Retracting Key Ring Corrals Chuck Key

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By Sean Michael Ragan
Posted 2011/11/29 @ 6:00 am
Category Machining, Tools, Woodworking, Workshop

Noticed this write-in tip from Matthew Hakeman in the most recent issue of The Family Handyman. Googling discovered the title image in a thread over at GarageJournal.com, from user evintho. Looks like he’s put a metal strap around the key between the handle and the teeth. The illustration to right is from WoodworkingTips.com, and shows an alternate method for attaching the key ring to the chuck key using a short wooden dowel.

I like this tip a lot, and I happened to have one of those retracting spring-reel key rings lying around, so I tried it on my own small drill press, as shown in the picture below. I was able to use a small split ring to secure the chuck key at the end of the chain. Figuring out how to get the split ring in place without taking the chuck key apart is left as a homework assignment / tavern puzzle.

In the Maker Shed

0 Responses to Retracting Key Ring Corrals Chuck Key

Steven Sprague on November 29th, 2011 at 7:01 am said:

This is the first thing i did to my drill press. I used a retractor that was meant to be used on an id card, like what you would see around a doctors office. It has lasted for years, and i never have to hunt for the chuck.

Why haven’t the tool companies have never built this in as a feature?

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- Anonymous on November 29th, 2011 at 12:19 pm said:
  
  We have a keyring just like this at i3 Detroit, and it’s great. People don’t leave the key in the chuck because it’s very hard to balance that against the pulling!
  
  I’ve been wanting to build an actual “enable” switch that will only allow the tool to operate once the chuck key has been returned to its nest. Mostly for the lathe, whose chuck key is many times larger and heavier, but also for the drill press. THAT’s a feature I’m surprised doesn’t come from the factory.
  
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David Pratt on November 29th, 2011 at 9:01 am said:

But if you forget to take the key out and turn the drill press on – you wind the chain around the chuck. (And don’t say you’d never do that. 30 years experience as a toolmaker says otherwise…)

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- Sean Michael Ragan on November 29th, 2011 at 12:05 pm said:
  
  Interesting point. Like Greg, my key has the spring-loaded pin so you can’t leave it in place. But even if it didn’t, and I accidentally did, mightn’t it still be better to have the key on a tether than flying loose around the shop? I don’t claim to know the answer. But it’s a thought.
  
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Greg Chaney on November 29th, 2011 at 11:32 am said:

I have been using this technique on my drill press for many years. Haven’t loss the chuck key yet. My key has the spring loaded center so it doesn’t stay in the chuck. So far I haven’t wound it around the chuck yet, but Murphy does live in everyone’s shop.

I also use a foot pedal switch so I am not reaching in, in case of trouble.

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Anonymous on November 29th, 2011 at 12:22 pm said:

nice… I’ve just been using a magnet on top of the housing to hold the key…

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David Kanoy on November 29th, 2011 at 5:42 pm said:

Interesting idea but every drill press I’ve used has a hole in the table for the chuck key to reside in. Maybe it’s only a problem in a place with more than one drill press.

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