Drill press chuck problem

[Tiger]

Dear all,

It's Saturday and I'm looking forward to another project which heavily involves the drill press. The run out has gotten worse, so just to make sure I take the dial indicator out and virtually no run out at the quill or the bottom of the chuck but as soon as you throw in a drill bit or bit of rod, massive runout :mad: . I've pretty much resigned myself to a new chuck but vaguely remember someone suggesting that a chuck could be brought back into some kind of usefulness. Has anyone had any luck with fixing (?) a chuck. I imagine they could be serviced but haven't found much reference on the Web. Current one I have is a 16mm chuck and places that are open today only seem to carry up to 13mm so if there is a way out with the current chuck, I'd be much obliged to hear about it.

[soundman]

There was a an article a looooong way back in fine wood working about reconditioning jacobs type chucks..... BUT..... its a real..... process and you would realy need to be a prety confident metal basher to try. you have to press it apart..... and back together.

try your fitting & turning type suppliers.

best to buy a chuck and arbour to suit your press.
you shoould be able to get a 16mm keyed chuck and arbour for about $100
or keyless for $150. At just about any decent engineering supplier.


Y ou could also try McJing.

if you have problems slip me a PM i can lay my hands on that sort of stuff.
cheers

[old_picker]

"There is usually an adjusting screw with locknut in the head of drill presses that will remove sideways slop."

from bob thomas's post on a similar topic.....

Make sure everything is tight especially no sideways slop by adjusting the locknut / grubscew. If that helps and you are getting runout on the chuck, get a real good chuck. Check that the top locknut at the head is tight as well. The cheap presses are pretty inacurate as are cheap bits. THey just arent all straight. I played with my cheapie chinese press till the cows came home but at the end of the day I just had to accept that my cheap drill press isnt very accurate

If you need dead accuracy better buy a new $1K +drill press.

[Tiger]

Thanks guys. I did come across a site that mentions that you could knock the chuck back into alignment so I set the dial indicator on and where it was out I knocked it back, then I had reasonable run out. As soon as I changed the drill bit, the bad runout occurred.

Soundman, I wouldn't even mind trying to resurrect the chuck but by the time I got to press it out etc. just wouldn't be worth it, maybe someday though. Thanks for the advice.

[kats1719]

i have rebuilt a Jacobs chuck be for it is quite a tricky proses and takes time just not worth it on a cheep chuck. Buy a new one it is a lot easer and keep the old one as a backup just in case

[soundman]

Have you tried oil... its worth a try pull the chuck out of the press and give it a good dose of light machine oil and run it lock to lock a dozen times or so.

Even better have you tried washing it out & re oiling.

It might just be full of gunk.

cheers

[Tiger]

Soundman, I did run light machine oil through it but it didn't have much affect. This drill chuck hasn't been the same since I got the WASP sander and was told to hit the chuck hard with a hammer so that it would seat properly :mad: and not slip out.

[JDarvall]

I remember reading somewhere, where you stick a straight rod in the chuck. Lay a square on the table with the edge up against the rod.....spin the chuck to see at which point the rod moved furthest from the square....

Then belt that spot with a hammer.:D .....well, tap it....to correct

Did it with mine some years ago and it seemed to work....the other details I think involved clamping the square to the table and using a feeler ..etc.

[Tiger]

Apricot,

Did try exactly that, the rod worked ok, then once I changed the drill bit, it was back to the bad run out.

[Sprog]

This drill chuck hasn't been the same since I got the WASP sander and was told to hit the chuck hard with a hammer so that it would seat properly :mad: and not slip out.

Had you withdrawn the chuck jaws into the body before applying the hammer?
If you hadn't then you will have probably damaged the worm screw. Might as well buy a new chuck now. :(

[joe greiner]

This is a long shot, but are you sure the bit isn't bent? Also, for small bits, make sure they're properly seated in the jaws. I usually jog the switch before tightening to make sure of proper seating. As I said, it's a long shot.

Joe

[Tiger]

Had you withdrawn the chuck jaws into the body before applying the hammer?
If you hadn't then you will have probably damaged the worm screw. Might as well buy a new chuck now. :(

Yes the chuck jaws were fully retracted and the bits I tested with were not bent. I have turned a pointed bit of rod on my lathe and use that to test run-out.

[JDarvall]

I can't really help I suppose. I'll try and add something to help.

- can you test run out on outer side of the chuck only ?.....if its not wobbling about, then everything from it up sounds ok.....which implys its the jaws or the bits your gripping.

Seems odd that the rod works ok ,but not the bits.....if the bits are smaller than the rod then that sort of implys that the runout begins as the jaws extend out.

Have you tried all sorts of drill bits to ensure its not a bent bit like Joe said ? Probably obvious as well, but some bits develop burrs on them around the shanks from bits not been locked on tight enough....if the jaws are gripping on a burr then that could cause the run out.

Maybe mark the side of the chuck with pen at where it seems to start going astray in your run out test.....see if that points consistant every check. Maybe see if that points to any particular point of the jaw. Might spot some damage in there somewhere.

Is this an old machine with heaps of wear ?

All bolts tightened up ? ...

Maybe your right. Might just have to try buying another chuck. Goodluck mate.

[Stuart]

This is a long shot, but are you sure the bit isn't bent? I had the same thought, especially after the straight bar trial was successful.