Fixing a loose Drill Press Chuck?

I have a 1/2" chuck Craftsman bench drill press I bought almost 20 years ago. A few years ago the chuck came off the shaft and nothing I do seems to be able to get them to mate again.

It wasn't hugely expensive when I bought it (IIRC, about $180 in 1998), so if I have to curb it I won't cry, but I could use a working drill press once in awhile.

I've tried really cleaning the chuck and arbor with acetone, but it still comes loose after pressing it back on using the press lever against the table. Do I need to come up with a more powerful way to press the chuck onto the arbor?

My Ryobi drill press recommends putting a board over the chuck and hammering it on.

I just shoved mine on and it's held so far through steel and wood, but I imagine I'll be hammering on it at some point.

The chuck is coming off the arbor, correct? Quick and dirty fix: Degrease, check for burrs, blue loctite on the arbor and give it a good smack with a mallet (retract the jaws first!). I suppose the proper way would be to lap them together, I'll bet the tapers aren't the greatest on the chuck and/or arbor. They should fit up well enough clean and dry without a ton of force, though they're often shrink fitted from the factory (heat the chuck in an oven, something like 300F?), no need to hammer or press anything that way, just tap it on and let it cool.

It's easier to buy the wedge for knocking the Morse taper arbor out out the quill first (as you would if you wanted to run a bigass taper shank bit), marry the chuck and arbor on the bench, and then put the two back in as an assembly. The Morse taper, being longer and shallower, isn't nearly as finicky. You can't hammer them together very hard on the machine with the rubber bumper at the top of the travel.

Various approaches here -> http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general-archive/installing-arbor-drill-chuck-92784/

I myself had a setup on a big Powermatic that kept coming loose, but cleaning, heating the chuck while freezing the arbor, and then applying a solid whack through wood fixed it.

If you want this thread moved from the project cars to the main section, just let us know.

I may have the names mixed up, but in the machining world there are Morse and Jacobs type tapers; the bar that the chuck fell off of is slightly tapered. I've had luck with putting the chuck and tapered shaft into a hydraulic hand press and squishing things together.

Warning here: the first time you put this in the drill press, don't have a drill bit in there and don't sing it up to 100,000 RPM. Safety first!

Dan