Replace drill press return spring (and depth stop)?

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eyekode

New User
Salem
Through an act of stupidity I broke the return spring on my newly acquired PM 1150A. If you must know it did not come with the depth stop and the first time I touched the thing I lowered the spindle (much) too far.

Anyway I opened it up today to take a look. The tab that goes through the rod broke but the spring is mostly full length. I first tried to bend a new tab on the remainder of the spring. This seems to work ok but I am pretty sure the "new" tab is not as robust as the one I already broke :).

So I am looking to replace the spring with a new one. PM wants a fair chunk of change for this part. Any idea if these are easily interchangeable/standard sized? I am tempted to start browsing the grizzly parts catalog.

They also want > 200$ for a new depth stop. The parts diagram makes it look like a a piece of allthread with the sides ground flat. I think I can do this with a belt sander. Has anyone ever made a depth stop replacement?

Thanks!
Salem
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
Is it a piece of all thread ground flat, or a square section which is threaded? Most likely, the thread pitch is 1/2 - 20. Places like ENCO, Reid Supply probably stock all thread in this size. And you buy a quick change push button nut to fit. As for the spring, I usually just heat the last inch till red hot, and bend using a pair of pliers. When my Sears broke it's spring, I robbed one from my Delta. Delta replacement was half the price of Sears replacement.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
The OEM thread size is 5/8-10. That's sort of an odd size for off-the-shelf acme, but Roton has it. They also have the nuts. The nuts are rather long, so splitting a nut results in a very workable pair of stops. A special bore washer will have to be filed to go between the two.

Many of the later Delta USA-made 14" and 15" drill presses used that same thread. The earlier small Delta presses had a 1/2-16 threaded rod (another odd size)

I've made a couple of depth stops for the PM 1150's over the years using a stick of 5/8-10 that I got from Roton. Clamping the stock for milling the flat was a pain.

The rod is 11-1/4" long. The flats are about .095 off each side, leaving a web of .430 to.4375. It varies on the PM 1150s I've got.

A cheap-out maybe some 5/8-11 allthread, but there's the yoke hole to deal with. The 1150-A models had a 5/8 through hole and just used a couple of nuts to clamp things. The 1150 has a 3/8" hole, so the stop rod will have to be turned down if you want to use the original quill yoke.

The tab bending you did will likely last. I've done that myself. Often, I'll heat the end with a propane torch to make the bending easier.

Don't take the spring out unless you want to spend the rest of the day trying to wind it small enough to re-insert into the housing. DAMHIKT
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
Oops. Misread the original post. Sorry about wasting time on the diatribe on the 1150. The 1150A is easier. Two nuts will have to be split and that's all. The flat can be ground/milled the entire length of the acme 5/8-10 all-thread.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
post post script.

The reason PM's price is so high is that there is a depth scale in the middle of their stop rod, so special machining has to be done plus the price of installing the scale.

The depth scale is handy on rare occasions, but not necessary
 

eyekode

New User
Salem
Awesome information Bob! I was secretly wishing you would find this post and respond :). Thanks so much for the length of the thread and the details. But I am not sure what you meant by "split a nut" and "bore washer". I assume you mean cutting the nut to make two thinner nuts (with a hacksaw?). I will google "bore washer" to see what it turns up.

I also did a little more searching last night and the new delta 18-900L has about the same quill stroke. The replacement parts cost for their depth stop is quite reasonable. I am going to swing by woodcraft and see if I can at least re-use the nuts. If I remember correctly they have a "quick" release mechanism that could be convenient.

Thanks again Bob and Bruce!
Salem
 

Splint Eastwood

New User
Matt
Not sure what "newly acquired" means.

New to you?

Could this still be under warranty? The warranty usu applies to the tool, not the buyer of tool.

They (manuf) usu will send out replacement parts, if not too expensive, if approached properly.

Anyway,

Good Luck!
M
 

Splint Eastwood

New User
Matt
Not sure what "newly acquired" means.

New to you?

Could this still be under warranty? The warranty usu applies to the tool, not the buyer of tool.

They (manuf) usu will send out replacement parts, if not too expensive, if approached properly.

Anyway,

Good Luck!
M

Just Googled PM 1150a. Probably not covered under warranty. But, hopefully, anyone reading this post, will find it useful re: Warranty info on tools less than say 5 yrs old.

M
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
The acme nuts one gets from Roton are about 1" long. Cut them in half and make yourself two 1/2" long nuts. Actually they end up being a heavy 3/8. The original nuts from Powermatic were thin like that.

That's a good idea about checking out the Delta. Keep in mind the length you'll need. The Delta stop rods I've made were about 2" shorter for their 6" throw USA-made presses and also the thickness across the flats was 3/8" and not 7/16 like the Powermatic. What the 18-900L has, I don't know.
 

eyekode

New User
Salem
Thanks to you I know the height I need to look for. I will also check the pm2800 while I am there. They want significantly less for it then the 1150.

By the way you mentioned having made more than one for PM1150's. How does that happen? Seems crazy that these things get lost :).
Salem
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
How does that happen? Seems crazy that these things get lost :).
Salem

Any machine that comes out of a school can have crazy things missing. I quit asking "why" years ago after having those questions consistently answered with information that kept diminishing my confidence in mankind's collective cognitive skills. ..the stories I could tell.
 
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