This morning, a new Jet 17″ in my shop started to rebel by dropping its chuck, arbor and all, while drilling 1″ deep holes with a 1/4″ forsner bit!  After inspecting the arbor for residue, grit, burrs or anything else that might cause a friction fit failure (and finding nothing), I remounted the unit giving it a firm press on a scrap block of wood. 

Let me back up by saying that when any new tool comes into my shop, the first thing I do is dismantle it, and check/fix any burrs, paint overspray, or any other anomaly that might keep the machine from running at its best.  This was done with the new Jet Drill Press.

With everything back together, the drilling resumed.  After 4 holes the chuck and arbor dropped again!

To make a long story short, I cleaned the arbor and spindle to within an inch of their lives.  Blade & Bit cleaner, a stiff bristle brush, and even a very light pass with a white Scotch Bright pad.  I even used a baby bottle brush inside the spindle (works great, just don’t give it back to the baby!).  After a few more holes – boom! It drops again. Time to call Jet.

The tech service rep has a new arbor on its way, no questions asked. 

Here (after a long winded introduction) is the new drill press trick I learned today.  The tech suggested that to get the drill press back in action today, that I put the arbor in the freezer for a few hours, and then reinstall the arbor!  It was such an easy fix, I wished I had thought of it.  By substantially chilling the arbor down, the metal contracted in size.  When the now slightly smaller unit is reinstalled, it’s able to go that much farther into the spindle.  As it reached room temperature again, the metal expands, and the fit is ultra tight.  It worked like a charm!  I sped up the process to under an hour, by placing the arbor (protected) outside.  My shop is just outside of Boston, where the temp. was around 5 degrees.

I got a kick out of this new trick, and thought you might too.

Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President – Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.