I have a 1/2" Craftsman 19.2 volt drill I like a lot. I also have other Craftsman electric tools and some spare batteries. The one problem is that the drill chuck is of the "keyless" variety and I have pretty bad arthritis in my hands and can no longer tighten it down enough to do any good. I ordered a new 1/2" Jacobs geared chuck from Amazon and thought I'd solved my problem. Then it came down to changing the chuck. I cannot get the old one off. I followed the instructions (Yes, I did remove the screw inside the old chuck), but it won't budge. I tried just about everything; first I did the big Allen wrench and hammer method. That didn't work, so I went to plan "B", which is putting a 3/8" Allen socket in the chuck jaws, and then applying an impact turning counter-clockwise to loosen it. I have been doing this for the past week with no success. I have applied penetrant and let it sit for a few hours and then a day. Next, I heated the metal part with the internal threads until the adjoining plastic parts started to melt and catch fire. Still no luck. It looks like I am going to have to destroy the old chuck (which I have no love for) to get it off. Before I go to this extreme, does anybody have any tricks or techniques I have missed? Failing that, does anybody have any idea of how to attack destroying the existing chuck while preserving the drill itself? I'm at my wit's end.
Can you get a much longer screw that fits down inside the chuck, screw it down inside as far as it will go and holding the chuck in the vise tap the longer screw with a hammer to see if that will jar it loose ?? ...
This sounds like an idea. Now all I have to do is find a long left-hand thread screw the right size. I think my local Ace is out. Grainer, here I come!
Can't help with your immediate problem, but can identify with the original one. Those keyless checks must be for drilling soft stuff, cause mine won't stay tight drilling steel. Yeah, it gets abused regularly, but I decided I'll use 2 pair of channel locks in the future to tighten the damn thing. It'll either stay tight or break.
Are you sure? Facing the chuck you have to turn it counter clock wise. A right hand thread would tend to tighten under use.
Of course it tightens under use; otherwise all of our drills would be coming apart when we used them. I have always called "regular" (like on the great majority of fasteners we use) threads "right-handed". The chuck has internal threads, like a nut. When looking at the nut from the end, you turn it clockwise to tighten it, counter clockwise to loosen it, which I am doing. I have looked carefully at the new chuck, and it has conventional (right-handed) internal threads. My head is starting to hurt.
I agree @tubman , never seen a chuck made any other way, unless it used a Jacobs 33 taper for example.
Tubman & everyone reading this Be sure to wear a good pair of tight fitting safety glasses. I had friend that didn't & he lost an eye. He also was removing a chuck.
Try this, can't hurt. Just click on the "https://www.youtube.com/embed/u4hLI4uBNKc" title="How To Remove The Drill Chuck From An Old Sears Craftsman Drill"
Well, I went back to the shop and gave it one more try. As W.C Fields once said "When at first you don't succeed, try again; then quit before you make a damn fool of yourself". When the final try didn't pan out, I broke out the grinder and cutoff wheel and was done in 5 minutes. I should have been a little more careful as I left a good-sized "witness mark", but everything's fine now. I took a real close look when I got it apart and can't see that I missed anything; it was just stuck! There has to be a special place in Hell for the guys that invented the temporary spare tire, hidden windshield wipers, and keyless chucks.
The Ones that I have removed Had a Tapper shaft , & screw inside , Made a Tool / fixture , to go under chuck then use a longer bolt to pull chuck off, like bearing / gear , steering wheel
That has to be a setup. They don't come apart nearly that easy.. I've been doing that and a lot more for the last week.
That reminds me of the time with the lady barbecue chef, the cordless drill, and the giant jar of mayonnaise. But I'm much better now!
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