Does Chuck need a key? keyless vs keyed drills

[beowulf]

Posting this here because I could not find a forum for hand tools.

Anyway, I have a corded Dewalt keyless drill and a corded Ridgid keyless drill and both chucks have been hassles for a long time. I finally had to use a couple of channel lock pliers to change out bits and now even that does not work. They sort of seem to lock up and then I need pliers to unlock the chuck. When it did work it took three large men and a dog to git er done.

Also my keyless Ridgid battery drill has similar problems.
So I am going drill shopping (3/8 inch as I have a half inch drill which I use infrequently) - So my questions:

keyed or keyless?
Brands?
Features - variable speed or whatever?
What if anything could I be doing ? Misusing the drills or whatever?

And would it pay to just buy new chucks for my existing drills - the Dewalt and Ridgid?

Any suggestions welcome.

 

[shovelmike]

I definitely feel more confident about a keyed chuck, much easier to securely tighten it, I always tape the key securely to the cord so it can't be misplaced. Several drills with keyless chucks have not worked well for me.
Having stated the above, my newest drill, a Hercules cordless from Harbor Freight, has worked flawlessly. I manually adjust the jaws close to size, hit the trigger in clockwise..grab the chuck firmly..and it's locked. To release...reverse, then firmly grab the chuck. The drill has an impressive amount of torque and very good battery usage between charges. It's variable speed and reversible.
$100 for drill, battery, and charger. DeWalt cordless carry the same price tag for the same kit, but you might want to carefully examine the chuck since you have had tough luck with the brand.
I have switched out keyless for keyed on drills in the past, usually it's a threaded shaft..if reversible it should also have a set screw.

 

[ArlyA]

I've had deWalt keyless chucks over the course of many years. Some rocked while others bit! Of course deWalt and other the manufacturers have changed them over the years. I can't well you what works well today, but I'd not buy a drill with a keyed one.

 

[Sportsman762]

About the only new 3/8" keyed chucks you can find these days are the Milwaukee Magnum Drills. They are brutes and come in various max speeds ex: 0-750rpm, 0-1200rpm.

I prefer a keyless drill for drilling in wood due to the ease of chucking up a bit and changing one out. However when drilling metal a keyed chuck is nice as they grip a bit much better. Most any name brand will be good for a drill.

You could replace the chuck on a drill, however it would most likely be the same lousy chuck you had before.

 

[Roadworthy]

This may not apply but I have a Dewalt half inch cordless impact drill with a metal chuck. It seems t grab well but over the last ten or fifteen years it is on its third chuck. It's my "go to" drill. Ridgid has lifetime warranties on many of their tools.

 

[buck12]

For most uses I have two Ryobi cordless drills that I use for 95% of my drill chores. I have a 20 year old 1/2” corded DeWalt with keyed chuck when I need a real drill. The chuck holds very well. I do have a very old Craftsman 3/8” with a keyed chuck that has not been used in years.

 

[dlctcg]

Being in the contractor trade... if it is not a drill press I do not want a keyed chuck.... We change bit way to often to fool with a chuck key, I honestly can't imagine going back to a key chuck on a handheld drill. (even our big drills use SDS chucks over keyed).

We use either Makita or Milwaukee tools exclusively, but a big part of that is to limit the different chargers & batteries we need in the company...

I'm a vote for keyless... all day.. everyday... (but I'm also a vote for cordless)

 

[chim]

I have a DeWalt 1/2" keyless 20V, Milwaukee Fuel 1/2" keyless and a Ridgid 1/2" corded keyless. All work just fine. The best way to tighten all 3 of these is NOT grabbing the rotating chuck. The gear trains in them are such that you can't make the motor rotate by twisting the chuck. With the drill not running I can grab and twist the chuck and hear a ratchet sort of sound. Hitting the trigger and trying to hold onto the chuck won't get it nearly as tight.

 

[powersrp]

WD 40 or silicone spray into the chuck will fix the sticky jaws, smooth as butter, i have all 20v dewalt drills ,1/2 and 3/8. , dropped the 1/2 drill from a 10’ladder onto concrete, battery popped off, but nothing busted, they are tough, and powerful.

 

[GeneD14]

I have keyless chucks on my Porter-Cable and my Milwaukee cordless drills. They are way faster than the old chuck key.
I have a large drill press that I converted to a 3/4" keyless chuck. About once/year I have to use channel locks to loosen it.
Hands down, I would choose keyless!