Help Installing Align Power Feed on Bridgeport Please?
 

Hello All:

I finally got a Bridgeport! Woohoo! It is a 1961 J-head in pretty
decent shape.

I have a nice Align 250A power feed that I bought as part of an
auction lot 6-8 months ago. I sold off most of the other stuff, but
kept it in the hope that I would someday have a Bridgeport to put it
on.

I don't know how long it sat on the shelf, or if they're any better
now, but the manual is one of the worst examples of "Chinglish" I've
ever seen. Basically, there are no instructions for installing it on
the X-axis, just a single diagram. Not too big a deal, but I do have
some questions:

- The brass drive gear - how can you tell how many shims to use for
the gears to mesh correctly? Actually, mine fit so tight on the shaft
that I had to drive it on anyway - I can't tell if it's touching the
shims or not. Should it slide on easily?

- If you use the handle for manual feed, you can really hear the gears
in the drive unit as they seem to be back-driven all the way back
through the gear train. Is this normal?

Thanks,
Wally