inexpensive but good drill bits?

[chris142]

Mine must be for wood only as they wont touch metal.they just turn blue and dont drill. Are there any good drill sets i can buy locally? I have hf,osh,hd and lowes. Thats all besides the autoparts stores.

 

[Cato]

Well, you have to buy metal specific bits.

 

[knobby]

Cutting oil or even wd-40 and the proper (maybe not so fast) RPM are your friend here js.

 

[619DioFan]

I have had very good luck with the dewalt cobalt drill bits from lowes as far as drilling in metal.

 

[GTA Matt]

Are you opposed to buying online? The Norseman 29 piece set from Epsteins for $90 are incredibly good drill bits.

 

[KnurledNut]

What brand bits are you currently using?
Post a pic.
Maybe they just need sharpened?

 

[Ign]

Hertel

use-enco.com

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMKANO=388&PMPAGE=12&PARTPG=INLMPA&PMCTLG=01

 

[devoncoolman]

Don't buy craftsman they ****. Norsmen makes good bits.

 

[larry_g]

You have to know what your doing here before you can analyze why your failing to get the results you desire. Inexpensive and good are an oxymoron.

Tell us the rpm your turning, the material your drilling, the cutting speed you should be using, the bit diameter, the bit material, and the lubricant/coolant your using. If you cannot answer all the questions then you are not going to have the best results. All the parameters I listed above interact with each other and so for someone to tell you the one best bit, they are not in the know.

I said many times " I cannot afford cheap ****". This applies here in a big way. You can buy a box of $2 drill bits and not make a hole or spend $20 on a premium bit and make hundreds of holes. I suggest that you visit a few machining sites and learn the art of making a hole and then make your own decisions.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[1950mercury]

Inexpensive and good is impossibl. Unless you buy used. Go buy some gold hf bits they should serve you fine with your needs

 

[chris142]

The drill is an older craftsman 3/8 hand held. Today I was drilling some 1inch water pipe making a gate. I bought some bits from the Mac truck and those just go up in smoke.

I also have a noname made in USA set that's "HSS" and those are useless

 

[KamiCrit]

1. Sharpen your drill bits, there are YouTube videos available.
2. Figure out your speed and feeds for the size of hole and material to be drilled, google can help.
3. Lubricant, will help with cutting and cooling.
4. Pilot holes, they should be larger than your bill bit web. 1/8th works most of the time.

If adventurous, grind a Norseman relief to your bits.

 

[brianh]

HF bits are surprisingly good for the price use a lubricant, I use canola oil it has a higher flash point than cutting oil and doesn't stink. water pipe is pretty soft, not sure why you are having issues.

 

[devoncoolman]

Your 3/8 drill is probably sping to fast. Or your pushing to hard. Try using a 1/2 drill thats slower. Make sure your bits are sharp and use some sort of cutting oil.

 

[shockwave]

Norseman bits are great

 

[xela456]

Norseman twist drills ARE great. This is one of those things that you absolutely get what you pay. You pay for junk , you get junk.
I However I doubt you bought junk off of the Mac truck, so this calls your drilling into question. I use to think I could drill but it really is a skill that is learned from others and from burning up a few bits.
YouTube is your friend on this one .
My general rule of thumb is high pressure, low ROMe and lots of oil. By the way, buy a center punch and use it. If your holes matter even a little this will be yourr friend!

 

[Chunchula]

Hand held drills motors kill bits! I have sets for drill press and milling m/c use only. They last years with proper care. I dress stubs and broken bits for hand drill use. Others have said this, but in a nutshell for hand drill use:

1) Center punch

2) On soft steel-Sulfur cutting oil helps break chips and (any oil) helps cool and prevents galling

3) Pilot Drill (Small drill first, still worth doing even with split points-which have no business in a hand drill anyway)

4) Fixture if possible (at least clamp to something solid and use a steady hand. One of those old General drill guides makes drilling rounds with a hand drill easy.)

5) Take your time, heat can harden your work piece and soften your bit. Small drill-high RPM, Large drill-low RPM.

6) Drilling non flat surfaces puts large and sometimes impact loads on the cutting edge, this is why a fixture and feed/speed are important, tough to do with a hand drill.

