Chuck Key

Tightening the chuck on a drill press

An electric drill has a chuck to hold the drill bit. Most drills use a key to tighten the chuck so it grips the drill bit solidly. Problem is that if this chuck key is not chained down it tends to wander off which can be very annoying when the drill bit needs to be changed. Chaining it down solves that problem, but makes the key awkward to operate, and if you are working with a portable drill, the chain can be a nuisance.

How about we make a socket in the drill body to hold the key, and make the switch dependent on the chuck key being in that socket before the drill will operate? Solves both problems. Requires some space in the drill and a fancier switch but it would solve the problem of the missing chuck key that has plagued machinists and carpenters since before there was electricity.

Yes, I know, many hand-held drills use keyless chucks these days, but those are only good for light duty jobs. If you need to drill a real hole, you need a real chuck, one that uses a key.