Millrite spindle play in not a problem

One question that came up during the "Table jumps around when drilling
with an end mill" saga (starting 24 Feb 07) was if the spindle on the
Millrite was loose, and Jon Elson suggested measuring the radial motion
when a 50# sideload is imposed on a bar clamped in the spindle collet.
I did this with 18.3 pounds (the weight of an iron block I have) and a
1/2" drill blank clamped in the brand new 1/2" R8 collet, with a pulley
and rope transferring the load from the dangling iron block to the
spindle, and the spindle moves slightly less than 0.001", so the spindle
bearings are not a problem.
Joe Gwinn