Bit Sharpener

[FL Guy]

Looking for a drill bit sharpener, that will be used. Probably a handful times a year. I came across this one from the drill doctor. Seems like it's very basic and all I need to do is sharpen drill bits and nothing more. Anyone have any reviews on this?

 

[wssix99]

It works great. Does exactly what they say it does. The only catch is that, unless you are in a trade, you only really need the thing once in a blue moon.

I've used mine once and might be dead before I need it again.

I have the older 300 model and had to "get the hang if it" before my bits came out right. It looks like the newer models are more forgiving: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/drill-doctor-300-any-good.434863/

 

[finn]

I have one of the Drill Doctors, perhaps a 650?

Tried it a couple of times, but never really “got the hang of it”, so it mostly sits on the shelf. The last bits were somewhat useable for wood, though. Not sure I will try steel with them.

Biggest obstacle is the fact that Menards frequently has fairly descent quality bits on sale for dirt cheap when they change vendors. It’s easy to just grab a new, sharp bit rather than futz with the DD. Also, I bought a set of, I think Norseman bits for tough work and they hold an edge well enough that they’re still almost like new.

I accept that some people love the DD, though.

 

[bb29510]

the drill doctor i had was a POS, the best days was when it hit the trash can, I sharpen mine on the grinder, take seconds

 

[MattGarage]

Grinder

 

[GirlnAgarage]

I'm ok with the Drill Dr. Works as advertised.

 

[Rst277]

I'm ok with the Drill Dr. Works as advertised.

The Drill Doctor is great. It works, it's easy, it does the job. I have lots of drill bits in the shop so I throw the dull ones in a bin and on a rainy day, sharpen 10-20 and then put it away until next time. A grinder is arguably faster and better but the skill required is higher, you can screw a drill bit up pretty easily and over heat it as well.

 

[mikegt4]

I have had my DD750 for probably 15-20 years and it always works great as long as I re-read and follow the instructions. A consequence of not using it often as is the case with the OP. I use to sharpen my drills on a grinder but as I got older my eyesight degraded enough that I couldn't see what I was doing. Over the years I developed the habit of putting bits that were starting to dull back in the index upside down then on occasion go through all my drill indexes and sharpen the ones needing it all at one time without wasting my time sharpening ones that don't.

 

[juddspaintballs]

I have both a low end Drill Doctor and one of their nicer models. I can't get the hang of the low end one, but the nicer one has all sorts of adjustments and aligns the bits properly. It'll even make split points if I want. I usually have good success sharpening with that one and I use it frequently. I have several bits that are almost an inch shorter than they started because I keep sharpening them. One time, I even needed a short bit so I cut it off and sharpened the blunt end and made a stubby drill bit for drilling out a car door hinge bolt.

 

[nadogail]

I don't presently own a drill sharpener, but if i were t buy one it would be a Drill Doctor.

 

[Rusted Nut]

I have a Drill Doctor 500x. I use it probably 6-10 times a year; works well. I just used it to sharpen /touch-up some #7 bits I’m using on steel. It does a nice job on 135 deg split points.

 

[drmarkr]

I have a 500 and a 750. They both work great. I can do them by hand (worked in a machine shop for a number of years in my youth), but the accuracy of the DD is dramatically better than when done by hand. You should watch a few vids on how to use the thing so you get the "motion" down.

I keep a container near my bit storage and all dull get dropped in there...every few months when I'm bored I spend an hour sharpening them.

 

[iadr]

Looking for a drill bit sharpener, that will be used. Probably a handful times a year. I came across this one from the drill doctor. Seems like it's very basic and all I need to do is sharpen drill bits and nothing more. Anyone have any reviews on this?

I'll send you one of those for $5+ shipping costs.
It *****. It leaves no center tip. Sides (wings, circumference) is nicely sharp, but bit is basically useless except in softwood in a drill press. OK, maybe in softwood *or* a drillpress. ha

I'm quite interested in the higher level 500x or 750x DrillDoctor products. The size capacity is neither here nor there. They allow the correct tip angle (the 350 does not), and have a 3 position design, the 3rd of which does a very clever back cut to create a proper tip.
Price gets up there. I've seen them for as little as $149 shipped, but I've seen them for a lot more, too. Shop with care.

I suspect anyone reporting success over time with the brand is giving feedback on the 500 or 750, and that seems to match most of the feedback here so far. Again, avoid the 350 like the plague.

 

[juddspaintballs]

Agreed. I went and looked. I have a 350X and 750X. I always use the 750X because the 350X never seems to give me sharp bits.

 

[Drill Sergeant Arc]

We spent the first week in our high school district’s occupational skill center machine shop class learning to sharpen drill bits. Once you get it down, and you keep at it, you don’t forget it.

