DELTA DP-220 DRILL PRESS QUILL RETURN SPRING

INSTALLATION OF A DELTA DP-220 DRILL PRESS RETURN SPRING

This is a brand-new quill return spring manufactured specifically for the Delta DP-220 drill press.

Please note: The existing OEM spring cup from your drill press must be retained and reused.  If you don’t have the OEM spring cup, we have bright zinc plated original Delta DP-220 Spring cups available.

Please follow these instructions for the quill return spring installation and adjustment.

1. The old spring can be removed from the OEM spring cup and discarded.
2. Clean the cup inside and out with solvent and finish the outside as desired, by wire brushing, blasting, painting, or whatever.  The inside should be left bare.
3. Apply a light coat of any type of grease to the inside lip of the empty cup.
4. DO NOT REMOVE THE SPRING RETAINER FROM THE NEW SPRING.  The retainer will come off and can be discarded after the spring has been installed in the cup.
5. Position the cup on a flat surface with the open side up and with the vertical side wall slot at the 12:00 position.
6. Place the new spring on top of the cup with the outside hook in the vertical slot, with the open end of the hook pointing to the left.
7. Press the hook into the slot and then gradually press the rest of the spring coils into the cup.  Once the majority of the spring is corralled in the cup, the retainer will pop off the spring and can then be discarded.
8. Using the sharp end of a key stock punch, tap the last coil or two of the spring as deep into the cup as it will go.  Start at about the 2:00 position and work clockwise around the perimeter until you get to the hook.  Make sure these last coils and the hook are fully seated… as deep into the cup as they can go.
9. The spring and cup assembly are now complete and ready to install on the drill press casting.
10. Some DP-220 drill press head castings have square bosses cast into the cup seating surface to prevent rotation of the cup when these protrusions fall into the cup’s notches.  Other DP-220 castings used small shoulder bolts at the perimeter of the cup to lock into the cup grooves.  If your casting has the square bosses, nothing else is required.  If you have tapped holes for the shoulder bolts and have the two bolts, install them now.
11. Install the quill in the drill press and then insert the pinion shaft with the slotted ½” diameter end coming out at the center of the spring cup area.
12. Lock the quill in the uppermost position with bent lever at the front of the casting.
13.  Install the cup with the spring inside into the slot in the pinion shaft.  Push the cup all the way on and investigate how it locks into the bosses or bolts on the casting.
14. Install the ½-20 jamb nut onto the threaded shaft and screw it to within about 5/16” of an inch from the cup.  Test to see if you can pull the cup back far enough to clear the bosses or bolts and see if the cup can be rotated counterclockwise.
15. Now is it time to apply spring tension to the quill.  Get a very good grip on the cup.  I find it best to position the end of any finger up against the end of the hook to enable you to rotate the cup counterclockwise as you tighten the spring.  Go a notch at a time and push the notches on the cup back to the casting surface to temporarily lock it.  When it is locked, you have no tension to fight.  Relax, get another good hold of the cup and slip it off the bosses or bolts and rotate further in a counterclockwise direction.  You will be fighting the cup when it is unlocked as it wants to unwind back in a clockwise direction.  Repeat this procedure until the cup has been indexed about a full 360° from where you started.  Position the cup back on the locking bosses and spin the jamb nut up to the cup.  Tension is now temporarily set.
16. Release the bent lever lock at the front of the quill and rotate the pinion shaft as though you were drilling a hole.  Does the quill return to the upright position by itself?  If not, you need to grab hold of the spring cup, release it and index it further around in the counterclockwise position.  Repeat all of these steps until the quill returns to the fully upmost position entirely by itself.
17. When you are happy with the tension, spin the jamb nut up to, but not tight against, the spring cup.  Now install the ½-20 nylon lock nut and tighten it up against the first jamb nut.
18. The quill return spring installation and adjustment is now complete.