My yahoo mail has apparently been hiding your reply, so I just saw it. More than doubled, though not as bad as what my "little" brother did. You may be able to straighten it, you could do something like I did, replace the entire drill press, or you could make a complete new quill. On my drill press, I'll need to replace the bearings, too. You may be able to get away with out that, but if you really like that drill press, you may want to go ahead and replace them too. I made do with quite a while with one of the 8" Harbor Freight drill presses, and for most of what I do, could have continued nearly forever that way, but I like my old Craftsman. Among other things, it's the one I learned how to use a drill press with, and I made quite a lot of neat stuff with it as a kid, mostly in wood. It would still work for me in my metalworking, and one of these days, it will, but I've also got a 900lbs monster antique that will handle anything the HF can't do, so it's not as high a priority. Besides, I need to finish fixing the shaper and at least one of the larger lathes to do a good job on the new quill. If you measured that a year ago, I suppose it's also possible the bearings were going bad, and replacing them might fix it, too. Keep us advised on what you decide, and I'll cheer you on, whatever it is.
Bill in OKC
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)
