Chuck fell off the drillpress

[smorris]

I was using a 3 inch hole saw in the drill press to do 80 some odd holes and I guess it got warm and that heat transfered to the chuck and it expanded until it fell off. Can I heat it back up in the oven then press it back onto the spindle shaft, then clamp it in place while it cools? Any other suggestions.

Drill press is a Delta 12 inch I believe, I'm not at home right now to look.

Thanks for any advice.

[cgallery]

The chuck normally fits onto a taper (no glue or anything holding it there, just good old friction). I would clean it all up w/ some lacquer thinner and then slam the chuck back onto the taper.

BTW, it probably came off because the hole saw jammed or there was excessive vibration.

[gsmittle]

Mine did the same thing (for much the same reason) a week or two ago. I made sure the mating parts were clean and gunk-free, raised the table until the chuck made contact (retracted the jaws first), and pressed it into place.

No problems since! IIRC, it's friction keeps the chuck in place....

g.

[LCHIEN]

This is not an uncommon problem. If it fell off it may not have been installed perfectly to begin with, and you may have put some side load on it. Heat and cold not involved. I just searched the past posts for
the words "drill press chuck" and looked at the titles for "problems, fell off" etc. I posted these solutions in the past:
===============
It's held on by friction bewteen the close-fitting parts. A bit of oil, grease or a grain of sand will break this friction You must make absolutely sure that both pieces are absolutely clean. Wipe with mineral spirits to remove the grease and oil, wipe clean to remove any dirt and worse - grit, and then make sure its absolutely smooth with no burrs. Then press on firmly (don't slam, you'll damage the bearings) with the jaws retracted so the force is on the body, not the jaws.

That should do it, if not, then there is something wrong with the spindle and or chuck (not machined for right fit).
==========================
It's most likely a Morse taper - if you look closely the top of the shaft is wider than the bottom.

You may need to clean the taper hanging down from the quill and also the inside mating surface of the chuck. Clean it well with mineral spirits or whatever.

Once cleaned you need to press it firmly onto the taper. Open the chuck so that the three figers are withdrawn into the body. Raise the DP table 2 within a few inches of the taper. Install the chuck and use the DP handle to press the taper firmly into the chuck. Use a piece or two of wood under the chuck if you need.

The close machining and fitting of the taper surfaces will keep the chuck on.

[ragswl4]

There should be instructions in the manual on how to insert the chuck. My drill press manual has me insert the chuck into the taper and then, with the saw turned off of course, place a 2x4 on the table then lower the chuck down onto the 2x4 and press the chuck into the taper. Mine has fallen out a couple of times and this procedure puts her right back in.

[SARGE..g-47]

Afternnon SM..

You've already been given the "how to". I used to have a Delta 12" (8-9) years ago that the chuck was always falling off and I know how to install it properly. It fell off till the day I sold it. I am beginning to wonder if that is a trait of the smaller Delta's as I know of others that have experienced the same problem more than what I feel is common?

I replaced it with a small Ryobi and not long after added a Rigid 15" and have never had the chuck fall off either. Hmmmmmmmm...... ?

Regards...

[LCHIEN]

Afternnon SM..

You've already been given the "how to". I used to have a Delta 12" (8-9) years ago that the chuck was always falling off and I know how to install it properly. It fell off till the day I sold it. I am beginning to wonder if that is a trait of the smaller Delta's as I know of others that have experienced the same problem more than what I feel is common?

I replaced it with a small Ryobi and not long after added a Rigid 15" and have never had the chuck fall off either. Hmmmmmmmm...... ?

Regards...

The whole shebang - and the benefit is perfect centering of the chuck for near zero runout - relies on precise machining so that the taper of the two parts matches exactly - When the two pieces are pressed together then there is maximum contact area between the two and it stays on from friction.
As you can tell, a contamination making a small bump, piece of grit, splinter, machining chip etc. will reduce the area of intimate contact from several square inches to almost nothing.
I imagine there are some tapers out there that are not machined perfctly and have a raised ridge, or burr, that acts just like a peice of contamination. That drill then, will have a history of the chuck falling off.
No

[smorris]

Thanks everybody, I'll clean it up and press it back on. I thought maybe it had expanded from the heat and that made it fall off, it got pretty hot during the process.

[LCHIEN]

One trick I learned for when drilling with hole saws...

The problem is that the teeth have little small gullets and nowhere for the cuttings to go. They pile up in the groove, and the gullets and just ride around overheating the saw and the wood, sometimes causing burning and you have to raise the quill repeatedly to clear the cuttings.

The solution is to take a drill, like a 1/2" forstner and cut a through relief hole on the inside that will be tangential with the cole saw path. When you cut the hole saw operation, then the cuttings will fall into the 1/2" hole and you won't have to clear the bit so often and the cutting will be much better.

Of course it could be any other reasonable size than 1/2", sort of depends ont he hole saw size, and if you are planning on keeping the cutout rather than the large piece, then cut the relief hole on the outside, but tangent to the hole saw cut.

[gwyneth]

I am beginning to wonder if that is a trait of the smaller Delta's as I know of others that have experienced the same problem more than what I feel is common?

My 8" Delta does it periodically...fortunately the first time was a day or so after I'd read an old Fine Woodworking article about drill press chucks, which gave almost the identical instructions as Loren.

