Left Hand Drill Bit Set

WESnIL

Member
I am wanting to buy a left hand drill bit set to take out broken studs, etc. My thinking says a set from 1/16 to 1/2 inch by 1/32nd would work. Give me your ideas and where to buy a quality set at a reasonable price. Are there any brands ormanufaturers to look for or to stay away from? Thanks!
 

Stay with people who don't make stupid claims as to what their product will do and the very cheapest bits and you will be OK. That being said there are several very good USA Mfgs of drill bits. One that I have taken to as of late is Norseman. They have been giving me very good service in both the machine shop where I expect both accurate sizing and many holes between sharpenings and out on the farm where they get abused bad. Not magic, but very good quality.
Norseman cutting tools
 
You might get sticker shock when you price a complete set of quality left-hand bits. I"ve gotten by with getting just a select few.
 
Hello WESnIL,

I don't know how big of a bolt you are working with, but drilling a broken one at 1/4 its size,
would be adeaquate to get it out.
A full 1/2" seems a lot of sizes you will never use. Buy a set up to 1/4, and then individual bigger sizes as you need.
Guido.
 
I got a set of 3 from Crapsman. They seem to do everything I needed them for so far.
Called Screwout Screw remover No.1, No.2, No.3
Can't remember the price but it wasn't too bad.
Bobcatz
 
i have sets from snap on and mac tools. happy with both. i did break a mac bit and they replaced it free of charge. not sure if snap on will do drill bits, have to ask the tool guy next time he stops in.
 
It is so nice when the left hand bit starts to touch the broken bolt and it just spins up out of the hole. I got mine from Snap-on.
 
Hello Dalex,

Its a breath of fresh air! Somebody is paying attention. Move to the front of the class.

Guido.
 
It always seems to me that this is the case where duller is better, as long as you don;t generate too much heat. I don't buy expensive on these and sometimes pilot with a small right hand first.
 
Glennster

I bought mine from ACE Hardware . They seem to be alright & does a great job. They weren t all that high in price but when you need them it doesn t really matter



John
 
Glennster

I bought mine from ACE Hardware . They seem to be alright & does a great job. They weren t all that high in price but when you need them it doesn t really matter



John
 
Dad would just sharpen the drill bit to cut turning left handed. Would not remove the chips as good but the air hose would take care of that. I cant sharpen a dirll bit to save my soul, but dad could.
 
I've been doing repair work for close to 40 years and I have removed hundreds and hundreds of broken bolts and studs of all sizes and I have never gotten 1 single bolt out with a left hand drill bit,not 1.Most of the stuff I work on an easy out won't even get them. I've welded nuts on them,split them out with a cutting torch, redrilled and tapped them, installed helicoils,welded up the hole,redrilled and retapped them, but a left hand drill bit has never worked for me.
 
I never bought or used a left hand drill bit. I don't fuss with a broken bolt except drill it out to tap size and dig the threads out one way or the other. Most of the time with a tap but not often just sometimes they will pull out. Seems faster for me than fussing around trying other methods.
 
Me too Dick. If a person just spends the extra couple minutes to properly center punch and start drilling so he is centered instead of close it works well and is predictable, works every time.
Some of the other methods are faster when they work. The problem is when they dont work you can end up with a mess on your hands,, as you know. A few times out of ten the remnant will thread in once past the rusty outer threads and that is one of few good uses I can think of for an easy out. A left hand bit would likely serve same purpose?
 
I have and use a set of about 6 They range from about 1/16" to 1/2" I have had bolts spin out with them (obviously not a well rusted type) but if having to drill out a broken fastener why not incline it to turn the way it needs to? Off of the Snap-On truck. They come to the shop weekly, I get to town once a month.
 
I have had mixed results, work most of the time on snapped off manifold bolts. Snap on also sells a air tool, that uses left hand bits, that thread into the drill. Really slick as owl doody, in tight places.
Harbor freight, 10
 
get a set.. AND get a set of carbide bits. they DO work good at drilling out stubborn studs and bolt shanks.

a GOOD set of extractors ( i prefer square profile vs spiral ).. and read the directions.

many people have bad experience with extractors by not drilling the hole large enough to use the correct size extractor.

also learn some good techniques like welding nuts on exposed stud shanks.. etc..
 
I have a set of Hanson lefthand drill bits handy as they can be most of the time a bolt will back out on its own once I start drilling and the bolt heats up a little.
 
I would buy the easy out set with left hand drill bits with it from McMaster carr. I don't remember the part number though. By buying the set you only get what you'll need.
 
I have a set bought from the local caseih dealer was 109 don't remember what sizes are in the set but has worked great on broken manifold bolts at work
 
(quoted from post at 15:59:55 02/19/13) I never bought or used a left hand drill bit. I don't fuss with a broken bolt except drill it out to tap size and dig the threads out one way or the other. Most of the time with a tap but not often just sometimes they will pull out. Seems faster for me than fussing around trying other methods.

I don't fuss with drilling out to tap size and tapping and digging one way and another. I just use a left handed drill bit.
 

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