How do I protect the ways? With pictures

Rprecision · Apr 4, 2019

I have a imported small knee mill. I just finished a DRO on and am getting it back up to speed. It originally had a junky rubber mat that kept the ways clear. It has long worn out.

What's the best way to protect this from chips and contamination?

Pictures attached

Thanks

EmGo · Apr 4, 2019

Rprecision said:
I have a imported small knee mill. I just finished a DRO on and am getting it back up to speed. It originally had a junky rubber mat that kept the ways clear. It has long worn out.

What's the best way to protect this from chips and contamination?

Another junky rubber mat. It's a cheap Bridgeport copy, fer chrissake !

Milland · Apr 4, 2019

Your best bet is a better quality thin rubber/silicone/viton sheet, at least 1" wider per side than the top of the knee, well anchored with minimal stress at the clamp points, and long enough that it's never under tension even at maximum travels.

Make sure whatever you use is chemically suitable for the cutting oils you like, and a fabric reinforcement will aid life, perhaps at the cost of stiffness and more bunching. And clean it off frequently, shoving piles of chips around will drive them into the sheet, wrecking it fast.

BoxcarPete · Apr 4, 2019

Milland said:
Your best bet is a better quality thin rubber/silicone/viton sheet, at least 1" wider per side than the top of the knee, well anchored with minimal stress at the clamp points, and long enough that it's never under tension even at maximum travels.

Make sure whatever you use is chemically suitable for the cutting oils you like

Probably remove silicone from the list if you use oil-based fluid. It also has poor physical properties, so I would avoid it for multiple reasons. NBR (Buna-N, Nitrile), Chloroprene (Neoprene), FKM (Viton) are probably the best (equally good as each other) options, and one of those is 3-4x more expensive than the other two.

Edit: had to go back and add some more cons for silicone in this application.

Cole2534 · Apr 4, 2019

Way wipers and a chip brush.

Milland · Apr 4, 2019

Cole2534 said:
Way wipers and a chip brush.

He needs more than that, his setup doesn't have any sliding shields to protect the screw and nut. Lost, or never present I can't say, but he does need a full sheet or accordion.

Sure, take Silicone off the list. We'll save it for, err, other purposes...

[I actually hate that use...]

Bluejeep · Apr 4, 2019

another flat mat, bellows suck, for the front mat cut a slot to go around the Y crank and weigh down the resulting curly flaps with a couple 16oz fishing weights.

Bill D · Apr 4, 2019

I wonder if leather would work?
B il lD.

DavidScott · Apr 4, 2019

Buna-n rubber sheet.

true temper · Apr 4, 2019

Old treadmill belt works well, steal the one off the one your wife uses for a clothes rack. She will never know.

itsmeBernie · Apr 4, 2019

This guy does a pretty thorough job:
YouTube

Bernie

Wlodek · Apr 5, 2019

One can buy (or make) machine tool protection bellows in many forms and sizes. Those are usually nylon cloth, though in the older machines lather with fabric backing worked fine.

EPAIII · Apr 5, 2019

McMaster-Carr

PS: Discussion of import/hobby style machines is discouraged here. You may want to try another forum for future questions. Suggestion:

General

Spinit · Apr 5, 2019

itsmeBernie said:
This guy does a pretty thorough job:
YouTube

Bernie

Wow this fellow has a very nice Hardinge chucker lathe.He really is very detail oriented with his covers protecting his ways and also even his drive screw. I like the turrent tooling post these have and it is very efficient too.

Rob F. · Apr 6, 2019

itsmeBernie said:
This guy does a pretty thorough job:
YouTube

Bernie

Thanks Bernie, That is a good job that guy did, very well thought out. :cheers:

Rprecision · Apr 6, 2019

I appreciate all of the advice and replies. I think I found a neoprene product I will give a try.

I apologize for not having the correct pedigree of machine to post here. I run a small part time business manufacturing and prototyping. I didn't realize where my machine was made disqualified me, I will take note of that in the future.

Milland · Apr 6, 2019

Don't sweat it, it's a full-size mill being used commercially, it's fine to post questions. They frown on small bench-top and true "home shop" machines getting any airplay here, some just extend that a little too far.

72bwhite · Apr 6, 2019

my Kondia mill is an import too,
as is the Mazak QT10,
a BP clone is kind of a BP clone, some are just better quality

It's that green crap that, so frowned upon

jackary2003 · Apr 7, 2019

Chip guard on a Tom Senior M1 Mill

On my Tom Senior M1 mill I discarded the rubber sheet which did not work very well. Then I milled a shallow trench then inserted two sheets with elongated slots that fitted over the cross feed nut and are moved to cover the rectangular hole. This works very well. I copied the idea from a Bridgeport mill.

Alan

Rprecision · Apr 7, 2019

jackary2003 said:
On my Tom Senior M1 mill I discarded the rubber sheet which did not work very well. Then I milled a shallow trench then inserted two sheets with elongated slots that fitted over the cross feed nut and are moved to cover the rectangular hole. This works very well. I copied the idea from a Bridgeport mill.

Alan

View attachment 253939 View attachment 253940 View attachment 253941

I really like that idea, and a very beautiful mill by the way!

Thanks

How do I protect the ways? With pictures

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