I have a Black & Decker 1/4" drill (inherited from someone who didn’t want it). Bought myself a “magazine” box of drill bits and then found that the larger bits won’t fit in the chuck.
I recall seeing chuck adapters: you’d stick the stem of the adapter into the original native drill chuck and tighten it down; the adapter had a 1/2" and could accommodate the larger drill bits. Next time I was in Home Depot I went looking for one, none in stock, person with the Home Depot apron on seemed to think they used to have them and did the “well if we had them they would be around here and I don’t see one either” routine. Tried Ace Hardware, nothing there either.
Am I misremembering about the existence of such chuck adapters? Know where to find one?
I gather that I could perhaps swap out the native chuck for a 1/2" model, although I’m unsure about size compatibility and etc. I like the idea of the chuck adapter better, since the existing chuck is quite nice and gets a good grip on those sewing-needle diameter tiny drill bits. Or I could buy a different drill entirely, which I’d probably do if I needed the functionality very often, but mostly I don’t. Just every now and then I need to drill out a larger hole than the largest bit that this drill can natively accommodate.
There are a number of different things on eBay called “chuck adapters.” Without seeing your drill, I don’t know which one is exactly what you want, but it looks like the price range is $6-12, so you can probably find what you want for less than a new drill will cost.
Probably fine for drilling wood and other soft materials. I have a drill press with a big chuck but I try to get 1/4" shaft bits anyway so I can use them with a hand drill when needed.
You do have to remember that with big bits if you lean on it you might wreck your 1/4" chuck instead of just having the bit break as happens with smaller bits.
