How to remove a keyless chuck

[spamfree]

I have an almost new Black & Decker corded drill. I love the drill itself, but that keyless chuck has to go. I hate those frikkin things. It seems like almost all drills got them these days, and while they might be fine for the average guy that drills a few 1/8" holes in a sheetrock wall for handing pictures, they do not hold a

1/4" bit to drill thru 1/4 steel, or a 3/4" wood bit. All those damn things do is burn the skin off my hands. Give me a TOOL, not a TOY. Real tools (drills), have KEYS for their chucks.

Now that I got that off my chest, I just bought a keyed check. The only problem is that I cant figure out how to get that damn keyless chuck off the drill. There's no screw inside like a keyed one. Before I take this chuck to the bench grinder and grind the S.O.B. off the drill, does anyone have any idea how to remove it?

Thanks

[DanG]

Milwaukee, Albrecht, and Rohm will be interested in your theories about keyless chucks.

To remove yours, you will need to remove the set screw in the bottom of the chuck ( if it is a reversible drill, it will have one). It is probably hex drive (Allen). Once it is removed, get the largest Allen wrench you own, preferably 3/8" or larger. Tighten the drill chuck on the short leg of the Allen wrench. Use a block of 2x4 or a hammer to strike the end of the long leg of the Allen wrench in a counterclockwise direction when looking at the chuck end of the drill. It may take several sharp, hard blows but will loosen the threads to allow you to spin the chuck off.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

drill

and

1/8"

TOY.

The

keyless

S.O.B. off

[Edwin Pawlowski]

The problem is not the chuck, it is the label on the drill. Get a real drill and it will have a better made chuck that will do what it is supposed to do. B & D stopped making tools many years ago when they found the toy market more lucrative. Ed [e-mail]

[HRL]

They seem to be doing quite well with their DeWalt line.

[Joe Bobst]

Made in Japan...oh well, everything's international these days.

Joe

[HRL]

Right. Probabaly Makita with a different name plate. B&D found their professional quality tools were not selling because they looked almost like the cheap ones. So they colored them and used the name (DeWalt) of the little company they had bought several years before. Only connection I see is their "Serviced by Black and Decker" label.

Their B&D brand is probably made in China.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes, I own some DeWalt tools. If you look at the drills, the chuck is far better than the B & D ones. Of course, the drill is $200 instead of $50 so you should be getting much more.

The B & D stuff is now made for Joe or Mary Homeowner that uses the drill maybe once a year. Many years ago it was the stuff professionals used because of the high quality. That changed probably 15 years ago, maybe more. Ed [e-mail]

[Jeff Wisnia]

I'm curious, just what part of the OP's saying, "There's no screw inside like a keyed one." didn't you get?

Jeff

[DanG]

Jeff, if it is reversible, it will have one.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

theories

have

screw inside

[Jeff Wisnia]

I concur of course. I just thought that you should have stressed that point to the OP and advised him to look inside his drill's fully opened chuck again.

And, most (maybe all) of those chuck screws I've encountered have left hand threads, the OP might not think about it being left hand and bugger up the screw trying to remove it "lefty loosey." (Now I've told him, if he's reading this...)

Best Regards,

Jeff

[David Efflandt]

I have a DeWalt cordless drill and its keyless chuck works very well (ratchets tight without spinning the chuck). On the other I have used a Sears drill that needs pair of Channel-Lok pliers to keep larger bits from slipping in the keyless chuck.

It amuses me when people think that the lowest price is the best bargain, when sometimes spending a little more will more than offset the cost in durability and satisfaction (better function). I forget how much more my DeWalt drill was than a B&D, but it came with 2 batteries, a case, 3 gear speeds, variable speed reversing, multiple torqe settings for screws, and brake (maybe why the keyless chuck works well one handed).

[HRL]

The point is that DeWalt is a B&D product. It is what they used to call their Professional line with black cases that looked almost like their cheap ones. They were not selling well so they changed the color and name and are doing quite well.

You really have to search the B&D site to find any reference of DeWalt. There is a story that when B&D came out with the DeWalt line that the President of B&D was standing by a DeWalt Display at a tool show in Las Vegas. Someone who knew him came by, pointed at the display and said words something like "These people are going to bury you". The president only smiled.

[RB]

You'd be amazed at how many folks think that DeWalt is a good tool manufacturer. Try batteries made by Saft. Then you'll throw DeWalt overboard. There's more to quality than price.

RB

David Efflandt wrote:

[spamfree]

Yes, this is the OP. Thanks..... The problem is that after getting a magnifying glass (my bad eyesite still does not let me see which it is), it appears the screw is a hex or torx. I dont have any torx that will fit in there, only tips for a universal screwdriver. Hex wont fit unless they are metric. I guess it's off to the ahrdware store today, and the drill goes along for the trip. Why cant they just use normal screws? I hate torx anything, and hex aint much better. I do know one thing, once that screw is out, I'm replacing it with a standard screw (if I can buy a reversed thread one).

[Jeff Wisnia]

To give the devils their due, they probably use a hex(or maybe torx) socket headed screw because that makes it easy for the installer to stick it on the driver and get it started down inside the chuck without it falling off the tool.

Same goes for loosening it without the driver slipping and buggering the screw head.

As Confucious reportedly said, "When rape is inevitable, lie back and try and enjoy it." A few bucks spent on equipping yourself with metric hand tools will be money well spent. Since most manufactured stuff we buy nowadays isn't made in the USA, you just gotta go with the flow and get the right tools.

I hate torx anything,

To each his own....

Good Luck,

Jeff

[spamfree]

I have rarely had problems with B&D tools. Skil on the other hand is TRASH. This drill was one of their more costly models, but it was "last years" model, so I got a good deal on it. I like the drill itself, it's just that damn chuck. I have never liked keyless chucks, and this one is worse than most others I have used. At work, we have a Milwaukee brand drill, and that thing was expensive. That chuck is a little better, but it still slips when I try to drill anything that needs a little force. I am up in my years, and have used a keyed chuck all my life. Professional drill presses and all other professional drilling equipment always had keys. Now all of a sudden they are putting these useless keyless chucks on everything. They are NOT what I would consider a PROFESSIONAL piece of machinery. I dont mind them as much on cordless drills, because those drills dont have as much power, but on this 120VAC drill, a keyless chuck is a joke.

[HRL]

Most likely made in China by the same factory as all others.

RB wrote:

[wardcharles1014]

I have no problem with the church. It's the &@$#%ing clutch. The clutch is stuck in the lowest tourgue position and when I strike the hex key there is no resistance to the impact. Because of that I can't remove the Chuck to g et at the two screws holding the clutch on the drill, inorder to repair/rep lace it. Can anyone help me with this or should I just "Chuck" the whole dr ill and get a new one?

[wardcharles1014]

I hate this spell checker too. Although I don't have any problem with the church I fail to see what that has to do with my drill? The word was CHUCK for god's sake.

[Danny]

How many drills could a drill chuck drill if a drill chuck could drill chucks?