wanted a great drill bits

MSS3020

Well-known Member
I have been looking online on how to sharpen drill bits with bench grinder and made a jig but havent tried it yet..

But I would like to know what brand of bits you have had luck with as I would like to get a nice set basically for
steel..
 
I bought some of those colored bits at Farm and Home. They must be made for wood. No matter how many times I sharpen those things with the Drill Doctor they're still worthless.
 
The search for magic do it all drill sets that last forever are what keeps the con artists in business at the farm shows, they dont exist. You need at least two sets of bits, good work and junk work and you down grade the good ones to junk work as they are used up. In the shop I keep a letter, number, fractional set of good bits. I also keep 10 count bags of the small sizes that I dont sharpen, basically 1/4 and down and popular sizes such as 3/8 and 1/2". When a bit gets hot or bent, broken and other wise messed up it goes in the junk work bit drawer. New bits always go in the "good work" set and the used one it replaces goes in the junk work bit drawer. Good work would be bits used in a drill press in known materials. Junk work would be any hand held work, unknown materials, hard, rusty etc. Learning how to sharpen bits and use them correctly is 20 times more important than what brand you by as long as you buy a quality bit to begin with. Speeds too fast kill bits but so does the often repeated advise to run them slow at low feed pressures. Back to your question. The Black Gold bits made by Champion are very good. If treated well, meaning used in a press on mild or machinable steel at proper speeds and feeds they will drill many holes. Be aware that there are many imitations of these bits, make sure they are Champion brand.
 
The Black and Gold on premium bits are actual coatings with a purpose. The black oxide is for corrosion and the titanium nitride (gold) is for durability. The cheapo copies use black and gold colorings that have no practical purpose but to fool the unknowing.
 
Here is my 2 cents. For messing around i have purchased a couple of sets of HF 135? split point 29 count sets. If you use common sense and keep them cool they have worked very nicely. I use straight automotive anti-freeze and just keep adding drops as you drill. It really works !! Now for good grade bits go to your local FastenAll . Those are Viking bits and are a very good grade. I have three sets of aviation grade bits and they were NOT cheap. I keep them in my magic drill bit locker and only use for precision drilling . Real high quality bits that are tempered you will find that they can snap if you apply any side pressure. A set of aviation grade jobber bits go for around $135.oo per 29 count set.
 
I bought this set from Fastenal. I like them because if I break one, I can just go to the Fastenal store and buy back the one I broke and keep my set complete. BTW I hide this set so no one else can use them.
Fastenal bits set
 
Harbor freight 9.99 on sale and they will cut anything but they are brittle the small bits break easy . the higher grade Irwin bits are awesome they cut well and they last . when I made the hitch for my sickle mower I thought I'll buy a new bit so I bought a dewalt black and gold bit it was ten dollars it wouldn't even begin to cut the cast I grabbed my old harbour freight bit and it cut through like a hot knife through butter
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I've never had luck with split point or any other supper dupper easy starting bit either . and the black bits are junk unless your cutting soft wood the I've tried the two color bits and they are junk . the gold ones do seem cut the best
 
Lawson has good bits but they can be pricey.
Years ago Black and Decker had some that worked quite well if you used them correctly I think they were called bullet point or something like that. Got a set of their regular gold ones a while back and they are worthless for anything but wood.
Bought a cheapie set from Menards in a black case that has several of each size and they aren't too bad for most stuff they do seem to break easy though.
 
when I ran a welding shop I bought bits from Wholesale tool of Oklahoma, Some of the reconditioned industrial grade bits were extremely cheap and cut as good as any other. I also sharpened my own bits free hand and They seem to cut to my satisfaction. I also have some quality cased bits for precision work. I have a drill but stand by the drill press for rough work. I also have a cased set to take with me for out=of-the -ship work with hand drills. When I retired. I brought home a lifetime supply of bits.
 
I'll second what Butch said.

The good bits stay at the shop.

The junk stays in a box in the truck for construction work, hand drilling, field work.
 
Look at the bit from the end. Sometimes they will make a bit with inferior steel and make them especially thick so they don't instantly break. These are especially difficult to sharpen and they don't hold an edge so you are better off avoiding them.
 
When I was running a truck shop in the 80's I hired this older gentleman.

