Here is a trust bearing that will be placed at the bottom of seat socket.  It will provide smooth surface for spindle to glide over.

The bearing consists of two trust plates and balls sandwiched between them.  In the 1903 release there are 7 balls - the largest number used on No. 2 drills.  With time the number was shrinking to five, four and one large ball in No. 2A drill.

Here, the bottom plate and seven balls are placed into the seat socket and covered with second plate.  I use graphite based, ball-bearing grease for lubrication.

I placed the spindle into the housing and push it all the way down.  This assures that the bearing is positioned all the way down and extra grease is squeezed out.

I install the pinion and locking pin for a few test turns.  It is only after tests I will insert the pin all the way.  I included this step after I learned the hard way...  that not everything really is as it appears to be in tool restoration.  It is much easier to be able to take everything apart if assembly is not final, make needed adjustments and put everything back together.

We will put this assembly aside and take a look at the remaining parts before the test run and final assembly.