Quill Feed and Depth Stop problems

pds0006 · Post by **pds0006** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:30 am

The quill feed on my grandfather's SS (MkV?) is binding up for some reason. If it feeds at all it locks up and it takes some coaxing to get it to advance or retract. Sometimes if I fiddle with the quill lock or the depth stop lock it loosens it for a second, but doesn't fix the problem. Has anyone else experienced this?

Also, when the quill feed did work the depth stop didn't work at all. Pull the handle and it would keep on going past the indicator mark. I've tried disassembling it, but that didn't fix the problem. It may have caused the above quill feed problem as well, now that I mention it.

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:35 am

When was the last time ya cleaned and waxed the quill?

wa2crk · Post by **wa2crk** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:18 pm

Hi;
I have had a similar problem with the quill on my 83 machine. Mine would hang up after drilling about 20 holes. I traced the problem to some built up dirt and one piece of metal shaving (don't know where it came from) that would jam the spring and limit movement. Make sure that the spring housing where the spring is wound up does not have debris in it. I blew mine clear with an air compressor.
As for the depth stop not holding the setting I would check the rotating depth indicator and make sure that the tab on the inside has not broken off and also check the two serrated washers and make sure that they are installed correctly with the serrations facing the depth stop wheel. If they are backwards and the smooth sides face the depth stop indicator wheel then they will most probably slip when pressure is applied to the stop.
Quill binding can also occur when there is a small (and I mean really small) burr on the groove in the top of the quill housing. My quill started to jam once and when the quill was retracted halfway into the headstock it would stop with a clunk. I removed the quill three times before I saw a small burr that was barely visible on the edge of the slot and I remove the burr with a jewelers file. The clearance between the headstock casting and the quill is very small and any small defect will cause a problem.
Bill

pds0006 · Post by **pds0006** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:38 am

Turns out the Quill Spring had popped off of the Quill Feed Pinion. When I advanced the quill the post on the Pinion moved past the edge of the spring which locked down on the post. That was what was making it so hard to back up and I'm lucky I didn't destroy the spring in the process. The quill was filthy so I cleaned it up and waxed it before I put it all back together and that did help.

While reassembling everything I realized I was missing a washer on the feed stop side. Apparently there's a flat washer that should sit between the retaining ring and the first serrated washer. Does anyone know what size that washer and the retaining ring are? It seems like I could just go to Lowes or Home Depot and get these parts rather than waiting and paying for shipping, etc. (I hope that isn't sacrelige).

wa2crk · Post by **wa2crk** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:04 am

PDS
The washer may be a thin type of spacer washer and those may be available at a well stocked hardware store or a supply store that supplies shim washers to the machinist trade.
Bill

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 2:48 pm

FWIW, my 1963 Goldie does NOT have that washer either! The one on my 510 has an id of 3/4" and is about(eyeball) 1/64" thick. It appears to be harder steel than your typical bolt washer.