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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

Sharpening drill bits

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Ted

05-16-2004 16:27:45




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Anybody have a tried and true method for sharpening drill bits on a bench grinder?




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Dave_Id

05-18-2004 15:50:48




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 Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Ted, 05-16-2004 16:27:45  
Practice! Practice!, Practice, and you'll have the drill sharpened before you can set it up in a Drill Doctor



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Ray,IN

05-19-2004 20:26:16




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 Re: Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Dave_Id, 05-18-2004 15:50:48  
I agree with Dave. This is one of those things you cannot learn from a book or by reading anything. Some of the guys have explained the basics very well, and should get anyone started. You must practice until you get it right. Then you will make sharp, easy cutting bits from broken ones, not only dull ones, in much less time than so called automatic sharpeners. Once you learn, you'll never want to use one of the machines.

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Kelvin

05-17-2004 20:15:19




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 Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Ted, 05-16-2004 16:27:45  
I guess I'm the only one to ever have to 'fix' the point on a bit sharpened on a "Drill Doctor".

To sharpen a bit on a grinder, hold the bit at a slight upward angle, with the cutter edge on the centerline of the wheel and the angle parallel with the face of the wheel. As you touch the bit to the wheel, rock the point of the bit upward slightly and remove from contact with the wheel. Rotate 180 degrees and repeat on the other side.

Repeat this, dipping in water as needed until the outer edge has a sharp corner.

Hold the bit upwards with the left cutting edge facing you and the right cutting edge facing away. If the point where the 2 ground edges meet angles away toward the right, It'll cut. If it is straight away from you or angles to the left, it won't.

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SteveB(wi)

05-20-2004 06:05:28




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 Re: Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Kelvin, 05-17-2004 20:15:19  
If your grinder is like mine you also have to dress the wheel before hand to level it.



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GG

05-18-2004 05:24:06




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 Re: Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Kelvin, 05-17-2004 20:15:19  
Kelvin--you are not the only one. I am a tool and die maker and I sharpen all my bits by hand. My father-in-law bought a Drill Doctor, one of the more expensive ones, and could not get sharpening that worked well. Upon inspection I discovered that the problem with this sharpener is the chuck. Follow instructions correctly for mounting the bit. Then look at the drill shank on the back side and you will notice that it will not be centered. You can take your finger and move tha drill shank back and forth. This should be done every time but you are not instructed to do so. With this chucking set-up, it is VERY hard to get a true point. The "drill doctor sharpened bits" will cut better then a dull bit, but nothing like a new bit. Figure the cost of these machines and you can buy many new bits for the same money. Those of you that have a drill doctor can easily check this out. Just look closely or measure the alignment.

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Chester

05-17-2004 15:14:30




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 Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Ted, 05-16-2004 16:27:45  
Agree with the sander advise, mine is an old 8 1/2" disc Homecraft unit meant to mount on top of a table saw. Make yourself a jig..... . the base can be sheet metal or plywood about half the width of the rest (or table) a permanent stop (bar or block) is fixed at 59 deg. to the disc. Then scribe parallel lines (3 or 4 will do) 12 deg. from that stop that intersect at the point on the table closest to the disc. To use, place the bit against the 59 deg stop with the cutting lip on the disc. Then twist the bit approx 1/6 of a turn as you swing the bit to the 12 deg position. This latter motion will grind the back relief. And, you could also just clamp the stop on and scribe the 12 deg. lines directly on your table. I prefer the jig. Can't take credit for this one, the procedure is covered in both books: "Woodshop tool maintenance" Cunningham and Holtrop (1956) and Pop Science Skill book "Guide to Sharpening" Harry Walton (1967)ISBN: 006014523-4

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Wayne

05-17-2004 06:33:30




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 Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Ted, 05-16-2004 16:27:45  
Just throw away all that stuff mentioned below and buy a drill doctor and for get the nuts the gauges and just sharpen it and use it. It is just about that fast too. When you get done it WILL cut from both sides also.



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Ted

05-16-2004 19:59:30




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 Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Ted, 05-16-2004 16:27:45  
Thanks for the tips



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wdTom

05-16-2004 17:39:30




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 Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Ted, 05-16-2004 16:27:45  
Get a drill point gauge. they are about $8 to $25 depending on brand and quality. You dnn't need a real expensive one. A belt sander does work best. Look at a new drill in a size large enough (maybe 1/2" or 3/8") to see what the angles are in the point. Hold it tip up, verticle in front of you and slowly rotate it. Notice the cutting edge is higher than the trailing edge. You must have this "relief" or "backing off" or the drill won't cut. Hold your drill on the belt sander with it shut off and see the angle you need. I move the drill up the belt, in a rolling motion with the tip going higher than the shank as I go. The cutting edge is usually held horizontal. Compare the angle with the drill point gauge. Look at the length of each cutting edge using the drill point gauge. When you have the same angle on each side, the same length cutting edge, and relef, the drill will cut. A drill point gauge is a must, it is VERY difficult to tell the correct angle and length of edge without one.

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JMS/MN

05-16-2004 22:30:57




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 Re: Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to wdTom, 05-16-2004 17:39:30  
Absolutely right about the gauge. Bought mine from Sears for about two bucks, over 35 years ago. We also made one in a college Ag Engr class, but it had no markings, which are key to proper use. Can't find one at Sears anymore, but they sell machines to sharpen bits. Unnecessary. Your description of how to use the gauge is also excellent.



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JMS/MN

05-16-2004 22:34:18




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 Re: Re: Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to JMS/MN, 05-16-2004 22:30:57  
One other thing when using the gauge is you grind off the SHORT side of the drill bit to make it longer.



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Gene Davis (Ga.)

05-16-2004 20:25:52




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 Re: Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to wdTom, 05-16-2004 17:39:30  
In a pinch the angle of a drill bit can be measured very closely by using two hex nuts placed side by side. Most drill points are ground at a 59 degree angle and the 2 hex nuts side by side will give 60 degrees. Drill doctor does an excellent job on the angles.



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Davis In SC

05-16-2004 21:30:06




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 Re: Re: Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Gene Davis (Ga.), 05-16-2004 20:25:52  
Gene, that is a great idea about 2 hex nuts... The biggest mistake people make in sharpening drills is letting them get hot, which destroys the hardness of them. Getting hot softens them, getting them hot & dipping them in water makes them too hard & apt to chip. Work slowly, & dip in water before drill gets hot..... Regards, Davis



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KURT (mi)

05-16-2004 17:06:59




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 Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Ted, 05-16-2004 16:27:45  
I use a belt sander, yep the big kind with the 6" wide belt. My old boss showed me how do it years ago and it works great even better than a bench grinder in my opinion. and yes the drill lands are equal on both sides, it took some practice but when I am drilling into hardened stainless steel and the drill has to be resharpened every 10 minutes the belt sander works great. (this is at where I work by the way)

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drill doctor

05-16-2004 16:58:22




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 Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Ted, 05-16-2004 16:27:45  

Northern tool.



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Bob Whitmoyer

05-16-2004 16:56:52




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 Re: Sharpening drill bits in reply to Ted, 05-16-2004 16:27:45  
Hi Ted Practice, practice etc. Get a diagrahm of a drill bit and study the angles when sharpened correctly. Best advice though..hand sharpened for years and really thought I was pretty good..
Two years ago my son got me a "drill doctor" for
christmas.. Wonderful, haven't done a regular drill by hand since..
Enjoy spring
Bob Whitmoyer



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