Drill press gasket

[yogibear]

There is a rubber gasket between the spindle and the head housing to prevent banging the spindle/chuck into the head. Well, mine isn't attached to anything and sort of rides up and down on the spindle. This doesn't seem right to me. Anyone know where it is supposed to mount: the spindle or the head?

Also, is the grease on the spindle supposed to be a pretty heavy weight? Mine seems pretty thick compared to what I expected. The manual didn't say anything about it being rust protectent that should be removed and re-lubed, but that doesn't say much.

[Cutbuff]

On many DP's the very large "O" ring just slides up and down the column. On the Ridgid it resides in a slot cut into the bottom of the column just above the chuck. From a practical point of view, it probably doesn't matter that the ring is loose on the column, its there to act as a buffer when the column comes into contact with the head.

If the grease were to thin it would all end up at the bottom of the column! Needs to be really thick to adhere and stay in place I guess.

David