Drill bit questions

[southernclay]

Hi all,

A few questions on drill bits:

1. Do you only use brad point?
2. Do you only use HSS?

I'm drilling blanks on a press right now but thinking about switching to the lathe

I agree you usually get what you pay for but at the same time there are some decent looking options out there that tempted to try just want to see the advice of those that have done this a lot more than I have. I'm new to turning and trying to gather up supplies. I like to be prepared so trying to gather some things before I may need them. Thanks for the time and advice, this is a great forum!

Warren

 

[kovalcik]

I use only brad point and have had no problems. My split is about 85% Wood and 15% acrylic. Usually drill on my drill press unless I really need the hole to be dead center of the blank in which case I use the lathe. I bought the English and Metric HSS Woodriver sets from Woodcraft. I also have a carbide 7mm that I picked up from Woodturningz and a few others I bought before I got the sets (all bradpoint). I have a set of DeWalt pilot point bits, but they are way too agressive.

 

[flyitfast]

There are many options on drilling, but I have found that the Colt drill bits for pens are the best for me. They are designed for drilling pens with longer length, special tip that eliminates center starter drill bit need, and special fluting for getting the waste out while drilling. And they stay sharp after many uses. They also seem to stay cooler.
Down side: they ain't cheap! But, as someone said in previous post, you get what you pay for. Amazon has the best price for a set of five most used drills.
I don't like brad point drills for acrylic - tend to split/chip the blanks. Work great on wood though.
I also drill on the lathe - much more accurate.
gordon

 

[Ed McDonnell]

My view of the world :biggrin:

The drill bits you should buy are the drill bits that you can keep sharp. A cheap drill bit that has been freshly sharpened will outperform the worlds highest quality drill bit that has been allowed to go dull. Drill bits that you don't have the ability to sharpen are a waste of money.

How you use the drill bits (lathe or drill press) is less important than keeping the drill bits sharp.

I use standard HSS drill bits and a drill doctor. Buying drill bits without any way to sharpen them will lead to inevitable frustration.

Just the way I look at it.

Ed

 

[jsmithmarcus]

For drilling acrylics I ordered a set of bits from a company called Craftics that specializes in plastics. These bits do an AMAZING! job on acrylics. The exit hole is as smooth as the entrance and the create much less heat.

CRAFTICS - Tools and Accessories for Working with Plastic

 

[NittanyLion]

Drill doctor is a must....spend the extra money on this and go for harbor freight bits. As Ed says above, no sense in having expensive bits and no way to sharpen them. Most new good bits need sharpened IMHO.

 

[MDEdwards]

I agree about the use of the Colts (name change?). and stongly agree to avoid the Dewalts. They will pull you through the hole!
Also I don't like Rioby because they wobble.
Those long German brad point bits work well on the end grain.

 

[mredburn]

Better drill bits stay sharper longer than cheap ones. H/f bits sometimes are not the size they say they are. THey also tend to be crap steel and dull quickly. I would buy a H.S.S drill bit and keep it sharp. I recommend buying only the bits you need not sets unless your going to use them on other things as well. I recomend Victor Drill bits or Norseman (which are made by Victor) I bought a Colt 7mm drill bit that was dull when I took it out of the package.

 

[JohnGreco]

Drill Dr. is one of the best tools in my shop. Often it makes drill bits sharper than they were the day I bought them (no HF bits, many DeWalt though). Absolutely one of those "Why did I wait so long to buy this?" kind of tools.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Is there a particular version / model of the drill doctor that's recommended?

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Is there a particular version / model of the drill doctor that's recommended?

My vote: DD750x because it can handle up to a 3/4" bit. The other models top out at 1/2". Shop around because the price can be very variable from place to place.

Ed

 

[edstreet]

How about the low end? That is the #1 reason I have not bought a drill dr yet.

 

[NittanyLion]

How about the low end? That is the #1 reason I have not bought a drill dr yet.

You can go down to about 1/8 on my 750(old style). It's nice to have the capability to sharpen above 1/2" with the 750, but I rarely use the larger chuck.

 

[randyrls]

On the topic of drill bits, I sometimes make a "flat" on the cutting flutes. This keeps the bit from digging in too much on chippy and brittle acrylics. It only has to be very small and I do it with a diamond credit card hone.

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Amazon has the DD750x today for $116 and free shipping. That's the best price I've seen on it. Last night it was $136 on Amazon. They are doing the "our prices are so low you have to put it in your shopping cart to see our super price" gimmick. The price seems to be pretty volatile.

The DD750X range is 3/32" to 3/4". Here's a link to Drill Doctors model comparison:

Product Comparison Chart - Technical Support

Ed

 

[Ed McDonnell]

One other advantage of the DD750X is that you can adjust the drill point angle. That's not something you want to change frequently, but if you have some drill sizes that you use exclusively for plastics, it would make sense to grind them with a bigger point angle. Here's a link to an article about drill point geometry. It talks about plastics in the materials section:

Choose The Best Drill Point Geometry : Modern Machine Shop


Ed

 

[NittanyLion]

Better drill bits stay sharper longer than cheap ones. H/f bits sometimes are not the size they say they are. THey also tend to be crap steel and dull quickly. I would buy a H.S.S drill bit and keep it sharp. I recommend buying only the bits you need not sets unless your going to use them on other things as well. I recomend Victor Drill bits or Norseman (which are made by Victor) I bought a Colt 7mm drill bit that was dull when I took it out of the package.

I will amend my answer.....I do agree with Mike, better bits stay sharp longer. My bit collection grows, but I would suggest starting with the $20 kit from HF and the drill doctor. From there you can add quality bits one at a time for the most used ones. This is the approach I took. I do stay away from brad point bits because I cannot sharpen them. It is really hard to appreciate a Drill Doctor until you get one and find how dull your bits really are..

 

[southernclay]

Thanks!

Thanks for all of the replies, lots of good info to soak on. Glad I found this forum

 

[Scruffy]

I have the DD750X and ..

I really like how it sharpens my bits. One very nice feature is that some broken bits can be sharpened. They are shorter but hey beeter than buying a new bit.

 

[frank123]

I really like how it sharpens my bits. One very nice feature is that some broken bits can be sharpened. They are shorter but hey beeter than buying a new bit.

A broken bit can be made to make a decent starter (spotting) bit. Just leave the minimum amount of flute length your DD can handle, grind it somewhat close to right on a grinder (to reduce the amount of grinding necessary on the DD) and sharpen it the rest of the way on the DD.

Short stubby bits don't flex (much or at all depending on the size) and will make a perfect starter hole for very precise drilling. The starter hole has the exact angle for the drill bit to fully engage in a perfectly centered manner without pulling because one edge hits the work first and causes pulling off center. (the perfect starter bit would be 1 or 2 degrees shallower angle than the bit grind angle so it engages exactly in the center of the starter hole first and not on its edges).

I have an old model 250 I picked up in virtually new condition on craigslist for 10 bucks and I'm quite happy with it. Years worth of saved old bits that got dull are now in use again, and its nicer to start each project with a freshly sharpened bit.

I understand the new models allow adjustable angles and if I was buying new that is what I would look for, but what I have works just great and I can't justify spending the money for one since I don't actually need a new one (yet).

 

[dankc908]

I was ALWAYS frustrated with my drilling efforts (Colt bits, Gorilla grind, bullet point, etc.) until I switched to drilling on the lathe. No more problems with the drilling as long as I use sharp bits.

 

[dtswebb]

OK, so here's a question that I've had - can you sharpen the Colt parabolic drill bits (the ones designed for pen turners) using a Drill Doctor?

Matthew