Thinking about replacing quill. Is it worth it?

So the quill is not horrible and has some light scoring in a few spots that I can feel with my nail. What bothers me is the first 4 inches of downward travel is easy and the last inch is tight. I figured out it has to do with drag from the quill lock. If I hold the lock in full release, the travel resistance over the entire length is the same.
with the quill all the way down, I release the quill lock handle and the handle swings down to the 2 o-clock position. As I raise the quill, the lock handle will drop to the 3 o-clock position after 1 inch of travel and remains at that position for the rest of the travel. Lowering the quill again is fine until I get to the last inch where I need to loosen the quill lock.

Can I swap out a donor quill in better shape or am I looking for trouble with fitting clearances between quill and housing? I will be reusing my spindle which has a TIR of .0004

I have read where people say to never remove quill unless absolutely necessary and yet I see multiple tear down videos with quill removed with no mention of critical tolerances.

Also, Is there a way to have the quill lock handle not drop down under its own gravity?

Easy , put a small compression spring between the 2 half's of the quill lock. Otherwise leave it alone before you open up a big can of worms trying to change quills. Those ARE fitted to the housing.

If the play in the quill is causing problems with cutting then I would replace the whole lower portion of the head with either a new or rebuilt unit. If the problem is due to wear which I suspect is the problem, the housing would have to be honed to a uniform diameter and the quill hard chrome plated and ground to restore the fit to the factory fit. I had the same problem, loose quill that was causing problems. I placed the whole head. Got mine from H&W machine repair in Ft Wayne Indiana. Nice people.

Tom

MikeMM said:

Is there a way to have the quill lock handle not drop down under its own gravity?

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A quick and easy way is hold it up with a rubber band wrapped around the nut just above it!

Bill

hitandmiss said:

A quick and easy way is hold it up with a rubber band wrapped around the nut just above it!

Bill

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One the nose!
A rubber band or a bent paper clip will work fine. Problem is the threads are too loose so there is no friction to hold the lock handle in place. Friction problems are from contamination between the quill and the bore or a distorted dust shield.
Pull the quill and clean the bore if that is the problem. Remember to remove the two retaining screws at the top of the quill and mark the location of each. One head is filed down shorter for clearence.
John

Here’s a couple of links....I think Frank Ford might be a member here?

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...ge-mills-and-lathes/better-quill-lock-313934/

HomeShopTech

Kevin

I just reverse the pieces as shown in this youtube video and it works a treat, just need some spacers/washers to get the lever where you want it but took all of 10 minutes to do

The Bridgeport Quill Lock Hack - YouTube

Thanks
Marc

There is no play in the quill that I can measure so I can live with the cosmetic scoring. I would only replace the quill if it was a simple drop in. As far as the quill lock is concerned, looks like there are enough easy fixes to eliminate the travel drag. I'm going to try the compression spring first and if that doesn't pan out, I'll reverse the lock and have gravity keep it loose.

Make a handle with a cam to contact the front bushing/pin. Push up to lock.
John

Here's a guy who has one of those rooster magnets, mentioned on this forum, but I don't know where to get them. It's shown at about 2:40 in the vid.

New to me Bridgeport finally found one worth buying - YouTube

One thing which could be a tad annoying with the magnet is that it might collect some steel shavings. I like the idea of trying the compression spring.

Might be a good first project for me as a newbi as mine falls too. I pick it up tomorrow or Friday and anxious to get it home and detailed and see what all i missed.

I like that simple thread reversal hack, especially for free. Only thing I don't like is not having the lock right in front of you like the stock config does.

I got this little spring device from H&W for $10. Works good and simple enough.