Shopsmith Forums

I've noticed on my 1956 Greenie that the quill has side to side movement when it is not locked. When the quill is locked I don't detect any movement. The movement is minor but noticeable when I grab it and push/pull it sideways. Drilling accurate holes as a drill press depends on a stable quill, so this concerns me.

Since this is happening only when the quill is unlocked, does that mean that the issue is not with the quill bearing but somewhere else? Is there a past post that explains a solution to this issue?

There is/are quill shaft bearings.

The quill itself slides in a bore inside the headstock. That bore has several open areas, but the one of interest here is the 'ears' that the quill feed/stop shaft passes through.

If those ears are spread slightly or the bore or the quill itself is worn, side play will occur. Tightening the quill lock can exert pressure on those ears and close them in on the quill thus reducing the side to side play.

In your case(55 yrs of wear etc) I would suggest the following.

A CAVEAT!!! This runs the risk of breaking those ears if done overly aggressively.

Remove the quill and then carefully tighten the quill lock tight enough to exert pressure to the ears thus squeezing them SLIGHTLY. Reinstall the quill and determine if any improvement resulted. If it is better, but needs 'more', do it again, but tighten it a wee bit tighter.

If I were doing this, I would have the bottom fully opened up(motor and pan removed) and be measuring the ear separation throughout all this. Measuring the quill od would also be done before starting(to determine when to 'quit').

JPG40504 wrote:There is/are quill shaft bearings.

The quill itself slides in a bore inside the headstock. That bore has several open areas, but the one of interest here is the 'ears' that the quill feed/stop shaft passes through.

If those ears are spread slightly or the bore or the quill itself is worn, side play will occur. Tightening the quill lock can exert pressure on those ears and close them in on the quill thus reducing the side to side play.

In your case(55 yrs of wear etc) I would suggest the following.

A CAVEAT!!! This runs the risk of breaking those ears if done overly aggressively.

Remove the quill and then carefully tighten the quill lock tight enough to exert pressure to the ears thus squeezing them SLIGHTLY. Reinstall the quill and determine if any improvement resulted. If it is better, but needs 'more', do it again, but tighten it a wee bit tighter.

If I were doing this, I would have the bottom fully opened up(motor and pan removed) and be measuring the ear separation throughout all this. Measuring the quill od would also be done before starting(to determine when to 'quit').

How do I know when to quit?

dusty wrote:How do I know when to quit?

By sneaking up on it gradually and checking the result(lessplay hopefully) each time until it is 'satisfactory'. You do not want to 'overdo' it to the point it drags.

FWIW I just did this on my 63 Goldie. I stopped(after a few baby steps) at about 3/4 turn further than the clamped tight position. I tightened the lock, marked the wingnut and headstock before starting. It did have a slight side to side play. It is essentially gone. I did notice the last time that I had to align the quill to the ears opening when reinserting it.

By measuring the quill od first, then measuring the id of the bore after each 'squeeze'.

However after having just done it 'blind', that is probably unnecessary complications.

FWIW to get the ears to move requires considerable force. The quill lock allows doing so with a controlled amount of deflection.

I do not recommend this for the faint of heart. I am sure too much squeeze can be applied.

JPG40504 wrote:By sneaking up on it gradually and checking the result(lessplay hopefully) each time until it is 'satisfactory'. You do not want to 'overdo' it to the point it drags.

FWIW I just did this on my 63 Goldie. I stopped(after a few baby steps) at about 3/4 turn further than the clamped tight position. I tightened the lock, marked the wingnut and headstock before starting. It did have a slight side to side play. It is essentially gone. I did notice the last time that I had to align the quill to the ears opening when reinserting it.

By measuring the quill od first, then measuring the id of the bore after each 'squeeze'.

However after having just done it 'blind', that is probably unnecessary complications.

FWIW to get the ears to move requires considerable force. The quill lock allows doing so with a controlled amount of deflection.

I do not recommend this for the faint of heart. I am sure too much squeeze can be applied.

Yes, you can apply too much pressure without the quill installed. Years ago, I played with tightening the ears in an older headstock to where I could not insert the quill. I finally had to take a empty quill housing and grind an slight angle on the end and drive it into the headstock to open the ears.

Since then, I have been adjusting the quill lock to where the quill will slowly retract when the handle is let go. I sometimes have to tighten the quill return spring to make this work on different headstocks but never tried to tighten the ears since my first attempt took some time to correct.

Thanks for your suggestions. I removed the quill and carefully tightened the quill lock. After repeating the process several times, the quill play has now been eliminated.