# Best drill bits-metal



## sourdough (Jan 31, 2010)

Okay folks, I'm tired of buying drill bits that break at the least bit of pressure. I need some bits that will drill through soft metal, drill out screw heads etc. So many of the former "name brand" bits are unadulterated crap* and I long ago learned the "cheap drill bit" lesson.
Thank ya'all.:agree:

*Crap: crummy, rotten awful product.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Warren,

I use plain old black oxide finished drill bits (from enco, McMaster, etc), nothing fancy. I don't use the Tin coated, because I don't notice much of a difference. Nothing fancy on the points, just something simple I can resharpen. I started with an index, but have bought ones I use alot like #7, F, etc. by packs of 5. 

If you're snapping a lot of drill bits, you may not be lined up directly above your centerpunch, and sideloading the bit. Number drills especially don't handle this very well.


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## MarcoBernardini (Jan 26, 2010)

Warren, are they for a hand drill or for a drill press?
I use mainly Bosch bits, and they are not bad.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Warren

You may want to pickup some subby drill bits they are very short and with a 135 deg.grind on them they are made just for drilling metal you can also try this little trick, put the drill bit all the way in the chuck and just have about 1/2" of the bit sticking out of the chuck,if it can't bend it will not break..the norm. 

I have in the pass cut off the drill bits just for that type of job..
If you have a Drill Doctor you can make your own stubby set, quick and easy and for about 1/4 of the normal price.
Just cut off the point and than put on a new point, about a 2 min.job with the Drill Doctor.. i.e. 1/2" drill bit 2 1/4" long with a 1" long flute.


Drill Doctor and worth every dime,the lower price one (50.oo) will work just fine for most drill bits, the best money you can spend for your shop.

Amazon.com: drill doctor drill bit sharpener US Home Improvement
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sourdough said:


> Okay folks, I'm tired of buying drill bits that break at the least bit of pressure. I need some bits that will drill through soft metal, drill out screw heads etc. So many of the former "name brand" bits are unadulterated crap* and I long ago learned the "cheap drill bit" lesson.
> Thank ya'all.:agree:
> 
> *Crap: crummy, rotten awful product.


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## sourdough (Jan 31, 2010)

Ahhhh...yes. Thanks fellas. Some excellent ideas, especially the one about loading bit deeper in chuck. And I think I may very well have been off center yesterday and that broke one of the bits. The bits are being using in Makita and P-Cable LI drills (very niiccceee!). I had pretty much concluded that my last hope was Bosch. I already KNOW that some of the big name bits are useless.
I am not fanatically opposed to Chinese products: I have several radios and other devices that will knock your socks off-but I really DO dislike our big name companies selling out so totallly that they seem to have forgotten what quality control is all about. I have some nearly indestructible tools with a big M on them and they are great. But try their drill bits. I was always a fan of those yellow D drills and stuff too. But try their drill bits and some of their other stuff now. Oh sure-they'll send you a new one when it breaks! Why not; they're making ten times as much on the drill now as they were.
Sign me sad and disillusioned down in the desert.


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

Has anyone come across a sharpener for brad point drills?

Cheers

Peter


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Peter

I use the belt sander ( Balldor 2 HP ,2" x 48' belt) and I use the 40 to 320 grit belts..make most of my bits from jobber size bits.

Here's a snapshot of some of them,see below

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istracpsboss said:


> Has anyone come across a sharpener for brad point drills?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Peter


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

I have made a few. Check out the boughten one, and try to duplicate it. I use a die grinder and a cut off wheel to grind. I will also come behind with the dremal tool and finish it off with it. They do a good job. If You are using a older bit, it is been sharpened already a few times, I also grind the inside of the flutes a little.It makes it easier to grind the point, and get a good edge. Be sure to follow the origional shape of the bit, just grind it so the space between the flukes isnt as thick.


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Peter
> 
> I use the belt sander ( Balldor 2 HP ,2" x 48' belt) and I use the 40 to 320 grit belts..make most of my bits from jobber size bits.
> 
> ...


Baldors are nice. I'm seeing the point but not the spurs. Howard's idea with a Dremel, or in my case a Proxxon, to cut them makes sense. I wonder how they do them commercially?

Cheers

Peter


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Peter

Your right I don't put the spurs on ,at one time a use a chain saw sharpen to make them but the spurs don't give me a real flat bottom bit....

I used the one below
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93213

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istracpsboss said:


> Baldors are nice. I'm seeing the point but not the spurs. Howard's idea with a Dremel, or in my case a Proxxon, to cut them makes sense. I wonder how they do them commercially?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Peter


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## wheelbuilder (Dec 18, 2008)

Iḿ a bit breaker myself. I have changed over to using cobalt bits for anything that works a bit hard (lots of downforce, deep holes,materials that don´t clear well). These also stay sharp much longer than HSS. I do have a set of DeWalt step point bits that work pretty well, but break thru horribly in wood, and tend to bind on exit in metals. I end up flipping my work over and drilling from the back with these.

