Help with drill press repair

[Bill Bolen]

I have an older baby drill press that has served me well for some time. It is a Chinese no-name machine that is surprisingly stout. The coil return spring broke away from the quill shaft. I removed the spring and put a bend back in it to slide into a slot milled on the mounting shaft. Problem is I can’t get both ends of the spring reinstalled. If I mount the large end of the spring onto the loop that anchors it I can’t coil the spring and insert the small end thru the slot in the shaft. If I mount the small end thru the shaft slot then I can’t coil it and fit the looped end over the pin that retains the spring. Any tips or links for on-line help would be appreciated!

[Myk Rian]

Is it encased in a cup that mounts to the side of the DP? If so, coil it from the outside-to-inside in the cup.
If you still can't get it, a clock maker may be able to help.
A picture or link would help.

[Doug Richardson]

Bill:
Of course I don't know about where you live, but I know that here where I work in Toledo, OH, there are vendors that our company uses to get replacement springs. I've seen the storekeeper call them on the phone, and give them the thickness of the wire used, and the length of the spring, and then hop in the company van and go pick one up. Might be an option that you could try.....

Doug

[Bill Bolen]

Thanks guys, the spring is seated in a cup cast into the side of the DP. A slightly larger cap fits over that once the spring is in place. Worked on it again today and thought I had it. One pull on the lever arms and I heard the spring pop out of the slot in the shaft. Back to square one.

[Bill Space]

Hi,

If it is like mine, make sure the outer cover that slips over the spring is not worn. What I mean is on mine there is a stud that sticks out, that the outer cover rides on. The outer cover that goes over the spring has a slot in it, that the spring clips into, and the outer cover is rotated to "charge" the spring. The more it is rotated, the stronger the spring pressure to retract the quill. Not sure if yours is the same or not.

The issue with mine was that the center hole in the outer cover was worn, and in certain positions let the cover shift, and the spring would slip and spin down to its zero force position.

This happened once to me, as I was working on it, and the end of the spring that clipped on the outside cover cut my thumb and three fingers pretty good! So wear gloves when messing with the spring/cover just in case.

I DID wear gloves when charging the spring (rotating the outer cover) but took them off after tightening the nut that holds the outer cover in place. Then, for some reason I rested my left hand on the outer cover when trying the quill movement, and bingo, the spring came loose (outer cover shifted due to worn center hole I did not notice) and blood was everywhere!

So anyway, look at the center hole in that spring cover and see if it is worn...and be VERY careful...wear heavy gloves when messing with that spring cover...

Bill

[Myk Rian]

How did you re-bend the hook? You can heat it red with a torch, but only as much as you need to.
Hold it with good pliers to act as a heat sink. You don't want to heat too much of it, just enough.