Taig Mill Spindle Removal
 

I wanted to remove the spindle and bearings from the headstock on my
taig mill. I removed the pulley, top nut, and small allen head screw
on back of headstock. But the spindle will not come out.

Any tips or tricks to removing this? I wanted to convert to an ER-16
collet chuck. Just want to see exactly what bearings I'll need if any.
The ER-16 has a 5/8" shank, which is the same size as the upper part of
the taig shaft, but since I can't remove it, I'm not sure what the rest
of the shaft is. I don't think the shaft can slide through the
bearings since it has threads at the top. So I'm not quite sure what
to do next.

Thanks.

How to Replace Headstock Shaft or Bearings on the Taig:
Old style headstock (2 split piece housing):
get a brass punch (or piece of round stock) 3/8" in diameter.
remove headstock from bed
remove two screws on either side of headstock
separate halves of headstock extrusion
loosen setscrew on pulley
press shaft off pulley using brass punch from pulley end in arbor
press. Never use a hammer!!!! If you only need to remove the pulley
but don't have an arbor press, use a small gear puller.
Heating the pulley helps as well.
remove retaining ring w/ appropriate retaining ring pliers (oldest
version) or if the nut version, unscrew the preload nut.
press shaft out of bearing/spacer assembly supporting bearing race as
fully as possible (wearing safety goggles), press w/ brass punch at
pulley end of shaft. This took a bit of force but my ratchet press of
unknown pressing capacity handled it easily.
Replace in reverse order

For the newer one piece housing:
get a brass punch (or piece of round stock) 3/8" in diameter.
remove headstock from bed
remove two screws on either side of headstock
heat the housing with a heat gun or other mild heat source (hotplate
is what the factory suggests).
The spindle assembly should then drop out of the housing as it expands
(wear oven mitts/welding gloves!)
loosen setscrew on pulley
press shaft off pulley using brass punch from pulley end in arbor
press. Never use a hammer!!!! If you only need to remove the pulley
but don't have an arbor press, use a small gear puller.
Heating the pulley helps as well.
unscrew the preload nut
press shaft out of bearing/spacer assembly supporting bearing race as
fully as possible (wearing safety goggles), press w/ brass punch at
pulley end of shaft. This took a bit of force but my ratchet press of
unknown pressing capacity handled it easily.
Replace in reverse order

Let me know if you need any help via email.
Nick


On 15 Jun 2005 02:20:03 -0700, "Terry" wrote:

I wanted to remove the spindle and bearings from the headstock on my
taig mill. I removed the pulley, top nut, and small allen head screw
on back of headstock. But the spindle will not come out.

Any tips or tricks to removing this? I wanted to convert to an ER-16
collet chuck. Just want to see exactly what bearings I'll need if any.
The ER-16 has a 5/8" shank, which is the same size as the upper part of
the taig shaft, but since I can't remove it, I'm not sure what the rest
of the shaft is. I don't think the shaft can slide through the
bearings since it has threads at the top. So I'm not quite sure what
to do next.

Thanks.

Just wanted to add that Nick's ratcheting arbor press is a 2-ton model .. GWE

Felice Luftschein and Nicholas Carter wrote:

How to Replace Headstock Shaft or Bearings on the Taig:
Old style headstock (2 split piece housing):
get a brass punch (or piece of round stock) 3/8" in diameter.
remove headstock from bed
remove two screws on either side of headstock
separate halves of headstock extrusion
loosen setscrew on pulley
press shaft off pulley using brass punch from pulley end in arbor
press. Never use a hammer!!!! If you only need to remove the pulley
but don't have an arbor press, use a small gear puller.
Heating the pulley helps as well.
remove retaining ring w/ appropriate retaining ring pliers (oldest
version) or if the nut version, unscrew the preload nut.
press shaft out of bearing/spacer assembly supporting bearing race as
fully as possible (wearing safety goggles), press w/ brass punch at
pulley end of shaft. This took a bit of force but my ratchet press of
unknown pressing capacity handled it easily.
Replace in reverse order

For the newer one piece housing:
get a brass punch (or piece of round stock) 3/8" in diameter.
remove headstock from bed
remove two screws on either side of headstock
heat the housing with a heat gun or other mild heat source (hotplate
is what the factory suggests).
The spindle assembly should then drop out of the housing as it expands
(wear oven mitts/welding gloves!)
loosen setscrew on pulley
press shaft off pulley using brass punch from pulley end in arbor
press. Never use a hammer!!!! If you only need to remove the pulley
but don't have an arbor press, use a small gear puller.
Heating the pulley helps as well.
unscrew the preload nut
press shaft out of bearing/spacer assembly supporting bearing race as
fully as possible (wearing safety goggles), press w/ brass punch at
pulley end of shaft. This took a bit of force but my ratchet press of
unknown pressing capacity handled it easily.
Replace in reverse order

Let me know if you need any help via email.
Nick


On 15 Jun 2005 02:20:03 -0700, "Terry" wrote:


I wanted to remove the spindle and bearings from the headstock on my
taig mill. I removed the pulley, top nut, and small allen head screw
on back of headstock. But the spindle will not come out.

Any tips or tricks to removing this? I wanted to convert to an ER-16
collet chuck. Just want to see exactly what bearings I'll need if any.
The ER-16 has a 5/8" shank, which is the same size as the upper part of
the taig shaft, but since I can't remove it, I'm not sure what the rest
of the shaft is. I don't think the shaft can slide through the
bearings since it has threads at the top. So I'm not quite sure what
to do next.

Thanks.