Drill Bits

[flconch53]

After 40 years as a Tool and Die maker I have some experience in this. I can free hand sharpen most any drill bit from 1/8 on up. I use a 1" belt sander with a fine grit. Make sure to keep some water handy to cool the bit.
Like all suppliers Amazon has some good tools and some cheap ones. Staying away from foreign made bits is difficult many of the US companies are selling foreign made bits. If you are a casual craftsman it is cheaper to by new bits than a sharpening machine. I prefer carbide bits for steel and stainless because they don't walk off like high speed. For durability look for a cobalt bit. Many of the carbide tools come from Israel so I wonder how that will shake out.

 

[E3]

Thanks for the advice. Amazon has a Chicago wire set on sale right now that is 1-60. They are 118 degree conventional point which brings my next question. Does the point make a difference?

Thanks for the advice. Amazon has a Chicago wire set on sale right now that is 1-60. They are 118 degree conventional point which brings my next question. Does the point make a difference?

Drills are available with 135 degree points. This gives you a slightly flatter bottom in a blind hole. Also they are center cutting and less likely to walk off . You won’t be able to resharpen them because of the4 facet tip also the web is thicker . E3

 

[FlinterNick]

After 40 years as a Tool and Die maker I have some experience in this. I can free hand sharpen most any drill bit from 1/8 on up. I use a 1" belt sander with a fine grit. Make sure to keep some water handy to cool the bit.
Like all suppliers Amazon has some good tools and some cheap ones. Staying away from foreign made bits is difficult many of the US companies are selling foreign made bits. If you are a casual craftsman it is cheaper to by new bits than a sharpening machine. I prefer carbide bits for steel and stainless because they don't walk off like high speed. For durability look for a cobalt bit. Many of the carbide tools come from Israel so I wonder how that will shake out.

Very good advice !

I use a tungsten sharpener for sharpening drill bits, and follow it up with a high grit rubber wheel sander, seems to work pretty well haven’t had any issues yet. I don’t get many miles out of HHS bits, i since have switched to carbide and cobalt.

 

[Tyler L]

I have some drill bits (and end mills) from Drill America which are good quality. The few I have bought from Shars Tool Co. have also been good.

Drill Doctors work pretty good, but the guide/cam parts are made of plastic. I recently saw some reviews on this sharpener by Vevor which frankly looks much, much better.

 

[flconch53]

Very good advice !

I use a tungsten sharpener for sharpening drill bits, and follow it up with a high grit rubber wheel sander, seems to work pretty well haven’t had any issues yet. I don’t get many miles out of HHS bits, i since have switched to carbide and cobalt.

I use high speed mostly for wood ang soft metal

 

[Pratt]

A cheaper tool can cost you a project. I have had no problems with Chicago. If the drill is on sale ....let someone else buy it.

 

[Treetop]

My experience with drilling a precision hole size is to ALWAYS put calipers or a micrometer to the bit to verify it's size, most will have slight variation regardless of size numbering or manufacturer.

 

[bptactical]

A cheaper tool can cost you a project. I have had no problems with Chicago. If the drill is on sale ....let someone else buy it.

Hence my comment in post #11 in this thread.
Cheap tools end up being the most expensive tools you can buy.
You can’t afford cheap tools.

 

[flconch53]

My experience with drilling a precision hole size is to ALWAYS put calipers or a micrometer to the bit to verify it's size, most will have slight variation regardless of size numbering or manufacturer.

If it is real critical drill test hole . It doesn't happen as much anymore but if a bit is sharpened off center it will cut oversize. Conversely if you want a slightly bigger hole sharpen it off center

 

[Crew Chief]

Amazon is an outlet for Cleveland, Chicago Latrobe, and many other quality brands as well as mountains of junk and counterfeit items. Grainger breaks it off in your A$$ on both price and freight, especially if you don't have a business account.

If you really wanted to be Mr. Superior Knowledge and Advice you could recommend buying through Grainger's sister company, Imperial Supplies, where you can talk with live sales reps and get your prices....and freight....significantly reduced.

Drill Doctors at below retail price are probably "refurbished" (returns that still mostly work and have most of their pieces).

The 750X is a big improvement over the original but don't be fooled into thinking it performs as advertised. The split point feature is poor at best and only works on a narrow range of bit sizes. Even then, it leaves much to be desired so I split mine by hand. The ability to sharpen different angles and adjust predictably for different helical twist rates is nice but expect a big learning curve to using the machine.

