Blade wiper (diesel) width

[Rougespear]

Hey all, I'm ordering some felt for a diesel blade wiper I want to fab up.  F3-grade felt comes commonly in 1" wide rolls by varying thicknesses.  I'm using 1.25" blades on the mill.  So I would only be wiping the body of the blade (~1") and not the teeth... I'm assuming wiping the teeth is not recommended because they just tear away the felt.

What do folks think of wiping only the 1" body of the blade or is it necessary to wipe to entire face (1.25") of the blade to prevent pitch buildup?  Thanks.

[deadfall]

I can't imagine one inch not being enough.  Diesel has a way of getting around. I know this from living two years on a diesel-electric submarine.  Even if the wipe is a bit narrower than your blade, you can find out how close to the points you can get without a wear issue, and the sawdust will take care of spreading it to the back edge of the blade. 

[Dave Shepard]

I usually see the buildup only where the band rides on the belts. I think just wiping 1" wide will be fine. I personally have not seen the need for diesel wipers with a 1 oz Dawn/16 oz. veggie oil to five gallons water mix for the lube tank.

[kelLOGg]

My felt wipes the teeth, too when the felt is new. Then the teeth cut it away and wipe just the body as you are going to do. Sawing oak for hours, I will sometimes get buildup on the teeth but it is rather minor.
Bob

[homesteader1972]

I personally have not seen the need for diesel wipers with a 1 oz Dawn/16 oz. veggie oil to five gallons water mix for the lube tank.

How do you keep the oil and water from separating? Do you emulsify it or something?

[pineywoods]

I personally have not seen the need for diesel wipers with a 1 oz Dawn/16 oz. veggie oil to five gallons water mix for the lube tank.

How do you keep the oil and water from separating? Do you emulsify it or something?

That's what the soap is for  smiley_big_grin3

[Dave Shepard]

What he said. 

[bandmiller2]

For years I used diesel on a wick with complete satisfaction, but now I put the expensive diesel in the tractor. I use drained ATF or Hy-tran fluid its clean with no products of combustion and free. I use a 1" round cotton wick on an arm to apply some weight to the wick one for each side of the band. It lubes and physically cleans the band. Every so often I give the wick a squirt of oil, bands are clean and don't rust. My bandmill is set on a smooth cement floor indoors and I don't want a wet sawdust swamp under it, keep it swept clean. Frank C.

[Rougespear]

Thanks for the thoughts all!  Below are some progress shots of my lube system.  Flow state is controlled with a 12VDC solenoid hooked to an inductive proximity switch, and drip magnitude is controlled with a needle valve.  Here is the felt holder to wipe the blade (two pieces of 1/2" thick by 1" wide felt will fit inside the tube to apply diesel):



Here is the solenoid and needle valve:


The blade engagement lever (goes to a idler pulley to tighten belt) and the proximity switch in the open position and:




And finally the clutch lever engaged and subsequently the proximity switch triggered to open the lube solenoid:




This setup was developed with help from the Forum and gleaning the web for ideas.  Hopefully it all works out!

 

[Walnut Beast]

Maybe this guy is on here.  He made this setup on a Timberking and runs diesel and says it works pretty slick with not much waste of diesel. Looks to be pretty solid so when he breaks a blade it won't affect it. 

 

 

   

[KenMac]

Your felt wiper system, whatever the style, will need some adjustment built in so when it wears away from contacting the blade you can move it back down into contact. Yours may have that ability, but I didn't see it. Use Cook's system as an example if needed. As long as the diesel drips only at the necessary rate, the amount of fuel used in negligible.

[kelLOGg]

I agree that wiping just the body of the band is fine.  After the teeth cut the felt that's all you get anyway.

Mine is a top and bottom wipe also like WalnutBeast showed. I installed screws to apply pressure as the pads wear but I rarely adjust it because of sawdust buildup that absorbs diesel and provides additional wiping.  Been working great for >10 years.