Did I break My Drill Press

[Paul Wunder]

Perhaps some of you can shed some light on this. I have a Rockwell 32" bench mounted Radial Drill Press. It's about thirty years old, very light use and it has always been trustworthy. The other day I attached a fly cutter attachment for the first time to cut a 6" circle in 3/4" ply. All was going well
for the first 3/8" in or so and then the cutter stopped spinning. Apparently, the chuck had come loose from the spindle. So, I tapped the chuck back on the spindle with a wood block and a hammer and tried once again with the same results. P.S. I believe that I was not cutting aggressively.

Questions: Is the chuck a taper fit on the spindle and is tapping it tight its only means of attachment? Did I perhaps overload the chuck with lateral forces by swinging the cutter at 700 RPM (vs. the recommended <500 max)? The spindle did not seen to be scored or damaged in any way, and the owner's manual sheds no light on the subject.

I will go back and see what happens when I use a conventional bit again, but I would appreciate a little collective wisdom.

Thanks

[Jim O'Dell]

If it is a taper fit, I'd clean both surfaces really good then make sure it is dry, and tap it back on again. Might have to give a pretty good whack to seat it. Jim.

[David Christopher]

+1 with what Jim said..just a good hard whack

[Paul Wunder]

Jim,

Thanks for your quick response. Should I use a solvent such as WD-40, let it dry and then give it a few good whacks?

[Chris Ricker]

Paul,
Maybe others will chime in but you should go VERY sparingly on the lubricant, if any at all.

Let us know if it works for you.

[harry strasil]

WD40 is not a solvent, WD stands for Water Displacement, and 40 stands for the 40th formula they tried.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Paul...A flycutter cutting a 6" dia hole at 700 rpm seems very fast. I recommend that the speed be as slow as your drill press will go. Hopefully, that speed is less than 200 rpm.

Also, use a very light touch when advancing the cutter.

I suspect this will not only improve your cut, but reduce the vibration due to the uneven cutting nature of a flycutter. In turn, this should help with the morse taper issue.

-Jeff :)

[Lee Schierer]

I have to remove my chuck from time to time to use my drill press mortising attachment. I have to use a pair of special wedges to get the chuck off the taper. What I do to put the chuck back on is to open the chuck all the way so the jaws are retracted. Then I place a piece of hardwood under the chuck and the drill press base plate and pull down on the arbor advance lever really hard.

Occasionally when I have had a router bit or wheel cutter in the chuck and was creating a lot of vibration the chuck will come loose. I suspect your fly cutter is doing the same thing.

Clean your chuck with lacquer thinner or mineral spirits not WD-40 to remove any old oil. Apply some 3 in one oil and wipe that off with a clean dry rag so that no oil shows on your finger if you rub it on the taper. Do the same for the taper inside the chuck.

[Paul Wunder]

Thanks to all for the step by step advice of what to do and more importantly, what not to do. I'm glad I'm a Creeker.