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Morse taper cleaning

Joined
Aug 14, 2012
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Location
Washington
Hello all, I am a green wood turnner (pun intended):D, and have recently been bit by the turning bug.

My question is where can I buy a green wennie aka mt cleaner or taper mate.
I found one on the woodturnerscatalog site when I googled it but was surprised to see the $20+ price tag. I understand this is a specialty item but come on twenty bucks for a plastic green wennie.

Also I have a follow up question would it be recommend to use a cleaning solvent in conjunction with the MT cleaner like spraying it with brake cleaner before or after I use the green wennie.

Thank you in advance for all the advice and tips.
 
Joined
Jul 18, 2006
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Hi Gil - Here's a thought. Carve a "wennie" model out of some acetal (aka Delrin) rod. Buy some rubber molding material and use your carving to make a mold. Then buy some rubber / plastic resin and cast your own "wennie" in your mold. You could even make a bunch of them and try to sell them to people who don't want to go to all that trouble. Of course, you would probably want to charge $30 - $40 for each one......

I usually don't use any solvents when I use my green taper mate (that I bought because I couldn't make one for less than the price they were charging). But every now and then I squirt some WD40 in the taper before cleaning.

If you really don't want to spend the money, a wadded up paper towel with some WD40 on it stuffed into the taper may be better than nothing.

Ed
 
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Gil,
I have and use one, That 20 + is still cheaper than a hand reamer to fix a problem in the tail or head stock. I use mine couple times a week and take it with me when I'm working on "strange" lathes. I'm always amazed how much gunk I get out of them. I've had mine about 3 years, should last another 5.
Bill
 
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
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I use a 20Ga brass bristle brush. They are used to clean out the bore of shotguns. Bought it in the sporting section at Walmart. Cost less than $3.00. Turned a handle for it. The brass will not scratch the spindle.
 
Joined
Aug 9, 2006
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Location
Apopka, FL
Website
www.docwks.com
Um yea, when cleaning the tail stock I don't think it would make a difference, right? I don't turn the lathe on when cleaning the head stock, because I put my finger in there to make sure it's smooth and clean, I guess I could bend a bit and look, but then what would I do with the finger? LOL ok...sorry.
 
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Ray - I have the green plastic "taper mate". When I first got it I got the bright idea of turning on the lathe rather than twisting by hand. I only did that once and I don't recommend anybody else trying it.

Ed
 

odie

TOTW Team
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Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
Hello all, I am a green wood turnner (pun intended):D, and have recently been bit by the turning bug.

My question is where can I buy a green wennie aka mt cleaner or taper mate.
I found one on the woodturnerscatalog site when I googled it but was surprised to see the $20+ price tag. I understand this is a specialty item but come on twenty bucks for a plastic green wennie.

Also I have a follow up question would it be recommend to use a cleaning solvent in conjunction with the MT cleaner like spraying it with brake cleaner before or after I use the green wennie.

Thank you in advance for all the advice and tips.

Brake cleaner is pretty powerful stuff.........give it a test on the handle part before you try it. I've had my "green weenie" for about 20 years.....don't remember what it cost, but this is a tool I don't use that often. A shot of air does very well for me most of the time.

Here's something to think about.........The headstock Morse taper is always covered while the lathe is in use, so it tends to stay clean. When the lathe is idle, I don't have the spindle threads exposed to possible damage from an accidental bump, so I've made a wooden cap that fits over the threads for those times when the spindle is without an attachment screwed on. This cap had another purpose, but does keep dust from entering the MT......

The tailstock always has a cork in the Morse taper, so dust doesn't tend to settle in that end either.

Unless we're talking about dust settling in an exposed Morse taper, or using a dirty Morse taper attachment......I don't see how the interior of the MT can become contaminated. It never does with me, but I can't speak for everyone on this.

Ray - I have the green plastic "taper mate". When I first got it I got the bright idea of turning on the lathe rather than twisting by hand. I only did that once and I don't recommend anybody else trying it.

Ed

Did it melt?

ooc




The shotgun cleaning brush is a pretty good idea. If I didn't already have the green Taper Mate, I'd probably make one of these up. With both the Taper Mate, and the shotgun bore brush, you're only going to loosen up any debris, so a follow up with a shot of air is recommended........

ooc
 
Last edited:

john lucas

AAW Forum Expert
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Is your morse taper rusty or in bad shape. I've never had to clean a morse taper with anything more than a rag and some solvent and have owned more than a dozen lathes over the years. I purchased a #2 morse taper reamer one time because I found it at the flea mkt but have never used it. I would think the morse taper reamer is the last thing you should do.
The morse taper green weenie is probably worth it if you need it. It's very important to keep that taper shaped exactly as it is.
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2012
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Location
Washington
Many thanks for the many speedy responses.

Wow more of a response then I was expecting but a welcome one for sure.

Seems to me I'll pick one up eventually but should be fine in the mean time.

No my tappers are in good order I would just like to keep them that way. You see I enherited this lathe just a few weeks ago from my grandad who recently past away.

I know brake clean is strong but i figured it would be a good choice because once it cleans it completely evaporates and leaves no residue.

Thanks for the support.
 
Joined
Jul 18, 2006
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Hi Odie - It didn't melt, but that's probably only because I couldn't hold on to it when it started to soften and the spindle's grip on it got stronger than mine. I can imagine how hot it got in the spindle, because my hand got really hot really quick when it started spinning in my grip. And that was at only maybe 60 rpm. Lathes with low end speeds of a couple hundred rpm could end up with the plastic weenie welded into the spindle.

I do a lot of drilling on my lathe. Not just wood, but various resins and metals. I use coolants when drilling resin / metal. On a thru hole, coolant and chips find their way into the spindle taper. Compressed air gets rid of most of it, but I like to keep it really clean and the green taper mate does a great job....as long as you don't melt it in the spindle!

Ed
 
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If you use compressed air to remove the dirty dust [? ] how high are the PSI and are the spindle turning or not ? can the dust particle bounce back into your eyes ?
 
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Jul 18, 2006
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Hi Ray - I blow out the spindle when I'm done drilling (lathe off) with whatever the compressor is set at (usually 60 - 100 psi) at the time. The hole in the headstock spindle goes all the way thru. I shoot the air in at the chuck end and I hold a rag by the handwheel to try and catch some of what comes out. If you saw the floor in my shop you would wonder why I bother, but I do try to keep things clean.

I wear a face mask / respirator or full wrap safety goggles when I'm working on the lathe. I'm not into taking chances with my eyes. But with the thru hole, I don't get blowback.

Blowing out the spindle is not a substitute for cleaning it with a taper mate, brush or even a rag. It just gets rid of the heavy debris so that the right tool (taper mate, brush, whatever) has an easier job getting things squeaky clean.

Ed
 
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