I was gifted with my brother Larry's Ridgid 15000 floor standing drill press. The chuck key that came with it does not fit the chuck properly. It is a sloppy fit and hard to use to get the chuck tight.

The hole in the chuck for the key is 0.330" as close as I can read it and the pin part of the chuck that I have that goes into the hole is more like 0.307".

The chuck will hold a 3/4" bit. I found a user manual with a parts breakdown that calls for a key with a part number of 817339.

When I called Ridgid they referred me to Gardener who told me they no longer stock the part. Did some web searching and found a number of references to a key with a part number of 817339. All but one said they were out of stock. The one let me order, then told me it would probably be a week or two before they would ship. We'll see.

Milwaukee's catalog has a key with the same size pin that I already have. Their next larger is bigger than the hole in my chuck.

If I were Jerry, I would solve this problem by making a sleeve that would be a snug fit on the pin with an OD of about 0.328", but I'm no Jerry. The wall thickness would be around 0.010".

I thought about the neck of a .308 caliber cartridge, but both the 308 and 30-06 have a neck diameter larger than 0.330. I guess I could try one of these and slit it length wise to let it collapse to the 0.330" size.

Suggestions???

'57 GMC 102, Original 347 V8, HydraMatic, 3.08 rear gear, added A/C, disk front brakes, HEI, AFB carb, '98 Honda Black Currant paint. T-boned and totaled 10/12
'52 GMC 152 Stake Bed, Original 228, SM420, added A/C, HEI, disk front brakes, '67 Chev 3.55 rear gear. Gets used as a real truck.