Drill…what am I doing wrong

In recent years I have had the chuck on a cordless DeWalt and Makita freeze.   With the second one freezing, I put the blame on me. What maintenance should I be doing.

When you say 'freeze' do you mean lock solid, or freeze as in cold somehow?

Lock solid. Wrenches will not budge it.

I assume that you mean the hand tightening mechanism is getting stiff to the point that it won’t turn/lock anymore?  Maybe either WD-40 or 3 in 1 oil before it gets worse?

Eric

Maybe the battery is on the way out, maybe try charging before using. Or get new battery.

Maybe the wood is extra hard and you need to give the drill a rest and then try again...

I don't have an answer, but I would love to learn how to prevent it if anyone chimes in.

I have to admit, I have had the Ryobi drill chuck lock up once but I reached into my caveman tool bag and smacked it a few times with a rubber mallet to get it to release. I can't imagine how to oil the chuck, but I do know mine had some debris/buildup in it that I cleaned out.

one tip - after you use a drill remove the bit right away so the chuck sits "loose"..

spraying something like deep creep in there from time to time won't hurt.. avoid WD40 as a maintenance lubricant, but it may help unlock a frozen chuck

cheers!

Hi James,

Guilty.  I remove whatever in in it when I am on to the next job. It might be an hour later. It might be a month later.

I agree with the others. To release it flood it with wd40 and smack it hard.

To maintain it I would use either a silicone or ptfe spray. Right now my answer to everything is the can of gt85 that came from grandads workshop.

When you smack it, maybe use a dead blow or rawhide hammer?  Or, a wooden mallet?  It will be a bit gentler than a ball or cross pein.  "Pull" the hammer to roll the chuck in the release direction.  You could also try resting the chuck on a wooden block while you do this, rather than completely free hand.

Re penetrating oil: of late, I have been using a 50/50 mix of ATF (automatic transmission fluid) and acetone as a penetrating oil.  I'd seen this recommended on the Practical Machinist forums, I think.  No doubt some of the proprietary lubes are better (I've had good success with Kroil, and mixed success with PB B'laster, though the B'laster usually gets used on crustier stuff, so that may play into it; some swear by Blue Creeper).  But the homemade stuff can be mixed up from comparatively cheap bulk materials from most any hardware store.

I assume this is a keyless chucks you're having trouble with?  While keyless chucks are handy ("Look, ma - no key!"), and some of the higher quality models from manufacturers like Albrecht are very nice (with price to match!), I am still stuck on keyed chucks.  I also mostly have corded power tools.  I'm probably just a bit of a Luddite!

I do recall needing to smack keyless chucks to release them when, in my checkered past, I was working construction.  We had cordless DeWalts, and likely the bargain basement models, at that, so that's probably part of the explanation.  We do have a newer keyless chuck Milwaukee cordless here at work now, which has some sort of "micro-click" chuck; it seems to hold tenaciously, and hasn't jammed, yet.  Maybe newer versions of keyless chuck are better than the old ones.

I have an older (1960s? It's all die cast metal.) 1/4" Craftsman corded drill with a keyed chuck which is sticky in a couple of places (i.e. at a couple of specific diameters of grip).  Mostly, I can spin the chuck tight by hand pressure on a drill chuck sleeve while squeezing the trigger switch, then tighten to final torque with the key, but sometimes the chuck will hang up, and I need to use the key to get past the sticky spot, then can finish snugging under power, and complete the tightening with a chuck key.  Somewhat irritating.  So, keyed chucks aren't immune to this sort of behavior, either.  I should disembowel the chuck and look for a stray chip of steel or a burr, but I haven't gotten that far, yet.  Perhaps some careful localized dressing with a diamond stone may improve the action.

As a future project, you might try looking for drills with three flats on the shanks, 120 degrees apart.  I have some of these, mostly bought as onesie replacements to a set of fractional drills.  The three-flatted drills don't require nearly as much grip from the chuck to positively drive a drill.  Cranking down a chuck super-extra-tight on a round drill shank (probably because you just spun a drill and galled up the shank, and are now pretty well hot under the collar!) is pretty hard on said chuck - and especially inexpensively made chucks.  The 1/4" hex drive drills may work, also, but small drills are easy to snap off where the drills step from drill diameter up to the 1/4" hex drive, at least in my experience.  I may be unsympathetic and ham handed, however.  I break enough small drills, as it is.

