I have inherited a 30 yr old (but high quality) drill press. I am repairing some of the easy things, like the belt and the motor mount. However, the chuck galls, and comes off if the press is heavily loaded, and I'm using a 'stepped' bit (which cuts big holes in aluminum and sheet metal. There is no obvious wear on the inside of the chuck or the arbor.
Does anyone have a pointer to drill press repair? Should I replace the chuck, and/or the arbor? I guess that the arbor has a taper and the chuck just seems to be friction fit onto it. Are there special tools that are needed to attach the chuck? I have tried tapping it with a mallet.
Rob, You have three parts involved. Quill (arbor), a morse taper and the chuck. If the chuck is slipping on the taper, replace the taper and chuck. if the taper is slipping in the quill, just replace the taper. Either are easily replaced and not very expensive. Each should be tapped into place with a brass hammer.
Removing the taper from the quill requires a tapered wedge that is inserted in the slot in the quill and driven in until the taper falls out.
On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 08:53:15 -0800, the inscrutable "TeamCasa" spake:
Dave, you rich and silly wabbit. Check first, replace only if
-necessary-.
Rob, Check the taper parts for burrs. If you find some, get a reamer and use it to ensure that the female (quill) taper is smooth. File the burrs off the male (chuck) taper, then clean and re-insert per manufacturer's instructions.
- Yea, though I walk through the valley of Minwax, I shall stain no Cherry.
Or, depending on the DP, it may have a threaded collar which keeps the J 33 chuck in position. You could whack on it 'til doomsday without removing it. Or the taper could be retained in the quill by circlips, which would do some major damage as they finally gave way to your delicate ministrations.
Dig up some directions by giving model/year and you might save some grief.
Rich - close! Silly - certainly! Wabbit - not a chance.
Despite your sound advise, a morse reamer may not be cheaper than a new taper. However, I am not above using most any lame excuse to visit the local machine supply store. I'll let you know the price diffrence when I return!
Step two... Clean the interior and exterior surface with acetone, nail polish remover, alchohol, gas, etc. Anything to remove grease and then wipe it clean with a dry lint-free cloth.
Step three... Look for galling or burrs on either surface and remove them.
Step four... repeat step two.
Step five... If it is the morse taper, push it all back into place by hand and then open teh chuck all the way so the jaws are up into the chuck and not exposed. Put a thick piece of wood over the chuck and hit it upwards and into the morse taper with a good sized hammer. Don't go crazy... You don't need to. Many times, a hand shove will work, but you want insurance, right?
Step five point five... If it is a Jacobs taper (probaby a 3 or 33), do basically the same thing as step five but hit the wood much harder and make sure you are hitting straight up,. Hit it once or twice at most. A Jacobs taper that is properly assembled and in decent condition will never come apart unless you try to take it apart with hammers, wedges, etc.
Step six... If this doesn't work, eMail me private and I'll send you the chuck removal and installation pages from my equipment manuals. They go into more detail and might help. But I'm tired and brain dead right now so I'm off to bed soon!
Thanks to all. This newsgroup never ceases to amaze me. I'll try the cleaning and checking for burrs. The quill and the morse taper don't come apart. It is the chuck that comes off the taper.
BTW, I found a good site
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which describes the morse taper and drill presses in general. I used his instructions and used the 'handle' to lower the spindle, which forced the chuck against a piece of wood on the top of the table. This seems to have tightened things up, but if it comes off again, I know what to change.
(anyway I've had my eye on a nice keyless chuck in the King catalog)
Then it is probably a J33 taper and MUST be clean as a whistle, dry, and hit on hard with either a really soft mallet (rubber or lead-filled plastic, etc.) or with a piece of wood.
If the taper or the inner surface of the chuck's taper are dirty or marred at all, it'll fall off over and over again - even if you put a brand new one on.
Some folks take the morse taper out and use a hydraulic press to set the J33 taper then put the morse back in. Not suggested unless you are careful enough not to bend something and caouse runout, etc.
If you want a J33 1/2" capacity key-type chuck, I know where to get brand new ones for $74.00 plus shipping. Not a clue if that is a good price or not, but we use them and they have never stopped working even with large countersinking operations and a semi-dirty operating environment. They are tough chucks and come with a free key!
On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 00:05:45 -0500, the inscrutable Rob Mitchell spake:
That has happened to my HF chuck a couple times. I clean it up, put it back up there, and press with the feed lever. It then stays put for another year.
Get a nice Jacob ball bearing keyed chuck instead. I've ruined too many drill bits with cheap chucks and those keyless SOBs.
---------------------------------------------------------- Please return Stewardess to her original upright position. --------------------------------------
Hi Rob, I have had the same problem with my inherited drill press. It must be at least 70 years old. The chuck come falling off at inopportune times, usually when cutting with a big drill. I looked for burrs found none, cleaned the surfaces completely and still had the same problem. Finally, in an act of desperation, I put a little valve grinding compound on the chuck taper. I held the chuck against the mating part with the drill rotating. After a minute, I cleaned the grit from the shiny surfaces. Reassembled with oil and it has been fine for over a year. Good luck, Dave
Sounds like you've got some good advice. Have had a similar problem with new Delta and Jet drill presses. Put a little marking chalk on the taper and press fit with the drill press as described in one of the posts and the chuck should stay in place forever.
|If you want a J33 1/2" capacity key-type chuck, I know where to get brand |new ones for $74.00 plus shipping. Not a clue if that is a good price or |not, but we use them and they have never stopped working even with large |countersinking operations and a semi-dirty operating environment. They are |tough chucks and come with a free key!
I just replaced the chuck on my 30-year-old Taiwanese DP with one from here:
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English made one for $38 on my doorstep. Perfectly good enough for the quality of the DP.
From your description it appears the chuck is coming off of the short jacobs taper at the bottom of the drill press spindle. (Since you referred to the "inside" of the chuck.) The first thing to do is clean everything up thoroughly. Use a drying solvent like automotive Brakleen or (God forbid the EPA should hear) MEK. Check closely for any burrs on both the male & female surfaces. If necessary remove them with a file or fine sandpaper. Remove only the minimum amount of metal necessary. With everything clean and dry, press the chuck up onto the spindle. I like to hold a block of wood against the jaw end of the chuck and give it a few whacks with a 2 or 3 lb hammer. (Contrary to intuition, for the typical jacobs chuck, the jaws should be extended slightly out of the adjustment sleeve, and the jaws struck, rather than the sleeve.)
Usually this will take care of the problem. If not post again, let us know if your press has a mandrel or morse taper arbor adapter.
The jaws are through hardened and can take a reasonable hammer blow. The sleeve is only held on the chuck by a press fit and pounding on it can move it towards the back of the chuck. There is nothing to stop it from being pressed on too far. If this happens the chuck key will not fit. Ball-bearing chucks and the multicraft line may be different, I have never rebuilt any of those..
At any rate, you probably wouldn't have any problems with a "reasonable" hammer blow no matter where you hit the chuck.
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