# Guardian Power Fdm-58-12s Drill Press



## silverhawk (Jul 10, 2016)

Hey, folks;

I was curious about a recent acquisition (an FDM-58-12S drill press).  I believe this is an old Harbor Freight drill press, but badged under the name of "Guardian Power Products", and made in Taiwan :



Does anyone know of a parts manual, and/or a regular manual for this thing in a PDF form?  I couldn't find one out there on the inner tubes.  It has a lot of chatter when running (when I dropped oil down the quill/spindle, it quieted down quite a bit).  I'm looking to upgrade a few things on it and turn it into a nice machine (12-speed floor-standing drill press with a 3" capacity).


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## Bob Korves (Jul 11, 2016)

It is not a Harbor Freight drill press, but lots of those machines were sold with many different name badges on them.  The Taiwan machines back then were definitely better than the Chinese look alike ones, but still not too special.  I have a Taiwan made Enco drill press about the same size as the one in the photo, dated 1986, and it has been pretty good for me since I bought it new back then, 30 years ago.


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## silverhawk (Jul 15, 2016)

Bob Korves said:


> It is not a Harbor Freight drill press, but lots of those machines were sold with many different name badges on them.  The Taiwan machines back then were definitely better than the Chinese look alike ones, but still not too special.  I have a Taiwan made Enco drill press about the same size as the one in the photo, dated 1986, and it has been pretty good for me since I bought it new back then, 30 years ago.


Bob, I ordered some bearings, and took the spindle apart. It looks to be bent, the top bearing was about 0.008" while the lower bearing was only about 0.004". Do you think i could use an Enco spindle? How compatible are these parts?

Joe


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## Bob Korves (Jul 16, 2016)

I don't know if that would work, but I am doubtful.  Asian import machinery looks all the same from three feet away, but when you try to swap parts you often find they are just different enough to not work, and not be easy to modify to work.  I think you are more likely to achieve success by repairing what you have.  

Describe how you tested it and found it to be bent.


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## silverhawk (Jul 18, 2016)

I threw it onto my lathe between centers with a dial indicator and a live center, and measured at three points (the top spline [C], the upper bearing surface (B), and the lower bearing surface[A]).




Incidentally, I realized I had not tightened my dial-indicator base like I should have when I measured it.  I just re-did it, and the upper bearing surface came in at 0.004".  The lower bearing surface came in at 0.0025".  Since I cannot find the manufacturer anywhere for replacement parts, I believe this will do.  It's not terribly bad, and probably just needs the bearings replaced, which should be measurable and easily located.


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## Bob Korves (Jul 18, 2016)

You could mark the high spot of the upper bearing runout, which is approximately in the center of the spindle, and try pushing on  that point to tweak it a bit in a press.  You can press it between v-blocks supporting the spindle ends, using an indicator to show if you are making any progress and how much.  The v-blocks and indicator will also tell you how the runout is changing.


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## silverhawk (Jul 19, 2016)

Bob, you are a GENIUS!  I have the spindle now within 0.001", and to me, I don't think I can get that any better.  Once the upper bearing arrives, I will re-assemble, and I expect this drill press will run _beautifully_ (after I replace the cheap foreign chuck)! At this time, I have 0.005" of runout, which is great for this caliber of press!  Thanks!


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