Dumbo here lost a chuck key - please help to find an equivalent

[k0ua]

My drill press (Craftsman) came with a plastic bracket that holds the chuck key by tension. It has worked good for over 25 years. Haven't lost it yet. You just have to get in the habit of always returning the key to its holder each and every time you use it.

 

[GLyford]

Throw the magnet in a ziplock, then put it back. When you need to clean it, pull the whole mess off, turn the bag inside out and chuck it with all the swarf in it, and grab a new one...?

 

[BKBoiss]

^+1. This is just what I was going to suggest.
I to spend more time than I care to admit looking for crap that's right in front of me. Forget what I was "fixing" one day when a had spent a good half hour looking for a small piece when my wife comes out and asks why I'm in such a good mood. As I tell her she kinda looks on the floor where I was working then up at me and smirks and says "did you ever think to look in your boot laces".

 

[SPYDERLK]

Thank you all - especially "Redneck" for the link to the Czech manufacturer - I have sent them an email with the details

If that fails, yes, a new chuck is the only viable solution.

I know others are correct - it will be here somewhere. Maybe if I demolish the shed, the key will materialize in the rubble. The good news is that this incident has already caused a major clean-up with several trailer loads gone to the tip. This is contrary to my usual practice of never throwing away anything that "might come in useful" Amazing how some of those old bits get used when nothing else would do the job. Actually, my dog Jenna or maybe one of the tame possums are the most likely culprits. I don't mind them borrowing tools, if only they would put them back where they found them

Cheers

Alan

I have a chuck key, not lost, but broken teeth. I was hoping for some insight on finding one compatible. No leads yet.

 

[streetisneat]

My problem is my glasses. I put them on my hat over the front and will look for hours for them. Go into the house for something and look in the mirror while washing my hands at the bathroom sink, and guess what, I find my glasses!!!

 

[jim44]

When we cleaned out my dad's 40+ year old shop, I came across a drawer that was just chock full of chuck keys. I guess whenever he replaced a drill or drill press over the years, he just kept the chuck keys for "just in case".

I'm following suit.

 

[buickanddeere]

I tape the chuck key to the power cord to make sure the power is removed and the key doesn't get lost.

 

[Aussiebushman]

Yes Jim, I do the same and have a bucket load of old chuck keys - naturally NONE fit the Czech made chuck. A Rhohm S2 chuck just arrived and guess what? that does not work either - the pilot is the right size but the gear is way too small. The MAS supplier in the Czech Republic never bothered to replay to my message and a neighbour who came from there tells me that is not unusual - they just do not care.

So the search for the key and/or a replacement chuck continues. I'll take the chuck with me when I next go to Sydney where there is a better chance of finding something that fits. The Internet is wonderful, but when you order on line, you take the risk (like the Rhohm example) of getting the wrong item then you are stuck with it

 

[Aussiebushman]

FOUND - guess where?

That's right - exactly where anyone brighter would have expected to find it - right next to the bench holding the drill. But how the key and its chain got UNDER the pieces of alluminium sheet stacked there is beyond comprehension - and yes, I had already looked there

The key is now pained bright orange and held in a more secure place

Unbelievable!

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Nice!

My wife says I'm a man-looker. She thinks the term is hilarious. I also get man-colds. Someday I assume I'll be man-dead.