Help with chuck on old drill press

[Scott Davis]

Hi all,
I am new to drill presses, I have never had one. This is an old Craftsman drill press I am trying to shape up. There is a good bit of rust on many of the parts but the motor works very well. Much of the rust is coming off the pole and cast iron easily enough with a sander and wire wheels.

I am trying to figure out the chuck which is badly rusted. I figured I would take it off the spindle and try to put it in some Evaporust and see what I get. That stuff has worked wonders on some other parts for me.

I also have another chuck that was in a plastic bag and I could put that one on.

I don't see how to get the chuck off the spindle taper. I was able to knock the taper out of the drill press with a block of wood (I don't have a chuck wedge, anyone know where I can buy one to do this correctly?). I have looked for how to separate the chuck and spindle taper but suggestions seem to be for other presses. Attached are some pics.

I am also not sure the difference between my two chucks, perhaps someone with experience can let me know if I need both.





Scott

photo 3.jpgphoto 2.jpgphoto 1.jpg

[CPeter James]

You just need a chuck arbor. It will be MT2 on one end and the end will have the taper for your chuck. It probably is JT33. The new chuck should say what the taper is. Enco or Mcmaster Carr has the chuck arbors. or you can get them on E**Y. Your old one looks like it might actually be MT1 and not MT2. You can find the deminsions here:
http://littlemachineshop.com/Reference/Tapers.php

CPeter

[Scott Davis]

I see, you are just saying to "chuck" the old chuck and chuck arbor!

I don't see how to get them apart? There is no lip I can see to get a wedge in to tap. I don't have the proper set up for drilling a hole through the arbor either.

So I can find a new arbor for the unrusted chuck I have, but still wonder how to get those apart once I put them together.

Anyone have a suggestion?

Is the rusted arbor a lost cause then? No sense trying to Evaporust it?

Thanks

[Ed Labadie]

The smaller MT shanks do not use the wedges to remove the chuck, as you found there is no lip for them to ride on.

Open the chuck jaws all the way & look inside, there is usually a hole through the chuck, you should see the end of the MT adapter. Support the chuck on an open vice and using a pin punch (appx 1/4 dia), tap the adapter out of the chuck.

Ed

[John McClanahan]

The smaller MT shanks do not use the wedges to remove the chuck, as you found there is no lip for them to ride on.

Open the chuck jaws all the way & look inside, there is usually a hole through the chuck, you should see the end of the MT adapter. Support the chuck on an open vice and using a pin punch (appx 1/4 dia), tap the adapter out of the chuck.

Ed

If you don't see a hole, you can drill one. Just drill into the end of the chuck about 1/4". It won't hurt the old chuck or arbor.

John

[John Bullock]

If you don't see a hole, you can drill one. Just drill into the end of the chuck about 1/4". It won't hurt the old chuck or arbor.John

1. I recently experienced failure on of my jacobs chuck on an older Craftsman drill press i acquired. I was able to locate an only manual by searching for "Sears" followed by the model number of the drill press. Most of these manuals can be downloaded as PDF files and printed out on your computer printer. Be aware that there are people out there who sell this same documentation that can be obtained without cost. The manual should describe the exact procedure for removing and installing a new chuck.2. The chuck itself will normally contain a stamp designation of the exact model number of chuck.3. Once you have identified the exact morel of chuck, you can usually locate a relatively inexpensive replacement on *bay.com. The replacement for my unit including shipping was less than $25.004. Be sure to go on-line with Sears repair and determine what parts are available and what parts are no longer available or which my be standard components available off of the shelf.Note: some models of Sears Craftsman drill presses use a large threaded component directly above the chuck. It rides on a collar on their proprietary chuck. Use can generally turn the unit up or down to install or uninstall the Sears chuck. Most Sears' drill presses will use an off the shelf chuck of the same model type as the original unit. In my case I was able to install the standard J3 chuck without any issues and installed the threaded collar first to allow the new chuck to be forced off the mounting taper, if it needs to be removed. Most chucks are marked with a standard Jxx model number and the taper on the corresponding mount will be an Mxx type. Good Luck!

[mark kosse]

It looks like a 2mt taper to me. Lots of times they won't come off, even when whacking them soundly. Go to the auto parts and get you a pickle fork of the right size. Some auto parts will loan them but for 10.00 I just bought one. After that mine come off easy. Right tool for the job.

[Benjamin Miller]

+1 for drilling a hole in the back of the chuck and pressing the arbor out. Chucks backs are intentionally left unhardened so you can do this.

Alternatively, while you have the chuck and arbor off, throw them both in the trash and install a nice keyless chuck. I have the one sold by Shars and it's pretty good, though no Albrecht:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-KEYLESS-...item4cf11d2978

Keyed chucks have their place, but it's in a machine shop where you need some serious torque transmitted through the drill. A drill for woodworking will never slip with a keyless chuck.