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Jammed drill bit in chuck help!

jerseyjeff | Posted in Tools for Home Building on November 6, 2004 05:42am

I was helping out a friend and needed to drill a 1 1/8″ hole in a 2×4.  Easy enough,  I say,  and pull out my makita impact driver (left the drill at home)  and pop in the makita chuck,  tighten around a spade bit and go to town.

Thank god for ear protection

So my driver cheerfully slugs the bit through,  and when I go to free the bit,  it doesnt budge 

Crap.

I call makita,  and they say to clamp it a vice and tap it with a dead blow hammer.

Tried that

Didnt work

Tried a couple of pops with a brass drift and a heavier hammer…  still no luck

Any suggestions before I give up?

(I am going to try and find a 12V drill body to keep with the driver,  it will make my life sooo much easier.)

 

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Replies

  1. RalphWicklund | Nov 06, 2004 05:56am | #1

    Did you try clamping the chuck in the vise (the front part that turns), putting the drill in reverse, holding on real tight and then pulling the trigger?

    Sort of like loosening a keyless chuck.

  2. DavidxDoud | Nov 06, 2004 05:59am | #2

    reverse the direction and bore a hole partway thru a 2X...

    shoot some penetrating lube into it and hit it harder...

    seriously...

    do make sure you are striking it at a/the strategic location -

    if you're gonna give up,  send it to me - don't forget the case,  batteries,  and charger <G>

    "there's enough for everyone"
    1. jerseyjeff | Nov 06, 2004 06:31am | #4

      the impact driver is just fine!  it happily spit out the chuck with the frozen bit in it,  so I am gonna keep it... I am hoping to salvage the chuck that came with it. 

      in fact if I could only keep one cordless powertool,  this would be it

      (note I am unwilling to part with my jigsaw, circ saw, sawzall, router, and.....)

      I do like the freezer idea,  and I will report back on it

      1. Sasquatch | Nov 06, 2004 06:41am | #5

        I had the same problem.  I was overly stressed about it because I was in the middle of a job.  I was thinking of using my Hart Woody to loosen the bit, which surely would have loosened most any bit, perhaps even the integrity of the entire tool.  I tried several creative things and finally came up with a solution.  I will not post it because I do not know if it would have worked if I had not tried several other things first.  My final conclusion is:  The bit should have the same hardness as the tool.  That way, if something sticks, it will only take a small tap to relieve the constriction.Les Barrett Quality Construction

        1. Davo304 | Nov 06, 2004 10:14am | #6

          Since many of you have responded, I take it that this is a normal thing to have a bit get hung up inside your Makita drills.

          If so...then throw the  darn thing away! Better yet, report this to the company and ask for another drill in exchange.  Tools should not be getting hung up due to routine usuage...period! I own a few Makita tools ( saws and sanders) and I like them very well... cause they have performed well....but it's a bit troubling to hear about the difficulties with your drills /drivers.

          You may all say I'm nuts..but if a tool causes trouble with just routine use, then there is definately a design flaw somewhere. I own Hilti drills and drivers...and I've pretty much abused them at times...and they have never hung up on me for any reason. They have and still do, perform flawlessly...they are more than 7 years old and I use them daily.

          Davo

          1. Davo304 | Nov 06, 2004 10:29am | #7

            Bit of humor...true story

            Years back (1980s) the 357 magnum was becoming the weapon of choice over the 38 with police departments thanks in large part to the Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" movies....

            Anyway, a new , shiny model just came on the market by the gun mfger, Dan Wesson. This particular police department re-outfitted all personnel with said revolver.  Oh the rave about Dan Wesson handguns at that time ( similar to what I seem to hear about Makita all the time).

            Well, after being "field tested the hard way" in a couple of real live shootouts with the bad guys, the cops traded away those magificient looking weapons...because

            After firing 6 rounds in rapid succession, the barrel tended to expand due to the excessive heat of the magnum rounds and in turn somehow kept the spent rounds from being ejected from the cylinder....hence, after shooting 6 shots, the cop was a sitting duck. These guys took to pounding the revolver on the sidewalk in a vain attempt of getting the spent cartridges to eject so they could reload and fire.

            I guess maybe the cops would have had better luck just walking across the street to the nearest 7/11 store and throwing their gun into the ice chest for a few minutes...then perhaps a light tap, and the cartridges would have popped out?  

            Catch my drift?

            Slogan for today...If it won't work when needed...then it's no longer needed.

            Davo

          2. jerseyjeff | Nov 06, 2004 03:04pm | #8

            I completely agree with if it doesnt work you dont need it,  and I just want to make sure that it is clear that the problem I have is with the 1/4 inch keyless accessory chuck that makita sent with the driver,  not the driver itself! 

            I also always thought that the chuck looked a little cheesy and have been using it as a last resort....  

            I am going to try and find a 12V drill body to toss into my impact driver bag.

  3. stonefever | Nov 06, 2004 06:07am | #3

    Stick the thing in the freezer for a bit.  Then tap it.

  4. User avater
    BossHog | Nov 06, 2004 03:44pm | #9

    I can't help but think about the picture Wrecked Angle posted about unjamming/loosening his drill chuck.

    Anybody remember that? Or maybe save a copy of it?

    With my wife, I get no respect. I fell asleep with a cigarette in my hand. She lit it. [Rodney Dangerfield]

    1. mitch | Nov 06, 2004 04:27pm | #10

      check ebay-  there's few guys that regularly have various units without batteries, charger, etc, for excellent prices.  that's where/how i bought my 12v makita impact driver to go along with the regular 6916 drill/driver.

      on a related note-  a couple years ago i bought a 3107 milwaukee right angle drill and when i went to reconfigure it, for the very first time, to change the drive speed i COULD NOT GET THE FRIGGIN CHUCK OFF per the instructions.  finally had to take it to local service center where they had to apply fairly extreme measures.  the moral of the story:  always make sure such chucks are very securely tightened, otherwise they continue to get tighter with use, making them dang near impossible to remove!  don't make the mistake of not really cranking them on, in the misbegotten hope that it will be easier to take them off- just the opposite will be true.

      m

    2. User avater
      NickNukeEm | Nov 06, 2004 04:40pm | #11

      I think it was a Panasonic, and the pic showed the pipe/strap wrench tightened on the chuck the wrong way.  The point Panasonic made in the manual (Ihave since bought one, love it, and got one bit stuck in the chuck also) is that normal chucks (not the 1/4" quick connect variety) should not be used with the driver in the impact mode; there is even a warning on my driver stating as much.  When using the drill-bit driving chuck, the driver should be in the drill mode.

      BTW, Panasonics solution - which worked for me - was to tighten a wrench on the chuck and smack the wrench with a hammer.

      I never met a tool I didn't like!

      1. mitch | Nov 06, 2004 07:25pm | #12

        i remember that post- it was a panasonic and it recommended using a pair of pipe wrenches, but the picture had the wrenches bassackwards for the indicated direction of motion.

        m

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