[How do I?] Bearing replacement - drill press

[cederholm]

Hi all,

My bearings are starting to chatter in my Rockwell drill press and I'm looking for advice on how to replace them. From the research I've done it seems pretty straight forward except for the spring. Any advice would be appreciated. Here are some pics of what I'm working with.

Thanks,
Carl

 

[Halligan142]

If I remember correctly the return spring adjustment is geared. There should be a small set screw under the return spring bezel that when turned would increase or decrease the tension. Release all the tension on the spring then you should be able to take out that nut in the middle. The clock spring in the housing has a tab that fits into a slot on the spindle. Pull the whole mechanism straight out. Don't let the spring c ome out of the housing because it's a bear to put it back in. Have a peak here for reference :


http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1141/2548.pdf

 

[cederholm]

Thank you! Very helpful.

~ Carl

 

[Wobbles]

A drill press doesn't usually turn fast enough or usually run long enough to destroy the bearings. What you are most likely experiencing is ancient, oxidized grease glopping up inside your bearings. ("Glopping" is a highly technical term we engineers sometime use.)

In your shoes, I would first disassemble and clean the old bearings with a good solvent. Be prepared for some rock-hard grease that has to be chipped off. Then re-pack the bearings with synthetic grease. (Any kind you can find will work because the duty cycle is so low on these machines.) Synthetic grease won't usually oxidize over time, so this is a lifetime fix. You probably won't have to buy anything but the grease.

I see this all the time while working on vintage motorcycles.