How do I remove a drill bit that is stuck due to an overtightened chuck?

Question

I recently bought a Bosch PSB 500 RE power drill and already I kinda screwed up the machine.

The chuck is keyless, consisting of two parts which I'll refer to as the head and the base. You would hold the base and rotate the head relative to the base to loosen or tighten the bit.

The machine is also equipped with a grip that is located on the drill body just before the base of the chuck.

While drilling this grip slipped and caught the base, stopped it from turning, so that only the head of the chuck was turning in the grip direction.

Now the whole chuck is too tight and it seems I can't release the bit any more. Any solutions?

Edit 1

I tried wearing gloves, it didn't help. I also tried putting some WD40, but that didn't help because the bit is way too tight.

I heard that the chuck assembly can be replaced, what do you think?

Answer 1

Put the drill in reverse, firmly grip the chuck (the part you were calling the head) and gently squeeze the trigger up the point that you cannot hold on. If you hear clicking, and it doesn't torque very much, you need to turn the torque setting up to the maximum (the highest number, or the drill setting if it has one). If it still doesn't budge and you're not able to hold the chuck against the force of the drill, you may want to use something stronger than your hand to hold the chuck. A strap wrench is well designed for this task and won't damage the chuck.

Answer 2

That happens once in a while with such chucks. Been there, loosened that. Don't worry.

When all else fails I wrap the chuck ring in cloth and use a pipe wrench. Sometimes only more torque can help. Just be sure you're turning it in the right direction.

Answer 3

I tried all the suggestions I could find on the internet that worked for others, but none worked for me as my drill bit was way more stuck than theirs I guess!

What didn't work

The suggestions (and the result, so you are warned what could go wrong if you try it!):

• hold the chuck and run the drill in reverse - I nearly burned my hand. Tried it with a thick gardening glove on, and still nearly burned my hand.
• soak the head in WD40 to loosen the bit - nothing gained from this for me
• hit the drill bit into the chuck as this helps release the jaws inwards - despite multiple bashes with a hammer nothing budged and the drill bit was no more loose than when I first started
• use a strap wrench - the only way to do this was to grip around the chuck and run the drill in the opposite direction. As the drill bit was so stuck and the drill torque was so high it was the drill (rather than the chuck) that started to rotate and started moving towards drilling into my arm!

...and what did

In the end I used two strap wrenches, one at the point the chuck should be turned and one just below. With the drill battery disconnected I was practically standing on the chuck to put enough force into the strap wrenches. There was so much force the chuck distorted into an oval (and this was a high quality drill), but eventually it popped and the drill bit came free.

Incidentally I oiled the chuck afterwards as it was very stiff (despite the previous oiling) which was probably a contributing factor to how stuck the drill bit was.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Answer 4

My problem drill was not cordless. Away from home I had few of my usual tools to get the bit unlocked so I used the wire on the drill. I wrapped one end around the base of the chuck and the plug end around the other so that there were a couple of turns around each. The wire was round and soft and needed to be wound in the correct direction so that it tended to get tighter as I turned. It gave me grip, increasing the diameter of the piece and hence the torque achieved. It worked. I drilled on, finished the job them hit the same snag again when I tried to remove the drill bit. This time it didn't work but at least I had got the job done. I suggest this as a quick and easy first step.

Answer 5

I had this problem after the first serious use of a drill I bought (judging by the resistance, I believe I was drilling into concrete). I tried using the drill in reverse and various other suggestions I saw on the internet but had no luck. What I ended up resorting to was to buy a "Draper 43863 2-Piece Soft-Grip Strap Wrench Set" from Amazon (I think there are other brands and other vendors, which may well be as good or better). It worked a treat. Given the purchase on the keyless chuck that I managed to get, I can't think I would have been able to release the drill bit otherwise. (Retrospectively, I don't think I should have bought such a powerful drill with a keyless chuck).

Answer 6

I have a strap wrench set but not nearby, didn't want to go buy another, and needed the drill bit changed soon. After reading this thread with several good suggestions, the only things I had on hand to try were a pair of rubber gloves--not enough alone for me either--but I also got the idea of wrapping two thick rubber bands, which I did have, around the drill chuck pieces. Combining that with the rubber gloves was enough to improve the grip so I could loosen the chuck. Worth a try before heading for the store.

Answer 7

First you have to remove the chuck assembly from the drill. To do this, put the drill assembly in a vice. Tighten the vice around the front of the chuck first. Turn counter-clockwise using a large pair of Channellock pliers around the large part of the chuck assembly - the bit should then come out. Put the chuck assembly back on.

Answer 8

I purchased a new Black and Decker 7.5 volt drill (my first) and mid way my first project this happened to me. I was pretty upset that I would have to buy a strap wrench, however rummaging through my tool box looking for my slider wrench I came found some heavy duty plastic ties, and it worked. Although the chuck has some scars from the exercise.

Answer 9

Hold the base part of the drill chuck with your hand. Hit to the head of the drill chuck with a hammer in the direction you would turn the head to remove. You would want to hit in the direction of the rotation, so you would scrape the chuck rather than hitting it directly. Narrower headed hammers and chucks with cavities on the sides that you can catch with your hammer will work better. This method WILL damage your drill chuck cosmetically, but I have yet to face a functional problem with it.