The bits are slipping in my brand new Craftsman drill press. I love it!
Except for the bits that are slipping. I am tightening the heck out of the
chuck but still the bits slip some. Any hints ? ( All of my bits are a few
years old, and I am a newbie to metal working ... ) This is usually
happening when drilling in aluminum extrusions that tend to grab the bit.

Thanks !

pogo wrote:

The bits are slipping in my brand new Craftsman drill press. I love it!
Except for the bits that are slipping. I am tightening the heck out of the
chuck but still the bits slip some. Any hints ? ( All of my bits are a few
years old, and I am a newbie to metal working ... ) This is usually
happening when drilling in aluminum extrusions that tend to grab the bit.


You are using the key in all 3 holes, right? If not, try that first. If the
chuck is absolutely as tight as you can get it and it still slips, take it back!

GWE

You are using the key in all 3 holes, right? If not, try that first. If
the
chuck is absolutely as tight as you can get it and it still slips, take it
back!
GWE

Nope! I guess this is where my being a newbie really shows!
I will try that tomorrow and see how it goes.
Thanks for the tip !!!
JCD

Dats cuz yer brand new chinese/craftsman drill press comes w/ a brand new
crappy chuck.
Yeah - I can't stand that spring loaded thingee in it.

I know, cuz I got one. Like Grant sez, you must tighten from all three
holes.
I wasn't doing that so it will be my first thing to try tomorrow. Newbies +
power tools = please stand back! :-)

They make sets of drills w/ hex shanks, which fit into electric
screwdrivers, etc. Really handy, actually, and will partially solve this
problem--at a price. HD has them.

You could also grind flats on your drills. The better you grind them, the
more concentric your drill will remain. Tough to do accurately by hand,
simple on a surface grinder w/ a spin fixture.

That spin fixture sounds like a neat trick. Never heard of it before but I
think I get the idea. I'll Google it.

Thanks again for the tips!
JCD

Try another brand [of drill press]
Bugs

In article ,
"pogo" wrote:

The bits are slipping in my brand new Craftsman drill press. I love it!
Except for the bits that are slipping. I am tightening the heck out of the
chuck but still the bits slip some. Any hints ?

I had the same problem with a 12" bench Delta drill press, and a friend
suffers with two Crapsman drill presses. The problem is that good
chucks are expensive, and would represent a large fraction of the cost
of the whole drill press. So, the manufacturer cuts corners.

I solved the problem with my Delta DP350 by replacing the original chuck
with a Jacobs JT33 heavy-duty keyed 1/2-inch chuck (MSC #08590093, $84).

My drill press cost $200, and the replacement chuck costs $84; this is
why the original chuck proved useless.

You will still need to tighten at least two holes, and I tighten all
three holes, but this Jacobs chuck has not slipped yet. Unlike its
predecessor. Precision matters.

You will also need two sets of 6JT wedges (four wedges total) to remove
the old chuck without bodging something (MSC #08592966, $7/set).

The two sets are needed on my friend's Crapsman drill presses, as the
gap between the bottom of the spindle and the top of the chuck is too
large for one wedge set to fill. The Delta needs only one set.

The wedges of a set are used nose to nose, pushed together with a big
C-clamp. Or hammered, the traditional method.


( All of my bits are a few
years old, and I am a newbie to metal working ... ) This is usually
happening when drilling in aluminum extrusions that tend to grab the bit.

Buy new bits. MSC sells lots of kinds. Don't cheap out here. If you
are drilling a lot of holes of a size, buy a bunch of that size.

And, use coolant, to keep the aluminum from welding to the drill bit and
rendering the bit quite dull. Denatured alcohol works well, and so does
kerosene, for hand drilling. This makes a huge difference.

On a drill press, I use a flood of water-based coolant: a one-gallon
little giant coolant pump and Cool-Mist dissolved in water. This works
best if the drill press table has coolant troughs and drains, so one can
easily plumb the coolant circulation system.

