How to Remove Your Drill Chuck
Simply removing the chuck from your power drill can feel like you’ve stepped direclty into an epic and terrible battle between man and machine. It is, after all, in the nature of these chucks to be tough and resistant, but we craftsmen have a secret weapon in our ability to outsmart these parts, and, of course, in our ability to swing a hammer. There are just four simple steps to effectively, efficiently, and expediently remove your drill’s chuck without loosing a bit of your cool…
Step 1.)
First, be sure to slap on your safety glasses before beginning any tooling task.. Now that you’re ready, make sure the drill’s gear box is set in low, and that the clutch is fully engaged. Fully open the chuck, and you will find a small screw down in its middle (sometimes this screw is missing, but don’t fret it is easily replaceable, and not necessary to remove).
Step 2.)
Remove the screw. Keep in mind that the screw has left-handed threads, and the chuck has right-handed threads. Be careful not to twist in the wrong direction, this will strip your threads making screws and chucks decidedly more difficult to remove. Once the screw has been ousted put the small end of a large allen wrench inside the chuck’s jaws and make sure the wrench is tightly secured inside the center of the chuck.
Step 3.)
Place the tool on its side and, with a hammer, safely hit the long end of the allen wrench counter-clockwise until the chuck comes loose. Some chucks are on very tightly, so be patient and keep tapping. Usually one substantial hit should knock the chuck loose.
Step 4.)
If hammer-tapping doesn’t free the chuck, remove the allen wrench and spray some WD-40 down into the inside of the chuck. Let the lubricant set in the chuck for at least one hour. After waiting, reinsert allen wrench and resume hammer-tapping. Repeat lubrication and hammering process until chuck breaks free.
This may take a few attempts, but that stubborn chuck is certain to concede with some good-old-fashioned deliberation.
Watch Removing a Drill Chuck With Tool-Man Jeff.. This is a great video.
