Bearing press drift issue after 11 months in a salty city

I've been running my shop's bearing press for almost a year and noticed the drifts started scoring headset cups on two separate builds last month. The culprit turned out to be a burr on the drift lip from dropping it on concrete, which I never checked before. Anyone else file their drifts regularly or just replace them when they start leaving marks?

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1 Comment

skylerc861mo ago

Honestly, I'd say filing drifts is just asking for more trouble down the road. The moment you take a file to that lip, you're changing the geometry, even just a hair, and that can mess with how the cup seats way more than a tiny burr ever would. A burr from a drop is a one time thing, you knock it off with some sandpaper or a stone and you're good. Filing them as regular maintenance means you're constantly removing material and eventually you'll have a drift that's out of round or has a weird angle, and then you're really guessing. Replacing them when they start leaving marks is way more predictable, you know exactly what you're working with every single time. But hey, that's just my take on it, your mileage may vary if you're super careful with the file.