Is it possible to upgrade to 2-bearing quill on Greenie

[mgdesigns]

Is it possible to upgrade to 2-bearing quill on Greenie - without changing the whole drive train to poly-v drive (I have gilmer)? I think I have pretty good runout but need better smooth drive for lathe & drill press work.

[JPG]

Is it possible to upgrade to 2-bearing quill on Greenie - without changing the whole drive train to poly-v drive (I have gilmer)? I think I have pretty good runout but need better smooth drive for lathe & drill press work.

NO

However a new bearing will probably improve things greatly.

[mgdesigns]

WOW - that was quick & disappointing.

[JPG]

WOW - that was quick & disappointing.

Bill Mayo has been doing some work doing that, but I do not know the 'status'. He has been 'testing' local machine shops re $$$ and accuracy. I do not think he has been satisfied with 'them'.

P.S. Sorry to be so blunt, but you specified all the necessary 'details' as you asked the question.

[pennview]

Several people have added a second bearing (or a third one) adjacent to the bearing on the single bearing quill. This would require work by a machine shop or finding someone with metalworking ability to bore and turn the quill sleeve and spindle, and this can be done on either of the quills used in the Greenie or early Mark V. These two older quills are not interchangeable because of the differences in the belts driving them (Gilmer vs. Poly-V), but also because the spline count on the end of the spindle are different, and I recall that they are of different lengths as well. You should check with Bill Mayo as he was having this work done by a machine shop and I believe was looking for the tools to do the work himself.

If you search this forum you can find a thread showing a three-bearing quill that was done without using a metal lathe. I added a third bearing to a couple of quills using a metal lathe, but I'm not set up to do this for others.

[damagi]

http://shopsmith.net/forums/showthread. ... ades+quill

There is a good thread for reference. There are other threads, but this one is the most visual.

[holsgo]

I'm that guy. Now that it's been a while I would probably machine out the quill itself differently but only now that I've built things to do so. As you can see on that posting the xy vise runs parallel to the item spinning. Later I developed a change which mounts the xy perpendicular to the item spinning. Just like a boring bar on a metal lathe. So, it could be possible to mount the quill in the chuck, and using that setup and my dremel mount shown in that thread to grind out he material inside the quill more effectively. I should set it up and take a pic. All this being said, you will have to set yourself up properly to do this function. As experience has shown me, the ss is not a replacement for a metal lathe, but it can do some cool stuff if you push it.
I almost bought a metal lathe this weekend. But upper management ruled last minute and I am once again without one. I must have one somewhere in my future.

[jcraigie]

Bill Mayo has been doing some work doing that, but I do not know the 'status'. He has been 'testing' local machine shops re $$$ and accuracy. I do not think he has been satisfied with 'them'.

P.S. Sorry to be so blunt, but you specified all the necessary 'details' as you asked the question.

Talk to Bill Mayo he did mine and made it into a 2 bearing it took him awhile due to the above stated machine shop issues but he did get it done. He's one of the best guys I've ever worked with so don't hesitate to work with him.

[billmayo]

Now that I am back in my shop, I hope to pick up the latest sets of Gilmer quill housings and shafts soon that I was having done since last June. The retired machinest (has a dream machine shop at home) travels a great deal so is seldom home and it is a 4 hour round trip. Our wifes are long arm quilters is how we met. He understands my requirements for these quills. However, I will still have to check the runout and accuracy before doing more.

In the past few years, I have have 5 different local machine shops do one or two Gilmer quills, all which had .003 to .020 off center (runout) and .001-.005 too large or small for a tight bearing fit. LocTite will not make up for this much spacing. I have constructed a quill testing jig. Yes, I have two metal lathes (may need changes/modifications for closer machining) and tools needed to machine the quills but still need the time to set them up before I try doing this task myself. My shop will take the rest of this year to finish all the changes.