Delta 12" drill press problem

Clean out the inside of the taper on the chuck and the quill. Then use a wooden block hammer to tap it on. It should stick.

Your large forstner bit is putting a lot of pressure on the friction fit.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

What would you suggest cleaning it with other than just a clean rag?

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Betsy, you can use a little lighter fluid or mineral spirits(paint thinner) to clean it with. I agree with a little harder hammer than the rubber mallet. I use a brass hammer to set my morse tapers with.

-- Dan-- Info for all @ http://www.hoistman.com

It may be possible that you need a new chuck if the cleaning doesn’t work . One of students had the same problem and the problem was she didn’t have enough strength to tighten the chuck well enough with the chuck key, How we solved it was to have her use a small piece of 3/8 pipe over the chuck key as a type of cheater bar to tighten in more secure.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Ditto what Karson and papadan said. Be sure not to apply too much pressure on that bit. I think it is digging in and breaking the friction fit, as Karson mentioned.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Thanks guys. I’m going to give it another go in the morning.

Jim – I’ve had to use those cheater bars also. I’m not proud – I’ll use any tool I can to get to where I need to be!

Thanks again for the help. I’ll let you know how I get along.

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You might try a bit of blue locktite if all else fails.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

DO NOT USE LOCTITE!!!! It will “sleeve” the taper and it won’t ever lock up. Use a good wire taper brush and acetone or some other oilless solvent. You can also get a taper reamer at Enco or other machine tool suppliers. The taper socket and arbor must be absolutely pristine in order to facilitate the taper lock-up. Use a brass mallet to seat the chuck. Don’t abuse it but do give it a good rap. Any chatter from forstner bits will tend to shake the chuck loose. A tap every now and then is a good idea.

-- M1911BLDR

Hi Betsy,
If the chuck is falling out, you didn’t tap it in hard enough and/or you didn’t align it
with the taper well enough (it should slide in straight but do it carefully).
I don’t think it has anything to do with it not being clean – I wouldn’t bother with
any cleaning other than cleaning it with a rag if it has been lying around/has dust etc.
on it.

Make sure the “teeth” that grab the drill are in the chuck before doing the following(teeth not showing outside).Push the chuck in the taper, put a piece of wood below the chuck (this is used so the chuck is not damaged) and tap it in with a normal metal hammer- it shouldn’t be hard tapping but a few good taps
so it is secure.

If you are using a key to tighten (not a hand tightened chuck), I usually tighten in one hole and then
turn chuck and tighten in another. You shouldn’t need to be tightening hard – if so, there
is something wrong with the chuck or drill bit.

-- Vjeko Balas - Croatia

Maybe I’d better stick to electrical and wood :-))

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Thanks for the help guys. I took a good small brass brush to the inside – there was a little gunk inside – but not much. I used the block of wood and a mallet and seated it on. So far it’s stood the test for the first 10 holes I need to cut. Hopefully it will stay on. Sure was a bit, ummmm, unnerving to have the chuck with the bit fly off at me!

Thanks again.

-- You can't get a hug from Facebook.

Great Betsy. Glad its working out.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †