Drills are great for getting things out of walls or making holes in them. But, what do you do when there’s something you need to get out of the drill itself?
That’s what someone might be wondering when there’s a bit stuck in their Makita drill. If that sounds like you, I have a few ways to fix this common problem and get that drill bit out, and I’m sure at least one will help get it out!
Makita Drill Bit Stuck – 3 Methods To Get It Out
- Use A Wrench To Apply Pressure
Something as simple as a wrench can deal with this most of the time. Don’t use it to start twisting the drill bit off though! It’s just to apply pressure on the jaws of the drill chuck.
Put the head of an adjustable wrench around the drill bit. Surround the drill bit but don’t wrap around it too tight. That’s because after it’s there, you need to start moving it up and down.
Shift the wrench around in a motion that taps the drill chuck’s jaws every time you go down. Use enough force for a proper impact, but not so much that it would break the chuck.
The constant impact on the drill chuck helps. It’s like how people smack TV remotes and they “magically” start working. In this case, that helps release the drill chuck’s jaws.
Impacting the drill chuck releases some of the pressure acting on the drill bit. After a few hits, enough pressure should be gone that you can try to take the drill bit out.
Just pull on it like you normally would to get it out. The hits from the wrench will have made it a bit loose, and with luck, it should come out just like that.
- Use Lubricants To Get It Out
If you already tried the first solution, something that might help further is using lubrication. In this situation, given the build of the Makita drill, something like WD-40 is the best option.
Using lubricants is easy, but the hard part is doing it right. Tools are sensitive things; especially motor tools like the Makita drill. You don’t want any oils getting inside and touching the components.
While you’re applying the WD-40, or whichever lubricant you’re using, make sure it doesn’t get close to any other parts when you’re applying it around the drill bit and chuck.
Stay within the highlighted area (in the picture below this) when applying the lubricant. Even when applying it here, ensure there’s not too much of it that leaks inside and damages the tool.
The best way to do this is to wrap the drill in something before applying it. It’s really easy for the lubricant to start seeping into the drill and coming into contact with parts it shouldn’t be touching.
Aim for the drill chuck’s jaws and that’s about it. You can also get some on the edges of the drill bit where it meets the drill chuck. After applying it, follow the method from the first tip with the wrench.
The lubrication plus the impacts should be enough to get the drill bit loose and get it out of the tool!
- Reverse Spin Method
If nothing is helping so far, the drill chuck is REALLY stuck in there. But, there’s one way that’s guaranteed to get the drill bit out of the chuck so you can start using your Makita drill again.
For that, users will first need to adjust some settings on the tool. Start with putting the tool in reverse, because you’ll want it to spin in the opposite direction for this method.
After that, the main thing you want to do is to set the speed setting to 1 like I have in the image below. For ideal results, just match the settings you see down here.
You want as much torque as you can get because you’re going to be using the tool’s own force to help the drill bit out of it. So, once you have all those settings done, move on to the next step.
For that, you just have to get your hand tightly around the drill chuck. Hold it tight close to where it meets the drill bit, but far away enough that the hand isn’t near enough the bit to touch it.
Got a firm grip on it? If yes, pull the trigger on the drill bit and let it run for a few seconds. Just like that, it should be unstuck and out of the drill in just a few moments.
Holding the drill chuck and running the Makita drill with the settings I suggested causes the drill bit to spin around in place and loosen up because of the direction it’s spinning!
