Bridgeport drawbar too short?

[DnLBlum]

Need some feedback, just acquired a Bridgeport Series 1, 2J head and the drawbar only extends above the head about a 3/4 inch, barely enough to get a wrench on it. I have experience with the series 2 machines and they extend much higher. I verified a washer/spacer is in place.

 

[HW_Head_Repair]

Make sure your quill is all the way up in the upright position of the travel. If it already is, I would say there is a washer(s) missing or you have a step pulley drawbar in your head. The drawbars for the step pulley (at H&W) have a hex head that is 1.5" long. The hex head for the variable speed is 4.25" long. The bar length is the same for both so it actually could work but the hex portion does make it hard if it is too short. You could even get the drawbar for the right angle attachment which also has the same bar length but with a hex head that is 7.25" long.

 

[DnLBlum]

Thanks, I was wondering if the quill is fully retracted, seems to be stopping solidly, not sure how far it should retract.

 

[HW_Head_Repair]

The pictures I attached show the quill in the full upright position and the drawbar sticking out of the top. There is about 1" of the hex head sticking out of the top which is normal. It does not look like your quill is all the way up which is probably why you don't have much to work with. You might have something broken inside that is jamming it and not allowing it to go up all the way.

 

[moonlight machine]

In the photo the quill is not fully retracted. The 45 degree chamfer should be lined up with the head casting.

 

[DnLBlum]

Thanks guys, that's what I was thinking but didn't know what it looked like fully retracted. I guess that means a teardown

 

[DnLBlum]

I decided to take a closer look before tearing it down. Like I said, it felt like it hit a real solid stop when retracting. I decided to put a little extre retraction pressure on the quill hand feed lever and it retracted a little. I extended and it had a lot more resistance than before. I repeated this a bunch of times and I was able to get the quill fully retracted. I'm not sure what all the resistance was but it appears to be fine. I'm not curious enough to do a full teardown to find the cause.

 

[jccaclimber]

Possible that it's gunk from not going up all the way.
If it's still stiff in the uppermost inch of travel someone may have over-tightened the set screw in the back of the quill nose. It's a bit of a fine balance on that screw between making it loose and making it so tight that it distorts the end of the quill. With it too tight the quill can still be pushed up, but will wear right there on the quill and in the housing over time.

 

[akjeff]

I decided to take a closer look before tearing it down. Like I said, it felt like it hit a real solid stop when retracting. I decided to put a little extre retraction pressure on the quill hand feed lever and it retracted a little. I extended and it had a lot more resistance than before. I repeated this a bunch of times and I was able to get the quill fully retracted. I'm not sure what all the resistance was but it appears to be fine. I'm not curious enough to do a full teardown to find the cause.

Someone probably overtightened the set screw on the back side of the locking ring. It doesn't have to pooch out very far to cause what you are experiencing.