you want the felt to "wipe" and lubricate while the slide is moving. Ken