Joe Gwinn

"pogo" wrote in message
...
The bits are slipping in my brand new Craftsman drill press. I love it!
Except for the bits that are slipping. I am tightening the heck out of the
chuck but still the bits slip some. Any hints ? ( All of my bits are a few
years old, and I am a newbie to metal working ... ) This is usually
happening when drilling in aluminum extrusions that tend to grab the bit.

Thanks !



The drill shank also enters into this, on good drills the shank area is soft
and of course the bit area is hard. This allows the chuck jaws to get a grip
on the softer metal.

Jack

Proctologically Violated©® wrote:

Dats cuz yer brand new chinese/craftsman drill press comes w/ a brand new
crappy chuck.
I know, cuz I got one. Like Grant sez, you must tighten from all three
holes.

They make sets of drills w/ hex shanks, which fit into electric
screwdrivers, etc. Really handy, actually, and will partially solve this
problem--at a price. HD has them.

Then the bit turns in the hex shank g.

You could also grind flats on your drills. The better you grind them, the
more concentric your drill will remain. Tough to do accurately by hand,
simple on a surface grinder w/ a spin fixture.

Best bet is probably just to replace the chuck.

--
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"pogo" wrote in message
...
The bits are slipping in my brand new Craftsman drill press. I love it!
Except for the bits that are slipping. I am tightening the heck out of
the chuck but still the bits slip some. Any hints ? ( All of my bits are
a few years old, and I am a newbie to metal working ... ) This is usually
happening when drilling in aluminum extrusions that tend to grab the bit.

Thanks !



--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Just fyi, Craftsman power tools are about an order of magnitude lower
quality than their hand tools--which themselves hover around middling, mebbe
occasionally good

Altho the quality of their relatively new ratcheting box wrenches is
atrocious--the goddamm hole is not even concentric/symmetric on the wrench
end, and the box is not offset.
Visavis similar style Crescents (reversible) from Sam's, which appear almost
like Armstrongs et al. And the Crescents were a lot cheaper, iirc.
--
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"pogo" wrote in message
...
Dats cuz yer brand new chinese/craftsman drill press comes w/ a brand new
crappy chuck.
Yeah - I can't stand that spring loaded thingee in it.

I know, cuz I got one. Like Grant sez, you must tighten from all three
holes.
I wasn't doing that so it will be my first thing to try tomorrow. Newbies
+
power tools = please stand back! :-)

They make sets of drills w/ hex shanks, which fit into electric
screwdrivers, etc. Really handy, actually, and will partially solve this
problem--at a price. HD has them.

You could also grind flats on your drills. The better you grind them,
the
more concentric your drill will remain. Tough to do accurately by hand,
simple on a surface grinder w/ a spin fixture.

That spin fixture sounds like a neat trick. Never heard of it before but I
think I get the idea. I'll Google it.

Thanks again for the tips!
JCD

Try another brand [of drill press]
Bugs

What would recommend in the $200 or less bench-top range ?
Thanks

I had the same problem with a 12" bench Delta drill press, and a friend
suffers with two Crapsman drill presses. The problem is that good
chucks are expensive, and would represent a large fraction of the cost
of the whole drill press. So, the manufacturer cuts corners.

I solved the problem with my Delta DP350 by replacing the original chuck
with a Jacobs JT33 heavy-duty keyed 1/2-inch chuck (MSC #08590093, $84).

All good stuff and I just saved your entire reply in my notes.

Just so I know, if I do have to replace the chuck, why would a more
expensive one make a difference with slipping bits? By that I mean what is
different mechanically about a premium one ? Do they have ridges that grip
the bits or something ?

Thanks !
JCD

On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 17:16:09 -0500, "pogo"
wrote:

I had the same problem with a 12" bench Delta drill press, and a friend
suffers with two Crapsman drill presses. The problem is that good
chucks are expensive, and would represent a large fraction of the cost
of the whole drill press. So, the manufacturer cuts corners.

I solved the problem with my Delta DP350 by replacing the original chuck
with a Jacobs JT33 heavy-duty keyed 1/2-inch chuck (MSC #08590093, $84).

All good stuff and I just saved your entire reply in my notes.

Just so I know, if I do have to replace the chuck, why would a more
expensive one make a difference with slipping bits? By that I mean what is
different mechanically about a premium one ? Do they have ridges that grip
the bits or something ?

