Startrite Mercury drill- should there be any play in tshaft?

[beerbelly]

After reading various threads on this very informative site yesterday I bought a used Startrite Mercury floor standing pillar drill from a used machinery dealer. I decided not to go down the route of a new Chinese type machine hoping to get a more long lasting and accurate drill. However I have noticed there seems to be a little play in the shaft/spindle fore and aft, my dial test indictor reveals about .4mm. Is this normal, should there be any play at all? I’m not sure if this will affect its accuracy, I still need to buy a chuck key before I can give it a try. The drill is fitted with a quality Jacobs chuck and is in good working order. Does any one else out there have the same machine to see if it exhibits the same degree of movement? If it is worn what kind of a job is to replace guide bearings (if they are even available). I would be grateful for any advice.

 

[Scrit]

There definitely shouldn't be that much side play in the quill and it will most certainly affect the accuracy of the drill. It sounds as though new bushings/bearings might be required. Older drills were generally well made, but some places (notably pine furniture workshops) don't maintain their gear and run it into the ground. If the rest of the drill is OK it is probably still worth doing the work required to fix it.

Scrit

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi BB

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[beerbelly]

Thanks, I've had another look and as far as I can see its the whole of the outer assembly (it drops through the main casting and houses the inner spindle and lowers with the the chuck etc- the quill?) thats got some play in it, not the spindle itself. I'm not sure if theres any adjustment to be had. There doesn't seem to be any play side to side, only fore and aft. Sods law dictates that when I bought it I did try rocking the whole assembly but only side to side. I'm going to make a few calls tomorrow and if its not good news I'll be speaking to the dealer who sold it to me!

 

[beerbelly]

Well it went back to dealers today- can I just put in a good word for them, they gave me my money back without hesitation, no quibles no fuss excellent service- they are Phil Geesin Machine dealers in Sheffield (although they do seem to specialise in seriously large industrial metal working equipment).

 

[colinc]

I was sorry to hear that you had a bad experience when I have been one of the people advocating buying older drills. I'm glad to hear that the dealer resolved the problem. Better luck next time.

Colin