Dewalt 511 Chuck Help?

[John Buffum]

I walked into one of the multitudinous pawn shops in my areas, and there it was! A Dewalt dw511C2. Actually, there were two. One's transmission sounded like an old timee coffee grinder. I bought the other for $25. Of COURSE, I had to find a key. I went to my key box. 13/64. One fit, but I found out why it was so cheep. The hole was ovalled. The teeth would disengage under pressure. Easy stuff! I drilled to fit the next larger key, 15/64. It still is unsure, due to worn teeth, but I can make it work, now.

I'm considering a keyless chuck. Jacobs sells two, a Model 500 and a Model 700, both with the 1/2-20 thread I'll need. Rohm also makes one, but I can buy a reconditioned, guaranteed 511 from Amazon for that price!

Which is better, the Jacobs 500 or 700, or is there another that won't break the bank?

This drill will be used 90% for drilling in metal, 9% for wood, and maybe once every two years for concrete. I bought it for the higher RPM than the non-hammer drill 1/2" VSR's.

[J Tiers]

Clearly you should have bought the other one also, to get spare parts, and a better chuck.... probably cheaper than a nice new chuck, and work just as well in a hand-held tool. No need for on-center perfect rotation.

[John Buffum]

Well, I went to a Dewalt service center. They were going to send it out to Dewalt for $35. No.

I went home and decided this was a machinist's challenge. There was about 3/16" exposed spindle, .707" in diameter. I remembered reading a book on rebuilding Mauser rifles. The barrel vise. I went to my scrap box, and my bolt box. I made one out of 3/16 steel, drilled out 1/2" stock, and two 5/16 - 24 thread allen bolts and nuts. I put two pieces of 3/16 on my face plate and bored the .707 hole, then welded the tubes on the sides of one piece, and the bolts on the other piece. Welded a piece of small scrap bar on as a handle. I ground 1/16" off where they joined.

When I bolted the thing together, it held the spindle rock solid. The end of the chuck went into my Wilton vise. It worked! The spindle turned off with extreme difficulty, but it came off.

I may attempt to pick up the holes and rebore-reream them for a tight fit of the chuck key, the hole slightly closer to the ring gear. Maybe not. If it works, I would have a usable Rohm 1/2" 1/2-20 chuck as a spare.

The keyless chuck went on easily, as did the left hand thread screw. One small difficulty. Ya gotta wear gloves when chucking a drill bit, or the ribs on the chuck will bruise you. POWER! A LOT more power than the Craftsman it replaced.

OK, now to make the handle. At my friendly neighborhood industrial surplus store, I scored a gen-you-wine Dewalt drill handle for $2.00. Now to make the collar it screws into from 1/2" 6061. Gonna try to have wife craft up a Dewalt bag. Fun stuff!

[John Buffum]

Collar made. Worked. I don't need the depth gage. If I ever do, it's just a 1/4" hole and a 8-32 socket head screw.

I found out the side handle is VERY necessary with this drill. It has POWER! If you aren't Lou Ferrigno, you'll get a twisted wrist with the bigger bits.

Bought the kit bag through Amazon.com

I FIXED THE CHUCK! Welded the holes closed, and re-drilled them with a #3 drill. A challenge to get the hole positioned exactly right. Now, the key fits snugly, and doesn't wiggle. Ah well, I'll keep the chuck as a back up. I like the keyless chuck.