Polishing a turd. Cheap drill bits with Ti-N coating

[uart]

Over the Christmas period I got a bit carried away on ebay and ordered some cheap **** from HK - China. One of the things I bought were these cheap hex shank bits pictured. This stuff was just for occasional home use, mostly pilot holes in wood, so I figured they'd be ok.

But serious these things weren't even sharpened properly before they were coated. How pointless is that! I'm pretty certain that straight out of the box the majority of these will need sharpening before they’re any use at all. I've already tested one in some soft mild steel, and honestly it wouldn't even touch it until I cleaned it up a bit on the grinder.

Anyway, I just wanted to rant about the futility of these guy slapping a Ti-N coating on drills that haven't even been sharpened properly in the first place. It really does remind me of trying to polish a turd LOL. Seems like it's totally a cosmetic gimmick when used under these circumstances. To be honest I'd much rather have them properly sharpened and no coating at all, or heck, even properly sharpened and dipped in **** would be an improvement.

 

[uart]

BTW. The above was the ebay picture. What I received was considerably rougher looking. Here's some close ups showing what they were sharpened like before/after. I know my grinding is a bit rough (I'm definitely not great at sharpening drills), but it was a big improvement. I've also got a little bit too much lip relief angle, but that's ok for wood.

 

[larry_g]

IMHO there is not more than one or two people on this board that need a Ti coated drill bit. Ti coated drill bits were developed for production use where a Ti coated bit would get 20% or so more life than an uncoated bit. I highly doubt that the Ti coating on consumer bits is anything worth while.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[steel 35]

Year's ago I bought a TRI fold box of drill bits coated in **** really cheap, after trying to drill wood unsuccessfully I gave them away so a least he had a nice box.

 

[Trucky]

1. Coating on cheap bits is a waste. The bits themselves are not only lacking in materials, but literal size and shape can also vary quite a lot.. like your example picture there. It's a shame.

2. Only production uses those bits enough and in a fashion that would require that extra life, as Larry mentioned. And those bits are used in rigid setups and machines that can get a useful gain out of a decent coating.

Invest in a good set and you'll probably never have to buy one again.

 

[woody 73]

sigh...Been there too many times with those cheap drill bits, I learned my lesson the hard way.

 

[Silver Heels]

I bought really bad set from Northern Tool a few years ago, also "Titanium" Coated. One of the smaller bits literally untwisted itself while I was using it, yet didn't break.

I do think that Cobalt coated bits really do make a difference when drilling steel though

 

[uart]

Yeah my previous experience with cheap drills bits has never that great either. Oh well, at least the mild steel test was ok after sharpening. So they should be ok for pilots into wood, which is all I really wanted them for.

BTW. As bad as these are I have seen worse. A few years ago a friend bought a set packaged up with a rasp bit (or whatever you call those edge cutting bits) and sold on TV with an infomercial. Same deal, Ti-N coating on drill bits that weren't worth anything in the first place. These ones were really something special. They'd forgot to heat treat them or something, and they'd bend like liquorish. LOL it was so funny, he tried to drill mild steel with one and it literally untwisted itself and twisted up backwards. I suppose I can be thankful that at least the ones I got seem to be hardened properly.

 

[uart]

One of the smaller bits literally untwisted itself while I was using it, yet didn't break.

I didn't see this before I posted above, we must have posted at about the same time. But yeah, that's exactly what happened to a friend of mine who bought some from a TV infomercial. Wow that must be about the ultimate in garbage quality to do that.

It does really seem that there's a connection between really horrid quality drills and the use of that gold nitride coating. I guess it's good for marketing, and to distract you from what utter **** the bits are to begin with.

 

[Jrussell86]

Buy a set of these and you will never need another set. They will cost you $150 or so but they are worth it.

http://www.irwin.com/tools/drill-bits/29-piece-titanium-metal-index-drill-bit-set

 

[Trucky]

I think you can do even better than that:

HJE Link

Many here have bought sets from HJE, ask around.

 

[uart]

Buy a set of these and you will never need another set. They will cost you $150 or so but they are worth it.

http://www.irwin.com/tools/drill-bits/29-piece-titanium-metal-index-drill-bit-set

Yeah that looks like a nice set.

I'm not trying to bash Ti-N coated drills in general, just pointing out the futility of coating bits that aren't even sharpened to a useable state to begin with.

BTW. I've already got a fairly good sets of quality drill bits, so don't really need any more. I just wanted this handful of hex shank jobbies for easy quick changing with a drill/driver.

 

[remileblanc]

I do think that Cobalt coated bits really do make a difference when drilling steel though

That is cause cobalt isn't a coating. its a metal that is alloyed into the HSS.

 

[PETE14]

You have heard the saying "you get what you pay for", right?

 

[whyNick?]

I bought really bad set from Northern Tool a few years ago, also "Titanium" Coated. One of the smaller bits literally untwisted itself while I was using it, yet didn't break.

I do think that Cobalt coated bits really do make a difference when drilling steel though

Last summer I saw a post on GJ where somebody talked about untwisting a drill bit and I thought "yeah right, that's not even possible". Two or three days later I was drilling a hole in the frame of my truck to install a hitch and managed to untwist a cheap 3/8 bit like it was made out of taffy. At least I got a pretty good laugh out of it.

 

[sasquatch12]

I have a lot of sets of drills, and looked at these coated bits.
To me this is nothing more than a selling gimmick for the average homeshop guy.
Like, re grind the drill to bring it up to specs, and you have ground away the coating, so why buy them ?
I have some sets of offshore bits that were reasonable, polished flutes and i'm very pleased with them.

 

[NoSloCoupes]

I've always had a cheap set that got me by since I didn't use them that often. But when I did they piss me off and I had enough last week. Made a trip to Fastenal to warranty some Gearwrench's and may have over paid but picked up a 29 piece set.I used them today drilling some 1/8" and 1/2". Was so nice seeing actual chips instead of basicly filing the metal, lol.

 

[KerryH]

Any recommendations for a sub $30 set. I typically use 3/8 - 1/2 more than the smaller bits and mostly drilling steel. What I've been getting from the local home store is starting to become a waste of money.

 

[Engine]

I have a lot of sets of drills, and looked at these coated bits.
To me this is nothing more than a selling gimmick for the average homeshop guy.

I agree. Now I'm starting to see these type drills described in certain advertising as "titanium drill bits" instead of correctly being called titanium nitride coated. The uninformed probably will assume they will be tougher, more durable, sharper, etc. than the regular ones. I could be wrong, but I doubt that they are anything but carbon steel under the coating. Another example of misleading advertising.

 

[Applesauce]

Canadian Tire sells a bunch of bits like that under the Mastercraft brand. They're garbage!

 

[Engine]

Any recommendations for a sub $30 set. I typically use 3/8 - 1/2 more than the smaller bits and mostly drilling steel. What I've been getting from the local home store is starting to become a waste of money.

If you only use a few different sizes, you can order drill bits individually from HJE for a reasonable price rather than buying a set with many that you won't use. The Norseman brand they carry is regarded as high quality. The sizes you mention are large enough that it would be worthwhile to get a few good ones and resharpen them when they get dull.

 

[kazlx]

I didn't know what I was missing until I bought a set of Precision Twist bits on sale from Enco. I think they were around $100. Amazing how much better nice bits actually drill, especially in metal. And the shorties don't wander, especially on a center punched hole.