Removing a sheared drill chuck retaining screw

Money_Grabber13579

I was using my Draper corded drill today to drill a 20mm hole in a masonry wall however, it seemed to have been too much for it to handle and it has now sheared the drill chuck retaining screw, with the result being that the drill chuck won't stay on (it just keeps unscrewing itself under load).  I realise now that my drill is only rated for 17mm holes in masonry, so probably wasn't the most sensible thing to do.

The question is, how do I remove the sheared screw from the drill?  It's sheared off flush with the main part of the drill, so there is nothing to grip with pliers etc.

A second question then is, given I'm part way through drilling a 20mm hole in a wall, I need a drill to do that.  Assuming that even if I can get my existing drill fixed, it would be better to use a drill which was up to the job, does anyone have any recommendations?  I'm not looking to spend a fortune given I don't often drill 20mm holes - maybe something around £100?

stuart45

You can get a Titan from Screwfix for less than £100.

FreeBear

Money_Grabber13579 said: and it has now sheared the drill chuck retaining screw, with the result being that the drill chuck won't stay on (it just keeps unscrewing itself under load).

The chuck should be a standard 3/8UNF thread - If it is unscrewing, you probably have the drill running in reverse.

The retaining screw will be a left hand thread, so bear that in mind when trying to get it out - If you carefully centre-punch the center of the screw, when you try to drill it out, the stub may well spin out as the drill bit bites.

Money_Grabber13579

stuart45 said:

You can get a Titan from Screwfix for less than £100.

Thanks, would something like this be up for the job?  It seems to be rated for up to 32mm in concrete, I think?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb631sds-6-3kg-electric-sds-plus-drill-22-piece-accessory-kit-230-240v/4172g

Money_Grabber13579

FreeBear said:

Money_Grabber13579 said: and it has now sheared the drill chuck retaining screw, with the result being that the drill chuck won't stay on (it just keeps unscrewing itself under load).

The chuck should be a standard 3/8UNF thread - If it is unscrewing, you probably have the drill running in reverse.

The retaining screw will be a left hand thread, so bear that in mind when trying to get it out - If you carefully centre-punch the center of the screw, when you try to drill it out, the stub may well spin out as the drill bit bites.

I've just learnt something!  Not that I'm surprised to have learnt something, more that I seem to have been using a drill incorrectly for years!

When I'm looking in the direction of the surface I'm drilling into, I did notice earlier that the chuck was spinning anti-clockwise.  I thought that was a bit strange at the time but when looking at the settings, I saw an 'R' on one side and made sure that the drill was set to the other setting.  I've just looked again and now see that the other setting is 'L' so clearly 'R' does not mean 'reverse' like I thought it did...

If I change the setting to 'R' so that the chuck moves clockwise, I think that should prevent the chuck from unscrewing but is it safe to use without the retaining screw (aside from the fact that I would have no reverse mechanism if the bit gets stuck)?

Of course, I am still conscious that the drill isn't really up to the job (being rated at 17mm) so maybe a more powerful drill is required anyway.

grumbler

Money_Grabber13579 said:

stuart45 said:

You can get a Titan from Screwfix for less than £100.

 ... would something like this be up for the job?  It seems to be rated for up to 32mm in concrete, I think?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb631sds-6-3kg-electric-sds-plus-drill-22-piece-accessory-kit-230-240v/4172g

It would, but it's an overkill and is very heavy - 6.5kg

- 3.4kg, but more expensive

FreeBear

Money_Grabber13579 said:  If I change the setting to 'R' so that the chuck moves clockwise, I think that should prevent the chuck from unscrewing but is it safe to use without the retaining screw (aside from the fact that I would have no reverse mechanism if the bit gets stuck)?

I've got much bigger (and heavier) chucks that screw on a machine. No locking screw or retaining mechanism. They all stay on perfectly safely. Your little 13mm chuck will be just fine without the locking screw. You can even use the reverse gently if needed.

Running the drill in L, the bit will actually be cutting - You may well find that you can breeze through the wall with your 20mm bit (just use a couple of smaller bits to start with, unless this is a core drill)

Money_Grabber13579

FreeBear said:

Money_Grabber13579 said:  If I change the setting to 'R' so that the chuck moves clockwise, I think that should prevent the chuck from unscrewing but is it safe to use without the retaining screw (aside from the fact that I would have no reverse mechanism if the bit gets stuck)?

I've got much bigger (and heavier) chucks that screw on a machine. No locking screw or retaining mechanism. They all stay on perfectly safely. Your little 13mm chuck will be just fine without the locking screw. You can even use the reverse gently if needed.

Running the drill in L, the bit will actually be cutting - You may well find that you can breeze through the wall with your 20mm bit (just use a couple of smaller bits to start with, unless this is a core drill)

Many thanks, I will give that a go tomorrow and report back as to how I get on.

Hopefully it works, otherwise, I'll be back on the hunt for a new drill again!

Money_Grabber13579

grumbler said:

Money_Grabber13579 said:

stuart45 said:

You can get a Titan from Screwfix for less than £100.

 ... would something like this be up for the job?  It seems to be rated for up to 32mm in concrete, I think?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb631sds-6-3kg-electric-sds-plus-drill-22-piece-accessory-kit-230-240v/4172g

It would, but it's an overkill and is very heavy - 6.5kg

- 3.4kg, but more expensive

That looks perfectly adequate for my needs, so if I can't get mine to work in forward mode, that looks like it could be a good buy.  The drill bits I'm using are also Erbauer and they've all been excellent.

Money_Grabber13579

It’s amazing what can be done when one learns how to use power tools correctly…

Tried again today with the drill in forward motion (🙈) and it functioned perfectly well and pierced the wall with the 20mm drill bit in about 10 seconds. Many thanks everyone for your help and advice on suitable drills and especially to Freebear who enlightened me that I didn’t actually need one!