Bench grinders are what I primarily use at home but at work, out on the trucks, I use a 4-1/2” grinder held in the truck’s vise. I will occasionally use a stationary 10” disc sander or the same unit’s sanding belt when inside the shop at work or home. Each one has it’s own nuances but they all are primarily the same fundamental technique.

I can honestly say that in all the years I’ve been in my trade since 1980 I’ve not seen anyone who would sharpen a drill bit rather then get a new one out. I think it completely intimidates them or maybe it’s that they don’t care to learn the required skill set, but they sure throw away a lot of money. It drives me nuts. But I will say, I always believed that in our type of work where we drill steel plate and pipe in the field, the techs should know how to sharpen a simple tool bit. But nobody gives a ****.

 

[gorilla]

The general tool type grinding attachments is much better than a drill doctor and only costs about $20.00. One of the problems with the drill doctor is that you can see only the results because the grinding wheel is hidden it it's worthless plastic guts. You need to be able to see the relationship between the drill bit and the grinding wheel to grind a bit properly. IMHO a drill doctor is an expensive worthless POS.

 

[nadogail]

We spent the first week in our high school district’s occupational skill center machine shop class learning to sharpen drill bits. Once you get it down, and you keep at it, you don’t forget it.

Bench grinders are what I primarily use at home but at work, out on the trucks, I use a 4-1/2” grinder held in the truck’s vise. I will occasionally use a stationary 10” disc sander or the same unit’s sanding belt when inside the shop at work or home. Each one has it’s own nuances but they all are primarily the same fundamental technique.

I can honestly say that in all the years I’ve been in my trade since 1980 I’ve not seen anyone who would sharpen a drill bit rather then get a new one out. I think it completely intimidates them or maybe it’s that they don’t care to learn the required skill set, but they sure throw away a lot of money. It drives me nuts. But I will say, I always believed that in our type of work where we drill steel plate and pipe in the field, the techs should know how to sharpen a simple tool bit. But nobody gives a ****.

If the company will buy new bits, or pay you by the hour to drill slowly with a dull bit, what is the incentive to learn how to save a dull bit?

 

[Drill Sergeant Arc]

If the company will buy new bits, or pay you by the hour to drill slowly with a dull bit, what is the incentive to learn how to save a dull bit?

For me it’s the personal satisfaction of having the skill set. I have fond memories of being around other workers at various employers and quickly knocking out a sharp bit for someone in the group and their reaction to it. Whether young or old they acted like you just did something out of the ordinary. Even something they hadn’t seen done before.

I will say I had an early start to it because my dad was of that Great Depression age and worked in the WWII shipyards before being drafted, and all of that of course implied that tooling life is maximized to the greatest extent. Shipyard’s and the Army Corps of Engineers had their own protocols about that and it stayed with him his whole life and he impressed it onto me.

 

[John in OH]

I've owned one of the older model Drill Doctors for over 20 years ... maybe a model 750??? It works fine for bits between about 1/4" to 3/4" once you get the hang of it. Trying to sharpen anything smaller than 1/4" isn't really worthwhile ... for smaller size bits it's just as easy to buy new bits.
Works best on bits that have a one of the common point included angle sizes (like 118 deg. ???). I tried on some older bits with a sharper angle but it takes way too much grinding to get them ground down to one of the Drill Docs standard point angles.
I use the thing only about once or twice a year. Usually save up a handful of dulled bits then sharpen them all at once.
I give it a definite thumbs up!

 

[James-W]

I know a guy who has a Drill Doctor. He sharpened one of my drill bits and it worked reasonably OK I guess. Not like when it was new, but not too bad. I have taken some dull drill bits to a guy who sharpens dull items as a part time job, he uses a Tormek to sharpen stuff. The drill bits come back with a center point and they are really sharp. He does a much better job with his Tormek than the other guy does with his Drill Doctor, but to be fair, the Tormek is a much more expensive piece of equipment.

 

[firebirdparts]

I sharpen them by hand, about one bit a year, and I swear they go through metal like a dose of salts. It can't just be me. Doing it by hand, for me, works like magic.

 

[Drill Sergeant Arc]

I sharpen them by hand, about one bit a year, and I swear they go through metal like a dose of salts. It can't just be me. Doing it by hand, for me, works like magic.

I think it’s when you somehow hit the right point angle and clearance angle that is slightly different then the factory but is optimum for the specifics of the material you’re drilling and the speed used. But yeah, when it all comes together it drills better then new.

 

[rancherbill]

I cannot sharpen by hand.

