A further thought about the drill press: where do you keep the chuck key?

[rudy de haas]

As some may recall I asked here recently about buying a drill press - and decided, in large part on advice from group members, that this seemed a good idea - thanks! (I think).

I ended up with the King KC-116, 13 inch press because Lowes here had the 8" model on display and I liked it's apparent quality relative to various Korean and Chinese competitors, but didn't want the 3.2 amp open motors the smaller models come with. The 13" has a 6.5 amp, fully enclosed motor so I ordered it from KMS in Calgary. Turns out it's much too big (42", 103 pounds) for use as a bench top, but fixed to plywood on a $15 flat furniture cart it works well.

However.. where do you keep the chuck key? You need it all the time, so it has to be near the tool; and yet it might as well have the words "you will lose me" stamped on it. It strikes me as odd that the end of the cross piece isn't threaded with a matching hole somewhere on the chassis, but it isn't; so now I want to know where other people keep theirs? On a string tied to the machine somewhere, maybe? (but isn't that just asking for trouble?)?

[Don Jarvie]

Get a magnet and stick it on the drill press then put the key on it.

[Steve Jenkins]

Use a small magnet to put it wherever is handy..oops typing at same time

[Ben Rivel]

My Delta 18-900L has a holder for the chuck key on the right side of the main body. Perfect placement for me.

[Barry McFadden]

My drill press has a small plastic U shaped "clamp" on it that I just press the key into to keep it. It came installed on the drill press..

[Malcolm McLeod]

Clamp it in the chuck jaws when not in use.

(Or let your inner cynic out - throw it away, and get a keyless chuck!);)

[Bruce Page]

Google Images: "drill press chuck key holder" will give you a lot of different ideas. I used a retractable key chain epoxied to the drill press head when I had a DP.

This is my current setup next to my milling machine. The key sits on the mill table when I'm using it and in the shelf hole when I'm not.

[John K Jordan]

However.. where do you keep the chuck key? You need it all the time, so it has to be near the tool; and yet it might as well have the words "you will lose me" stamped on it.

Rudy,

I have done the following for all the drill presses I have ever owned and have NEVER ONCE misplaced a chuck key.

My drill presses have all had a plastic or metal pulley cover above the motor. I drill a hole in the front right corner (since I'm right handed) a little bit bigger than the chuck key handle. I drill this hole in the top, straight down. I drop the handle of the key in this hole.

The key is always there, in exactly the same place. It is easy to see and reach for. It is never in the way and can't fall or be covered with something. No magnet required.

JKJ

[Matt Day]

A few suggestions:
Magnet as mentioned above
Bungee cord - one end hooked somewhere and the key on the other
Still a small hole in your table or fence for the handle of the key

[Prashun Patel]

I used to keep it stuck to a rare earth magnet stuck to the quill.

Despite this being the most simple, elegant solution to an easy problem, I am STILL to lazy to reach up to store it. So, it ends up being stored on the bench, and then running away to a hard-to-find place as always.

[Cody Colston]

I have a wall cabinet next to my DP that holds drill bits and accessories. I store my chuck key in it.

[William C Rogers]

Retractable key holder attached to drill press. Always handy and never lost.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My Jet drill press has a special clip on the left side of the power head near the switch for the light.

[Mark Blatter]

I had mine tied to the DP using string. The string broke one time, and like a toddler, it immediately ran off and hid. Never did find it either. Finally bought a new one, and yep, tied it using a string to the DP. Just waiting for it to break too so I can lose another one. I seem to never learn from my mistakes, or bad ideas.

[John Gornall]

I once worked in a shop where there was an electrical box with a magnet and if the chuck key wasn't on the magnet you couldn't start the drill press - a good safety feature.

Not nice to start a drill press with the key in the chuck!

I've looked for this key switch and not found it - if anyone knows where to get one...

[Cary Falk]

I have a retractable chuck key holder I got from Rockler several years ago. I don't think they sell it anymore. It has a magnet that holds it on my drill press. I'm sure somebody still sells one.

[lowell holmes]

Mine is on a magnetic tool holder mounted behind the drill press on the wall.

[rudy de haas]

Rudy,

I have done the following for all the drill presses I have ever owned and have NEVER ONCE misplaced a chuck key.

My drill presses have all had a plastic or metal pulley cover above the motor. I drill a hole in the front right corner (since I'm right handed) a little bit bigger than the chuck key handle. I drill this hole in the top, straight down. I drop the handle of the key in this hole.

The key is always there, in exactly the same place. It is easy to see and reach for. It is never in the way and can't fall or be covered with something. No magnet required.

JKJ

There's lots of room there and I think I'll try it - many thanks!

[Myk Rian]

I have a chain connected to the motor mount and the key.

[Lee Schierer]

Mine is attached with a chain so it can't wander away.

I also wish there was a switch that required the key to be in place before you could start the motor.

[Dave Lehnert]

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=41734&cat=1,42363,42356&ap=1

[Bill Conerly]

I keep mine inside the top cover, but may consider John's idea of drilling a hole in the cover. Whatever you do, make it a habit to ALWAYS put it away in exactly the same place. A bad location consistently used is better than 2 or 3 good locations erratically used.

[Darrin Davis]

Being a high school woodshop teacher I drill a small hole on one end of the chuck key and chain it to the drill press towards the back somewhere and have about 2 feet of chain to have plenty of slack. They've never disappeared in 13 years on either drill press.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have a Delta with the aforementioned built in holder, but I tie a flourescent pink string to mine. I never remember to put it back where it belongs. Looking for a pink string is way easy. Pull the string and the key will come out of hiding.

