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.