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PB Penetrant/frozen drill chuck

Awl--

On the previously mentioned Rockwell drillheads, one has a near impossibly-frozen chuck.

I thought it might be of interest to some that the well-reviewed PB penetrant also comes in gallon cans, not readily available locally, but $25/gal from the company--800 950-9566. fwiw, HD has gal cans of WD-40, which I also bought--about $10/gal.

The PB spray isn't quite doing it in this context, so I'm hoping w/ the chuck actually immersed/soaking in the liquid PB for a few days, and poss. heated on a hot plate, I'll have better luck.

Any other tips on freeing up frozen/rusted chucks? I tried using two pipe wrenches, but they are kind of crappy, and slip on the hard steel chuck. Hammer/chuck key don't work, except to strip the key.

Man, did I get snuckered on this 3-head gang-type drill press table. The only thing I can say is that the motors were not burned out, proly cuz the cords were snipped at the motors. From a "friend of a friend"..... goodgawd....

---------------------------- Mr. P.V.'d formerly Droll Troll

Reply to
Proctologically Violated©®
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I found a Milwaukee drill at the dump with a frozen chuck. I soaked that thing in PB Blaster for at least a week with no effect. Tried all the other stuff too. Finally I figured that I had nothing to lose and just kept using more force until it freed up. The rust was just a small ring at the outer edge of the sleeve. Steel swells when it rusts and it really jammed that sleeve. Works nice now. Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

At this point, it seems as if you have nothing to lose (otherwise, I'd doubt you be wrenching on it with pipe wrenches). So I would try soaking it in vinegar and salt to dissolve the rust. Be sure to get thoroughly degrease the chuck first with a solvent like mineral spirits or acetone, as the PB penetrant likely has water displacing oils that will prevent the vinegar/slat solution from getting to the rust.

Just go to your local grocery store and buy a gallon of their cheap white vinegar and a carton of table salt (I use the plain, non-iodized salt). Find a glass or plastic container large enough to completely hold your chuck and fill with enough vinegar so the chuck will be submerged. Then pour in salt and stir. Keep adding salt until the solution is saturated (i.e., no more slat will dissolve). Then drop in your chuck and shake it up to get out any air bubbles. Then let it soak several days. Agitate every so often. Eventually, the rust will dissolve and the chuck will be free. Take it out and flush thoroughly with lots of water. If you can, disassemble, clean, and lube. If not, try boiling in a couple of changes of water to get out any residual salt and other gunk, then take out of the boiling water bath, shake out as much water as you can, and blow it out with compressed air. Then soak in a bath of water displacing lubricant.

If the rust pitting isn't too bad, the chuck might even be usable again.

- Michael

Reply to
DeepDiver

Kroil

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Reply to
Gunner Asch

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