Cordless drills that don't ****, Chuck related

[Robinson1]

Right now between my shop and work truck I've got four cordless drills. One Dewalt and three Bosch. One of the Bosch drills is 5-6 years old. The other two Bosch drills are 2-3 years old. The Dewalt I bought a few months ago.

They all have what I consider to be junk chucks. Constantly Chuck smaller bits off center and loosen while drilling. I was using the oldest Bosch last night and it dropped the bit three times while drilling four holes.

I will admit the Bosch drills are getting a lot of wear with the oldest probably being worn out completely. But the Dewalt hasn't seen much use at all and it's almost as bad as the oldest Bosch.

I know Milwaukee has known Chuck issues. But I've never heard anyone complain about Bosch as they use Rohm chucks. I've never been impressed with Dewalts drills to be completely honest but the price was right and I was hoping it would have a decent Chuck. Oh well.

So does any manufacture build a cordless drill with a high quality Chuck that won't attempt to drive me crazy? What about a keyed Chuck? Anyone still putting those on cordless tools?

 

[48548]

I think the chuck on my Milwaukee v28 1/2 is really nice and I like that it is one handed as well.

 

[PelicanPines]

I have about 7 drills... 4 dewalt, 2 Milwaukee, 1 ridgid... I use several every day and have yet to have a problem ONCE... provided I properly chuck the bit and actually appropriately tighten the chuck.

Perhaps practice will help.

I also chuck bits in a key'ed drill press often and also ... don't have issues.

 

[tarbellb]

Do yourself a favor and just replace the chuck.

Dewalt did/does equip some of their drills with a Rohm chuck, which is going to be about as good as it gets for consumer grade keyless chuck options.

If you are looking here are some deals:

Medium tier - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DD7KS5O/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Better - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DD7PVME/?tag=atomicindus08-20

My favorite - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007R62CDI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Good luck.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I had the PITA newer Milwaukee chuck that wouldn't hold a bit. Swapped over to a Jacobs 1/2" from Cripe Distributing, and no issues since.

 

[Packard V8]

So does any manufacture build a cordless drill with a high quality Chuck that won't attempt to drive me crazy? What about a keyed Chuck? Anyone still putting those on cordless tools?

I've been using motor drills for sixty years and yes, keyless chucks are really convenient, but no, I've never had one hold as tightly and last as long as a keyed chuck, so maybe we're stuck with the tradeoffs.

In the past ten years or so, I've never seen a battery drill with a keyed chuck. I have an OLD Black & Decker Industrial 13.2-volt which has a keyed chuck and a metal gear housing. It's one of the best ever, so I've kept it even though batteries are NLA.

provided I properly chuck the bit and actually appropriately tighten the chuck.

A bit condescending there. I've got big hands, a good grip and many years of experience. Tightening with the torque setting at max, if I know it's about to be pushed hard in steel, I'll resort to leather gloves, as some chucks are likely to chew the web between thumb and finger and then some drills still slip.

jack vines

 

[jubilee]

I've been able to replace my most used keyless chucks with keyed chucks. Those damn keyless always seem to slip, then back off when I most need them.

 

[MaineGuide]

The chuck on my Makita XPH07 has been great, holds strong, and to my eye has much less runout than my Milwaukee and Dewalt drills, though I don't use it in hammer mode at all.

 

[alien]

Some of my drills have a middle point that locks the chuck between forward and reverse. When I do that and give the chuck a good twist I have never had a problem. When I cheat and use the drill to tighten the chuck I have had a few drop bits and usually at the worst time and place!

 

[Hermann-the-german]

Have you ever tried out a chuck made by Röhm (Roehm, Rohm) ? They have very nice full metal chucks for many purposes. May be a bit heavy for a handheld cordless ...

 

[DFB]

Never had problems with any my cordless Makita drill chucks. (had three of them)

And I really don't have any chuck problems with my Milwaukee's either.


The M12 Fuel drill grips bits especially well as does my brushed M18. Though I do think the chuck on my Gen 1 M18 Fuel is just so so compared to something like my old Makita. I don't much care for the way the jaws clamp down on a bit and the inside grooving is somewhat different than the others And actually looking closely all the Milwaukee drill drivers each have different inside jaw groove pattern but I cant say I have any issues with any of them .