I have a few drills with the blacksmith's drive - the pyramidal square taper also used on braces and bit stocks for auger bits and the like.  Very unlikely to slip under any normal use, and the Spofford style chuck uses a simple thumbscrew to secure.  I have a Spofford chuck John S. Fray and Company wimble brace (actually made by Stanley, but still labeled as Fray as well, so not too long after Stanley bought Fray), and it will not slip at any reasonable torque (i.e., my arms will hurt before it will slip).  But, this may be too paleolithic for your needs!  I have a lot of low tech hand tools, but as I mentioned, I may be a bit of a Luddite.

John,

I am curious, have your tools sat in a temperature uncontrolled place like an unheated garage or storage shed?  The reason I ask is it possible that some rust has occurred inside the chuck?  Maybe cool temperatures cause some condensation inside the metal of the chuck?

Eric

Hi Eric,

Yes, the tools have been in the barn.  While I don’t see rust, it might be where I can’t see it.

John,

IF there is rust (and of course, the rust that would cause the problem would not be easily visible), then I am thinking that some light oil might keep the water off the metal.  That was the thinking behind WD-40.  There might be a better option.

Eric

Lately I've switched to keyed chucks as I'm finding it hard to tighten/loosen the chuck with my hand.
One comment on using WD-40 to loosen chucks -- if the chuck is full of WD-40, it will spray all over the place the next time you drill.

They do go kaput once in a while but they are usually easy to replace- some have a screw down inside the chuck, some don't. I replaced one with a keyed chuck so I could put some hurt on bits that were still slipping with the chuck as tight as I could get it by hand, and replaced one on a smaller old drill because it just locked up and wouldn't budge. In both cases I replaced the factory plastic with all metal chucks. They're not expensive.

Jay Wright wrote:They do go kaput once in a while but they are usually easy to replace- some have a screw down inside the chuck, some don't. I replaced one with a keyed chuck so I could put some hurt on bits that were still slipping with the chuck as tight as I could get it by hand, and replaced one on a smaller old drill because it just locked up and wouldn't budge. In both cases I replaced the factory plastic with all metal chucks. They're not expensive.

If the chuck does need to be replaced, there are many choices, at various price points.  I would recommend the best chuck you can afford/budget if the drill itself is worth keeping for the long haul.  Living with chintzy chucks is frustrating.  Keyed or keyless, pick your poison.

You'll need to determine how the chuck is mounted to the drill.  It is almost certainly a thread mount (screwed to the motor/gearbox output), as Jay mentioned.  Heavy duty stuff (but more customarily drill presses) may be taper mounted (a truncated metal cone on the output - or an adapter - fits into a mating conical hole in the chuck).  We have a DeWalt mag base drill at work which is set up like this.  There are also chucks with integral straight arbors (e.g. 1/2" diameter Weldon shank) but these are very unlikely in consumer grade equipment.

As jay said, if the chuck is threaded, there is, for any modern reversible drill, almost certainly (but not 100%) a left handed hex drive socket head or straight slotted screw which retains the chuck to the threaded output arbor of the motor/gearbox.  That is, this will be a righty-loosey screw.  Using the left handed thread prevents the chuck from unscrewing from the threaded mount when the drill is run in reverse.  The exception would be if someone has already replaced the chuck on a reversible drill, but used an older style chuck with no provision for the lock screw because the chuck was built for a non-reversible drill.  A hand impact driver (the kind you give a belt with a hammer - I like to use a shot hammer with these) may be useful when backing out the lock screw with a straight slotted head - just remember to use turn the screw clockwise to loosen it.  If the screw has a hex socket (Allen) head, then you can use a ratchet driver or whatever else falls readily to hand to put some mustard on it (box end wrench on the short end of an Allen key, etc.).  The hand impact driver may be helpful here, too.  Worth a try.

