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Fixed my stuck Dewalt drill chuck with a hammer and PB Blaster
This is apparently a common problem. I left my drill in an area that was humid for a while, and the chuck froze.
This is apparently a common problem. I don't know how much credit to give to PB Blaster - I suspect it would work with any other light lubricant, but this seems to be exactly the kind of thing this product was made for.
I expected the action to end up feeling kind of gritty in the end, but after lots of opening and closing it feels about as good as new.
I would have tried pulling the chuck off, which looks pretty easy, except this appears to be the only brand of drills in the world that uses a torx bit I don't have instead of a flathead.
I'm sure this problem is due to use of tool / carbon steel, instead of stainless steel. And I honestly don't think there's a reason to change it. Tool / carbon steels are more durable, in ways that seem likely to be necessary in a drill chuck. And it turns out the problem is entirely fixable.
- Turn chuck as hard as you can (by hand) in the "open" direction.
- Fill tip, and both ends of chuck with PB Blaster.
- Lightly tap tip in a little with hammer.
- Repeat until you get jaws most of the way in.
- Work jaws open and closed, tapping with hammer when necessary, and occasionally adding PB Blaster. This is the long and important part.
This is apparently a common problem. I don't know how much credit to give to PB Blaster - I suspect it would work with any other light lubricant, but this seems to be exactly the kind of thing this product was made for.
I expected the action to end up feeling kind of gritty in the end, but after lots of opening and closing it feels about as good as new.
I would have tried pulling the chuck off, which looks pretty easy, except this appears to be the only brand of drills in the world that uses a torx bit I don't have instead of a flathead.
I'm sure this problem is due to use of tool / carbon steel, instead of stainless steel. And I honestly don't think there's a reason to change it. Tool / carbon steels are more durable, in ways that seem likely to be necessary in a drill chuck. And it turns out the problem is entirely fixable.