I have used a cheap swing type sharpener made by Sears and a ton of other people. I have gotten great results but their is a huge learning curve everytime you use it as a DIY guy.

I have a Drill Doctor box store private label from Drill Doctor. When I bought it, it was the middle of the DD line. It does up to 1/2". I scan the instructions, do one practice drill and they all come out perfect every time afterwards.

I would move up from the model you mentioned to be able to sharpen other things.

https://www.drilldoctor.com/shop/key-features/drill-bit-sharpening/drill-doctor-x2/

 

[laser3kw]

I have used DD and Derex sharpeners. I struggled to get good results, I had "better" results eyeballing it on a grinder. I finally figured out that the results were totally dependent on how the drill was "indexed" in the collet. Maybe they have improved this critical alignment setup. It's been 20 years since the last time I had to sharpen a drill bit in a shop.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

The Drill Doctor is great. It works, it's easy, it does the job. I have lots of drill bits in the shop so I throw the dull ones in a bin and on a rainy day, sharpen 10-20 and then put it away until next time. A grinder is arguably faster and better but the skill required is higher, you can screw a drill bit up pretty easily and over heat it as well.

Drill bits have an alloying element that imparts red hardness. You can get them red hot and it will not change the temper.

As to messing the bits up, that is the drill doctors main goal if you do any metalworking.


One of these:





And a belt sander will last longer and far eclipse any grind a DD will give you.

 

[Whitworth]

I've got the 750 Drill Doctor, works fairly good, when it's set up "just so", but there is a learning curve. I don't use it too often and usually just grab a new drill bit. But if you give it love and patience you can get drill bits to look and perform (almost) factory new. You can also split point with it which I find a very useful modification.

In my opinion, any bit 3/8" or under is disposable and not worth the time to sharpen.

Note that there is difference between sharpening a bit for machine shop use and sharpening a bit for drilling pilot holes when building a deck.

 

[NORTON'S SHOP]

If the company will buy new bits, or pay you by the hour to drill slowly with a dull bit, what is the incentive to learn how to save a dull bit?

Many years back when I worked in the tool crib for a fairly large business, we resharpened every new drill bit that came in because most were sharpened wrong from the factory. Most times, the heel had relief in reverse. Other times the center wasn't in the center. We thinned the web on every drill (except the very small ones), so it wasn't much more time to get a proper point.

 

[NORTON'S SHOP]

...In my opinion, any bit 3/8" or under is disposable and not worth the time to sharpen....

Send them to me, I'll take them.

 

[rancherbill]

After you have read all the post something with be apparent - DD works. Some will say it works after you read the manual. For it's price it is a great material. You can spend thousands on Drill Sharpeners.

....we resharpened every new drill bit that came in because most were sharpened wrong from the factory. Most times, the heel had relief in reverse. Other times the center wasn't in the center. We thinned the web on every drill (except the very small ones), so it wasn't much more time to get a proper point.

Yes I went through all my drills and sharpened them all. I suspect in the factory, the sharpening machine drifts out due to wear on the abrasives. I have seen some terrible ones new out of the box.

I suffer from packratitus and had accumulated several pounds of dull / broken drills. My first sharpener was a General / Craftsman sharpener. There was a huge learning curve. It probably takes reading the manual twice, fiddling twice to get it placed next to the grinder right, and then doing about 20 drills to learn. I bought myself a drill gauge that is shown above and went at it. Excellent results. Playing around I did several different grind angles.

I subsequently got a big box store Drill Doctor and the learning curve is way less and results come quicker if you read the manual.



I wish I had seen this video first when I started using this sharpener.

How to use it.

Video How to use

I recommend the DD, but, there are other alternatives if you can read and follow instructions. I probably did 100+ drills for my 2 sons, BIL and myself

 

[metalmagpie]

When the Drill Doctor first came out, it was owned by Darex. However, after marketing the DD for a couple of years Darex sold off the DD line like a hot potato. And it surely wasn't because the machine was so successful.

I used to see DD in my local industrial fastener store. Haven't for years.

I have owned most of the Darex grinders over the years. I had a V390 a few years ago. Really didn't work well, but cost a ton of money. I wound up selling it.

I have also owned a drill grinder by Black Diamond. It sharpened really well but in the end I kept going back to my Darex M5 machine so I sold the Black Diamond too.

I have a Darex M series grinder with 3 chucks that let me sharpen from 1/8 to 1-1/4". I run it on a grinder with CBN wheels. If I don't pay much attention I get a good usable, grind. If I really work on an even touch, I get a magnificent grind. Plus, it can thin webs and split points. The only thing about them is that you really do have to clean the chucks. I mean take them apart and seriously clean them and then relubricate them exactly as the manual says. If you don't, after awhile they will seize up and then you will find that they are nearly impossible to find. So take care of them!

