Drill press runout

[Andy Mac]

Hi there,
I've been concerned about the operation of my 20 yr old Taiwanese drill press for some time, so this morning put a dial indicator on it. The spindle has runout of about 1 1/2thou. When I put the chuck back on and put in a drill bit, there is 18 thou:eek: , measured on the shank of the drill bit (and tried it on a couple of different bits, various diameters, all the same reading).
I think its time to buy a decent chuck, replace the 'Joachim' one, but do you people reckon 1 1/2thou is acceptable at the spindle? Is that measurement being multiplied at the chuck, so should I bite the bullet and buy a whole new press?!

Cheers,

[Groggy]

Andy, was the spindle spotless? Sometimes the preservative has not been cleaned off and causes bother (wipe with kero), also a little bit of dust can make a difference.

A good book reference for future can be found here (http://www.taunton.com/store/pages/070136_tcpg.asp).

Other online references:

Rec.woodworking thread (http://groups.google.com.au/group/rec.woodworking/browse_thread/thread/1e9936842d2560f6/a5a66b6a631aa012?lnk=st&q=tuning+a+drill+press&rnum=1#a5a66b6a631aa012), another thread (http://groups.google.com.au/group/rec.woodworking/browse_thread/thread/24564e0656006d21/04abd860581d9315?lnk=st&q=tuning+a+drill+press&rnum=9#04abd860581d9315),

There was a good link on Badger Pond but it is not working any more unfortunately. There are a couple of tips from last year here (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showpost.php?p=125675&postcount=1), they may help you to decide whether to keep or junk it.

[Fossil]

A new chuck may well get you out of trouble. 1 1/2 thou over the full stroke of the quill is nothing when working with timber. Are you sure that the morse taper is parralel to the outside surface of the quill? If it aint, a new chuck won't help, and It's probably time to get a new drill press.

[Ashore]

Good point from fossil take the chuck out and run the dial gauge just inside the morse taper and check the run out before cetting a new chuck you might need a whole new set up



Rgds

[Greg Q]

Q: What should the proper procedure be for checking runout and correcting whatever problems I have?

Try removing the chuck from the arbor. Then use an indicator to
check the arbor for runout spinning the quill by hand.

If the arbor shows runout, remove it and check the taper(s) for crud
or burrs. If ok, reseat arbor and recheck. If still a lot of
runout, then remove again and check the INSIDE rim of the quill
taper. If there's runout there, then the quill is bent. If no
runout, then the arbor is bent.

If the arbor shows no or small runout then the chuck may not be
seated properly on the arbor. Check for crud/burrs in the chuck
taper and reseat the chuck (wood block on the table, chuck on the
arbor with jaws retracted inside chuck body, lower quill and press
chuck home). Install a rod/drill and check for runout at the chuck
jaws. If runout, chuck is toast.

If you have no runout but you still get a wobble when trying to
drill, then the quill or it's bushings are worn. What happens in
that the bushings look OK but when you add pressure they allow the
quill to deflect and trace circles with the bit. Depending on which
bushing is the problem you may not get any indication of the wear by
pushing/pulling on the quill in a static test.

[Andy Mac]

Thanks guys, still some things to check by the sound of it. I pulled the whole thing apart today, for a regrease and check over. On reassembly and switching spline locations, have reduced runout at the quill to under 1 thou, which I'm pleased about, but chuck still badly out. I'll check on the condition of tapers tomorrow.
Also trued up the angle of the deck by tapping grub screws at two more points (one there already) through the cast iron flange where it mates to the post. This allows full fine adjustment of angle, instead of remachining the actual flat surfaces. Rough maybe, but so is the machine!:D

Cheers,

[Schtoo]

Also try twisting the chuck around on the spindle. Basically, fit it then check it. If it's no good, twist it a quarter turn and chekc the runout there.

Keep going till you get a good reading or decide to get a new chuck/drillpress.


I tried this once, the thing went from 0.004" to effectively zero on the dial indicator. The needle just did a little wiggle, just enough to cover one line on the dial, so practically nothing.