Recomendations for a Keyless Chuck?

Hi folks

The chunky chuck on my Warco 16B is pants, it seems to let go of any drill I try and use. The key is very short but even when I use a tool for additional leverage it eventually lets go.

I am familiar with the idea of lubricating a chuck but it seems oily enough and it is pretty much brand new; its not rusty and full of grit.

I am minded to get a keyless chuck. I see these seem popular on Youtube.

What are peoples experiences and do they recommend a particular brand for hobby use?

All comments most appreciated.

The Albrecht is the one to go for.

Hi

I've got a Vertex keyless with integral arbour for my mill which is great,had it a long time, but they are now quite pricey. I more recently bought a 2MT integral arbour keyless from Rotagrip, not Vertex but it was their cheaper unmarked brand model, very pleased with it, both in accuracy and build quality.

Dave

The cheapo ones on my supermarket bench drills were pretty good and easy to use so I had a closer look

Rohm make them, probbly for about 15 quid a pop

A proper Rohm would cost the same as the drill did, 100+ quid

As Greensands says Albrecht are excellent although cost a fortune new there are many used available from eBay at much reduced cost, you just need to be careful what you bid for as not all have decent jaws as can be seen in the pictures, avoid any that don't show picture of the jaws closed,
I use 3mm, 6.3mm and 8mm types mounted on good quality arbors.

Emgee

I too have a Vertex keyless that has worked well for many years.

Thor

I quite likes the one Ketan @ARC sent me for the milling for beginners series so bought another two, 10mm for the X3 mill and 13mm for the lathe The one he sent now tends to get used on the CNC and there is no sign of vibration or coming loose and it is often run at 5000rpm. Not had a drill slip in any of them and they run true enough all on ARC arbors..

Thanks guys, your help is invaluable.

The variety of prices is amazing, concentrating on 13mm and MT3:

Albrecht - circa £260

Vertex - circa £150

Porta (Rotagrip) - circa £60 + taper

Warco £36 + arbor @ £13.65

ARC - circa £23 + taper@ £6.55

LINQUAN JING (ebay, <16mm) - £15.99 including taper.

Based on customer service I think that the ARC might be worth a punt but oh those Albrecht chucks look sexy.

drill chuck link

I will report back, don't hold your breath, my birthday isn't for another week or so.

I was fortunate enough to get an SPI brand keyless chuck from Enco back before they closed and got a heckuva deal. Not as good as the Albrecht, but also not as expensive. I have no complaints with mine.

Note there are "reverse lock" keyless chucks. These have a ratchet that prevents loosening, released by a ring at the arbor end. Though not particularly useful on the lathe, I would not be without one on the mill. It is secure enough to grip milling cutters for spot facing, though of course not stiff enough for actual milling.

I have a Albrecht from a friend at car booty for £10. My go to & great for all jobs. But they do come loose if you try back out a tight tap. I also bought a Chinesium version which is pretty accurate. I can also vouch for the arceuro arbors. Had a few & all have been spot on.

Steve.

A German made Rohm for £73 on Amazon, a good middle ground between a 260 quid Albrecht and no name imports. 

Link isn't working but you could find it 10 seconds on Amazon. 

Edited By Pete. on 30/12/2021 22:50:23

Edited By Pete. on 30/12/2021 22:51:19

I have a vintage Rohm that works fine.

I used to have a bench mounted pillar drill fitted with a keyless chuck purchased on Ali express. It was good for the price (probably £20 ish)

In the picture posted by Steviegtr of the 1-16mm chuck if the arbor is fitted to the chuck then I would be concerned with the amount of clearance between the back of the chuck and the spindle.
Seems to me the diameter of the taper is too large at the big end.

Emgee

The only disadvantage of a keyless chuck over a conventional type is that when used in the milling machine, a lot of headroom is lost.

Maybe not an issue on larger machines, but it needs to be taken into consideration on smaller hobby type mills.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

I'd not choose a keyless as my one and only chuck. Although I mostly use keyless (Albrecht and Jacobs) there are times when only a keyed chuck (various Jacobs from the quality years) will do.

First thing to remember with keyless chucks is that they need good quality drill shanks. If the shank is damaged due to spinning they won't hold well. A one time spin can be cut away, leaving a small depression to clear the jaws, and the chuck will still hold properly. But the sort of shank abuse a keyed chuck can accept won't fly.

A damaged shank creates a serious risk of damaging the chuck jaws.

Keeping a good set of drills for machine use only so they can be treated with appropriate care is best policy but frequently not fiscally possible so there is always the risk of shank damage from use in the hand drill. Especially from the crappy keyless chucks fitted to battery drills. I've yet to meet one that holds well when hammer drilling or bouncing when trying to deal with a poor, out of round, hole or local material variations. Makita standard issue currently seem to be rather poor.

A keyless chuck relies on axial pressure to maintain grip so needs a firm feed to settle into the cut without vibration or wobble. Enlarging holes can be fraught. No sneaking up. As soon as the drill vibrates loosening is likely.

Because the chuck needs axial movement of the drill to generate full grip, only a few tho' but still movement, the drill must not be allowed to bottom out in the chuck. If it does things tend to jam up and be a right pain to unjam whilst taking appropriate care not to damage the chuck. Grip on a slipping drill can be stopped by extra pressure but the resulting axial slide may bottom the shank. Best practice is to stop and refit the drill.

Shanks with flats, either 3 or 6 are chancy. Nicely machined ones seem to be OK but the general run of hex shanks on hole saws and similar will slide back. Not good.

Bottom line is a good keyless is a precision tool and should be used as such. A bad keyless is for throwing at things or, possibly, a paperweight.

Clive

Most of the annoyances of ordinary keyless chucks can be much reduced by the reverse lock type. Here is what a Rohm model looks like, I think it is 1.5mm to 13mm and is a thread mount. You can see the lock ring with release direction arrow. I made up the arbor to minimise the height, which is little more than a key type.

Operation of the locking ring is very intuitive, scarcely noticed once you are familiar with it. In fact, the chuck is sold primarily for impact use on a portable drill, but is made to a high standard, and concentricity is excellent. It does have holes for C spanner release, but this has never been necessary in ordinary use on the mill.

Malcom

Thanks for telling us about locking keyless chucks for use on impact drivers et al. Never realised that such things were made.

Quick Google shows that Toolstation offer at 13 mm one with a threaded mount for £11.50 (ish). I may indulge myself as the one on my Makita battery drill is getting iffy. Official Makita replacements are more expensive too.

Clive

I normally have an ER25 collet chuck installed in the mill and put up with constant swapping of collets when I need to do a bit of drilling. I recently had a project which involved a fair number of tapped holes and the thought of changing collets for the spotting drill, then the tapping size drill and finally the tap made my wrists hurt just thinking about it - so I treated myself to a keyless chuck and arbor from Ketan's Tool Emporium. It seems to be well made and accurate in use. Unlike my work! Not silly cheap but not outrageously expensive, either. I'm well pleased with it.

John

Clive

Interesting find, and should be good for intended purpose. Like the ordinary low cost keyless chucks that come with portable drills, closing may be very low geared. Another possible source of quicker closing traditional keyless and locking is Metabo, the first type on the following webpage are well made, again for percusion use. Whether easy to get in the UK I don`t know. They are long though.

**LINK**

Edited By Macolm on 31/12/2021 12:52:36