need help with drill press problem

[Alisdair]

i need some help /advice  . the chuck in my drill press keeps falling out . How do i stop this ? .
its a  taper fit 5/8 chuck in heavy duty floor mount press .   im not sure what it takes to lock it in place.

[Bruce]

Carefully inspect the OD of the tapered part for nicks.  If you find any, file them off.  Then sand it smooth with some 320-400 sandpaper.  Don't go crazy with the sandpaper, only spend a couple of minutes.

Next, you need to clean out the bore of the spindle.

When you insert it, you need to align the tab.  Once you have it aligned ram it in quickly.  Then unwind the chuck until the three jaws are fully recessed inside the chuck.  Now give it a couple of taps with your brass hammer. 

[Alisdair]

Thanks Bruce , i'll give that a try later tonite , let you know how it works out , cheers !

[Alisdair]

Thanks again Bruce .    the shaft and spindle had a glassy film on them  , sanded with some 320 and could feel the difference in grip when i popped it into place , now I cant get it back out.....thats just fine by me  !!   

[Bruce]

That's the magic of tapers.  The torque capacity is incredible with tapers.

To get it apart, wind the handle all the way down so the spindle is as far as it goes.  there should now be a slot visible in the spindle.  Into that, you insert a steel wedge.  then tap the wedge with your hammer and out it should come.  The steel wedge is a standard tool for drill presses.  it's about a 10 degree wedge of 1/4 thick steel.  The whole thing's about 4" long.

[Loadedagain]

with all the chinese and offshore tooling showing up at next to free prices this issue is becoming more common. with the very cheap stuff it's not an issue of scratches or oil or nasties in the taper... they're just bad angles! if you get one that just will not stay in and you dont plan on removing it (like a drill press chuck) you can put a few drops of loctite on it. you'll need a heat gun or propane torch to get it out later so don't do it on something you plan on removing on a regular basis!