Have we discussed drills?
 

Now that I have half a dozen spring projects behind me and struggling with dull, random drills I'm looking to do something about my drill bit issues. I looked on line for reviews, but I can't help thinking the review sites are trying to sell me something.

I bought a set of DeWalt drills that I'm really disappointed in. The cutting edges don't just get dull, they break off. But they get good reviews. :eek:

Any suggestions for good home shop drills?

I have a few pounds of miscellaneous old high speed steel drills in sizes up to 1/2" that are dull. I'm thinking sharpening those might be the way to go instead of buying new. Anyone have a Drill Doctor, a good drill sharpening technique, or another drill sharpener?

Love my Drill Doctor. Works great and easy to use.

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Don is also a car guy


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Go on Amazon buy a Norseman drill index for $85 Great quality US made bits
Throw away all the current junk Life is to short for crappy drill bits

Thanks for the head's up, Dan. SmileWavy

Found the same set on eBay for a couple bucks less and just placed an order:

Norseman 29 pc HI-Molybdenum M7 Drill Bit Set w Case 1/16-1/2 MADE IN USA SP-29P | eBay


Great reviews on these drill bits! :)

Lately I've been buying Harbor Freight bits, and tossing when dull. They aren't so bad, and cheap enough to have spares.

When I 'learned' how to read the bit & material, they last much longer. Use cutting fluid with metal.

Edit:

If the bit is spinning on metal, and not cutting a chip, it isn't drilling, it's dulling.

HSS may mean high speed steel, but that DOES NOT mean drill fast. If it isn't cutting, slow down, more pressure.

Took me way to long to realize the above.

This ^^^^ ALWAYS use cutting fluid when cutting or drilling metal with metal. Even WD40 is 10 times better than nothing.

other than not using cutting fluid, I think the biggest mistake people make is very high RPM. Low RPM, let the bit do the work, let the fluid lubricate and even cheap drill bits will last.

Dad has it exactly right, you have to read the bit and the substrate for best results.

You need just enough lubricant to let the chip slide in the flute, unless you are cutting fast and have a coolant source. Adequate pressure is the key, but sometimes hard to achieve with a hand drill. If you have the facilities, you should use cutting fluid, which floods the area and acts as both a coolant and a lubricant.

heat kills the bits once they lose temper they are junk

wax common paraffin wax is one of the best drill lubes
and a good temperature guide as it begins to smoke back off and let the bit cool
and reapply the wax
a good wax coating will also prevent corrosion of the cutting edge

in my experience with the Norseman bits you can actually DRILL A HOLE
no secret handshake needed, chuck them in drill, drill hole, use hole, move on with your life
Why fuch around?

These Viking drills have worked quite well:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EHLS22/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Worked in a machine shop. If they got a new drill bit every time one got dull, the shop would go out of business. A bench grinder to sharpen bits, and a little knowledge about the angles makes them as good as new. Just use a cup of water to dip them in so the edge don't get too hot, turn blue, and soften.

Hardly used oil or coolant unless the drill speed and feed was pushed by a machine. Even a with a drill press you should be fine. Tapping is a different story, tapping likes a little oil. Helps to keep the shavings from clogging up the hole.

Oh, and I wouldn't drlll metal unless the piece was fastened and held good enough it don't move.

Also when tapping, back off, and let the chip be cut about every full turn off the tap. When I am on the drill press, it helps to lift the drill bit off the work to allow the curling excess to fall away without whipping around. I still have engineers coming into my prototype lab and attempting to cut a 1/2" or 3/4" hole into steel without a pilot hole or any lube....one guy had smoke everywhere before I intervened.

Thank you for this thread!

Hummmm, I buy a new drill and extra batteries every two years or so at Harbor Freight as that is about when the batteries won't hold a charge any more. The drills make funny noises now and then about the same time. I usually get one of their numbered drill sets about the same time. As for lube or oils, I have used Crisco since the mid 1960's and it melts to absorb heat and the liquid then does the lubrication. For the lathe or mill machine I have several different oils depending on what I am cutting and got that info out of the machinist hand book.

A machinist once taught me how to sharpen a drill on a bench belt sander. It was a piece of cake. I cannot do it on a bench grinder unless I use the side of the wheel, and then only on bits bigger than !/4".

Helps to have a guard to rest you hand against and hold the bit steady.
If the face of your grinding wheel is not flat, you have been misusing the wheel and should dress it.

Dad was a machinist and have had a bench grinder on the bench at home ever since I can remember.
Dad taught me to sharpen drills and then I got to go thru all the drills and make sure they were nice a sharp.

If you keep them sharp it doesn't take very long and you find you really don't use that many drills from a drill set.

For Christmas one year I got a drill and tap set. It was the different sizes of taps and the drills to go with each tap for the class of threads desired. My Dad made the box they are kept organized it. Thought it was pretty cool.

Nice. Dad's can be pretty cool.

I was a machinist in the way back and my best pal there was a tool grinder. Pissed away plenty of the company's money BS-ing about Ducaties and watching him do his thing. He had the "proper" holding jigs and such but he taught me to do drills by hand.

I have a drill press but seldom use it as most of the work I do is by hand on broken bolts. Once you get a pilot hole through, the outside of the drill is what's important. Thinning the web and such is for the drill press. Could use a drill Dr for that.

Drill bits don't last long enough to get blunt around here. I break them other than wear them out.