[DamnColdGarage]

I recently converted my G0704 to belt drive using the Benchtop Precision kit. However, when I replaced the quill I discovered it was quite tight within the head casting. It was fine before the upgrade, but now it takes a fair amount of force to move the quill up and down, and the quill spring isn't strong enough to draw it back up.

I didn't touch the quill portion of the spindle. Only the upper drive portion of the spindle is changed as part of the conversion, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to how it could've gotten so tight. I made sure to thoroughly clean the casting and the quill and apply fresh oil before reinstalling it. My only thought right now is that maybe when I reinstalled the upper drive portion of the spindle that somehow that warped the casting just enough to cause problems? That doesn't seem likely to me, however.

Thanks for any help!

[benster]

This is gonna sound dumb but did you check your quill lock knob to make sure it was loose, as well as the fine feed knob.

[DamnColdGarage]

This is gonna sound dumb but did you check your quill lock knob to make sure it was loose, as well as the fine feed knob.

Good thoughts, but the quill lock isn't even installed at the moment and the fine feed appears to be fine. It really feels like the quill is just physically not fitting in the casting as well as it did previously. Not sure how that could happen...

[Jim Dawson]

Maybe try loosening the bolts on the motor plate and see if that loosens the quill. Not sure if that has an effect on a G0704, but that alignment on a BP head is critical when reassembling, will make the quill tight if not correct. So maybe loosening the bolts and wiggling the plate around a bit before retightening would do it.