Buy yourself a new keyless drill chuck if you’re still pleased with your ancient corded or cordless drill but frustrated with having to find the chuck key every time you want to change drill bits, you’ll be pleased to know that you can probably change that ancient keyed chuck for a new keyless drill chuck. No more fumbling for the chuck key, just twist on, twist off and all that convenience will cost is about 1/2 hour of your time and around $35. Getting the chuck off your existing drill is pretty straight forward and if you’ve still got the owner’s manual for your existing drill it probably tells you how to remove the ancient chuck.
Here are some of the best keyless drill chucks online today.
Grizzly 1/2″ Keyless Drill Chuck
Commercial-grade chucks are dependable, highly-affordable replacements for drills, mills and lathes. Knurled grips make bit changes quick and secure.
Milwaukee ½” Keyless Grip Chuck
- Keyless Chuck 1/2 in. 1/2-20
- 1/2 in. capacity, keyless chuck
- 1/2 in. – 20 thread
- Grip-Lok™ chuck prevents slippage when hammer drilling
Jacobs 6000-Series 1/2-Inch Soft Grip Sleeve Keyless Drill Chuck with 1/2 to 20 Threaded Mount
Hand tightened chucks are convenient but rarely do you find one that can tighten really well. The rubber grip on this one allows you to hold it firmly while tightening it on a bit.
3 Quick Chuck Keyless Drill Bit Bur Hand Electric Drill
Quick Chuck With Collets Fantastic for Metalsmiths, Metal Working & Holding Bits. This is a new quick chuck with 3 collets. Comes with 3 collets that can hold a variety of drill bits, burs, saw blades, files, etc. This can be used in hand drills or electric drills The quick chuck measures approximately 2 3/4″ x 7/16″ (70 x 11 mm).
Install the New Keyless Drill Chuck
Place the new keyless drill chuck onto the drill spindle (regular thread – turn it clockwise) until it’s hand tight. Fully open the jaws and then install the ancient chuck screw (reverse thread turn it counter clockwise), being sure you tighten it well.
Place a drill bit into your new keyless drill chuck and drill a test hole in some scrap material. Check that the new chuck is tight and doesn’t wobble, if it does you’ll need to tighten the chuck screw.
Once you’ve fixed any wobbles, that’s it. Your frustrating ancient power drill now has an simple to work with keyless drill chuck. All you have to do now is figure out what your next project is going to be.