The old brushed M12 I use that a lot would drop a few bits on occasion operator error mostly And really have to tighten it down good,

But the absolute worse I ever used was a Hitachi. It would drop bits most all the time after repeated starts and stops

I always blamed the instant braking for that.

 

[losvre]

Metabo and Fein drills made in Germany have no issues with the chuck.

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[Ign]

Once I figured out cordless drills "lock" when not in use I was able to get the chucks tighter.

If anyone is still trying to tighten against the drill motor you're doing it wrong or at least not getting maximum tightness.

But OP I have nothing truly applicable to your original question. I just deal with my myriad of Milwaukee chucks, but I'm not impressed. I agree the original V28 chucks were good but the form factor is otherwise clunky and obsolete compared to today's cordless drills.

 

[Ign]

Metabo and Fein drills made in Germany have no issues with the chuck.

Sent from my SM-A510F using Tapatalk

Monte? Is that you?

Seriously, kudos for answering the actual question. I admit that's more than I did.

 

[Ign]

Never had problems with any my cordless Makita drill chucks. (had three of them)

And I really don't have any chuck problems with my Milwaukee's either.


The M12 Fuel drill grips bits especially well as does my brushed M18. Though I do think the chuck on my Gen 1 M18 Fuel is just so so compared to something like my old Makita. I don't much care for the way the jaws clamp down on a bit and the inside grooving is somewhat different than the others And actually looking closely all the Milwaukee drill drivers each have different inside jaw groove pattern but I cant say I have any issues with any of them .


The old brushed M12 I use that a lot would drop a few bits on occasion operator error mostly And really have to tighten it down good,

But the absolute worse I ever used was a Hitachi. It would drop bits most all the time after repeated starts and stops

I always blamed the instant braking for that.

My 2410 did this incessantly until, again, I figured out to crank it down hard when NOT on the trigger. It might take 3/4 revolution but it'll lock the spindle.

The problem is more pronounced- IME - on 12V drills 'cause they just don't have the grunt if you're still trying to tighten the chuck against the drill motor.

 

[PureLeaf]

Metabo and Fein drills made in Germany have no issues with the chuck.

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This. Both use Rohm chucks I believe too. I have both drills, and do not recommend the Metabo for a litany of reasons, particularly related to their poor customer service.

The Fein 4 speed drill however is fantastic to use.

 

[exmaxima1]

I do most of my tapping with a cordless drill, and while I generally like my Bosch drills their chucks have become worthless. They won't even drill a modest size hole in aluminum anymore.

I bought a pair of Masterforce (Menards house brand) drills with metal chucks---problem solved, they work great. No more non-metal chucks for me.

 

[loudog212]

Once I figured out cordless drills "lock" when not in use I was able to get the chucks tighter.

If anyone is still trying to tighten against the drill motor you're doing it wrong or at least not getting maximum tightness.

This. I use an older DeWalt 18v XRP hammer drill with all metal chuck every day and I don't have any problems

 

[DadsTools]

I have problems with runout on the newer Dewalts. The $15 HF drill is better. How embarrassing.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I have 5 cordless drills, 1 Mikita, 4 Bosch 18 volt all still Nicad. The Makita I don't bother with anymore. The Bosch are of course is older and I have no issues with the chuck. Maybe the newer ones are not the same standard. The 6 batteries are still standing up, but I do totally discharge them in the flashlight until totally dead before charging them up. The drills are probably about 9 years old, mind you one drill is only up to drilling drywall or light materials.

 

[American Locomotive]

The higher-end DeWalts have Rohm chucks, the newer Makitas use a nice Japanese chuck IIRC. My older 18v Lithium Makita uses a Jacob's chuck that's pretty average.

 

[Davefr]

So does any manufacture build a cordless drill with a high quality Chuck that won't attempt to drive me crazy? What about a keyed Chuck? Anyone still putting those on cordless tools?

Yes, Festool.

It's the finest cordless drill I've ever used. The chuck is excellent, the speed control is very precise and it has great ergonomics.

The price is pretty stiff though.

 

[engineer2]

Makita XPH07 has a nice chuck that appears to be the same as other Makita chucks. Once had one act up after 4 years, but a shot of WD-40 fixed it.

 

[454ragtop]

OP, didn't you post this same thing a couple months ago?

 

[DFB]

My 2410 did this incessantly until, again, I figured out to crank it down hard when NOT on the trigger. It might take 3/4 revolution but it'll lock the spindle.