Once the lock screw has been backed out (which may be a chore - don't hesitate to apply some penetrating oil and wait a while), you can unscrew the chuck from the arbor, lefty-loosey.  Gripping a hex head screw in the chuck and running the drill in reverse while gripping the screw in a bench vise or with a pipe wrench may work.  If the chuck is truly junk, you can just put the pipe wrench on the chuck, but I am always hesitant to resort to destructive means.  There's always the "smacking it" routine!  Once removed, check the pitch and diameter of the mounting arbor by comparing to screws/bolts of known diameter and thread pitch.  1/4"-20 and 3/8"-16 seem to be pretty common in the US.  I'd guess 6 or 10mm coarse pitch for the rest of the world, but don't know, for sure. Test with a known nut, to confirm the conjectured thread.  My local hardware store is always accommodating of me dragging in half-dead projects to check and compare hardware (most recently a pole lopper head).  I would guess most any big box home improvement center would be similarly disposed, but I have limited experience.

Before remounting, a clean-up of the arbor threads with a wire brush/wheel and a bit of light machine oil would not be remiss.  You may want to pick up a fresh left handed lock screw, also (the head may be munged up, or it may be a bit crusty with rust).  Left handed screws are findable in most good hardware stores, at least for common sizes and thread pitches.  Lock screws are usually fine pitch.  For a 3/8"-16 threaded chuck mount, a 1/4"-28 left hand lock screw is customary.  In the worst case, you'll need to mail order (internet) one of the left handed screws from the usual suspects, though at least two hardware stores within a short distance of my home stock some left handed screws.  In the US, McMaster Carr and MSC (Manhattan Supply Company) are big online retailers of manufacturing supplies.  They will sell to anyone, even though they market to industrial customers.  They are definitely not the low cost leaders, however.  Zoro and Grainger are somehow connected, as best I can tell, but Zoro's online prices is significantly cheaper for identical items.  If you live outside the US, there are likely other vendors which cater to industry, and will have quality products and a good selection, even if the price is a bit high.

For general tool replacement parts, I have had a good experience with eReplacementParts.com for items/models which are in their catalog.  This even includes off-beat stuff like a Makita 5402 16-5/16" diameter blade circular saw (old enough it doesn't have an electronic brake - "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" - die cast housing [no plastic], and a flimsy stamped steel shoe).  I buy a lot of stuff which is a bit distressed, because I get deals that way.  Buying replacement parts, many of which I have found at eReplacementParts.com, is part and parcel of that.  It is worth checking there to see what is available.  They'll usually flag out if the items are OEM, or if they are generic commodity replacements.

John F Dean wrote:In recent years I have had the chuck on a cordless DeWalt and Makita freeze.   With the second one freezing, I put the blame on me. What maintenance should I be doing.

Over the years I have had many chucks freeze up due to wet working conditions and general abuse. One trick a mechanic shared with me is to heat up the end with a propane torch. Not to the point of melting the plastic but to force some expansion in the metal. The when you remove it from the heat apply a generous dose of penetrating oil (break free oil etc) wrap it in an oily cloth and leave it somewhere warm and dry for a few days. If it wont break free after that I have attacked them with opposing pipe wrenches to get them free... When they are free always store oiled. Outdoor humid storage is a killer.
Hope that helps

I'm also going to guess that corrosion/rust or a buildup of grit/gunk has it stuck. I have a keyless chuck on one drill that is dented (from what I don't know) and it drags in one spot per revolution when tightening/loosening by hand (under power it isn't very noticeable...) therefore, I would advise caution and a soft-faced hammer if you try to knock some sense into it.
If you indeed have a tool/drill chucked up, then I would try grabbing that in a vise (with soft jaw pads) and try a strap wrench to grip and turn the chuck to loosen. AFTER having applied a penetrant, maybe even once-a-day for a few beforehand... penetrants are an exercise in patience.

I have yet to try the acetone/ATF penetrant brew, but did read that it is a bit like salad dressing, that is shake-to-mix just before using. This may be a reason why so many off-the-shelf options exist...since they can literally sit on a shelf ready to use, also aerosol spray/nozzle is both convenient and not quite DIY, and the formulations may be less volatile? Head to head tests prove it to be as good or better than the top two or three penetrant brands (and WD-40 isn't one of them).

That said, I've freed up a few chucks that were sticky by flooding with WD-40 (because it is, and I am cheap) and operating it open-close-open-close.... holding it so it will drain out on a towel. The first few times, debris and rust would come out and with noticeable improvement if there were any metal chips released. I would repeat until either it was plenty smooth over its full range, and/or "clean" WD-40 ran back out.

If you do have round-shanked drills, and they get galled, you can carefully file away those bumps without harming the bit (much). The shank is softer than the tip and flutes.