Drill Chuck Comes Apart

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J

jking

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Feb 16, 2007
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Des Moines, Iowa
I've been unable to solve a problem with my drill chuck. I have a drill chuck I purchased for drilling blanks on the lathe. The problem is the chuck head comes off of the taper when the blank is retracted. The taper stays in the lathe head stock, but, the drill bit & the chuck head come loose & stay with the blank. Any ideas/advice on how to keep this from happening?
 
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When I drill I put the Drill Chuck in the Tailstock and the blank in the HS in my 4 jaw chuck. Then when I drill I hold the Drill Chuck to prevent spinning and also disassembaly when backing out. I would not want to hold onto the drill chuck if it was spinning on the HS. Maybe try turning your set up around.

Just my $.02
 
make sure the taper for the head of the chuck is clean (both inside the head and the male section on the MT2 side)

Retract the jaws fully and place the head face down on a workbench. Put the Taper into it, and whack it with a mallet.

It should seat firmly and be fine.
 
I used a little lock tight to fix the taper to the chuck. It's been over a year and it hasnt come apart yet. I dont like wacking things with a mallet if I want to expect precision out of it.
 
I don't think Morse tapers need to be whacked. Applying too much force can damage the taper.

In my experience, when a Jacobs chuck is mounted in the tail stock for drilling, it is necessary to hold it to prevent rotation. There's really no risk here - the torque that will be applied to the chuck is small, so all you are doing is keeping the chuck from rotating in the tailstock taper (or in its own taper).

If you are holding the chuck, then its a simple matter to keep holding it while backing the bit out of the piece, and in that case, chuck shaft remains held in the tailstock taper, and the chuck remains attached to the taper on its shaft.
 
I will try Mike's advice above on cleaning & seating the drill head the next time I drill. What method do you use for cleaning the inside of the head? I've cleaned the headstock before with a rag or paper towel & a dowel, is there a better way?

Striking the taper with a mallet should not damage the taper as long as a mallet made of a softer material than the taper is used. I think the technical term used was "whack" as opposed to "bludgeon". :bulgy-eyes:
 
If you have a lathe and a piece of firewood, you have a perfect mallet. :biggrin:

To clean, I just use a paper towel and my finger. Run you finger around the inside after you clean it out, you will feel it if there is anything amiss. your fingers can feel difference smaller than your eyes can see.
 
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thewishman said:
Trying to picture how you would hold the blank in the tailstock. I use a scroll chuck in the headstock to hold the blank and put the drill chuck in the tailstock.
Click to expand...

I built a sled that rests on the lathe. I push the sled by hand towards the drill bit. I have seen demonstrations where someone holds the blank with pliers & uses the tailstock to push the blank until almost done & then removes the tailstock. I didn't really like that method.

I would use a scroll chuck in the headstock if I had one. I don't, so, I came up with the sled.
 
If you're not up to giving it a whack, put the morse taper in the freezer and the chuck in the sun after they have been cleaned. About an hour in the freezer should do it, then assemble. It will never come apart on its own.
Kryn
 
these are good for cleaning out the the insides. That should help
it to seat better
 

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I think he is saying the chuck comes off its mandrel which happens at times. Do the god father thing and put it in a vice and whack em. Sometimes you have to use metal against metal for things to come together or apart. So use a regular machinist mallet. Carl
 
fernhills said:
I think he is saying the chuck comes off its mandrel which happens at times.
Click to expand...

could be .. mine has two tapers, one to go in the tailstock and
one to go into the body of the drill chuck. The one in the body might
need cleaning to get a good grip. That's all I was saying..
 
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