The problem is more pronounced- IME - on 12V drills 'cause they just don't have the grunt if you're still trying to tighten the chuck against the drill motor.

Good tip and that's something I most never often do but I will remember that now.

I also notice in the Milwaukee OM manuals for the drills it's recommend that bits be raised slightly aprox. 1/16" and not rest against the bottom of the chuck

 

[losvre]

Monte? Is that you?

Seriously, kudos for answering the actual question. I admit that's more than I did.

Monte I think is on vacation and so I replied on his behalf[emoji4]

If it was Monte he would have told is all of the brands carrying a Rohm chuck and how many turns it takes to get them tight[emoji16]

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[Monte]

Monte? Is that you?

Seriously, kudos for answering the actual question. I admit that's more than I did.

lol no this is me

Fein 4 speed and the (new) 2 speed models have a carbide tipped chuck made by Röhm for Fein. These are good. No slipping.

 

[bob15]

Metabo SB18LTX. What a drill!

Once you use a Metabo drill, you will never want a different drill

 

[Ign]

Good tip and that's something I most never often do but I will remember that now.

I also notice in the Milwaukee OM manuals for the drills it's recommend that bits be raised slightly aprox. 1/16" and not rest against the bottom of the chuck

I thought that was SOP for all of 'em. I never let the bit bottom out in the chuck before snugging it up, be it any of my hand drills or my mill or my lathe or.......

 

[ScottsGT]

Good tip and that's something I most never often do but I will remember that now.

I also notice in the Milwaukee OM manuals for the drills it's recommend that bits be raised slightly aprox. 1/16" and not rest against the bottom of the chuck

You're supposed to read those things?

I'll try this with mine since I've reached a point of frustration with my M12 letting go of bits.

 

[Robinson1]

OP, didn't you post this same thing a couple months ago?

No but I want ranting about it in another thread a while back

 

[Robinson1]

All right guys thanks for all the replies. Sounds like I should try a Makita or one of the German drills.

 

[Robinson1]

Perhaps practice will help.

I also chuck bits in a key'ed drill press often and also ... don't have issues.

I find it interesting that you would immediately jump to the conclusion that I can't figure out how to use a drill chuck.

I've been a general contractor since 2006 and used drills regularly for years before that. I didn't have problems with the older drills.

It's the product not the user.

 

[losvre]

Metabo SB18LTX. What a drill!

Once you use a Metabo drill, you will never want a different drill

I have two of them. The older one is 7 years almost and just now I think the batteries starting to age.

Only caveat is they have max. Rpm of 1400.

This is the older model and not sure how good the new ones are.

I also prefer the brushed version on the drill versus brushless due to the raw power.

I have heard good things for the brushless Fein drill though and a roumor that they develop drills compatible and interchangeable with all of their batteries, 12V to 18V.

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[skookum1]

Makita XPH07 has a Yukiwa chuck made in Japan. Great drill

 

[tarbellb]

All right guys thanks for all the replies. Sounds like I should try a Makita or one of the German drills.

A bunch of relatively new drills and you arent going to just replace the chuck?

For less then a new battery you can buy a superior replacement chuck that will outlive your next 3 drills....

Oh I should mention... its ONE bolt and 5 mins to replace.

 

[Robinson1]

Yeah I probably will try to replace some chucks. But in the future I'll also probably lean towards the German drills.

 

[Monte]

I have heard good things for the brushless Fein drill though and a roumor that they develop drills compatible and interchangeable with all of their batteries, 12V to 18V.

The new 18 volt 2-speed Fein models come with the "MultiVolt" interface so you can use 12, 14 and 18 volt batteries with this tool.
The chuck and accessoires of the 18 volt tools also will fit the 12 volt model and vice versa. And all new 18 volt tools are now Made in Germany of course

 

[sqaurelizard]

I have a 2 year old Panasonic 18v here steel chuck and never had it slip also in fairness the makita lxtI have has never had any issue either

 

[losvre]

The new 18 volt 2-speed Fein models come with the "MultiVolt" interface so you can use 12, 14 and 18 volt batteries with this tool.
The chuck and accessoires of the 18 volt tools also will fit the 12 volt model and vice versa. And all new 18 volt tools are now Made in Germany of course

Multivolt but no multispeed, why?



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