Drill, key chuck or “twist” chuck?

[Gary]

I’ve been meaning to ask this question to y’all for a while to see who prefers what type of chuck. I prefer a keyed chuck, I just feel they hold better. Some people prefer a “twist” chuck(one that is rotated and tightened without a key). I’ll personally stick with an old fashioned key chuck but I was curious as to what others use.

Topic

[Dave]

Key chuck
they never gave me any issues

twist chuck
every single one I had was absolute garbage, they always broke

[Jon Hart]

I tend to use keyless chuck while the keyed chuck gives less problems finding cordless tools with a keyed chuck is no easy feat.

and for what I drill most of the time it’s either number plates or thin steel neither of which is an issue or it’s slowly drilling a bolt out

Personally have no issues with keyless chucks as long as you let the drill bit do the work and don’t lean on it.

[James O’Hara]

Keyed Chucks but, then again I am normally drilling really hard metal. They do make key keepers that you can put on a cordless but, then again I do not use anything cordless it is a waste of my hard earned money if you ask me. It takes 10 secs to hook up a electric tool and about 3 to hook up an air tool. I don’t have to buy new batteries, I don’t have to deal with chargers, and I don’t have to buy a new tool when the other two no longer work or they are discontinued.

Also you get far more power and on time out of air and corded tools.

[Gary]

[quote=”MDK22″ post=125161]Keyed Chucks but, then again I am normally drilling really hard metal. They do make key keepers that you can put on a cordless but, then again I do not use anything cordless it is a waste of my hard earned money if you ask me. It takes 10 secs to hook up a electric tool and about 3 to hook up an air tool. I don’t have to buy new batteries, I don’t have to deal with chargers, and I don’t have to buy a new tool when the other two no longer work or they are discontinued.

Also you get far more power and on time out of air and corded tools.[/quote] Same, I need to be able to drill through thicker steel so a keyed chuck works better. Also I prefer corded tools, you know you will never lose efficiency due to a dwindling battery.

[Mike]

I’m actually very strongly in favor of the keyless chuck, pretty much compulsive about them. I’ve always found keyed chucks felt flawed and clumsy, even as a child playing with my father’s drills in the basement before I even understood what they were for. Every keyed chuck drill I’ve ever owned, I converted to a Jacobs brand 1/2″ keyless chuck (I also have this major OCD thing against 3/8″ chucks). There’s two different non-metric industry standard spindle thread sizes that all drills use, chucks can be removed from all of drills I’ve had, and the Jacobs is available at Lowe’s in both threads in both 3/8″ and 1/2″.

Aside from all that nonsense preface, the point is that all my experience with various keyless chucks has been great. They tighten just fine by hand. I’ve had bit slippage a couple of times with keyless vs. many more times with keyed even though less than 10% of my total drill usage has been on keyed chucks. Based on my experience, keyless is better at holding a round drill bit than keyed. This includes drilling thru thin automotive sheet steel and 1/4″-3/8″ structural steel, hole saws in wood and sheet metal, Unibits, and up to 4″ wire wheel and cup brushes.

MDK22/Chevyman21: I know that a good corded drill is normally indispensable, but I have a Mac (Dewalt) 20v MAX 1/2″ cordless that is a total beast. It’s has all the trigger control and massive torque of the 6 amp corded Craftsman Pro drill I’ve sworn by for over a decade. I’ve drilled a lot of holes in 1/4″+ steel plates, and that Mac/DeWalt drill has truly bridged the gap between corded power/control and cordless convenience. That battery will do a full recharge in about 40m, and will provide more than enough juice to drill real metal (which takes forever) until the other battery recharges. For the usual minor drilling and moderate wire wheel used daily, each battery charge last at least a week. I’m not saying to throw out your sensible/affordable corded drills, just retrofit them with the awesome Jacobs chucks. I’ve only had this drill a couple years and I consider it a luxury tool, but I’m just putting it out here that the next level of cordless drills seem to have arrived.

[James O’Hara]

My chucks are all Jacob’s keyed chucks. Also 6A is funny mine is 3.5A. I stand corrected mine is a regular hole shooter 3/8″ and it is what i use all the time and I drill up to 1/4″ with it. I have only had to use my wrist breaker drill the 1970 Makita Spade 1/2″ a couple times. It will eat through steel like butter but, if it catches you best hope you had both hands on it or13″ forearms if not you will break your wrist. I have also used the 3/8″ for an entire 10hr shift installing fire extinguishers into Big Rigs.

[Author]

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