I've been repairing the apron on my 254S and thought re-assembly would be straightforward, but am having difficulty getting the leadscrew to fully engage with its clutch. I naively assumed that it would just slide in, but it won't. I ran out of time today so haven't investigated in depth yet, but would appreciate any pointers for when I can get back to it.

Dave

In case it's of use to anyone else …

I was trying to insert both the leadscrew and the drive shaft at the same time to save time and avoid disconnecting them from the bearing block. Once I removed the drive shaft circlip it became apparent that it was the drive shaft that wasn't fully entering its clutch so a bit of jiggling and a gentle tap soon fixed that and all is now well. The only thing I'd add is how important it is to slip something through the leadscrew cover to hold it compressed – an absolute bu&&er if you don't.

I'm now moving-on to replacing the tool post (or "tool clamp post&quot and see that there are 3 grub screws around it in the compound slide, but I don't understand their purpose. I'll start another thread for that question.