I had him drilling some holes and the first thing he did was take most all of our bits and hand sharpen them on the grinder. We had 2 jigs, sharpeners, but he would not use them.

I walked over to him and had him show me what he was doing.
A real learning experience. The way I do it to this day is look at a brand new bit and make the old one look the same, hold it up and look across the flat, you shouldn't see it, also pay attention to the center of the cutter/ end, should have about a 35-40 degree twist to it.
Take your time and you can sharpen your own bits by hand.

Of coarse this doesn't work with the fancy split points etc.
I have even gotten pretty good with left hand bits.
 
There's very little proprietary magic in twist drills; high-grade twist drills are made by many different companies, in many parts of the world.

I've never been disappointed by twist drills from Guhring, OSG, Ohio Drill, Minnesota Drill (which actually manufactured Triumph drills for PTD before buying the brand from PTD's successor company), Regal, Norseman / Viking (made in the same plant; Norseman are sold primarily into the world of Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul, while Viking are sold primarily to the world of production machining), Cleveland, Morse, YG, New York, and probably another dozen or so makers that aren't coming to mind. The only one of these brands that's at all likely to be found on a peg in a big-box store is Triumph, and then only a few items out of the Triumph lineup.

I prefer to buy twist drills from an Industrial Distributor (aka Mill Supply House), but they're getting fewer and far-er between. The alternative to a local Industrial Distributor is a mail-order supplier -- such as McMaster-Carr, MSC, and so forth -- or local branch of Fastenal, Grainger, or Johnson Supply being workable alternatives. Drills made of "high speed steel" are usually fine for aluminum, aluminum alloys, cast iron, and low-carbon steel; "cobalt" high speed steel is usually more satisfactory for drilling stainless.

When it comes to drilling a hole in metal, slower speeds and higher feeds almost always work better than faster speeds and lower feeds, and whenever possible have the drilling spindle clamped to the workpiece. Ideally, the drill should turn around its own axis, and be fed along that axis into the work, without sliding or rotating around the other two axes.
 
(quoted from post at 13:53:30 04/03/18)

...I prefer to buy twist drills from an Industrial Distributor (aka Mill Supply House),...

What John Garner said...

I also buy my drill bits, Norsman black/gold from a local industrial supply. They are not much more than going to a big box store, I can get virtually any size including metric, and can buy them one at a time or 10 at a time. They are great quality, reasonably priced and I take very good care of them; proper storage, keep them clean, correct turning speed, etc.
 
Working in the fastener industry for over 40 years the best bits I?ve had the opportunity to sell have been the Champion Brute Platinum series. 135 split point work well with hand drills and drill presses. The one thing that most people forget is cutting fluid or paste and I don?t mean WD40 or old motor oil. Champion, Relton, Mystic all make a good product, try them and extend but life.
 
If you want a drill sharpener try the Drill Doctor so you can set the angle properly at either 118 or 135 degree depending on the bit.
 
If you are investing a lot of money in bits I suggest you buy a good drill press if you don't already have one.
A good drill press will make even cheap bits last much longer. It is true a hand drill is the go to tool for certain instances.
But in all my hobbies, tasks, and projects there were only a few situations where I needed to use a hand drill.
A hand drill requires steady even pressure and I usually break my bits just as I am breaking through the work.
I use a mixture of antifreeze and water with short squeeze of Dawn dish soap. Bits 1/4" and smaller are usually throw aways.
I resharpen larger bits by hand.
 
If they have a Morse taper they will only go in the drill press as they will not fit in a hand drill. As for the quality. Good sharpening has as much to do with life as anything. Dull bits will get hot.I reduce my pressure when I get almost through cuts down on the problem of breakage when exiting the back side.
 
(quoted from post at 09:08:01 04/02/18) I have been looking online on how to sharpen drill bits with bench grinder and made a jig but havent tried it yet..

But I would like to know what brand of bits you have had luck with as I would like to get a nice set basically for
steel..

A bench grinder can help ensure that your drill bits are sharp enough for any job.

Before you begin you need to take safety precautions. Sharpening your drill bit will cause metal to fly through the air. You need to protect your eyes with a pair of goggles. The leather gloves will also aid in protecting your hands.
 

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