My old drill, which uses a chuck, stopped working. No idea why. So I bought a new one. It's a Black & Decker chuckless drill. Instead of a chuck, the idea is you tighten it by twisting it. But that doesn't really work as well as a chuck, because with most drill bits, you have no leverage - you can't hold it in place without it moving as you attempt to tighten the chuck. Is there a trick? I've tried holding the drill bit in place with a wrench. Makes almost no difference.

 

Never seen a chuckless drill. Can you post a pic or a link?

 

did your old drill have a key? a lot of drills use keyless chucks now they dont hold the bit as tight as most keyed chucks would but they are adequate for most jobs and allow you to change out bits quickly by just holding the chuck and applying the trigger either in forward to tighten or reverse to loosen depending on if your installing or removing bit.

 

Whoops..... that would be a keyless chuck as all drills have a chuck.

I tighten mine by holding the collar and giving the trigger a quick squeeze.
Loosen..... just the opposite.

 

Black and Decker 6.5A 1/2-in Hammer Drill | Canadian Tire

(response to stickshift)

 

I get that it's supposed to be 'faster', because you don't have to use the key. I kept losing the key. Every time I needed to use the drill I had to look for the key which wasted a lot of time. Once I gave up and bought a new key. Kept misplacing that one too. Finally I taped it to the cord so that wouldn't happen again. Then the drill stopped working... So when I went to buy a new one, I saw they were selling 'keyless' chuck drills and thought that would be a good idea. But the bits keep falling out or getting pushed all the way to the back of the chuck when I need them to be full length, because you can't tighten it up enough. It's also a waste of time for a different reason.

 

I read that suggestion when I was googling the answer, earlier. Tried it and it made no difference. Just tried it again - nearly broke my finger - it was on 'hammer'. There's no lights down there, can't really see what I'm doing, I already boarded up the project up for the day, so I can't test this method out effectively. I'll try it again tomorrow.

 

still often see keyed chucks on larger corded hammer drills and I would probably want a keyed chuck on a drill like that myself, as for the keyless works fairly good on smaller drills and cordless drills might see about getting one with a key if you cant live with it.

 

Yeah, that's a keyless chuck. Personally, I love them but the drills that have them are higher end than the one you have so maybe they work better as a result.

 

Did you try with it on reverse?

 

It wouldn't work if it was in reverse. I tried it forwards several times, using pliers, and using the 'hold the collar' method. It never gets tight enough. As soon as I start drilling, the bit gets pushed back, so it's too short, so I can't drill the holes I need to. Or it just falls out. If I can't make it work tomorrow, I'll go buy a really long bit, or attempt to return the drill and get a better one. One with a keyed chuck, and the key can't get lost because you store it in a slot on the cable.

The only 'bit' I can tighten with this drill is a cement mixer bit. Because I can grab the end with my hand and hold it in place while twisting the collar. I can't do that with regular drill bits. But even with that one, it still falls out after a short time. Maybe this drill is only meant for IKEA type stuff, not serious work.

 

My method (granted most times my bits are 7/16 dia or under) is to hold the bit with my thumb and forefinger like a Frenchman holding a cigarette (backwards sorta?). That leaves the other 3 fingers and pad of the thumb to grab the collar as I blip the trigger. Once snug I check to see if the bit is centered, grab the chuck like it's the cap on an obstinate twist top beer bottle, pull the trigger and tighten it all the way. Now I don't even have a corded drill, but I do have an 18V hammer drill and unless it's in hammer or high torque mode I can almost stall the drill if my hands aren't slick. Never had a fully tightened bit loosen up unless it was slightly off center to begin with.

 

While I've used the motor to tighten/loosen the bit, often I'll just take one hand on the chuck collar and the other on the drill and twist. On the rare occasion that I don't get it tight the first time - the 2nd attempt always works.

 

By far a keyed chuck is better. My corded drill has it. But my battery operated drills are key less. I don't like the methods of holding the chuck and activating the drill to install or remove the drill bit. I think it's a safety issue (as the OP almost found out). Extremely small drills are sometimes hard to grip in some drills. But the better quality drills will allow the smallest drill bit to be inserted.

 

I don't like this method either. It's not simpler or faster or more effective and yes, it's more dangerous. In case I can return the drill, do you have any recommendations for a decent corded keyless chuck drill that doesn't have this problem. I'd prefer one with a key though.

 

I don't recall the brands but do remember discovering that some keyless chucks work much better than others. Do some testing at the stores or maybe some searching.

On another note, I had a rigid drill and could not tighten the bits properly. Noticed that the chuck had three spacers (?) one on each nose piece so the chuck could tighten down onto smaller bits. But one was missing. Returned the drill and all was fine.

Bud

 

I agree that keyless chocks are not good but the above statement is part of your problem.
Bits are meant to be fully inserted for maximum grip and if they are too short you should get longer ones.

Having said this it is possible to drill with a partially inserted bit if you don't apply too much pressure.

 

Just a few random thoughts. Some bits have three flats that need to be lined up with the jaws, and if not the bit only needs to slip a little bit before it becomes loose. The jaws need to rest firmly and equally against the bit, so bits that have gouges or ridges on the shank will not tighten properly and need to be corrected or replaced. It is possible for a chuck to feel tight when the bit is off center or cocked at a bit of an angle, so it is necessary to tighten the chuck by hand to the point where it is close but not quite there yet, and make sure that the bit is properly positioned before tightening it. There are advantages to both keyed and keyless chucks, and I have and use multiple ones regularly, but I don't recall using, nor would I suggest using a keyless chuck for hammer drill bits, etc. where vibration is a factor.

 

I found this other drill, a Dewalt DW112: which is keyless but much easier to use because there's 2 parts to the chuck. You hold the small part with one hand while tightening up the larger part with your other hand. So you have enough leverage to actually tighten the chuck. This drill does a better job - the bits don't slide back, and they stay in for a long enough time that I can finish drilling a hole, or finish mixing a bucket of cement. It doesn't have the hammer drill feature unfortunately. My conclusion is the Black & Decker drill chuck is poorly designed.

 

I always hesitate to talk brands because there are a lot of strong opinions regarding one brand over another, and sometimes it simply comes down to buying what one can afford. And it particularly bothers me to say anything about companies like Black & Decker, but have to agree with you that the B&D is probably not designed as well as others. Once a manufacturer of well designed and well constructed tools, they have unfortunately evolved into a mere shadow of yesteryear.