That’s where frustration begins. Between the chuck jaws and drill bit. You grip the drill with a tight chuck, pull the trigger, and the bit spins free.
Annoying? Yes. Dangerous?
Also yes. Porter Cable made some solid drills back in the day, but they’re not known for their chucks. Over time, even their older drills can go bad.
The key strips out. The internal mechanism break down. It all just seizes up at times.
How To Remove The Chuck From A Porter Cable Drill
Why Porter Cable Chucks Fail
Then you have to take off old thing to repair your drill. Sounds easy enough, right? Not so fast; there is both skill and force involved.
A lot of folks think all you have to do is unscrew the chuck by hand. Wrong. These are designed by Porter Cable to withstand high torque.
They don’t want them to come off easly. Hammering it blindly or pulling on the jaws with pliers will cause thread damage. It’s a matter of leverage, not strength.
Before you twist away, you should of know what holds the spindle in place. When you’ve seen it, then you can tackle it. Otherwise, it’s a battle between design and rust.
Removing the Spindle Screw
First: Get rid of the spindle screw This is where most people trip up on their first one. Take a look inside jaws of your chuck; directly in the middle is a tiny little hole. That’s a reverse-threaded screw inside that hole.
It might be held by friction or by a pin, but either way, take that bad boy out before attempting any other step. You’ll break the screw head or strip the threads if you attempt to pry the chuck off while it’s still screwed into the drill. Back it out with a small screwdriver or a hex key.
Note: It’s reverse threaded, meaning turn it clockwise to loosen. Why? Because removing this screw allow the main shaft to free up and lets the chuck come off later.
Securing the Drill Shaft
Remove the screw and then it’s time to get the arbor tight. It doesn’t take much, one quick turn and the arbor is tight on drill. But what holds the center when you are turning the outside?
Without a specific arbor puller, you’ll wind up using a big punch and hammer which is fine but not the safest thing for your tool. A vise will also do the trick here (a soft jaw vise like this). Just stick the drill into the vise but block the housing with some wood.
Don’t crush the plastic around the housing, only grip the flat sides of the motor housing. That way you’re keeping the shaft locked down, but not squishing the drill itself. Now you can unscrew the chuck without the drill spin.
Unscrewing the Chuck Body
Time to remove the real deal. Grab the chuck body with a pipe wrench or big wrench. Chuck jaws is serrated, causing regular wrenches to slip.
A pipe wrench (which actualy bites into the metal) would work best. Loosen by turning counter-clockwise. It’ll be plenty tight; try steady pressure different than jerking at it.
Dealing with Rust and Seized Threads
If nothing happen, use penetrating oil all over the threads and give it time (an hour). Because the design depends upon tension and friction, rust binds the threads together tight. More patience then force is the key here.
Force could possibly shears the splines within the motor. You don’t want to ruin your tool just to save the chuck. Don’t go crazy when the chuck begins to turn.
Continue to turn slow so as not to strip or cross the threads. Feel for any grinding and quit if you don’t think they is lining up correctly. It’s better to spend 10 minutes backing out without damaging anything than break the shaft in a minute.
Cleaning and Reinstalling
Back the screw out. Clean the shaft of the motor with a wire brush to clear threads. Check the new chuck before installing it.
Does the key turn easly? Install the spindle screw last. Make sure you tighten down good.
It’s a pain in the butt but will get you back to a good tool.