I have an SX2P, which is now nearly three years old, and always strike the drawbar with a hammer, and sometimes not too lightly. Original ball bearings are still in place and no sign of wear or damage to the raceways. The tool you have made will split the tapers but since both are soft some damage may be done to the end faces were you contact. these face don't come in contact so it will only be cosmetic. I have always struck tapers to separate nd will contuse to do so.

I reckon concern about bearing damage due to striking the drawbar is overstated. There are plenty of examples on the web and in old magazines written by chaps concerned this might do damage, but I've not seen anyone confirm anything bad really happens. If it did the world would be full of people mending their mills!

I think that – done properly – most of the energy from a hammer tap is consumed breaking the taper friction rather than hammering on the bearing. And any excess when the taper gives ends up in the chuck or tool, not the spindle. I imagine a shock-wave travelling down the drawbar looking for the path of least resistance. This is most likely to be the taper joint. The speed of the tap is important – if the taper isn't dislodged a lot of slow pounding on the drawbar could damage the bearing.

Hitting the drawbar doesn't worry me at all, but I take care not to overtighten it. On my mill hand-tight plus about a quarter turn with a spanner seems enough to stop the tool spinning in the spindle even under heavy loads, and it releases with no trouble. A drawbar tightened by an angry gorilla or locked by corrosion would be more dangerous to the bearings.

Dave

I have no problems with mine at all, just a turn of the drawbar and a light tap with a hard rubber mallet and it releases.