Quill Removal and Reinstallation

[dusty]

After having my Shopsmith for all of these years, I decided this morning to remove the quill. This was prompted partly by the Sawdust Session last Saturday and by my own curiousity.

Nick made it look simple and in fact it was. Well, mostly it was. Nick casually stated that the first thing you must do, if it hasn't already been done was pick out the ackempucky that covers the setscrew. He indicated using a pocket knife.

Before I had done anything to remove this ackempucky, I noticed that it was a nice neat spot on the top of the headstock with a dimple right in the middle of it. I should have paid attention to that but I didn't.

I started with a pocket knife and then a pick and attempted to remove the ackempucky. I wasn't very successful. The stuff I was digging in turned out to be more like a soft lead than what I had expected. I now believe that I should have used a 3/16"-1/4" brad point bit to drill it out (by hand - no drill motor). That dimple would have made a fine starting point.

I finally got down into the ackempucky and got out the allen wrench to remove the setscrew. Bad news, all I was doing was stripping the setscrew. Got a new allen wrench (clean, sharp corners). Put it in the allen screw and tapped it in with a hammer and very slowly removed the allen screw. For awhile it looked like I was in serious trouble.

Now I need a new allen screw. No problem, I have the help kit.

Went ahead and removed the quill, cleaned and waxed it and put it back. No problem. Everything worked just like on Saturday. Put the set screw back and thank your lucky stars that you got out of this without stripping out the allen screw and whatever else....but wait, there is no setscrew like that in the kit. One close but a lot longer. Used that and got it back together. All works well except I have a set screw protruding up out of the headstock an 1/8" or more.

Go buy setscrews. Get an assortment.

Do you know how many setscrews there are in the Shopsmith equipment that I own. There are 64 setscrews of 14 different descriptions. The one I need is different than all the rest except one and I don't know where that one is used; I just happened to have one in the parts kit.

Moral to the story ---- Don't take it apart unless you need to. Curiousity will get you in trouble. If you must, make sure you have spare parts and technical assistance standing by.

[charlese]

Glad you cam through that episode O.K.! Yeah! I also had thought that ackipunky was lead. Picked mine out real early in the game and for a while even tried to put it back. Ha!

There is another moral to your story - That is: Every once and a while file or grind down the end of your allen wrenches to bring back the sharp corners. A new allen wrench is a lot cheaper than trying to remove a rounded off allen screw!:D

[dusty]

There is another moral to your story - That is: Every once and a while file or grind down the end of your allen wrenches to bring back the sharp corners. A new allen wrench is a lot cheaper than trying to remove a rounded off allen screw!:D

Boy you got that right. For awhile I thought I had created just exactly that problem. I was really kicking myself too because there was no earthly reason why I had to remove that quill.

[reible]

Hi,

I got to do this a few time, first when I upgraded the quill on my first machine. I used a dental pick to get the stuff out and I was able to get down in all the nooks and got that allen hole cleaned out and cleaned the threads before I attemped to move it.

On my second machine the quill would not lock. The previous owner had attempted to add washers and other things but never figured out what was wrong. When he pulled it appart he dropped the washer inside so it was never going to work....... so I fixed that then later replace the quill with the new one.

I've also taken it apart for pictures and cleaning and waxing. Once you know what you're doing it easy and I've got it down to only a few seconds... The first time is alway harder, from now on you're a pro.

Ed

[kd6vpe]

Well all,
I bought a used 500 awhile back. I had always wondered if it had a two or one bearing quill in it. I had time at lunch at work and watched Nick pull the quill. Hooray I have a two bearing one. Thank you Nick. You are making owning a SS really nice. I am feeling more and more confident in learning woodworking and shopsmithing because of you efforts. My ackempucky was real easy to get out it was like old window puddy. Dusty sorry for you trouble.

[james.miller]

The setscrew that retains the quill also keeps the quill housing from rotating. The special cylinder on the tip of the setscrew fits into the slot on the top of the quill.

Inspect the cylinder end for any flat spots. If you find a flat spot then consider replacing the setscrew.

It took me a while to finally realize this was what caused my quill housing to have a slight amount of twisting when unlocked.