The guy I talked to at Delta tech six or seven years ago said that yes, the smaller ones do it somewhat more frequently than the bigger ones, and that it was due to vibrations being more intense with a shorter distance to travel; the greater relative leverage of the chuck key; and possibly increased heat production with some drilling operations.

He concluded by saying, "get a piece of 2 x 4..."

[SARGE..g-47]

Evening Loring and Gywneth...

"I imagine there are some tapers out there that are not machined perfctly and have a raised ridge, or burr, that acts just like a peice of contamination. That drill then, will have a history of the chuck falling off.
No"... Loring

Yep is my opinion. I have been in and around machining for some time and without purposely attemping to ruffle any feathers for dedicated Delta folks, Delta let quality control go for awhile thinking their past history would continue to sell their product. The machining on the low line intended for the week-end warrior got pretty shoddy for awhile IMO. Just in recent years they have realized the competition is out-running them to the market place and in most cases with a better machine at a cheaper price. They made their bed and are having to lie in it.. even though it appears they at least realize the the public is getting smarter toward product and the inter-net IMO is a large reason for that.

"The guy I talked to at Delta tech six or seven years ago said that yes, the smaller ones do it somewhat more frequently than the bigger ones, and that it was due to vibrations being more intense with a shorter distance to travel; the greater relative leverage of the chuck key; and possibly increased heat production with some drilling operations.

He concluded by saying, "get a piece of 2 x 4..." .. GW

Your statement is an example of what I just stated to Loring above, GW. I realize that you cannot expect a Mercedes at a compact car price, but the little Ryobi I purchased for less was an excellent little press. BTW.. Ryobi changed place of manufacture and I cannot speak for the current offerings, but some of the R I have seen recently has taken a nose dive. The press was excellent, the saw was excellent, the 3 x 21 belt sander is excellent (my favorite over my Bosch and PC), but I saw a bush cutter they made recently and my first impression was "Do What"? Junk indeed.

So... I suppose the answer is you can't go by name alone.. you really need to look and compare and that "You get what you pay for" is not always necessarily true. Probably a better term for today's market is "Buyer Beware" and that ain't whistling Dixie.

Regards...

[gwyneth]

The machining on the low line intended for the week-end warrior got pretty shoddy for awhile IMO. Just in recent years they have realized the competition is out-running them to the market place and in most cases with a better machine at a cheaper price. They made their bed and are having to lie in it.. even though it appears they at least realize the the public is getting smarter toward product and the inter-net IMO is a large reason for that. ......

So... I suppose the answer is you can't go by name alone.. you really need to look and compare and that "You get what you pay for" is not always necessarily true. Probably a better term for today's market is "Buyer Beware" and that ain't whistling Dixie.

Note that in the last year or so Delta has given the 'weekend stuff' a sub-brand--"Shopmaster".

Regarding the Ryobi quality issue. Both the saw and the drill press were innovative, somewhat different products. Maybe the teams assigned to them were better motivated, or something (remember how the GM workers selected for the Saturn start-up were supposedly hand-picked?)

I also think that manufacturers are not quality checking the quality checkers as well as they used to. Forty or fifty years ago, with a much larger base of industrial workers, there was a larger, more skilled pool of quality checkers to choose from. These days, the sort of person who is good at the diverse skills needed to become an excellent quality checker is probably more likely to go into other lines of work. Back then, there was also a narrower range of materials and technology for the quality checkers to understand.

Plus, machinery in general and woodworking equipment in specific, was relatively far more expensive than today. Unisaws in the late 1930s cost more than $800--in actual price, not in 2007 dollars. That's probably $5 or 6k in 2007 dollars, if not more.

[gerti]

Oh and by te way hear expands metal, so for the heating thing to work you would have to heat the spindle or cool the chuck...

[SARGE..g-47]

Morning GW...

And I agree about control over qaulity control. Remember when you first starting getting the Made in Taiwan? Whoaaaaaa.... This crap is made in Taiwan! Now you only wish as you assert Whoaaaaa.. This crap is made in China, wish they still made it in Taiwan. ha.. ha...

Things have certainly changed, haven't they? From made with Pride in the USA to made in Tiawan and now made in China. And just wait.. those Chinese sweat shop workers will rebel one day down the road and demand more benefits also. That would create big problems for China and the manufacturers. At that point the manufacturers will move the plants to where they get more cheap labor as I see it from the track record.

Made in Mozambique it will read with plans to move their base of manufacture to Nigeria on a moments call at the first sign of we are skilled now and want more. Another cycle....

I have been impressed with Steel City Tool Works. They are former Delta employees that told Delta they could do it better. Delta corporate didn't listen and rode the name attempting to keep profit high for the stock holders. The SC guys broke away and went and did it better in both design and qualtiy control. My hat goes off to them.. their efforts and the machines they are offering the public which I already own two of.

Yep... the world has changed in the last 30 years or so.. And the beat goes on!

Regards...

[Alex Franke]

Thanks everybody, I'll clean it up and press it back on. I thought maybe it had expanded from the heat and that made it fall off, it got pretty hot during the process.

Remember: If the chuck glows bright orange and starts to melt your safety glasses, then it's getting too hot!