How do you remove the chuck from a DeWalt keyless 1/2 inch drill?

The 1/2" hammer drill does not have a screw in the chuck, in fact I can not find a screw of any kind holding the chuck on the inside or the outside, and I have changed a couple in my life. But this hammer drill seems to be a different beast. A guy told me the other day to drive it off with a tappered fork, don't remember the name of it, because the chuck is presses on, go figure...still trying!

Steve
November 2010

My Dewalts have an allen socket where the screw was removed. It's 1/4". Clamp a t-handle lightly in a bench vise and turn the drill clockwise. It will take a good bit of force if the chuck has never been removed.

Wallytool
September 2009

Two years on - this advice saved me serious money!!

Thanks Guys.

grahame
June 2009

I tried everything to get the chuck off my DeWalt recently; I figured out the left-hand threaded screw myself and took it out. Then I tried everything I could think of to unscrew the chuck, including inserting the chuck key and whacking it with a hammer, clamping the chuck in the vise and running the drill in reverse. Nothing worked. Finally, I tried putting a 1/2 inch Allen wrench short-end first into the chuck, tightening it, and whacking it with the hammer. It took 3 or 4 good whacks, but suddenly the chuck spun off. Yay! I put the keyless Jacobs on that I bought for it about a year ago on, and it works wonderfully. I had this exact setup long ago, but it was stolen out of a rental house I was remodeling :-(. I liked my DeWalt so well that I went right out and bought the exact same drill again, but didn't get around to adding the keyless chuck until just now. It's a great drill; drives drywall screws all day long, as well as driving 1/4 x 6 lag bolts straight through multiple 2x4's with enough force to counter-sink the head (_with_ a washer on it!) if I'm not careful. Thanks for the tips, and happy drilling!

Bill Richman
September 2007

The above solution should work if you have a fairly new driver, but, if you have a used and worn driver, this may not work.

My 2 drivers are worn as stated and the above method wouldn't work. When I tried to hit the allen wrench, it just turned the chuck, gearbox and motor as one solid unit. I then decided to try and cut the old chuck off with a dremel (didn't work because I got scared I'd cut into the threads).

The next set of instructions, or explaination of what I did, won't restore the drill to like new condition, but it will allow you to remove and replace the chuck.

Finally, I dismantled the entire drill. First by following the previous posters instructions for removing the left-handed screw that holds the chuck on. Then, take the six screws out that hold the housing together. The rest is feel as you go.

Once the motor is off and all the gears are out, you can get to the back of the shaft. I clamped a pair of vise grips onto the back of the shaft and clamped the vise grips into a bench vise. Next I took a small pipe wrench and twisted the chuck off.

If you decide to go this route, make sure you pay close attention to how it goes back together.

My drill works as it did before, a little noisier 'cuz I didn't lube the gears during assembly. But now it has a new chuck that'll clamp onto small drill bits again.

If you have problems with anything I stated, my email address is: mitymouse17@yahoo.com. If I don't get back to you, your email may have gotten caught by the spam filter (unlikely but possible).

Dave
July 2007

IF IT'S GOT REVERSE IT WILL PROBABLY HAVE A SCREW. PUT ALLEN KEY INTO JAWS AND HIT CLOCK WISE. THIS SHOULD HELP LOOSEN SCREW. THEN REMOVE SCREW CLOCKWISE. HIT ALLEN KEY ANTI CLOCKWISE TO REMOVE CHUCK.

MAKE SURE DRILL IS IN LOW GEAR WHILE DOING THIS.

SOLENT TOOLS LTD
July 2007

The left handed thread securing screw fools most people, used to do a lot of these back in my tool repair days.

They struggle for ages trying to undo it, we used to get 99% swopped in a couple of minutes.

Lee
July 2007

Hello Tony,

Been a while since I worked on power tools but most keyless chucks are threaded on and secured with a opposite (L/H) threaded screw.

Open up the chuck to maximum size and look inside the centre, you should see a countersunk screw head. Could be either posidrive or allen headed although I have come across a few slotted screws before. Undo the screw in a clockwise direction ( it may be threadlocked and tight), once the screw is out get a long 8mm L shaped allen key and trap the short end in the jaws of the chuck. Then tap the allen key anti clockwise (conventional thread) this should loosen the chuck and then unscrew it as normal.

Hope that helps

Clive

Clive
July 2007