Keyed or Keyless chuck

[imagineer]

I'm needing to buy a drill chuck for my Jet mill and am finding options for keyed and keyless drill chucks.

My drill press has a keyed chuck that works fine, other than occasionally losing the key. Are there any downsides to going with a keyless drill chuck?

[milomilo]

You cannot run them in reverse.

[Randyjaco]

A keyed chuck is much more versatile and reliable. I have a half dozen keyless chucks and seldom use them.

[Shade Tree Welder]

Originally Posted by milomilo

You cannot run them in reverse.

Oh please explain this to me...

[mccutter]

A little OT but I have these keyless chucks for FREE to members. They are only 3/8-10mm cap. though. The thread is 1/2-20, they are all metal construction and VERY nice and will hold a 1/16" drill bit unlike some 1/2" chucks. PM if you want 3 for $10 shipped USPS Priority padded mailer. Larger quanitities available...

[GWIZ]

Originally Posted by Shade Tree Welder

Oh please explain this to me...

Precision machinist chucks albrecht, and style types will open-up if used in reverse.

[LKeithR]

It depends somewhat on what kind of work you're doing. I run both keyed and keyless chucks on my lathe and mill. I've got some good, name brand keyless chucks (Albrecht, for example) and after a lot of use I find they do tend to lose some of their grip. If I'm power tapping, for example, I'll always use a keyed chuck, like a 16N Jacobs, because I know it won't slip on me. For lighter use, smaller drills, centre drills or jobs where you're doing a lot of swapping, a keyless chuck is just fine. You just have to understand that, like any other tool with moving parts, they will wear out over time.

In the end there's no need to limit yourself to only one or two chucks. If I counted all the chucks I have in my shop there's probably at least a dozen to choose from...

[Shade Tree Welder]

Originally Posted by GWIZ

Precision machinist chucks albrecht, and style types will open-up if used in reverse.

Open the door and they fall in the trap...

They don't open when used in reverse, that is incorrect.

What actually happens, is... they can open/loosen when undergoing high acceleration or deceleration, that can loosen the chuck and the momentum of the actuating collar will loosen the chuck.

I have never seen a drill press or belt driven mill, like a bridgeport, have that kind of accel./decel.

https://www.albrecht-germany.com/en/.../reverse-lock/

[GWIZ]

Originally Posted by Shade Tree Welder

Open the door and they fall in the trap...

They don't open when used in reverse, that is incorrect.

What actually happens, is... they can open/loosen when undergoing high acceleration or deceleration, that can loosen the chuck and the momentum of the actuating collar will loosen the chuck.

I have never seen a drill press or belt driven mill, like a bridgeport, have that kind of accel./decel.

https://www.albrecht-germany.com/en/.../reverse-lock/

You been hanging around too many democrats.

The information you posted is specific to albrecht chucks models that have a reverse-Lock feature. (not all their key-less chucks have a lock).
they imply the lock prevents unintentional opening with very quick spindle stops
they allude on saying you can run the chucks in reverse safely.

I have manually, power tapped thousands of holes with a bridge-port mill and the precision key-less chucks will open-up when reversed..
I'm not a big fan of tapping with keyed chucks because the inconsistency on running true.

my home mill does not have instant reverse I use my albrecht chucks to start the threads under power and finish to depth with a tap handle.
If its a through hole I have used keyed chucks with my home mill powering in and out, you have to wait for the motor to stop before you switch in reverse.

[Shade Tree Welder]

Originally Posted by GWIZ

You been hanging around too many democrats.

The information you posted is specific to albrecht chucks models that have a reverse-Lock feature. (not all their key-less chucks have a lock).
they imply the lock prevents unintentional opening with very quick spindle stops
they allude on saying you can run the chucks in reverse safely.

I have manually, power tapped thousands of holes with a bridge-port mill and the precision key-less chucks will open-up when reversed..
I'm not a big fan of tapping with keyed chucks because the inconsistency on running true.

my home mill does not have instant reverse I use my albrecht chucks to start the threads under power and finish to depth with a tap handle.
If its a through hole I have used keyed chucks with my home mill powering in and out, you have to wait for the motor to stop before you switch in reverse.

I put the link in because it explains why they loosen.

Who's keyed chucks do you run that have that much run-out to effect a tap?

My jacobs all run <0.001.