Drill bits?

[WoodNutOntario]

Hi All,

Since i am a fairly new pen turner, +- 1 1/2 years i have mainly purchased the pen kits that supply the bushings, drill bits and a few kits.
A great starter set up to get you turning fast.

Unfortunately as i turn more expensive kits and use rarer and more expensive woods and other materials i have come to a realization....

I was drilling a piece of Cocobolo, a very nice piece that almost looked like burl.
I centre marked the blank and the drill bit and off i go.
As i am drilling i notice that the bit is drilling off centre!
Too late to save the blank now!
The hole is oversized and it is for the largest kit i have...

So i strip the set up and rotate the bit by hand with a square next to it.
And i find that it does not rotate exactly straight. It has a bit of a curve to it.
I then run it along a flat surface and one side does not even come close to contacting the surface. The one side if okay but the other is way off!

I tried this with most of the "kit" bits and find it is pretty much standard!
Not a good sign!!

Did the same test with my Titanium Nitride covered bits and they are perfect!
Unfortunately the set does not contain all the bits i require.

So my question is this:

What drill bits would the Pro's recommend?
Preferably stuff i ca buy in Canada, but if not it does not really matter.

Thanks in advance!

Andrew

 

[Padre]

I have had great luck with bits from Arizona Silhouette. It's not in the states, but he ships fast and his bits run true, and stay fairly sharp.

 

[1080Wayne]

Lee Valley is a good source of what you need . I use only the top of the line brad point bits .

 

[zig613]

Andrew

I purchased a set of 120 titanium drill bit set from Canadian Tire that goes up to 1/2 inch. For bits larger than 1/2 inch I purchased them from Lee Valley Tools. Combine these bits with a Drill Doctor 750 to keep them sharp.

Wade

 

[BKelley]

Good Drills, Good Holes. Bad Drills, bad holes!! Some times it is awfully tempting to buy a lesser quality tool because of an atractive price. I'm 76 years old made and a living with tools during my working years. I learned many years ago to buy a name brand quality tool. Buy the very best tool that you can afford and some times you might even have to wait a pay day or two, but the wait will be worth it.

 

[WoodNutOntario]

Thanks for all the tips and help!

I usually do buy the best that i can afford.
Just that the pre-made kits seem to throw in junk bits, something you never really think about until it bites you!

I forsee a trip to Lee Valley on the weekend!

Andrew

 

[snyiper]

I get individual bits from McMaster-carr.com. You can pick the size length and the hardness of the bits no min order. I ordered t-track from them monday and had it tuesday.

 

[Smitty37]

LOCAL HARDWARE

With a few exceptions for really odd sizes I have found that my Titanium bits purchased locally work just fine. They are likely better bits than you'll get from the kit sellers.

 

[Rojo22]

The best drill bits in my opinion for drilling pen blanks are the parabolic COLT five star bits (made especially for pen blanks). Woodcraft sells them. They work awesome for plastics and very dense woods. I have replaced every drill bit for every sized hole for every pen kit with these. They are a little more expensive, but worth every penny you save in badly drilled blanks.

If you would like to see my review of these bits, please go to the reviews section and see the drill bits review.

 

[PennedDown]

Everyone has a favorite but IMHO, you can't find a better bit than a Norseman. I used to use the TN sets, then went to so-called "pen bits" and some of those worked well according to what material you were cutting through. But the Norsemans seem to handle acrylic and wood equally well, and I'm using a 25/64th that I've had for 3 years, drilled probably 300+ blanks with it, and it has never seen a stone or been sharpened and still cuts like the day I got it from AS.

 

[Chthulhu]

I'll second Glenn's recommendation of McMaster-Carr as a source. They are an industrial supplier I've dealt with for more than twenty years, and very reliable. They do carry the parabolic bits as well as standard twist drills in verious lengths. They have no minimum order, and their shipping is pretty much at cost; very reasonable. They keep 95%+ of what is in ther catalog in stock; where I am, about 100 miles south of their Santa fe Springs, CA, headquarters, I more often than not received my order next day via regular UPS, and occasionally on the same day if I ordered first thing in the morning.

 

[sbell111]

Like many of us, I bought the mondo set of 115 bits that harbor puts on sale occasionally. I've never had a problem with them.

My metric bits were purchased 'wherever'. A few from CSUSA, a few from 'my supplier' (rizheng), I think that one or two may have come from woodnwhimsies. I did buy an indexed case for the metric ones from McMaster Carr. The HF ones came in one.

The index on the case is super handy for choosing the proper bit to make one-off items such as flashlight 'covers'. As a bonus, the case keeps the bits organized.

 

[randyrls]

Look for a good set of drill bits intended for metal working. Some time ago I scored a 35% off sale on a complete set (fractions, letters, & numbers) of Cleveland and Latrobe bits for about $243.00US. But these are good drill bits. They stay sharp longer but still need touchup from time to time. Invest in a Drill Doctor and learn to use it well.