Shopsmith Forums

I cleand my quill the other day and now my quill will not roll back into the headstock on it's own. I can manually do it, but the spring is not working.......I have searched the forum in search of a how to fix, but can't find anything. Can someone explain to me how to reset the spring for the quill?

thanks in advance,
Will

bugboy wrote:I cleand my quill the other day and now my quill will not roll back into the headstock on it's own. I can manually do it, but the spring is not working.......I have searched the forum in search of a how to fix, but can't find anything. Can someone explain to me how to reset the spring for the quill?

thanks in advance,
Will

Couple of possibilities:
1. Spring is not tensioned adequately to retract
2. Spring mount to shaft is disconnected.
3. Spring broke.

Watch this sawdust sessionand it will address all three possibilities and will explain how to fix it. Most likely, it's 1. If it's 2. I can give you further instruction on how to fix since I just went through it.

Many of us have learned the quill spring lesson the hard way. Never turn the quill feed shaft in a counter clockwise direction. You will either unhook the spring from the screw or break the spring (I broke mine). It can be a pain to get the spring hooked up again if you get it disconnect from the screw.

Will - I managed to shear off the retaining pin on a quill housing on an earlier rebuild. If that happens, I found the easiest way is to get a push rivet and drill a new hole in the shaft, inline with the original.

I never have that much trouble rewinding the quill spring and putting it back into the housing, and its certainly not due to massive, bulging forearms! To reinsert, I first bend the tab on the spring where it folds over the housing to a straight 90*. Insert that tab into my bench vise with enough clearance for the housing to slip over. I next twist the quill shaft until the spring is compressed enough to slide the housing over the whole assembly. Once it's over, gently release and bend the tab back over the housing.

This procedure has worked for me several times, I always wonder why other members on this forum (and Nick mentions it in one of his videos) have a hard time putting it back together.

If you do have to reassemble the spring, take extra time and make sure you insert it in the right direction - doing it backwards will snap it off as easily as turning the wrong way. I used a sharpie pen on the shaft once I had it figured out to make sure I didn't screw it up a second time!

Matt

Marking the direction of the quill feed spring and the motor end plates to the motor housing are excellant ideas that many people forget to do. I get to correct many of these forgotten tasks.

I am a little afraid to bend the spring as it tends to weaken it at the point it is bent. I wear leather gloves, place the quill feed shaft in a wooden vise and wind the spring around the shaft in the correct direction. I have the housing on the shaft and slip the housing over the spring once I wind it fairly tight. The first time or two was an adventure when the spring got away from me so I am very careful now and maintain a firm grip on the spring.


[quote="thainglo"]Will - I managed to shear off the retaining pin on a quill housing on an earlier rebuild. If that happens, I found the easiest way is to get a push rivet and drill a new hole in the shaft, inline with the original.

I never have that much trouble rewinding the quill spring and putting it back into the housing, and its certainly not due to massive, bulging forearms! ]

Thanks for the info everyone......I am gonna tackle this one tomorrow.......

bugboy wrote:Thanks for the info everyone......I am gonna tackle this one tomorrow.......

We VERY careful when you prewind the quill handle/spring the 3 to 4 revolutions just prior to reinstalling the quill housing. If the handle slips out of your hand when prewound, you stand a good chance at damaging..........yourself. Happened to me and my fingertip hurt for a week!

I am finding that 2 to 2 1/2 turns of the quill feed handle before inserting the quill housing is more than enough to do the job. Less pressure needed to turn the quill feed handle when using the drill press function. I spray a moly based lubricant into the quill spring housing when the quill feed assembly is removed from the headstock to prevent any future noise from the spring.

this was a whole lot easier than I thought......took me all of 2 minutes to reattach the spring.......works like a champ now.......thanks for all the info folks......

bugboy wrote:this was a whole lot easier than I thought......took me all of 2 minutes to reattach the spring.......works like a champ now.......thanks for all the info folks......

I think you got a little lucky but that is good. Now you can go make sawdust.