Stuck Drill chuck in Mill

I am finding that out as well. After days of applying penetrating oil and trying to allow it to seep in, things are still fail here. That damn chuck is so jammed in there, no go.

I feel it's going to be jammed in there for life at this point, LOL.

By the way, I've included a pic of the top of the mill with the protective cap removed. I can unscrew the drawbar itself ok, but I tried to remove the spanner nut on the top as well. I am finding this also impossible. I can turn it a few degrees one way or the other, but then it jams as well. Is that actually normal? I am finding myself more and more confused with this mill. I don't know which way is clockwise, or up or down anymore... lol

And ontop of these issues, I have even more issues... For example, my headsock still jams at certain points when moving it for drilling. I had a hunch, and after checking it seems to always jam at 360 deg locations when pulling the handlebars. I'm suspect some disgruntled slave in china may have left some screw somewhere in the gears. I'm going to have to do a through examination of that too. It's making my mill unusable for even drilling as it jams all the time (murphy's law) right when I'm drilling. Almost as though someone specially designed it to jam there too. LOL

View attachment 264452

Having jammed travel every 360º of rotation suggests some debris in the pinion gear. It looks like the entire head is fed down and also that the rack pitch is fairly fine compared to mill/drills that I have used. With the rack exposed, it is possible that the debris got caught in the rack and was transferred to the pinion. It may take some disassembly to be able to clean the pinion.

The manual is rather sparse in describing operation. It doesen't look like you have an opening for drift. You could possibly loosen the spindle nut enough to put a gear puller under the nut. Loosen the drawbar a turn or two as well. If you put a 14mm socket on the drawbar and use it to center the gear puller, you may be able to apply enough force with the gear puller so some tapping with a hammer will break it free.

Failing that, you should be able to remove the spindle and work on it off the machine. This has the advantage of removing the bearings so they won't be damaged and greater access to the problem area. In that case, a heavy plate with three tapped holes at 120º and a second plate with through holes will give you a tool which can create a very large amount of force to free the stuck taper.
MT3 Taper Pusher.JPG
 
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Update!

So, after taking off the headstock for now... one mystery is solved.

It wasn't a screw stuck in some gear-slot, turns out one of the teeth/spokes seems to have literally torn itself away and folded in on itself. It may be a bit difficult to see this in attached photo. It seems the manufacturer was smart enough to avoid plastic for that, but the metal they used just wasn't up for the task it was designed to do unfortunately.

Also I noticed there was no grease or lubrication inside the transmission at all, so I sprayed some chain-lube into there for now.

---

That said, since I now have two visually confirmed damaged pieces, I will check in with their head office for warranty replacements... Will keep this thread updated on how THAT goes. All one can do at this point is laugh and play the wait game I suppose.

View attachment 264459
You will want to check your rack for damaged teeth as well. While your at it, if you are still under waranty, you might ask about them replacing the entire spindle assembly. The two issues may very well be related.
 
If you have access to a lathe, make one of these:

Morse taper release puller.jpg

Its a length of mild steel bar bored and threaded at the visible end with a thread that matches the locknut thread on top of the spindle. This thread is left hand (on mine at least). The other end is threaded for a bolt.

To use it, remove the locknut (make sure you undo the grub screw first), loosen the drawbar:


20180409_123539.jpg


screw the puller (pusher?) on and tighten the bolt. When the taper releases there will be a satisfying bang, but because the drawbar is still in place it won't go far

20180409_123553.jpg


I use this every time to avoid beating on the drawbar and bearings.

Rob
 
You will want to check your rack for damaged teeth as well.

Already did that, seems to be in order, though I don't like how in some places there is only a little bit of surface area to grab, since they drilled out part of the surface for counter-sinks to mount the rack.

if you are still under waranty, you might ask about them replacing the entire spindle assembly.

This has been on my list of ideas as well...

To use it, remove the locknut (make sure you undo the grub screw first), loosen the drawbar:

The only catch here, is I can't remove the locknut. It's jammed in too! I can turn it a few degress only and then it jams. I don't even know at this point to turn it clockwise or counterclockwise anymore. I may try to use some penetrating oil on it also as a last effort.

If I didn't know better, someone REALLY tried to sabotage this mill at the factory. lol
 
You may want to check with warranty BEFORE you go too far.. I assume warranty would be void if they know you opened something up...
I know princess auto is great for returns, but on a machine like this, I wonder if they will play the third party card and try to say it's not warrantied through them and you have to contact someone else.
Warranties scare me sometimes. Especially if you pay more for them. Those companies play some pretty slimy games...
 
If you have access to a lathe, make one of these:

View attachment 264487
Its a length of mild steel bar bored and threaded at the visible end with a thread that matches the locknut thread on top of the spindle. This thread is left hand (on mine at least). The other end is threaded for a bolt.

To use it, remove the locknut (make sure you undo the grub screw first), loosen the drawbar:


View attachment 264488

screw the puller (pusher?) on and tighten the bolt. When the taper releases there will be a satisfying bang, but because the drawbar is still in place it won't go far

View attachment 264491

I use this every time to avoid beating on the drawbar and bearings.

Rob
IMO, this is probably the best way to pop the MT3 taper without damage. I made one of these to free a a stuck flywheel on a 50hp outboard motor.

Same problem; a tapered shaft with a locking nut to seat it flywheel really tight. For the screw, I used the bolt from my gear puller, a 5/8" NF thread. This was torqued to about 200 ft-lbs and still wouldn't budge. Some blows with a hammer provided enough shock to break it free. As you tighten the bolt, the thread clearance is moved to the front, providing a thousandth or so of clearance for the bolt to move towards the drawbar.

The only downside is having to single point thread that large thread but I'm a great believer in the proper tool rather than make-do for the job.
 
Well, time to post an update on this...

So I've been in contact with Princess Auto... due to my numerous issues I am having with this brand new machine, they did offer a suggestion of making an arrangement where I could go and swap it for another at a store. While this sorta seems like a solution at first, I don't like it..

  • This thing is BIG, HEAVY as hell, and a BIG pain to move...
  • I'd have to drive again to another town...
  • And I risk with same problems all over again!
Being not new to chinese stuff anymore, I knew clear well I'd have some issues, LOL.

I decided to just wait for them to get me the two new pieces to fix the broken ones I got. Here is the problem, it takes 13-15 weeks to get the replacement parts!

I now remember on this very same forum someone had the EXACT same issue with a new CraftEx lathe bought from Busy Bee... same crazy wait-times for a simple replacement part.

In any case, I will weather out the long wait.. currently I will do my own temp-fix repairs on the mill. Today I went and pulled the pinion out from the machine... Then I hit a dead-end...

The problem? Seems a simple snap-ring is hindering my heroic efforts LOL!

Damn thing is on so tight, I can't get it to pop off. Also, I do not even have a snap-ring set of pliers, so I may have to go to Princess Auto again and buy a set. Boy, so THIS is how they sucker more money out of you. LOL

That said, there are two holes on the snap ring to grasp, but they are not even real holes, just bumps, so I'll have to drill through those as well...

Oh well, why do I think a quick job is going to take a whole week to do yet again (or longer?).

IMG_7820.JPG
 
Sept 11... and FINALLY after all this wait, Princess Auto delivered a new pinion! Well, USED I should say, as it is obvious from the markings they probably removed this from a returned item.

In any case, time to bump up this thread, and see if I can remember how all the pieces are to go back together again.

Only took about 5 months to get a simple Pinion and piece of plastic! lol



Princess Auto.jpg
 
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