Aaron


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## MarcoBernardini (Jan 26, 2010)

To start holes on metal I very often use center drill bits.
They are sturdy and can also proficiently replace a "normal" bit if you are drilling metal sheets, specially when you need small diameters.
On eBay it is possible to find good bargains on them.
In "real" metalworking world, to start holes there are the spot (or spotting) drill bits, but generally they are more expensive.
A detailed description of the difference between center drill and spot drill is on Wikipedia.
For those pieces which can't be placed below a drill press there are drill guides, helpful to limit the bit bending. A scrap of wood with a V notch and a hole the size of your bit makes the same job for free  and can also be used as a height stop if it has the right thickness.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Marco

I use the center drill bits in the lathe all the time, but the key for me is the grind on the bit,with 135 deg.cut and a small back cut they will dig right in fast...and they don't walk off center 

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MarcoBernardini said:


> To start holes on metal I very often use center drill bits.
> They are sturdy and can also proficiently replace a "normal" bit if you are drilling metal sheets, specially when you need small diameters.
> On eBay it is possible to find good bargains on them.
> In "real" metalworking world, to start holes there are the spot (or spotting) drill bits, but generally they are more expensive.
> ...


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

MarcoBernardini said:


> To start holes on metal I very often use center drill bits.
> They are sturdy and can also proficiently replace a "normal" bit if you are drilling metal sheets, specially when you need small diameters.
> On eBay it is possible to find good bargains on them.
> In "real" metalworking world, to start holes there are the spot (or spotting) drill bits, but generally they are more expensive.
> ...


The drill guides are very useful. In Europe Lux do them, but with 6mm, 8mm and 10mm bushes. For Gav, the Lux agents were Pevec but as they have now closed, I don't know who does them. Lux is an Obi subsidiary, which is fine for me, as there is an Obi over the border in Koper, but I don't think they've one in Zagreb.

Centre drills and stub drills are both great for rigidity and starting a hole bang on. Their disadvantage is that because they are short, if you need to use a longer drill next, you need to move the drill press head to get them in and you lose the registration. Whilst long series centre drills are produced, they aren't seen all that often and the solution is to make up some holders similar to the ones below. The drills are held in with grub screws. This extends their length to something comparable with the subsequent drill and avoids moving the drilling head.

Cheers

Peter


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## MarcoBernardini (Jan 26, 2010)

istracpsboss said:


> Centre drills and stub drills are both great for rigidity and starting a hole bang on. Their disadvantage is that because they are short, if you need to use a longer drill next, you need to move the drill press head to get them in and you lose the registration. Whilst long series centre drills are produced, they aren't seen all that often and the solution is to make up some holders similar to the ones below. The drills are held in with grub screws. This extends their length to something comparable with the subsequent drill and avoids moving the drilling head.


Nice tip, Peter!
I was unsuccessfully looking for shorter bits... now I'll look for center drills holders (or I'll make them).
Probably a sort of long collet fitting the drill chuck would be fine.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Aaron has the right idea, cobalt drills, whilst costing more than HSS almost last a lifetime including going through SS and of course soft metals are a walk in the park.


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Peter
> 
> Your right I don't put the spurs on ,at one time a use a chain saw sharpen to make them but the spurs don't give me a real flat bottom bit....
> 
> ...


Interesting thought, as I have a chain saw sharpener, although not that model. Lidl again ! Similar price.

Cheers

Peter


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## sourdough (Jan 31, 2010)

I have nothing but admiration for those of you who craft your own bits and use the Drill Doctor etc. to fix and maintain. I have a Drill Doctor which has been used ONCE and now sits gathering dust somewhere in my shop. For all the set up and messing around time I can just go buy another bit. Yes, I'm fortunate. If I ever find it again I'll make somebody a deal on it. Ha!!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Warren

The machine will do all the work for you but I can always use a 2nd.one so when you dig it out let me know and I will take off your hands in a heat beat,I have been looking for one that can do the bigger bits (3/4") 

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sourdough said:


> I have nothing but admiration for those of you who craft your own bits and use the Drill Doctor etc. to fix and maintain. I have a Drill Doctor which has been used ONCE and now sits gathering dust somewhere in my shop. For all the set up and messing around time I can just go buy another bit. Yes, I'm fortunate. If I ever find it again I'll make somebody a deal on it. Ha!!


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## Lemuzz (Jul 25, 2008)

As an engineer we only used HSS (high speed steel) bits and even then watched the drill speed, especially in thin material. When drilling unassisted (without a vice or lathe) Start with a centre punch mark then progress to a centre drill, and then progressivly larger bits keeping in mind; sharp bit, speed and pressure and allow the point to do the cutting not the flutes so each progression in bit size must be considerably larger than the previous size. With the smaller diameter bits it is debatable to sharpen or replace. although a quick touch up maintaining the angles could be advantages. Drill bits with worn flutes and blunt taps are the main cause of broken taps, and worse, ruined work. so bin them


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