Totally agree about Drill Doctor. I have one that is over 20 years old. I use it until I get frustrated with it then go to the grinder wheel. I can regrind an average size drill bit pretty quick. I get it right most of the time. I use the Drill Doctor on the smaller drill bits. Maybe I need to upgrade. I go through a lot of drill bits working on my muscle cars and and currently building a hot rod. I do work on my firearms also. There may be a better drill bit sharpener out there.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have some drill bits (and end mills) from Drill America which are good quality. The few I have bought from Shars Tool Co. have also been good.

Drill Doctors work pretty good, but the guide/cam parts are made of plastic. I recently saw some reviews on this sharpener by Vevor which frankly looks much, much better.

My DD does the job it is represented to do. I highly recommend them.

 

[ZUG]

I am fortunate in having inherited full indexes of fractional, number gauge, and letter gauge bits from my dad. When replacement bits are needed, I order them from Brownell’s gunsmith supply. I’ve never had a problem with Brownell’s bits, although I will say I’m just a hobbyist and not a professional.

However, in today’s world, it’s beginning to look as if I need a set of metric bits as well as some metric taps and dies. I will read through the excellent suggestions above before ordering.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

Bob, I also got some metric tap & dies for those "just in case" jobs. I found some good ones here at a fair price <http://www.toolsavings.com/>. You can get USA made or imports depending on your budget - I usually buy the H.S.S. USA stuff but the India made stuff is pretty good also. Here is a picture of my metric stuff the wood box that I built for them is being stained as I write this.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Thank you, @ZUG ! Good information!

Notchy Bob

 

[Col. Batguano]

Since I discovered them, I use cobalt drill bits all the time now. Yes they're expensive. They seem to hold a point well, and go through metal when the cheaper bits don't want to. They're. a must for drilling stainless steel. Carbide would work too, but I don't have any. Haven't been able to find wire bit sizes in cobalt, but I'm sure they're out there.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I use a quality, new bit for everything important like touch hole liners, tang bolt holes and such. For run of the mill stuff (not gun building) I often use bits from a $9.99 complete set I got at Harbor Freight, lousy bits until I run them through my drill doctor, then they aren't half bad.

I get my good bits from a Fastenal down the road.

 

[ZUG]

Here is my take on HSS, vs cobalt, vs carbide drill bits:
Drilling non-exotic metals (mild steel as an example) with QUALITY HSS drill bits is fine and they do a good job. You will have to sharpen them often if you are drilling a lot of holes in mild steel. Cobalt 2% or 3% will do better and last longer, but care must be taken so as not to flex the drill bit too much or it will snap. Carbide will last the longest but is the hardest to sharpen without the use of a diamond grinding wheel. Yes - you could sharpen them with a green silicone grinding wheel, but you will have to dress the wheel often and for me that's a PITA. Also, carbide is brittle and best used in a mill or ridged drill press. They can be used in an electric handheld drill, but care must be taken.

 

[Eric Krewson]

A bit story; I was drilling the rear pin hole through the forestock and underlug of my fowler. The HSS bit just went through the underlug and snapped off, there was about 1/2" of the bit stuck in the lug, the hole was one sided so punching it out wasn't an option. This broken bit pinned my barrel in place, the build was almost done but I could never remove the barrel.

I set up my drilling spile and drilled in from the other side, the broken bit was cockeyed and there was no way to get a punch on the end of it to drive it out.

I asked the experts here what to do. One guy said to get a 1/16" carbide bit, put it in the pin hole and run my hand drill at a slow speed with only the weight of the drill pushing on the bit. I thought " this isn't going to work". I did as was suggested, after about 10 minutes I saw a flake of metal come up out of the hole, then another and another, a few more minutes and POP, the carbide bit had drilled the broken bit out of the hole. I was able to pull the barrel and remove the rest of the broken bit, what a relief.

 

[mikesto44]

I like my drill Dr. it has worked very well. But when I drill my barrel lugs. I carefully mark everyone in procession on the stock. Drill through the wood till the drill bit starts to cut the lug at each one. Then remove barrel. Finish drilling the lugs and replace barrel in stock then finish process.
Been down the broken drill bit route and its no fun..

 

[Encore50Cal]

Col. Batguano, look at this web site. I have used them for over 25 years. The cobalt bits are pricey but you can find any size you need.​

https://www.panamericantool.com/solid-carbide-jobber-length-drills-wire-sizes.html​