Drill Doctor

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W

W.Y.

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Aug 10, 2008
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Had a nice surprise today . I got a notice that there was a parcel for me to pick up at my US post box south of the border . I thought it was the new collect chuck arriving early that I had ordered myself but turned out to be a Drill Doctor.
I had done some work for my in-laws and wouldn't take pay for it and seeing as I had been complaining lately about the high price of single drill bits and would like to get a Drill Doctor, they listened and ordered one for me without me knowing about it..
Just got home with it and it comes with a carrying bag and a instructional DVD and a thick instructional manual.
I am not even going to try it until I watch the DVD and was just wondering if anyone here has one and what they think of it.
I know some are very good at sharpening drill bits free hand on a grinder but I have never mastered that and usually make them worse instead of better ???
It will never look this clean again so here it is right out of the box . :-* I have a LOT of bits that need to be sharpened and apparently I can turn them into split point bits as well


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Sweet! So we can all start sending you our dull drill bits now, right? Better post your address.:wink:
 
I've got one and it has worked great for me. I've drilled through about 700 to 800 steel lined bullets in the past 2 years and its great to always have sharp bits on hand.
 
I have owned the drill doctor for about 7 to 8 years. The price of drill bits here are about twice the price in the States (not sure about Canada). It has more than paid for itself and brought life back to a bunch of old and dull bits that I could not part with. :biggrin:

Lately, I have discovered the split point. It sure helps and I have been using that more and more.
 
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Thanks for the encouraging remarks.

I actually have one of those ealier models of Drill Doictor up on a shelf that has no motor and has to be powered by a hand drill and used sanding drums. The person I got it from charged me way too much for it and he got it free from The Handymans Club after "thinking" he got it free but actually paying it for it by ordering some of their leather jackets and such . The gross markup they received on the jackets paid for their so called "free" gift.
I used it with pretty fair results a few times but couldn't be bothered with setting it up all the time and changing sanding drums so it wound up on a shelf and has sat there ever since. . These newer models are so far advanced from those earlier promotional models.
I have the bottom of the line one to compare with the now second to the top of the line one so after trying it out and becoming more familiar with it I will have a better idea of its value.
I just now watched the excellent DVD that came with it and there is no comparrison with the P O S one I referred to. I think it must have been a prototype model that they were trying to get rid of on promotional sites like The Handyman Club of America .
I am anxious to try it out and will review the DVD another time or two first .
 
AW GEE, now I have to get the 400 lbs of drill bits I have & sharpen them? yikes..a woodworker's work is never done
 
What a wonderful little machine .
But it didn't start out that way . I watched the DVD and read the manual and decided around 8.00 PM last night I was going to give it a try on a 3/8" bit. I actually spent hours on that bit making a real mess of it and kept rounding over the end of the bit and it wouldn't even drill into soft wood. . Re-ran the video and re-read the manual but couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong .
I was beginning to think I had received a defective machine.
At midnight I googled for reviews on the Drill Doctor and found my mistake.. On the chuck, I was lining up the little white mark on the sides with the 118 degree mark . Apparently someone else had made the same mistake and said to be certain to match one of the alignment guides on the chuck with the 118 degree alignment port and push it in. That was my whole mistake right there and the manual didn't seem to explain it as good as I had interpreted it.
I proceeded to grind that bit to a perfect cutting angle and even put a split point on it.
Mine is a model 500X that will sharpen bits up to 1/2" and there is one above it (750X) that will sharpen up to 3/4" . I can however buy the extra chuck for mine for about $25.00 that will sharpen between 1/2" and 3/4" but I seldom use HSS bits of that size. .
The diamond sharpening wheel on mine is replaceable and can also be turned end for end in a couple minutes to get longer life from it. Apparently one wheel will sharpen several hundred bits.
I read somewhere that one model previous to the 500X the machine had to be sent back to the factory to replace the wheel . I don't know if that is indeed a fact or not. Then of course the earlier ones used the sandpaper disc's that were a bit of a P I T A.
This morning I sharpened over 40 bits to as good as brand new in less than an hour . Some of them were badly worn and many of them had wrong angles from my feeble attempts of sharpening on mt bench grinder so it took much longer than it normally would have . Now that the Drill Doctor has them all trued up and sharpened at the right angle it will only take seconds to re-sharpen them when they get dull.
All in all I am very pleased with this machine and would highly recommend it.
 
Congrats William. Cdn Tire had them on sale a while ago and I picked one up. I've had drill bits laying around for 40 years and they are finally sharp again. I got the bottom end of their choices and I still love it.
 
Just in case someone is following this thread and on the fence for this tool, this is the one I got ( 750X)and the difference is it can sharpen up to 3/4" bits. Being I am in the construction trades we use large bits all the time. It is well worth the money. I know when I started asking about this machine on many different forums I got overwhelming resposes that it was worth the money. Every once in awhile you see sales in one of the big box stores. I think it is Lowes. I think they only carry the 500 though.

From what I understand there is an adapter to the 500 for this purpose.

http://www.drilldoctor.com/product.asp?specific=139
 
I've had a Drill Doctor for a good while. If I was President of the World and could start over, I would buy the 750X model because of the larger bit capability. I did find the adapter chuck for large bits on Ebay for a decent price and bought it several months later. The price of the two together was what I could have bought the 750 for to start with. BTW if you can find the large bit chuck for $25 get it cause that's a great price.

The only thing better than a 750X is a free 500X! :biggrin: You will love the Drill Doctor.
 
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leehljp said:
I have owned the drill doctor for about 7 to 8 years. The price of drill bits here are about twice the price in the States (not sure about Canada). It has more than paid for itself and brought life back to a bunch of old and dull bits that I could not part with. :biggrin:

Lately, I have discovered the split point. It sure helps and I have been using that more and more.
Click to expand...

Yes Hank drill bits cost way more in Canada than in USA as well and even though I live close to USA , drill bits are something that when I need them replaced I need the "now" so generally just go into town for them.

My Drill Doctor came from Amazon for $99.00 with free S/H and I paid no taxes. .
http://www.amazon.com/Drill-Doctor-...ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1245213927&sr=8-2

The replaceable diamond wheel is $19.95.

http://www.amazon.com/Drill-Doctor-DA31320GF-Diamond-Replacement/dp/B000E7XEHK/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_text_b

And the 3/4" large chuck for the 500X as an accessory for ones who need to sharpen larger than 1/2" is $34.95

http://www.amazon.com/Drill-Doctor-DA70100PF-4-Inch-Large/dp/B000BKY60E/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_text_c

I could have had the 750 model for $139.95 and I was curious as to why my wife was asking which model I would get if I was to ever order one. Turned out she was cooking up the little deal with her sisters to get the Drill Doctor for me.. I said the 500 model because I don't have a HSS drill bit to my name that is over 1/2" diameter. All my bigger bits are either spade or forstner or other types for wood and I am not into drilling any steel over 1/2" thick
 
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I have the 750, but my bit collection goes clear up and over 1 inch in diameter. I keep the DD set up right next to my drill press. sharpening a bit has become so fast and easy for me that even I will slow down long enough to do it. It saved me back when I was drilling all those 50 cal bullets. I had to sharpen the bit every 20 bullets or so.
 
I bought the 500 from Woodcraft during a sale. It came with a coupon good for a gift. I bought the extra chuck from the Drill Doctor company and they sent me a an additional grinding wheel for free. The machine works great and aren't sharp bits a real treat.
 
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