Millers Falls No.5 - Chuck Issue

[Paul Carson]

Hello,


I bought this Millers Falls No.5 on eBay and the chuck seems faulty. When I unscrew the chuck the three small jaws simply stay put not moving. See photos below. They can then be pushed down with fingers and but sit unevenly. Screwing the chuck back down closes and centres them. But obviously this isn’t right, I don't want to have to push down and adjust each individual jaw every time I want to put in a bigger bit.

Am I missing something? Drill looks good otherwise.


Any help much appreciated.


Many thanks

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[steven c newman]

Might check to see if the springs are still in the chuck....also, clean the inside of the shell.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Probably crud up inside and/or a broken spring. On one I have that was like that, I ended up taking the chuck off. The back plate then unscrewed. The jaws were in there with little springs keeping them separated and in place. Dumped everything out (being careful not to lose the springs). After cleaning the parts and the inside of the chuck, some fooling around to get the jaws and springs all correctly aligned. It now works fine.

If the inside chuck walls are rusted, a piece of green scotchbrite on a dowel in an electric drill will make things go much faster.

If you have a broken spring I believe some have posted that you can make a replacement with piano wire. I have not done that, as mine were all intact.

I have another where I could not get the back to unscrew. Have tried everything but heat. Lots of WD-40 to flush everything out. It works better, but not like it should.

[Mike Brady]

Those who mentioned the three missing springs are most likely correct. Your chuck won't work without them. There may be some available on the aftermarket. Look at: George's Basement

https://www.georgesbasement.com/index.html

[Jim Koepke]

Some of the #5 models used springless chucks.

More information here > https://www.georgesbasement.com/mfno135typestudy/index.htm

And here > http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill3.htm

If the chuck uses small coil springs between the chuck jaws small springs can often be found in discarded cigarette lighters. BIC lighters have two different size springs. One is under the spark wheel and one is under the red lever opening the valve.

Some hardware suppliers also carry small springs, though often not small enough.

jtk

[Robert Hartmann]

That's a McCoys springless chuck, so no springs. They were used on the No 5 up through 1925 when they started using a Ryther's chuck (with springs). I don't have a pic of a chuck by itself, but attached is a No 5 I restored with all the parts (chuck in upper right and jaws in lower right). You can see the chuck is simple and there are no springs. They work well, but sometimes you do have to push the jaws back in the chuck. Mine are all restored, so I simply turn the drill upside down and the jaws fall into place ready to load a bit. I recommend you take the chuck apart, clean up the jaws with a brass wire wheel or light sandpaper and some scotchbrite pads for the inside of the chuck and a little oil. FYI, even on my restored drills the jaws don't always fall perfectly into place. A little shake or just move them with the bit works.

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[Paul Carson]

Thanks for all of the advice.

No sign of springs, and Roberts image looks spot on, so I'll check it and the links posted by Jim, and then disassemble and clean. Or sell and get one with springs! It's for using so not sure I want to be fiddling with chuck jaws when loading bits. Food for thought. Appreciate it.