Thanks !

Why does a stock Corvette beat a Chevette in the quarter
mile?

They're both Chevy cars...

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

"Leon Fisk" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 17:16:09 -0500, "pogo"
wrote:
Why does a stock Corvette beat a Chevette in the quarter
mile?

They're both Chevy cars...

Yeah I know one is better than the other, but WHY is my question .
Better tolerances ? Is the design different ? etc ...

Crafstman.

Actually, Crapsman power tools are vitually *identical* to the no-name
imports you find at bigger suppliers, HF, etc. Sears just springs for a
goddamm printed/stamped label and mebbe a paint job.

Altho, I should also add that often there is not much of a diff. in price,
so no harm, no foul.
And, Sears proly has a better return policy than your local supplier.

Or, you can also try what I've been doing lately, going thru my local
supplier's scrap heaps. Lotsa parts for my existing imports, some neat
finds, AND, I might be getting about 3 complete pedestal drill presses (17",
w/ slipping chucks) for real cheap. O'course, I gotta rummage around to
complete them.... Fun, tho.

Used is another option. I prefer PennySaver to goddamm ebay. If you find a
good price on a pedestal drill pressr, and still want benchtop, you can
always cut the shaft, either on a band saw, or abrasively.
Or w/ a hack saw.
--
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"pogo" wrote in message
...
Try another brand [of drill press]
Bugs

What would recommend in the $200 or less bench-top range ?
Thanks

Actually a very good question. I think tolerances is the answer.
In a jacobs, all three jaws likely come down nice, tight, and
symmetrically, just from one chuck key hole.

In an import, there is likely asymmetrical slack/slop, and mebbe even some
camming, so that after a little operation stress, the "cocking" of the
initially-tight drill then releases, and the bit is actually *totally*
loose. Like a sloppy dowel pin that first wedges tight, and then drops
loose.

Three out of five times, my 5/8 chuck drops the bit--cuz I refuse to tighten
from all three holes!! Other than that, it runs pretty true.

It's sort of a game now, to see if I can make it thru one hole without
having to re-tighten the chuck.
--
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"pogo" wrote in message
news
"Leon Fisk" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 17:16:09 -0500, "pogo"
wrote:
Why does a stock Corvette beat a Chevette in the quarter
mile?

They're both Chevy cars...

Yeah I know one is better than the other, but WHY is my question .
Better tolerances ? Is the design different ? etc ...

According to pogo :

[ ... ]

Just so I know, if I do have to replace the chuck, why would a more
expensive one make a difference with slipping bits? By that I mean what is
different mechanically about a premium one ? Do they have ridges that grip
the bits or something ?

A good chuck has hardened jaws with fairly narrow ridges to
contact the drill shank. This narrow ridge displaces some of the steel
in the soft drill shank, allowing a better grip.

A good chuck also has better bearing surfaces, so of a given
amount of tightening force more goes to the grip and less goes to
fighting stiction.

Note that what I use on my drill press at present is a 1/2"
Jacobs keyless chuck (patterned after the Albrecht chucks). It grips
pretty well just from hand tightening (no key needed), and the torque of
cutting tightens it even more, so it normally will not slip.

The exception (for both this and normal Albrecht chucks) is when
you are trying to grip something with a hardened shank such as an end
mill (not a good idea anyway for most things). Albrecht has an answer
to this problem, too. There are chucks made with diamond grit embedded
in the faces of the jaws, so it will get a grip on a smooth hardened
shank. But it is a significantly more expensive chuck, and it is
typically made with a 30-taper, 40-taper or R8 shank to fit a milling
machine, not a drill press.

I do have genuine Albrecht drill chucks on several other
machines, including all the tailstock chucks for my Compact-5/CNC, some
of the ones for my 12x24" Clausing, and even the little Cameron
Precision sensitive drill press. I also have a 5/8" clone of the
Albrecht for the Clausing lathe, but it is not as good as a real
Albrecht. Some of the clones, such as Rohm, are pretty good. Others
are not.

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
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