Loose table on Fobco Star

Dave, did you fold the flange over so it sat flush on the drill table or was it folded 180 degrees over so it looks like an "n" at both ends)? It sounds like it's folded 90 degrees, I take it if this is the case you had to cut a few slices from the top and bottom to allow it to bend, similar to what Hopper suggested?

Thank you

Luke

Hi Luke

The shim is just folded over at 90deg and is flush with the drill table. I just ran a screwdriver around it to fold over a little and tapped it down with a piece of brass as a punch.As the shim is so thin it was easy to tap any crinkle's out, the lip is only about 1/8" wide. I just tried to photograph it but the shim is so thin and painted over it doesn't show in the picture. I originally intended to use a wicking grade Loctite between the shim and the bore of the clamp, but I'm fairly sure I never bothered due to concern it may have wicked into the wrong place! . It's been there since 2004 and been in very regular use and hasn't shifted yet, which is I know tempting fate to say.

Dave

It just occured to me that a little epoxy glue under the lip before tapping down would hold it in place without any getting in the wrong place. JB weld would give plenty of time to work and if the column was given a smear of grease to prevent any excess sticking things up should prove a belt and braces approach.

Edited By Dave Wootton on 12/06/2022 11:13:09

Hi Luke

It is the table off a floor standing Star.

I have a spare bench top table if you wanted to swap?

Regards

Paul

Thanks Dave for going through the process of securing the shim! That's a big help

I'll let you know how I get on!

Best wishes

Luke

Just as an aside i have had a few Fobcos with a not fully cut slot on the clamp type of tables

the slot ends about 15mm from one end i have always cut them fully and this makes them much easier to clamp tight

though fobco must have had a reason for not fully cutting the slot

I had a similar problem on my Meddings. Like a many British Manufacturers, Meddings had a very gradual changeover to metric. In my case, the column was 2 3/4" , but someone had replaced the table with a 70mm metric one - they get smashed quite often when someone loosens the wrong bolt and the head comes crashing down on the table.

The difference is only 0.15mm, which made it still possible to clamp, but excessive force required. I glued some stainless steel shim stock to the bore and now it tightens and untightens with virtually no effort.

Hi all

I thought I'd post an update of where I'm at with the table. I've made a shim to fit around the top portion of the clamp assembly (it doesn't run all through to the bottom hole but just the top hole). It is placed at the rear of the clamp, so a fold in the shim sits within the gap (this prevents it moving under rotation of the table). I've put some JD weld on the shim where the fold is to stiffen it and help to stop any bending when rotating the table (however I don't feel this was necessary). The shim has been bent over at the top and bottom into a "n" shape whereby additional JD weld has been put within the bends to provide additional support (this was found to be essential). I tried simply bending the shim over 90 degrees and it worked to some extent but I found the 90 degree bend would lose its form if the table was moved whilst under slight clamping pressure....The current setup seems to work well.

I've attached a picture below for reference

This is a spare shim I made

Just as a side note, and this probably is a slightly daft question but seen as the shim is stainless steel and the column now pushes against the front of the clamp assembly, is this going to cause additional wear to the front of the clamp over time when slid up and down the column? Or would this be negligible? I'm guessing in its original life the wear would have been even around the whole of the clamping hole but now a stainless shim is at the back I am just concerned this will wear the table clamp out quicker!

Many thanks

Luke

My initial thought is whether the clamping bolt is threaded sufficiently? Likely not the case, but just needs confitming.

Below is the last paragraph on the first page of Tony's site, which might go some way to explain the quality issues.

According to an interview conducted by the writer with the Company's owner, Fobco began by machining parts, under sub-contract, for the makers of "Progress" brand drilling machines (distributed through the Elliott Group) as well as a much lighter, cheaper model for use by amateurs that was retailed exclusively through the London mail-order department store Gamages. However, after visiting the London store and seeing the retail price, O'Brian realised that the profit made by Gamages was several times that achieved by himself and decided to enter the market on his own account - and so the first Fobco "Star" drill came about, designed by his son, Frederick Thomas.

Edited By Dave Halford on 25/06/2022 18:00:46

It will wear faster, most likely where the shim rubs, but I'd expect the wear to be insignificant unless you're into loads of drilling and table movement. Just keep an eye on it, and if the stainless starts to cause damage, try replacing it with a softer metal like Aluminium, or Brass Shim. A spot of oil on the stainless would help keep it sliding rather than scraping or galling.

Good fix, far safer than over-stressing the clamp.

Dave

I think that's a bit unfair. The opening sentences praise the high quality, precision and smoothness of the Fobco product. If the same basic machine was sold for over 40 years it couldn't be too bad.

Having sorted that, the next modification is to fit a couple of gas struts to the table so you have a chance of moving it up and down, something that seems doing every other hole, pilot, finished size.