Re: 3/8" drill chuck replacement

On 4/9/2025 4:39 PM, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

Bob La Londe <none@none.com99> wrote:

On 4/8/2025 5:48 PM, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

I finally lost the chuck key to a Makita 907d cordless drill.
The chuck has never been very good at holding bits, so rather
than buy a new key I'm thinking to get a new, keyless chuck.
>
Does anybody have a favorite, or suggestions to avoid? It's
a normal 3/8-24 right hand female thread, so that's easy. The
original chuck is Jacobs, are there better brands out there?
>
Thanks for reading,
>
bob prohaska
>

>
>
I have a bunch of chucks (mostly imports), but its surprising to hear
you didn't have like the Jacob's.  Usually genuine Jacob's chucks are
quite good.  I wonder if Makita licensed the name.

 I was surprised also, Jacobs has always been the premier builder
of hand drill chucks, at least to my mind. It could have been
made under license.
 I did notice the chuck seemed to lack lubrication, so for the moment
I've oiled it a little. Maybe that'll help. Still, the convenience
of not needing a key is very tempting. It's amazing it took me this
long to lose the original key...guess I didn't use it much.
 Thanks for writing,
 bob prohaska
   

Tangent...  I've always been a fan of Milwaukee for drills and recip saws.  Particularly recip saws.  However the quite durable steel shell keyless chucks that came on the Milwaukee cordless drills I have owned are hard to grip, and always seemed to need the help of some slip joint pliers to tighten well, and by extension to loosen.  As as Joe Pi would say, "to unloosen."
I had decided not to get more Milwaukee Cordless for my shop due to the price of batteries and went to Bauer.  Bauer is okay for very occasional use, but for even regularly occasional use I wasn't as happy as I hoped.   The batteries are cheaper, and the batteries are decent with bigger batteries performing better than smaller batteries just like other brands.  I just wasn't thrilled over all.  After my dad passed I gave all my Bauer stuff to my son and took over my dad's DeWalt cordless stuff.  One thing I noticed about the DeWalt keyless chucks is its very easy to get a good grip, and I can reef down on them easily by hand. Further the drill only turns a short distance before coming up on a firm stop to reef against when tightening or unloosening a chuck by hand.
To give an idea.  I use my one remaining Milwaukee cordless almost exclusively for tapping 1/4-20 blind holes.  I tightened it with slip joint pliers and never take the tap out.  I have a bottoming tap to finish the last few threads in a DeWalt cordless right next to it, and I was able to tighten by hand enough that the clutch slips when I hit the bottom of the hole, but the tap doesn't.  The DeWalt plastic shell keyless chuck looks and feels cheap, but it works really well.  I have three DeWalt cordless drills now.  Very useful.
Further afield.  I was replacing all the locks on my dad's commercial property yesterday.  Well, my mom's property now I guess.  I took my DeWalt cordless stuff with me and used the cordless angler grinder (I bought that one) with the 8AH batteries I bought. I continued to be impressed with how well it performs for a high power cordless tool with those batteries.  Several double cylinder deadbolts had to be cut off. I sliced right through them in order to cut through the screws I didn't know how to expose without the key.  Big batteries continue to be worth the price.  More longevity for light work, and more current for heavy work.
--
Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff
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