Fobco Star - some advice please

[Selsdon_PJS]

I am now the owner of an early Fobco Star but have a couple of things to tackle that I'd like some advice with please. This is my first pillar drill and I went with "old British" following loads of advice given on here.

The drill didn't have a chuck so I purchased one from Tony Griffiths at Lathes.co.uk and he was very helpful. It was speaking with him that made me realise I had an early model that came with an extension (spindle?) - and that limits the overall capacity, certainly when using the movable table. So that was a bit annoying.

So this is where I'm not clear on terminology so I'll decribe my problem in basic terms. The piece that the chuck inserts into (no. 1 MT) wobbles slightly. There is no play when I try to move it even fully extended, but it does move when spinning; adding a chuck to it obviously doesn't change anything.

So in an ideal world I would get a shorter/later version of the spindle (if that's what it's called) or at the very least one that doesn't wobble.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[skippy75]

I would recommend you give tony a ring again, hes extremely knowledgable on the fobco models and he is one of the few people in the world with the parts. Also a very nice bloke as im sure you already know!

I have my eye on a fobco star that id like to convert to the universal model so I spoke to him recently about spindles. From what I understand you may have to replace the quill and the spindle but tony will be able to tell you exactly what you need to know and sell you the bits to do the job.

I believe the piece thats wobbling for you is called the arbor by the way.

 

[Selsdon_PJS]

I spoke with Tony, very helpful man. It looks likely that the arbor/spindle has been wacked or misused at some point in its life, causing the movement. My "homework" is to follow the dismantling guide and break down the component parts to determine exactly what is there. The aim from that point is to replace the original extended spindle with the more compact version that will give more reach. I'll then have an almost new chuck to sell as the replacement is different to the one I only just bought :roll:

Already I feel that I've learned a lot in a short space of time, and great enjoyment along the way despite it needing more than just a cleanup.

 

[skippy75]

Glad you are enjoying it. I like nothing more than restoring good old tools and learning how they work!

You might want to check all the bearings and washers carefully while you have it apart. If someone has abused it enough to damage the spindle or the arbour then I imagine theres a chance the bearings could have been put under a lot of strain.

Let us know how you get on with it.

 

[Selsdon_PJS]

A question regarding the return spring. Is there any way it can be carefully removed and kept intact ready for reassembly? It seems to work as it should so no need to replace it but I understand I need to remove it as part of my task to replace the spindle/arbour.

Which may then beg a follow-up question, where could I get a new one for the reassembly - in case of need?

 

[skippy75]

Apparently you remove the outer cover and then hold a thick wad of cloth or something over the spring while you very carefully lever it out with a screwdriver. Tony recommends replacing it with a new spring after you've removed it but im not sure why, maybe its a nightmare to compress it back in. Sounds like it uncoils with a bit of force when its free so care is needed to prevent injury.

Heres a link to buy a replacement https://store.lathes.co.uk/parts/fobco- ... ill-spring

I just picked my fobco star up after winning it on ebay, they really are lovely and solid.