Jet drill press - customer service

[Bob Davis]

I bought a new 17MF drill press in late November. Its worked just fine except for one annoying adjustment. When I lowered the drill press table, it would jump and jerk periodically, as if it was skipping a tooth or two on the gear rack. He asked me to check if the gear rack was installed right side up. It was. Without further questions, he ordered a complete new height adjustment assembly (big casting with gear) and gear rack for me. They are in stock and he said I should receive in a few days.

Bob

[Roy Smith]

Interesting. Mine does the same thing (it's a couple of years old). I just figured that's the way it's supposed to work.

Seriously, I never considered table height to be a precision adjustment on a drill press (it would be on a milling machine), so it never really bothered me much. But, if they think they can fix it with a replacement part and are willing to send it to you, go for it. Let us know how it turns out. If the new one is smoother, maybe I'll do the same.

Jet's an interesting company. They're selling into a very price-competitive market, so there's a lot of pressure to skimp on quality if it can cut costs. Their stuff is not the best, but it's pretty good, certainly a good value for the price. I've found their customer service to be good too. I've got their drill press, jointer, and dust collector.

[Tom]

Nice. Let us know if the fix does the job for you. Tom Bob wrote: > Without further questions, he ordered a complete new height

Someday, it'll all be over....

[CW]

This is quite common. As you lower the table, the casting sticks on the column. As you continue to lower the table, you eventually take up the backlash in the rack and the table unsticks, falling the distance of the backlash. The whole process then repeats. It is nothing to worry about. If it really bothers you, hold up a bit on the near edge of the table when you lower it. It is the weight of the table hanging out so far that causes it.

Milling machines do the same thing though it is not quite as noticeable due to closer fitting parts. Any machinist that knows anything at all will tell you, always adjust up, never down.

[Bob Davis]

That's good to know, Roy. Thanks for the explanation.

Bob