Having acquired a cosmetically tatty but mechanically sound Denford Viceroy TDS23 floor standing pedestal drill, the process of restoration has started. I was amazed how smooth and precise the spindle and quill assembly was even after decades of neglect.

On extracting the mechanical, parts all bearings feel perfectly smooth and without play. However, where there is some leaked grease, it has the consistency of putty! I have a feeling this may be the case inside the bearing too (cant see because they have pressed metal shields).

So am asking for some advice – should I simply futureproof and replace all bearings with new ones? – cost is moderate, about £30-35.

Or

Attempt to clean out the old grease in hot paraffin and regrease by leaving in molten grease for a while hoping the bearing cavity will fill?

Or leave alone and replace as is once all of the structural components have been cleaned and painted?

Secondly, has anyone any advice how to extract the column from the cast iron foot casting – I am guessing a great deal of heat will be required, but I am afraid of cracking the base by too much rough treatment.

Thanks,

Martin.

Edited By Martin of Wick on 11/02/2020 14:00:05

Initially I was looking at the pulley spindle bearings, where there was a small ring of hard congealed white grease around the shaft.

Couldn't tell with the lower spindle bearings under the muck and grime of half a century my concern was that any grease inside the bearings has gone or dried out.

Much as I want to save money on the resto, I think DG is right and new bearings are called for – especially after the effort involved in removing the lower spindle/quill bearings this morning. I did note that although the thrust bearing looked perfect, it did feel slightly rough when cleaned and run dry.

Once the drill is fully cleaned, repainted rewired etc, I don't think I will want to be dismantling it again for a long while so new bearings are probably a time saving investment.

.

Nothing to be gained by not getting a new bearing set once I started to molest them!

Just pressed the button on a set from Simply Bearings – SKF for the pulley spindle, thrust bearing and Nachi for the quill/spindle. Total cost seemed OK at £40 delivered.

The blurb for Nachi gulled me as it suggested that spec bearing was designed to handle axial loads better than the avge bearing optimised mainly for radial load. Whether 'tis true or not is another matter. Still it is a quality bearing.

Now have to go out and buy a bigger hydraulic press (as in longer) so I can get the bloody spindle in!