Alex wrote:
I have a quill play in my Frox Shop 17" drill press.
When rotating with no load the runout is just 0.002" but if you move
chuck with your hands back and forth test indicator shows 0.030 runout.
Woodstock Int. (manufacturer of all Fox Shop tools) warranty guy is
saying that I am not suppose to try to move chuck while measuring
runout. "The right way" to measure runout is to do it while drill runs
on lowest speed with no load.

Quill set screw is already tighten to the point when I can hardly move
spindle up/down

BTW I just tied to drill 3/8 hole in 1/4 thick mild steel and can see
that when drill bit is half way through "hole" is somewhat triangular.
After the hole is through it looks pretty round with rough walls. Is it
suppose to be like that or it's because of runout?


Thanks,
Alex
He's right you shouldn't rock it to measure runout, and .002 for a drill
press is not bad. But .030 free play, or slop as we call it, sucks and
is not acceptable in my opinion. When you measure runout you are really
checking how concentric the chuck and/or chuck mount diameters are to
the spindle diameters that the bearing inner races are pushed onto. It's
possible you have bad bearings or the bearing could have a sloppy fit
between the bearing inner races and the spindle, or between the bearing
outer races and the quill. More likely it is caused by a sloppy fit
between the quill and the head casting. When you move it try to see its
sloppy between the spindle and quill or between the quill and head
casting. Sometimes just snugging up the quill lock a little where it can
still slide freely is enough. Other times some people over extend the
quill with the travel limit nuts adjusted that way. In this case it is
always more rigid and less sloppy to move spindle all the way up and
raise the table to move the part closer to the drill.