Drill bits
- Thread starter simonjrwinter
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Ron Earp
Admin
Get one of these:
http://www.drilldoctor.com/
About $75 and works like a champ. Drill bits last more or less indefinitely and once you get the hang of it you can sharpen one in about a minute.
Ron
http://www.drilldoctor.com/
About $75 and works like a champ. Drill bits last more or less indefinitely and once you get the hang of it you can sharpen one in about a minute.
Ron
They can't be.....twiglets would be sharper!
When working in my stepfather's engineering works, I was taught by an old toolmaker how to sharpen drill bits on a spinning grindstone.
There's a certain angle and wrist action which, once mastered, brings a drill bit up to sharpness in 2 seconds - one for each face.
Mind you, Twiglets bits won't stay sharp for long.
There's a certain angle and wrist action which, once mastered, brings a drill bit up to sharpness in 2 seconds - one for each face.
Mind you, Twiglets bits won't stay sharp for long.
Definitly don't throw out the small diameter bits. Because after all, every little bit helps.
Hi Simon
What type of material and what diameter of the drill you are drilling?Some drill is make of carbon steel which is only suitable for wood, when purchasing I always asked for high speed steel. If the speed is too high and too much pressure it will increase the temperature and blunt the drill. If big drill I will narrow the web (the flat point of the drill, bigger drill will have wider web.) to reduce the heat from increasing. if that is the Stainless steel, I always reduce the speed because stainless steel conduct heat very fast so it get blunt easily. Hope this will help you.
Lim
What type of material and what diameter of the drill you are drilling?Some drill is make of carbon steel which is only suitable for wood, when purchasing I always asked for high speed steel. If the speed is too high and too much pressure it will increase the temperature and blunt the drill. If big drill I will narrow the web (the flat point of the drill, bigger drill will have wider web.) to reduce the heat from increasing. if that is the Stainless steel, I always reduce the speed because stainless steel conduct heat very fast so it get blunt easily. Hope this will help you.
Lim
Terry Oxandale
Skinny Man
I bought a bunch of bits the other day for shear panel work (wanted plenty to keep sharp), and ended up throwing them away. Every time they started to pull through, they would snap like glass, even without pushing. So much for sharp, but brittle.
Pete McCluskey.
Lifetime Supporter
Simon:
Try looking up Lawson Products, I think they distribute in the UK, their stuff is not cheap, but I use the cobalt drills as LIm mentioned and they are top quality. Get a good tool for sharpening as Ron mentioned and tune them up regularly. A dull bit may work, but as was mentioned the heat will destroy the temper because you are not cutting enough and burnishing the cutting face.
A good set of fractional bits here in the US (1/16 to 1/2 in 64ths ) runs about $250.00 but you will keep them a long time if they don't get broken.
Hope this helps
Phil
Try looking up Lawson Products, I think they distribute in the UK, their stuff is not cheap, but I use the cobalt drills as LIm mentioned and they are top quality. Get a good tool for sharpening as Ron mentioned and tune them up regularly. A dull bit may work, but as was mentioned the heat will destroy the temper because you are not cutting enough and burnishing the cutting face.
A good set of fractional bits here in the US (1/16 to 1/2 in 64ths ) runs about $250.00 but you will keep them a long time if they don't get broken.
Hope this helps
Phil
Thanks for all the advice guys. The one thing I've taken from this thread is speed. Being High Speed Steel drills, doesn't I guess, mean they need to be used at high speed! I think thats been a large part of my problem. I'll slow my drill down next time I get a new drill bit.
Thanks,
Simon
Thanks,
Simon
Simon,
I have HSS and Cobalt Made in Germany. Still using the same set. Just sharpen them when needed.
Dave
I have HSS and Cobalt Made in Germany. Still using the same set. Just sharpen them when needed.
Dave
Boeing surplus used to be just down the road from me - they sold their shop bits (mostly new or very slightly used) for next to nothing. These bits were very, very good - last 10X longer than the cheese sticks coming from foreign shores. Really made me appreciate the difference between good bits and bad.
And, yes, you can sharpen a bit on a plain old wheel grinder reasonably well but no doubt the dedicated bit sharpener variety does a nice/easier job.
And, yes, you can sharpen a bit on a plain old wheel grinder reasonably well but no doubt the dedicated bit sharpener variety does a nice/easier job.
Pat Buckley
GT40s Supporter
I have always managed to resist buying those drill bits that you see being demonstrated at car shows - you know the ones that drill through masonry and then right through a soft tomato and then the guy uses it as a punch and then....etc
Has anyone here bit (!) on the speel and actually tried a set?
Has anyone here bit (!) on the speel and actually tried a set?
Ian Anderson
Lifetime Supporter
Pat
I was that sucker!
think all of them now have melted tips from drilling walls to fit raw plugs
Did not seem to matter high or low speed, hammer or not - they all did the same!
I should have stolen his demo units as I think they must have been made from different material
Ian
I was that sucker!
think all of them now have melted tips from drilling walls to fit raw plugs
Did not seem to matter high or low speed, hammer or not - they all did the same!
I should have stolen his demo units as I think they must have been made from different material
Ian
Paul Thompson 'Hooligan'
Admin
I'll second that... Like Tony I was taught to sharpen drills on an aprrenticeship about 30 yrs ago and it served me well for years but I find drills of less than 0.125" a bit of a struggle now without magnifying aids
...:cry:
Decent drills stay sharp when not abused. A friend recently showed me a drill he had that had 'unwound' istelf when being used in a lathe. It was about 0.25" in size and the clearing flutes had lined themselves up so it looked more like a reamer than a drill....:laugh::laugh::laugh:
Hi Paul,
I have some HSS and Carbide drill bits that I've not sharpened and have owned for more than 25 years. Proper care is essential. Running the proper speed and lubricant for the material being cut. I save the rubber bits more for when my son comes over to borrow them. I could never quite get through to the lad that he needs to let the drill and bit do the work. To him it's just a curly nail that makes a hole so he likes to Force the bit through the work. If the bit is a #30 or below - he typically snaps them off. I've told him that when I'm out of the rubber bits - he won't have any to borrow.
Mysteriously I get another set for Christmas or my birthday!
I have some HSS and Carbide drill bits that I've not sharpened and have owned for more than 25 years. Proper care is essential. Running the proper speed and lubricant for the material being cut. I save the rubber bits more for when my son comes over to borrow them. I could never quite get through to the lad that he needs to let the drill and bit do the work. To him it's just a curly nail that makes a hole so he likes to Force the bit through the work. If the bit is a #30 or below - he typically snaps them off. I've told him that when I'm out of the rubber bits - he won't have any to borrow.
Mysteriously I get another set for Christmas or my birthday!
