Largest *common* (drill) Chuck Size?

[Macavity]

Made a bit of a mistake this morning. In short, purchased a 4-30mm STEP Drill
that states on the packaging that it has a 10mm shank. When I got it home,
I found that it had a 14mm shank! (Hmmm... I thought it looked a bit BIG).

Guess that's why they are available on Ebay "without package" for 25% price?
I'll have to try for a refund! Though the shop is *notorious* for an aggressive
stance re. any refunds / complaints. A sort of Fawlty Towers to the DIY trade.

Just to satisfy my curiousity though... I have never come across a *common*
DIY drill with a chuck size greater than 13mm. Are there any? The drill would
have been fine for 22mm holes in Al - They make a version with 10mm shank!

[Gina]

13mm is the biggest I've come across.  I bought a step drill with a 10mm shank a few years ago.  Shouldn't be difficult to get.  If you bought using PayPal you should be alright for a refund.  In any case you have the law on your side - the goods weren't as described.

[bob4026]

10mm and 13mm are the `common` chuck sizes. You'd be paying proper money for a drill with a chuck larger than that. Bigger chucks MAY be available for your particular drill, or you could have an engineer/machinist friend turn it down for you, if returning it would be a hassle you could do without?

ATB

Bob 

[Tinker1947]

My Bench Drill is 5/8" i can knock the chuck out and use the No.2 morse taper,  there are blacksmith drill bits with a reduced shank. A quality hole cutter would be better for a 22mm hole...

Blacksmith Drills Bits

http://www.ukdrills.com/Product/index?catid=315

[Ajohn]

The 5/8 chucks on the cheaper drills are really intended for woodwork and don't always last that long when used for metal. Mine has finally had it. I think drilling several 3/8" holes in 1/2" stainless finally finished it off. Small drills wobble about now  but it has done a lot of work.

Request a return - not as described. If you get no where raise a dispute. I think you will find that will happen anyway automatically. Seller might offer a partial refund - common these days. Refuse and mention that you are returning it on the basis of the EU rights to return mail order items and  state why it's unsuitable. The fact that it's 14mm and not 10 is enough for a full refund including postage and your costs sending it back - if they want it back. I'd mention that too.

I have a feeling Screwfix do these in HSS with the right shank size. It's always worth looking there and at Toolstation. RsComponents too but they will be more expensive - industrial stuff.

John

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[Lonestar70]

16mm drill chucks are reasonably common in both keyed and keyless styles.

Here is a 16mm key style with a JT3 taper: -

http://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/KEY-TYPE-DRILL-CHUCK-1---16MM-CAPACITY-JT3-703.html

They also do one with a B16 taper.

I would suggest you try and get a refund first though, since it is 'NOT AS ADVERTISED'.

Hope this helps.

Sandy.

[Macavity]

Ah. Holes... The bane of my life - Especially (drilling) the bigger ones. 
As ever, thanks ALL for the "tea and sympathy" plus GOOD advice...
(I'm pretty good at eye-ballling sizes, so I feel cross with myself too!)

To correct any confusion - Yes, the 4-30mm STEP drill was bought a *real* local shop
(for local people?) and the manageress does scare even "big lads" in High-vis jackets! 
It has a certain notoriety on the internet and the shop is replete with "Do not steal"
and "minimum charge on credit cards" signs! But I might indeed try re. mislabeling...

GENERALLY: I am very enamoured with my smaller version 4-14mm STEP drill. Great 
for drilling "electronics" boxes, bulkheads etc. for plugs / sockets / feed throughs etc.
I have used *hole saws* for all sorts of things. Very useful to make MDF annuluses(?)
for Astronomical things! But not so convinced re. drilling / clogging re. 4mm Ali bar.  

I still think it ODD that they sell anything with a 14mm shank on the general market.
I sense it might account for the various budget / multi-buy offers on Ebay. But Hey!

These days local Astro Meetings don't tell me a whole lot about Astronomy? lol. But
the wealth of advice / knowledge re. Tools / Methods, "Workshop Practice" etc. etc. 
Hours sweating over (to me) indifferent results, not to mention risk of wind & finger! 

P.S. What is a JT3 Taper? Would that chuck fit a standard DIY 1/2" type Drill? I note
that (occasionally) "men with lathes" have  been known to turn down drill shanks...
Notwithstanding issues of torque / speed, just keeping options open. 

P.P.S. DIY shops are replete with these "Titanium-Plated" (Golden!) drills and bits?
Does it really make ANY difference? Just me being a bit *circumspect* and all... 

[Ajohn]

I think that the titanium coating does help make things stay sharp and last longer but where it's available items like these that state HSE, M35 or 5% cobalt HSS are better but may well cost more. Screwfix for instance state M2 - the lowest grade of HSS available but it's still way way better than hardened tool steel.

Sorry I should have read your post more thoroughly - I thought you had bought it off ebay. However if it states a shank size and has another take it back.

John

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[Davey-T]

Some expensive gold coloured drills require lubrication and are very brittle so snap at the least provocation
I've always used "ordinary" high speed (HSS) drills and keep them sharpened, easy enough to put the edge back on them before they start screaming and turning blue

Dave

[Ajohn]

I've had a set of coated drills for well over 10 years, so long I can't remember really. I have snapped a few fine ones off when using a hand drill, The 1mm one didn't last long. Eventually I managed to break others up to 2.5mm but I'd say it's more down to me and sillies using a hand held drill. I've replaced them with one of those cheap boxes of ebay that contain black drills in steps of 0.1mm up to 2.5mm with several of each size. These are more flexible also not so  sharp. I have to measure them rather than take the stated size as gospel but as with many sets they are just a touch under size - that can matter a lot when drilling small holes for fine taps.

So Dave could well be correct but I've never bothered using a lubricant on them. Jobbers drills shouldn't be brittle hard along their full length. Stuff from places like Lidl often is.

Personally if I needed a large step drill I'd go for the screwfix uncoated ones in M2. Screwfix are pretty good for some things. The quality can be surprising at times for the prices they charge.  Probably a bit mixed at times too though.

John

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[Davey-T]

Best thing for large holes in sheet aluminium are Q Max cutters, make a perfect hole every time and no swarf.

Dave

[Lonestar70]

2 hours ago, Macavity said:

P.S. What is a JT3 Taper? Would that chuck fit a standard DIY 1/2" type Drill? I note

that (occasionally) "men with lathes" have  been known to turn down drill shanks...
Notwithstanding issues of torque / speed, just keeping options open. 

 

Hi Macavity,

JT3 taper refers to the small tapered socket on the rear of the drill chuck.

Most general purpose pillar drills have a short taper on the end of their spindles to accommodate a chuck... this would usually be either JT3 or B16.

On the majority of mid to high quality pillar drills this short taper is on one end of an inserted spindle arbor which is generally MT2 or MT3 the latter being more common on larger models... there are several other tapers and types of abor, however the MT type is the most common on pillar drills.

JT3 is a Jacobs taper size 3.

B16 is a Brown and Sharp Taper size 16.

MT2 and MT3 are Morse taper sizes 2 and 3 respectively.

The following shows a typical 2MT to JT3 arbor: -

http://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/MT2-ARBOUR-TO-JT3-769.html#SID=195

The smaller, shorter, section being the JT3 which fits into the back of the drill chuck.

The following shows an MT2 to B16 vesrsion: -

http://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/MT2-ARBOUR-TO-B16-TAPER-775.html

The only difference being the profile of the taper on the short/smaller end.

You really only need to know the MT taper size of you pillar drill and the appropriate arbor can be obtained.

Hope this helps.

Best regards.

Sandy.