Drill press adjustment problem

[Herkdriver]

Hi all, I'm hoping you can help me with something.

My drill depth adjustment is not working properly. It is like I'm not setting it at all. The quill is still able to travel the full amount. I've not used this feature a lot, but it has worked in the recent past. I reread the manual, but that did not tell me what I needed. Also, the quill doesn't travel as smoothly as I think it probably should.

Please take a look at these photos. Something doesn't look right, but I don't have anything to compare it to.  I don't recall seeing the flat part on the feed stop (I think that's the correct name) like it is now.





Thanks!
Lance

[dusty]

I think you need to pull your quill lock assembly and reinstall it. That flat spot should be pushed in so as to not be seen. Note the gouge just to the right of the flat spot. I "think" that gouge was caused by the set screw.

[reible]

Yes you have a problem. It might be quite easy to fix. How ever I'm confused looking at the set screw, it doesn't look like the one that belongs there.

Have you or perhaps a previous owner done any work in that area? The setscrew should be a 5/32 allen head, not sure what is in there now??? I've added an arrow to the setscrew in question. Once we have that solved we can move on.

If you look at the second arrow you can see where the setscrew use to set. It needs to get back to pretty much that position again. That will mean twisted clockwise until the flat is pretty much centered on the setscrew and it will have to slide farther in. At this point it might just time to actually take it apart for further inspection and cleaning. Might be good to clean wax the quill and reset the tension. Anyway if you do decide to do that or not will be up to you.

But again before much else can happen the setscrew needs to be the right one.

I'm going to be off for much of the afternoon so perhaps someone else can step in with more details, or their own ideas.

Ed

[Herkdriver]

Dusty and Ed,

Thank you both for your advice on my issue. The only thing I have done is adjust the set screw on top that adjusts the quill tension. I don't know if the previous owner did anything or not. It is strange that it does not have the normal set screw in that position.

Ed, I don't see the photo with your arrows. I assume that your second arrow is pointing at the same place that Dusty referred to. ??

Per both of your suggestions, I will attempt to remove and reinstall the quill lock assembly. It was working before, so perhaps I can get it back to where it was. I will also be looking for some idea of how to remove the incorrect set screw.

Thanks,
Lance

[reible]

Sorry I got called away and didn't get the image finished for my last post. Got a few minutes now while the wife gets ready so here it is:

a1.jpg (174.23 KiB) Viewed 4597 times

The set screw on top needs to be just loose enough so the quill slides without actually causing drag on the quill. But we can get to that later.

Ed

[Herkdriver]

Thanks for the photo Ed. I see what you're referring to now. I will let you guys know how it works out.

I really appreciate it.

Lance

[jsburger]

Sorry I got called away and didn't get the image finished for my last post. Got a few minutes now while the wife gets ready so here it is:

a1.jpg

The set screw on top needs to be just loose enough so the quill slides without actually causing drag on the quill. But we can get to that later.

Ed

That is not the set screw. It is the putty covering the set screw. Both my shorty and dedicated drill press are the same.

[JPG]

Oh, and that 'top' set screw is to prevent the quill from rotating and to provide a stop. 'Tension' is not relevant.

P.S. If the keyway the 'top' set screw rides in has damaged walls, it will cause drag/catching as the quill moved in/out. A fine file will clean up the walls. Keyway damage can be caused by improper alignment of the set screw to the keyway as well as an incorrect set screw.

[reible]

OK then the gunk that covers the set screw has changed over time and this was the first I've seen with the little hole it it like that.

Now I troubled. That gunk has to come out to loosen the set screw. Yet it appears to be intact. So how did the screw get loose enough to allow the movement we are seeing???? Well I guess it could have been a factory mess up????

I think the whole thing needs to come apart to have a look at things. As I said I'm troubled by the facts so far.

Ed

[jsburger]

OK then the gunk that covers the set screw has changed over time and this was the first I've seen with the little hole it it like that.

Now I troubled. That gunk has to come out to loosen the set screw. Yet it appears to be intact. So how did the screw get loose enough to allow the movement we are seeing???? Well I guess it could have been a factory mess up????

I think the whole thing needs to come apart to have a look at things. As I said I'm troubled by the facts so far.

Ed

FWIW, the DP head stock is my original from SS 1994. The shorty is eBay 1999. The picture in this post is my SS full up Power Pro head stock from 2012. The putty is different as you can see.