Drill Press Quill Play.. How to Fix?

[rabbit_nick]

Hello,

I have an Einhell BT BD 501 drill press. I bought it in 2012 and I use it all the time.
Everything is OK except one thing that is really annoying.

The quill hole in the casting is a bit bigger than the actual quill diameter and that makes the quill wobble.
I think that the proper way to fix my problem would be to bore the casting, make a bronze/steel bushing very close to the quill diameter and push in the casting but I don't have access to a milling machine and I think that a Machine Shop would charge a lot for that operation.

Can someone recommend a way to make the quill "thicker" ?
I was thinking to put some kind of tape around it or something....

Thank you
Nikos

[10KPete]

The fix would depend on how much clearance there is. Can you measure it?

Pete

[spro]

Something easy is to snag a "tall boy" of your choice of beverage. An uncrushed can is remarkably thin walled, Bud Lite .003" for a sleeve and can be cut with scissors. That .006 may be what is required and then find a proper brass sheet to act as a liner.
I still can't believe it is that thin.

[Carm]

A couple methods in addition to shimming.
1. Tap a hole in the side of the casting and use soft tipped drive screw(s) or a brass slug to take up play.
2. Inject Moglice or homemade version. You will need to research clearance req'd, parting, mixes etc.
I've known a few Bports that had this done, a large improvement.
Whether the effort is warranted on your machine is unknown to me.

[rabbit_nick]

Well... I managed to fix it.
The quill diameter is 39.08mm and the casting hole is 39.96mm.

I fixed it using the "1" method Carm suggested but I tapped 2 holes,One in the front and one in the rear,
and I used 2 screws that I made from polyacetal (I didn't have any brass...)

I cannot measure any wobble now and the drill is a lot quite than before.

Thank you all!
Nikos

[SteveHGraham]

When I got my ancient drill press, I made sure it had what is known as a "split head." It has a screw that allows you to tighten it up and compensate for wear.

It doesn't do a whole lot to make up for uneven wear on the quill, though. The parts that haven't been used much will always be tighter than the worn parts.

[earlgo]

Years ago I bought a cheap, uh, inexpensive Chinese drill press that had the same problem and no split housing. Eventually I was able to cut what amounted to an oversized o-ring groove inside the housing near the end. Then I drilled a couple of radial holes in the groove, oiled the quill, and injected JBWeld into the groove, WITH THE QUILL IN PLACE. Worked really well and now it is very reliable. Just another solution similar to the moglice version.

--earlgo