Hello,

Should there be any gap at all between the upper blade mount and the upper bearing? Or, should the upper mount be held tight against the bearing holder with no up/down play at all?

Thanks, Dan

There should be effectively no play at all. You don't want to actually be tight, but you don't want any slop either. What you're looking for is a tiny gap with the slightest little bit of movement to make sure it's not binding. The gap I'm talking about should be about the width of a sheet of paper.