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Drill press runout.. is it the chuck?

Fishnbeer

Fishnbeer

The dude abides
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Jun 8, 2020
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My drill press has seen a lot of use over the years. Recently I noticed my bits are not spinning perfectly straight anymore. I cleaned out the chuck lubed it tried different bits and they all are walking around the center line. It still locks down tight and they dont slip.

I have never replaced the chuck, not sure if my father ever did in the 20+ years he had it. Could it just be a worn out chuck or could something else be going on?

And where can I find a 'good' chuck? Are the home depot ones worth a darn?
 
How is the chuck mounted in your drill press? Removing the chuck and checking spindle for run out should be the first step.
 
I will see if I can round up a dial indicator from somebody so I can check the spindle. Its an old duracraft machine and some googling tells me it takes a jacobs style chuck. Replacemnt of the chuck will require removal of the feed lever, quill+shaft+chuck assembly. Lets so I pull it and find the shaft is bent or bearings are shot, where do I find new parts?
 
Can you post pictures of the chuck where it mounts to the spindle? You shouldn't need to remove the spindle to swap chucks. Open the chuck bigly and look inside at the bottom of the hole. If there's a hex head in there, the chuck screws on. !!THAT SCREW IS LEFT HANDED!! The chuck is right handed.

You may need to buy some appropriate wedges to get it off. Google chuck wedges.

Pictures
 
I don't know your drill press type, but its usually the tapered adapter between the chuck and the spindle if it's that style set up. They are real cheap to replace once you identify the taper.
 
20200808_072956.jpg
 
just a jacobs taper mount
runout doesn't matter on a drill press, just use a 3lb hammer for your center punch
mine flops around a good 1/4" on my little drill press, and the larger MT4 spindle one has such loose spindle bearings that it'll jump 3/4 inch over to wherever the pilot hole is
 
But... I want it straighter so my holes are... holier
 
Does the shank come out of the spindle or is it just a Jacob's taper on the end of it?

If it comes out, I'd pop it out, clean the adapter and bore and pop it back in and check the runout.

If not, pop the chuck off and check runout on the JT shank. If it looks good, remount the chuck and check runout with a piece of ground rod or drill blank in the chuck. You may need to rotate the chuck on the mount to find the sweet spot.

You should also tighten the chuck progressively on all 3 key holes. Just tightening one can give you lots of runout.

If the shank indicates good and the chuck won't, just get a new chuck.
 
Also want to get this light working. Looked up in there and it looks like the fixture is busted off. I cant tell what kind it is but I figure I can find a replacement at home depot. I probably gotta take something apart so I can get my mitts up in there

photo18564.jpg
 
Not yet. I dont have that angled wedge tool to knock the spindle out of the quill. Stopped by home depot and could not find one, guy in the tool corral did not seem to have a clue what I was looking for. Gotta order one online or when I get a chance I will cut one out of some 3/8 stock I have kicking around
 
I have a few different ones I cut out of plate should work well for you. Your best bet would be an industrial supply and even then it's not a guarantee.

The light fixture looks like a normal bulb will screw into it, with the roughness of the hole looks like it was not a factory addition.
 
Fishnbeer said:
Not yet. I dont have that angled wedge tool to knock the spindle out of the quill. Stopped by home depot and could not find one, guy in the tool corral did not seem to have a clue what I was looking for. Gotta order one online or when I get a chance I will cut one out of some 3/8 stock I have kicking around
Click to expand...

Do you have an angle grinder and a chunk of steel? The "wedge tool" isn't rocket surgery, just pound something wedgy in there!
 
Finally put a dial indicator on the press. With the indicator on shaft above the chuck I gave her a wiggle back and forth, 3 thousanths play in the bearing.

photo19886.jpg
 
With indicator on face of the chuck and rotating press by hand at the motor I have 3 thou runout. Put a bit in the chuck and I have 6 thou runout on the shank of the bit

photo19888.jpg
 
You're worried about .006 in a drill press?? :laughing:

Fuckin send it the drill bit itself is going to wander more than .006
 
^ this. I probably have that in mine and have tapped 100s of holes with the correct drill size. I would be worried if it was a 50 thou or so. Its a drill press it will never be super precise but its a hell of a lot more accurate than hand drilling and a mill is a whole other ball of wax if you need 1 thou or less accuracy.
 
Yeah Im just wondering if a new chuck will be straighter than that
 
More than likely no. And if one did, it still wouldn't matter, because like has been said, the drill itself probably isn't straight within .006. .006 is damn good for a drill press.

Drills by nature don't even cut perfectly round, they're going triangle as the drill wobbles, hence why in precision applications we ream holes to make them round. But a reamer will still follow the hole that's there.

Do you spot drill your holes? Do you center punch your holes? If no to both you're probably less that .006 accurate in your method anyways.

It honestly doesn't matter for the majority of people on a drill press. You want better accuracy find a mill.
 
Put a piece of precision ground rod or a drill blank in there. Don't trust that drill bit to be round.
 
bgaidan said:
Put a piece of precision ground rod or a drill blank in there. Don't trust that drill bit to be round.
Click to expand...

Most people can find a dowel pin if you can't source those.


In any case 0.006 is exceptional for a drill press chuck.
 
Yeah 6 thou is fine, don't waste money on a different chuck. If you want to chase better runout, you could try getting an ER collet chuck that mounts onto your taper, not the Jacobs taper your chuck is on, but the Morse taper in the spindle, most likely an MT2. I wouldn't worry about it though, 6 thou is pretty great and pulling your tapers apart will just introduce more opportunity for error when reassembling. You're probably looking at a pretty spendy drill press, or refurbing an older, bigger press like a buffalo, walker Turner, etc to get less than 3 thou.

A good center punch and a spot drill preferably with a tip angle larger than your drills angle will help with accuracy as well, but 6 thou is about one and a half the diameter of a pube, so you've got a good start.
 
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