It is a wonderful thing to have all the drills in my shop really sharp.

metalmagpie

 

[Rst277]

Drill bits have an alloying element that imparts red hardness. You can get them red hot and it will not change the temper.

As to messing the bits up, that is the drill doctors main goal if you do any metalworking.


One of these:





And a belt sander will last longer and far eclipse any grind a DD will give you.

I don't have a belt sander and the white/cool wheel on my bench grinder is pretty good for drill bits but I use the DD way more. Once you get the hang of it, the bits come out sharp enough for me and probably 90% of the population. I have regular drill bits for metal working and some special super drill bits for special applications - the DD has sharpened them all.

 

[nadogail]

I bought a drill bit sharpener from US General Supply probably about 50 years ago, it worked well until the stand it was mounted on fell over and the fixture broke. I don't know if US General is still operating; as I think it was acquired by Harbor Freight.

 

[metlmunchr]

That would be General Tools and not US General. The General model 825 drill grinding fixture is still manufactured and is available for about $25. I bought one in the early 70's to modify some drills to a 90 degree point angle to work as a countersink for about a bazillion flathead screws for a project we were working on at the time. IIRC, at that time the price was $4.95. Well worth the $25 price today as it works very well.

 

[Copymutt]

Original DD here for years. Went through a spell where it refused to grind any relief angle at all.
Finally figured out how to cheat the collate alignment just a few degrees. I have many hex shank bits that require being inserted into a 2” section of split arrow shaft in order to chuck up properly in the DD. It is a great restorer of yard sale bits.

 

[drmarkr]

The general tool type grinding attachments is much better than a drill doctor and only costs about $20.00. One of the problems with the drill doctor is that you can see only the results because the grinding wheel is hidden it it's worthless plastic guts. You need to be able to see the relationship between the drill bit and the grinding wheel to grind a bit properly. IMHO a drill doctor is an expensive worthless POS.

I see you haven't taken the time to learn how to use one.

 

[Sumboodie]

I have a 750x. It does ok to rough it in in hammered bits, but rolls the edge in too much so it'll barely cut. I have to grind the heel and clean up the edge, then it's decent.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

If the company will buy new bits, or pay you by the hour to drill slowly with a dull bit, what is the incentive to learn how to save a dull bit?

Learning a skill?

I’ve shown people how to make a fishtail drill and split points for various jobs and they were floored with the results.

Then I’ve seen them try to sharpen the same types of tip profiles only to come up with comic book like shapes.

 

[RoninB4]

I've used a good number of drill sharpening rigs over the years as a toolmaker, including some vintage and rather expensive ones. The company bought a DD and it showed up in the toolroom one day so I decided to give it a try. After finding the correct way to align the drill in the collet I gave the drill a cursory grind to restore the angles. When I gave the drill a light final touch for the cutting edge I noticed the difference in sparking. All but the lightest of pressure would produce a different spark pattern per side. This isn't terribly important for most home owner projects but it can be quite important in machine shop work. Investigating this I realized that many of the critical components of that DD (2005 era model) were made of plastic. I found where the plastic would either flex or experience premature wear, causing accuracy inconsistencies. I regarded it as a POS and either sharpened by hand, used a Darex rig, or used a large vintage Oliver nobody else knew how to use. The DD is likely acceptable (barely) for the average homeowner but the one I used was a POS for professional use in a machine shop. For the money it doesn't work very well other than a minor convenience factor. Better to either buy the $12 drill gauge (sheet metal type) and acquire the skill to hand sharpen OR find one of the relatively inexpensive drill jigs that clamp to the bench grinder. I suppose throwing dull ones away is ok too, it's your money and your project schedule. If I owned a DD I'd still check each side of the drill after sharpening against a drill gauge for equally ground cutting lengths before tapping a hole. Unequally ground sides means an over-sized hole and percentage reduction in thread form. Do what the professionals do or risk having less than professional results. It's your project.

 

[slowtwitch73]

I use a v block (so I can spin bit) against a fence on disc sander. Same for punches.

 

[JasonMcElroy]

I can honestly say that in all the years I’ve been in my trade since 1980 I’ve not seen anyone who would sharpen a drill bit rather then get a new one out. I think it completely intimidates them or maybe it’s that they don’t care to learn the required skill set, but they sure throw away a lot of money. It drives me nuts.

After years of being caught out in the shop with no suitably sharp bits on hand, I finally taught myself to sharpen them on the bench grinder. I have now been doing it for a few years with success.

I finally understand why drill bits are so long . . . they are a lifetime tool (unless you're an animal and snap them off).

Jason