Is my drill press finished?

[dennis thompson]

I have a small,benchtop Harbor Freight drill press that is about 10 years old. It has served me very well over the years. This morning the chuck just fell off,it looks like it's just pressed on. Is it time to buy a new drill press? A new one at Harbor Freight is only about $55 with a 20% discount coupon.

[Doug Dawson]

I have a small,benchtop Harbor Freight drill press that is about 10 years old. It has served me very well over the years. This morning the chuck just fell off,it looks like it's just pressed on. Is it time to buy a new drill press? A new one at Harbor Freight is only about $55 with a 20% discount coupon.

If it only falls off every ten years, you're doing pretty good! Just stick it back on. (You'll want to clean the surfaces first, it holds on via friction.) You probably won't have to use glue.

[Adam Herman]

its a Morse taper i bet, most industrial tooling uses it. sometimes they fall out. no big deal. clean and replace.

[Tony Pisano]

Unless, of course, you are looking for a reason to get another one☺

[Wade Lippman]

Just get everything clean and push it firmly back in. Should hold.

BUT... it seems like a dumb way to do it. Why do they use it when it can fall apart so easily?

[johnny means]

Just get everything clean and push it firmly back in. Should hold.

BUT... it seems like a dumb way to do it. Why do they use it when it can fall apart so easily?

It's simple, effective, reliable, centers accurately with ease, and breaks free with a single good whack. The genius of the Morse taper is how strong it holds while still being easily removable. Typically, better made ones don't host fall out.

[Charles Taylor]

Jacobs taper probably, but otherwise everyone's got it right.

[dennis thompson]

Unless, of course, you are looking for a reason to get another one☺

Tony
Exactly right,unfortunately I was able to press it back on and it's working fine now;)

[Bill Dufour]

This is why you do not rout with a drillpress, the side load will quickly unseat the taper. A milling machine uses a threaded drawbar to stop it from falling out.
Bill D

[dennis thompson]

Tony
Exactly right,unfortunately I was able to press it back on and it's working fine now;)

So after I pressed the chuck back on it was fine for a few days but eventually fell off again. I decided I'd just buy a new drill press. Before I went for the new drill press I put some epoxy on the old chuck and stuck it on, never expecting it to hold. I went and got the new drill press and when I got home I tried the old epoxied drill press again and it worked fine. I kept the new press in the box for a while fully expecting the chuck to fall off but it didn't so I returned the new drill press:)

[George Yetka]

Mine comes off frequently its frustraiting

[stevo wis]

What I have found to work really well is to heat the chuck. I just sat it on my clothes iron and let it get hot. Then pressing it on and giving a gentle whack. When it cools down it tightens up and holds well but is still removable unlike the epoxied solution.

[Lee Schierer]

Mine comes off frequently its frustraiting

After cleaning the taper on the arbor and inside the chuck, press it on by hand, then run the jaws all the way open. Place a block of wood on the table and pull the chuck down against the block of wood with hard pressure. It should should stay on. I would veto the epoxy idea.

[Brian Tymchak]

What I have found to work really well is to heat the chuck. I just sat it on my clothes iron and let it get hot. Then pressing it on and giving a gentle whack. When it cools down it tightens up and holds well but is still removable unlike the epoxied solution.

I would have guessed just the opposite, in that when it cools down, it would loosen up as heat should expand the chuck a bit in size.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I remember reading here at SMC where some old timers swore by cleaning the Morse taper, spitting in the Morse taper and then pressing it on as described by Lee. The spit supposedly would cause a rust bond between shaft and the Morse taper of the chuck.

[stevo wis]

The chuck does expand when it is heated and when put on the taper, it cools and shrinks and tightens around the taper.

[dennis thompson]

After cleaning the taper on the arbor and inside the chuck, press it on by hand, then run the jaws all the way open. Place a block of wood on the table and pull the chuck down against the block of wood with hard pressure. It should should stay on. I would veto the epoxy idea.

Lee
What do you see as a problem with the epoxy idea? So far it's working. Note that this is only an inexpensive drillpress, the whole thing can be replaced for about $60

[John K Jordan]

I would have guessed just the opposite, in that when it cools down, it would loosen up as heat should expand the chuck a bit in size.

There are usually two tapered sockets, one on the chuck itself and a different one on the drill press spindle. The arbor is usually tapered on both ends (at least it is on both of my drill presses) Wat to heat (or freeze) depends on which connection came loose.

Make sure there are no scratches, corrosion, nicks, oil, etc. on the arbor. I degrease with brake cleaner.

Try not to drill unless it is very tight. If the chuck or arbor spins the surface can be galled and will need to be repaired.

I either tap the chuck/arbor in with a mallet or hammer, better, press the chuck against a block of wood.

Dennis, a potential problem with epoxy or another glue is the thin layer of adhesive could increase the runout and decrease the precision of the drill press. But I have no idea how precise that drill phress is when new. Could get lucky and improve it. :)

JKJ

[Myk Rian]

So after I pressed the chuck back on it was fine for a few days but eventually fell off again. I decided I'd just buy a new drill press. Before I went for the new drill press I put some epoxy on the old chuck and stuck it on, never expecting it to hold. I went and got the new drill press and when I got home I tried the old epoxied drill press again and it worked fine. I kept the new press in the box for a while fully expecting the chuck to fall off but it didn't so I returned the new drill press:)
And apparently you don't believe what you were told.
Bare metal, and press it on hard. No epoxy.
Good luck.

[dennis thompson]

And apparently you don't believe what you were told.
Bare metal, and press it on hard. No epoxy.
Good luck.
It's not that I don't believe what I'm told, I did exactly that and it fell off again, that's when I tried the epoxy.

[Lee Schierer]

Lee
What do you see as a problem with the epoxy idea? So far it's working. Note that this is only an inexpensive drillpress, the whole thing can be replaced for about $60

You may never get it off with the epoxy, or if it does come off again you will not get it back on. Epoxy shouldn't be necessary if both halves are clean.