Mis-aligned chuck on drills and screwdrivers

SanTai · May 22, 2015

Last week I have used 2 quite new tools, one drill and one cordless screwdriver of different brands, both with miss aligned chucks. I am not really sure what the this sympton is called in english, but the chuck is miss aligned, when drilling or screwdriving the tip of the drill moves in circles instead of only rotating around its axis.

Have I only been lucky(or ignorant(or am I getting picky)) before or how often do you guys see this kind of damage on the tools you use?
What causes it?

bobgaggle · May 22, 2015

Never had this problem. Sometimes a screw tip gets bent and will wobble. Sometimes I don't get a bit centered in the chuck. That's the only time I've not had a bit spin on center

Dionysus · May 25, 2015

I also have never had a chuck mis-aligned. Typically they are fairly rock solid (kind of an important element to have aligned properly for ALL uses). A mis-aligned chuck would turn a drill into a paperweight.

As Bob said, I've had lots of screw bits or drill bits get bent, and thus cause problems like this. I've also caught a few screw bits where the tip was not centered, which makes it garbage of course.

I'd check to make sure your bits are straight.

In theory the (I don't know the correct term) I guess the "teeth" of the chuck could be malformed or damaged, as that would cause a "wobble" as well. Again it shouldn't leave the factory like that, and I have only seen that once (and it was from some serious damage done to the drill).

AudJ · May 26, 2015

Are you meaning the chuck isn't centered, or one of the 3 claws is not at the same position as the other two?

I had a drill once where one of the claws dropped a notch, and was consistently out of position compared to the others. Bought a new chuck. No idea how it happened, just assumed it was defective.

derekleffew · May 26, 2015

Perhaps the drill motor was dropped and bent the shaft? In the olden tymes, we were taught never to leave a Yankee screwdriver extended laying on the ground (insert off-color joke about Scarlett laying a Yankee). If someone steps on an extended Yankee, he is ruined for life. Always retract first.

JonCarter · May 26, 2015

My God!! Somebody knows what a Yankee screwdriver is nowadays!! I wish I had a penny for every 7/8"-#9 screw I drove through a corner block or keystone with one. (And never stepped on it, either, Derek.) (And I still have mine in my toolbox. All oiled; still works.)

gafftapegreenia · May 27, 2015

JonCarter said:
I wish I had a penny for every 7/8"-#9 screw I drove through a corner block or keystone

And always slotted screws, right?

Dionysus · May 27, 2015

JonCarter said:
My God!! Somebody knows what a Yankee screwdriver is nowadays!! I wish I had a penny for every 7/8"-#9 screw I drove through a corner block or keystone with one. (And never stepped on it, either, Derek.) (And I still have mine in my toolbox. All oiled; still works.)

I miss my Yankee Screwdrivers, I used to have 4 of them they were my grandfather's (actually pretty sure one was my great grandfather's, he was the family wood-worker for sure... actually worked at the then-famous Goderich Organ Co; not far from Doty Engine Works which designed the very first pile driver. Geez my hometown was different back "in the day", it had many key industries.).

ANYWAYS, I loved the yankee screwdrivers. Unfortunately they were lost when my garage was completely leveled by a tornado, IF they survived, I never saw them again.
Yankee Screwdrivers (I think this has been said here before) really are great tools, especially when you don't have power.

kicknargel · May 27, 2015

*grumble, grumble* Yankee screwdriver? What, you're too lazy to turn the screw yourself?

JonCarter · May 27, 2015

gafftapegreenia said:
And always slotted screws, right?

Of course! One learns quickly to keep the screwdriver in the slot.

gafftapegreenia · May 28, 2015

JonCarter said:
Of course! One learns quickly to keep the screwdriver in the slot.

No one likes blood all over their flats.

JChenault · May 29, 2015

gafftapegreenia said:
No one likes blood all over their flats.

In my experience blood on the flat was never a big problem. It hardly shows up at all after the base coat.

gafftapegreenia · May 29, 2015

JChenault said:
In my experience blood on the flat was never a big problem. It hardly shows up at all after the base coat.

not a big problem unless your workplace takes bloodborne pathogen management seriously.

JChenault · May 30, 2015

gafftapegreenia said:
not a big problem unless your workplace takes bloodborne pathogen management seriously.

Trust me young Jedi. In the old days ( 1070's or Therabouts ) blood borne pathogen management was not a concern. Nor was asbestos exposure, or fall protection, or ...

kicknargel · Jun 4, 2015

Have you ever NOT gotten a little blood on a set? I haven't. Wouldn't be official.

bobgaggle · Jun 15, 2015

kicknargel said:
Have you ever NOT gotten a little blood on a set? I haven't. Wouldn't be official.

Agreed, I'm too young to have used a yankee driver to build stuff, but a phillips bit in a power drill and a hand in the wrong place has left some blood on a few sets I've built, not to mention the 'x' shaped scar.

gafftapegreenia · Jun 15, 2015

JChenault said:
In my experience blood on the flat was never a big problem. It hardly shows up at all after the base coat.

rustystuff · Jun 15, 2015

I've never seen a drill chuck "misaligned". I have seen numerous cases (as others have mentioned) where a drill bit or screwdriver tip wasn't seated correctly before the chuck was tightened. This definitely gives the appearance of a "wobble" as it turns. As for bleeding on the set: If you don't at least once, it simply means you're not trying hard enough. Been there, done that, got the scars....

Mis-aligned chuck on drills and screwdrivers

SanTai

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bobgaggle

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Dionysus

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AudJ

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derekleffew

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JonCarter

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gafftapegreenia

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Dionysus

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kicknargel

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JonCarter

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gafftapegreenia

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JChenault

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gafftapegreenia

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JChenault

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kicknargel

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bobgaggle

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gafftapegreenia

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rustystuff

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