drill
I have a Black & Decker EPC128 12V cordless drill. It has two batteries. Since the recharger has no light or indicator on it, I never surely understand whether the battery is partly/fully charged or overcharged. How long exactly should I recharge the batteries? The tool is something like this:
That was a close one! I would surmise from your description ("The drill's chuck isn't keyless, or at least I haven't tightened it without the key") is the cause of the spitting drill chuck. I too am guilty of being in a hurry and trying to save every second and bypass the chuck wrench. The other issue may have been caused if your drill has a High and a Low speed setting. If the lever is placed in between the two speeds the gears (as you have mentioned) may not mesh. The resulting grinding sound is not a pleasant one. I've had a similar scenario using a DeWalt 18V Cordless Hammer drill.
The rubber / stretchy plastic strap looks like the following when it is installed around the drill cord and attached to the chuck key.
A couple of quick pointers:
Pull the two holes end through the slotted end first to make the loop around the drill cord.
When installing the chuck key insert the longer arm of the key first into its hole and finish with the shorter arm.
Best Answer
I have found the original instructions on this page.
After a few lines, it says: