Does Chuck need a key? keyless vs keyed drills

[beowulf]

Posting this here because I could not find a forum for hand tools.

Anyway, I have a corded Dewalt keyless drill and a corded Ridgid keyless drill and both chucks have been hassles for a long time. I finally had to use a couple of channel lock pliers to change out bits and now even that does not work. They sort of seem to lock up and then I need pliers to unlock the chuck. When it did work it took three large men and a dog to git er done.

Also my keyless Ridgid battery drill has similar problems.
So I am going drill shopping (3/8 inch as I have a half inch drill which I use infrequently) - So my questions:

keyed or keyless?
Brands?
Features - variable speed or whatever?
What if anything could I be doing ? Misusing the drills or whatever?

And would it pay to just buy new chucks for my existing drills - the Dewalt and Ridgid?

Any suggestions welcome.

 

[shovelmike]

I definitely feel more confident about a keyed chuck, much easier to securely tighten it, I always tape the key securely to the cord so it can't be misplaced. Several drills with keyless chucks have not worked well for me.
Having stated the above, my newest drill, a Hercules cordless from Harbor Freight, has worked flawlessly. I manually adjust the jaws close to size, hit the trigger in clockwise..grab the chuck firmly..and it's locked. To release...reverse, then firmly grab the chuck. The drill has an impressive amount of torque and very good battery usage between charges. It's variable speed and reversible.
$100 for drill, battery, and charger. DeWalt cordless carry the same price tag for the same kit, but you might want to carefully examine the chuck since you have had tough luck with the brand.
I have switched out keyless for keyed on drills in the past, usually it's a threaded shaft..if reversible it should also have a set screw.

 

[ArlyA]

I've had deWalt keyless chucks over the course of many years. Some rocked while others bit! Of course deWalt and other the manufacturers have changed them over the years. I can't well you what works well today, but I'd not buy a drill with a keyed one.

 

[Sportsman762]

About the only new 3/8" keyed chucks you can find these days are the Milwaukee Magnum Drills. They are brutes and come in various max speeds ex: 0-750rpm, 0-1200rpm.

I prefer a keyless drill for drilling in wood due to the ease of chucking up a bit and changing one out. However when drilling metal a keyed chuck is nice as they grip a bit much better. Most any name brand will be good for a drill.

You could replace the chuck on a drill, however it would most likely be the same lousy chuck you had before.

 

[Roadworthy]

This may not apply but I have a Dewalt half inch cordless impact drill with a metal chuck. It seems t grab well but over the last ten or fifteen years it is on its third chuck. It's my "go to" drill. Ridgid has lifetime warranties on many of their tools.

 

[buck12]

For most uses I have two Ryobi cordless drills that I use for 95% of my drill chores. I have a 20 year old 1/2” corded DeWalt with keyed chuck when I need a real drill. The chuck holds very well. I do have a very old Craftsman 3/8” with a keyed chuck that has not been used in years.

 

[dlctcg]

Being in the contractor trade... if it is not a drill press I do not want a keyed chuck.... We change bit way to often to fool with a chuck key, I honestly can't imagine going back to a key chuck on a handheld drill. (even our big drills use SDS chucks over keyed).

We use either Makita or Milwaukee tools exclusively, but a big part of that is to limit the different chargers & batteries we need in the company...

I'm a vote for keyless... all day.. everyday... (but I'm also a vote for cordless)

 

[chim]

I have a DeWalt 1/2" keyless 20V, Milwaukee Fuel 1/2" keyless and a Ridgid 1/2" corded keyless. All work just fine. The best way to tighten all 3 of these is NOT grabbing the rotating chuck. The gear trains in them are such that you can't make the motor rotate by twisting the chuck. With the drill not running I can grab and twist the chuck and hear a ratchet sort of sound. Hitting the trigger and trying to hold onto the chuck won't get it nearly as tight.

 

[powersrp]

WD 40 or silicone spray into the chuck will fix the sticky jaws, smooth as butter, i have all 20v dewalt drills ,1/2 and 3/8. , dropped the 1/2 drill from a 10’ladder onto concrete, battery popped off, but nothing busted, they are tough, and powerful.

 

[GeneD14]

I have keyless chucks on my Porter-Cable and my Milwaukee cordless drills. They are way faster than the old chuck key.
I have a large drill press that I converted to a 3/4" keyless chuck. About once/year I have to use channel locks to loosen it.
Hands down, I would choose keyless!

 

[mikester]

Ive found that drills with plastic keyless chucks are worthless and you get what you pay for. A good quality chuck will hold on most bits save for cheap hardened taps. I prefer keyless chucks on hand drills and spring collets over 3 jaw chucks on drill presses and mills.

 

[Smokeydog]

Dewalt 1/2 cordless and with all metal keyless chucks are pretty good. Have converted several 1/2 corded drills with Metabo keyless chucks. They are the best keyless chucks I have used.

 

[WranglerX]

Keyless chucks work great................ On bits that have "flats" because you don'y have to tighten them as hard..... If a key less chick/drill gives me a problem and if removing and cleaning and a bit of silicone spray does not fix them the are history, you can get them from me at local swap meet....

My old Montgomery Wards 1/2 drill with Jacobs chuck still out performs many of my battery drills with keyless chucks for heavy work... And it only something like 40 or so years old....

Biggest headache for production work were new safety chucks that only loosely grip bit,,, Had more bits at work that need shank cleaned up because the chuck spin on shank....

Dale

 

[beowulf]

Thanks to everyone for weighing in on this. I bought two replacement chucks and then took the chucks off both drills - a bit more trouble than it should have been, only to find out that they don't fit. The threaded spindle is larger than the threaded opening in the replacement parts. I was told they would work when I bought them, but anyway I will return those.

Then I searched on line and found the appropriate chucks but the cost of those is not much less than new drills assuming I buy the exact same models. So I doubt I will replace the chucks. On my next trip to town I will buy a new drill.

As an aside, I also took my Ridgid battery drill which also had keyless chuck problems, and my Ridgid circular saw in to Home Depot for repairs as I have the lifetime warranty on those. They charge $18.75 per tool which will be refunded once they verify the warranty.

BTW - as I searched for these items I came across a great deal at Home Depot - the same 5 item Ridgid battery took kit (cir saw, driver, drill, sawzall, and light with 2 4.0 AH batteries and charger) I bought in 2011 for $500, now for $299 - and with lifetime warranty. That is the same kit I have and it has had some hard use. Two 4.0 AH batteries alone cost almost that much.

Thanks again.

 

[CADplans]

I used to hate keyless chucks,, the threads that closed the chuck were not fine enough, the chuck would barely tighten,,
I had a first generation Milwaukee 18 volt drill, there was no way to get that chuck to grip a drill bit.
Over 1/4" drill bit,, drill REAL slow, or the bit would spin.
Then,, I purchased a Milwaukee drill (a 18 volt battery) with keyless chuck about 2 years ago.
That drill will tighten so tight, you can not make a 1/2" drill slip in that chuck drilling steel.
It will literally tighten, by hand, so tight, that I have never owned a keyed chuck that would tighten as tight.

So, what I am alluding to is that vintage, and manufacturer makes a WORLD of difference in how a chuck works.