[Phil Mueller]

A bad location consistently used is better than 2 or 3 good locations erratically used.

So true for many things....

[royce miller]

Slip a snug fitting hose over the chuck key handle and poke a hole in the hose to tie a string to.
Now fasten a eye to the drill press past the back of the column, thread the string through the eye and tie a weight to the string.
Presto, a self stowing, automatic retracting chuck key tender.
Guaranteed to be never lost again.

[Wayne Lovell]

I am afraid to say this because I have probably seen mine for the last time now. When I got my drill press 20+ years ago I took a piece of heavy duty Twist tie that had come on something and twisted it to the key and put a loop on the other end and I hang it on a knob up by the motor, I still have it and I lose everything.

[Jim Becker]

My DP has a larger auxiliary table attached and I have a 1" hole in the back right table surface near the edge that holds my key. It back farther than the fence can go so there is no interference.

[Garth Almgren]

My DP belonged to my grandpa who was a welder by trade, and at some point he had fabricated a drill bit holder out of an old drill box and some scrap metal, which he then hose-clamped to the column. In that holder he also welded a small piece of tube that the chuck key handle slips into. When the key isn't in my hand it goes right back in it's holder. As someone else said, consistency is critical. I just wish I was as consistent with other small tools as I am with that chuck key. :)

Also, it helps to have a backup. There was a spare key that grandpa taped to the back of the drill bit holder. I've never had to use it, but it's nice knowing that it's there just in case.

[Bill White]

Isn't it amazing that my 1952 Craftsman DP has a hole in the table clamp on the column just for the chuck key? Hmmm? Guess that the newer models just couldn't afford the extra costs incurred.
Oh well......
Bill

[Doug Landphair]

I've got a magnet that's attached to the side of my DP. When I'm done with the key, I (usually) put it back on the magnet. One better idea is to attach the key to a small retractable reel that's attached to the DP. Or, tie the key to the DP with a string and just let it hang.

[John K Jordan]

BTW, I don't have a picture of where I put the key in a hole in the cover, but I just got a picture of a friend's drill press - looks like he does the same thing:

334380

I came up with this method after getting annoyed with the key on a cord which always got in my way, and with putting it in a drawer under a benchtop drill press - too much trouble and I still had to hunt for it in the drawer.

BTW, for the milling machine and lathe where the chuck is mounted then removed each time, I just put the key handle in the chuck jaws. I don't like that method for the drill press since I often have a bit in the chuck for an extended time.

I know that some people have gone to keyless chucks for the drill press.

JKJ

[Joe A Faulkner]

Mine is tied to the DP with heavy string. Same string for 20 years.

[Gregory Carles]

I have a strong magnet that I stick it to right on my drill press

[Curt Harms]

My Delta drill press's table clamps around the column as most do. There is a space just the right size between the bolt and column to stick the chuck key. That's worked for about 20 years.

[Joe Spear]

A rare-earth magnet is my solution to holding many small tools where I can get them easily: allen wrenches and small open end wrenches for the bandsaw, short splitter for the Shark Gaurd on the tablesaw, and chuck key for the drill press. In the case of the chuck key, I made a small wooden handle for it, drilled a hole and epoxied the handle end in. Then I drilled a shallow indentation in the wood and inlaid a round rare earth magnet with epoxy. That way I can stick the chuck key anywhere on the head of the drill press with having to hit exactly where the magnet is every time.

[Jerome Stanek]

Whats a key

[Brian Henderson]

My drill press has a mount already installed, I always put it back so I never lose it. The whole key is, no matter what solution you choose, you're the one responsible for using it every single time.

[Roger Feeley]

I'm not a fan of tying the key to the machine unless there is some way for it to break away. You have to account for the case where the key is in the chuck and the machine is turned on. Mine is a self ejecting key but the ejector pin can get stuck.

[Brian Henderson]

Why in the world would anyone turn on a drill press with the key in the chuck though?

[Jerome Stanek]

I use the keyless chuck works really good and no key to snag or lose

[Jon McElwain]

+1 for a small chain. Never lost mine. Never even thought to lose it!

[John Sanford]

I have a table similar to this one from Rockler (http://www.rockler.com/drill-press-tool-collector?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PL&sid=V9146&gclid=CjwKEAjww9O3BRDp1tq0jIP023YSJAB0-j1SPsdeF8c38oY7ydTDRhYHBj5sa4eJmipr_8MrRZRZ0xoCLNH w_wcB), I just put it on there. 98% of the time. :o

[Brian W Smith]

1946 W/T radial it sits on the left fr corner of the table.'49 W/T 20",there is a highly developed tooling cabinet hanging exactly where we prefer,dedicated to this machine.That key sits right on it's spot.

[Ellen Benkin]

Rockler has a retractable key holder that attaches to the drill press with a magnet and holds the key. You never lose the key because you never put it down "somewhere" and you don't have to remember to put it on a magnet or into a clamp.

[Rod Sheridan]

My drill press key is in a holder on the pegboard beside the drill press......Rod

[roger wiegand]

I used a piece of string for the last 30 years. Based on another drill press thread here a few weeks ago I just bought a used Albrecht keyless chuck on Ebay for less than $100. I'm in love! I wish I'd done his decades ago.