Drill chuck releasing drill bits.

[MalcParticipant @malc]

I have a cheapo 18v. Guild cordless drill, it has served me well for several years now but has the habit of releasing the bit if I stop and start during a drilling job. The drill has a brake which stops the motor very sharply when the trigger is released and I am convinced that this feature has the effect of loosening the chuck's grip on the bit. I am tempted to disable this feature but having looked inside have not found an obvious way of doing so. I wondered whether any of you chaps have had this problem?

[MalcParticipant @malc]

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

It is possible that the trigger switch is setup to short out the motor when it is released. This would act as a brake.

Martin C

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

My Ryobi drill does this if chuck is not overly tight on the bit and I quickly release the trigger from high speed. Release the trigger slowly and no problem.

Paul.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, just about every cordless drill I've ever used at work, whatever make and be it new or old does this, release it slowly as Paul says if you need to start and stop while drilling holes.

Regards Nick.

[John ReeseParticipant @johnreese12848]

My DeWalt does the same thing. If I tighten the chuck, then give it a little more force it seems to help.

[Chris TriceParticipant @christrice43267]

It's interesting to hear so many people having this trouble. I have both a Bosch and Makita and neither have displayed this problem in the fifteen years I've had them. Before that I had a smaller Bosch but this never had the problem either. It's puzzling why the chucks should do this.

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

I assume that the problems people are having are with keyless chucks which should not be too hard to release so the inertia of the sleeve tends to want to undo the chuck with a heavily braked stop. I tend to gently release the trigger just because I feel crash stops put unnecessary loads through the drive train. I have not experienced the chuck release problem.

Mike

[egaParticipant @ega]

Are we talking about the modern keyless chucks which are tightened until they click? The one fitted to my Festool cordless drill is of this type and I have never experienced the OP's problem.

[Trevor Crossman 1Participant @trevorcrossman1]

Yes, exactly the same problem with my 2 year old Dewalt 18v . It was okay when new, but now after a lot of serious concrete drilling and large drill work, the snap action of the brake upon trigger release always causes the chuck to loosen. If the speed is slowly reduced the braking is less or not at all and the chuck is okay, I doubt that the chucks on these lower end machines are of good quality anyway, and since it has resisted all attempts at removal to fit a new one I'll live with it until I need a new one.

Trevor

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

My 18V Hitachi does not do this, but maybe i am sufficiently brutal tightening the chuck in the first place?

(Tighten by holding chuck and trying to stall the motor)

Howard

[MalcParticipant @malc]

Well I’m glad to hear the problem is not restricted to just me! I had discovered that gently releasing the trigger cured the problem but was wondering whether there was a more permanent cure. Looks like I will have to discipline my trigger finger! Thanks for all the replies fellas.

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