A cheap bit used correctly will make about any hole you need. Dress your bits when they dull. There are a lot of metalworking web sites, pick one with some authority. The MIT video series comes to mind. They make the Mad Scientists creations with a fairly humble shop used with intelligence.

John

 

[chris142]

Thanks for the tips. I have never heard of oiling things as you drill. I was down at my fence with a generator running the drill working off my tailgate so I had no real way to hold things.

 

[Rioredsn8k]

I've had really good luck with Hansen and Irwin..although they aren't cheap.

 

[ChrisPace]

Craftsman professional cobalt bits are on sale for half price $29


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Hafen_Kafer]

I've used HF cobalt drills in the mold shop. They're worth their weight in gold.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I have a set of Master Mechanic titanium drill bits from True Value. I bought them one/two at a time to fill up a drill index. I know they're not the best and have broke a few but they are readily available on a trip to town.

 

[ChrisLS8]

Technique is everything. Ive been running my HF HSS bits for years without any issues.

 

[thebeekeeper1]

Are you possibly trying to drill a larger (relatively speaking) hole without using a smaller bit to drill a pilot hole first? What size are using?

 

[Syberia]

I hate using a hand drill to put holes in metal. Hard to get the speed low enough to where the bit doesn't burn up.

 

[rancherbill]

I have some Bosch drills that are really good and reasonably priced.

 

[chris142]

I drilled a hole big enough to put a 3/8 bolt through

 

[thebeekeeper1]

I drilled a hole big enough to put a 3/8 bolt through

Did you START with the 3/8" bit?

 

[uart]

I drilled a hole big enough to put a 3/8 bolt through

So I'm guessing you were drilling about 13/32 or 10mm. You definitely want to use a pilot hole when drilling that size with a hand drill.

I usually use the following type of drill bits for pilot holes when hand drilling steel. I use them because they're inexpensive in a 10 pack, and their short length seems to lessen breakage (which I find a common problem with small drill sizes in hand drills).

 

[uart]

Thanks for the tips. I have never heard of oiling things as you drill. I was down at my fence with a generator running the drill working off my tailgate so I had no real way to hold things.

So was this a fixed speed corded drill? Too higher speed, no pilot hole, no cutting lube, those would be your main problems.

If you ever stop making swarf (chips) then stop straight away. It's time to rethink your approach because you're doing something wrong.

Heat is caused by a combination of two things, speed and pressure. The rate of heat production is actually just the product of speed times pressure. So if you're burning bits you have to slow down.

You might think that using lighter pressure would also work, but unfortunately it has the opposite effect. Once the drill stops cutting and is just spinning in the hole then there's nowhere for the heat to go, so that's the very worst thing to do. When you're applying enough pressure to keep it cutting then a significant amount of the heat is shed via the chips that are coming out.

So you absolutely must have a good steady pressure and keep it cutting at all times. But you cant always get enough pressure to do this with larger sizes in a hand drill, so that's why you need a pilot hole. It greatly reduces the amount of pressure that you need to keep it cutting.

So remember.

1. Pilot hole.
2. Good steady pressure - you have to keep it cutting.
3. Slow it down with larger sizes.
4. It won't hurt to use some cutting lube either.

PS. The exception to the above is just as the drill breaks though. This is always the trickiest part, especially with a hand drill. Try to be as aware as possible of when the drill is just about to break though, and increase the speed and reduce the pressure only at this point.

 

[stock z/28]

Hello,

Are you sure that the pipe was galvanized mild steel, and not some more "exotic" material like stainless?

 

[chris142]

No I burned up 2 smaller bits first lol

 

[chris142]

Hello,

Are you sure that the pipe was galvanized mild steel, and not some more "exotic" material like stainless?

it was just old rusty pipe from when we had trees here.

 

[dsp1]

I just noticed your location is Apple Valley, I grew up in Hesperia.
As for drill bits, it's going to be hard to give advice without actually being there and seeing what you are doing/dealing with. You might try your local hardware store, one of mine sells Cleveland and Precision Twist drill bits. Very good quality and when buying singles they're cheaply priced(at least at this place).

 

[Tim37]

A few months back I bought some ryobi bits bits for work I was sure they where **** but black friday pricing and the company would replace them as they burnup and break I thought hell I buy theses and in a month or two I will have a index full of good bits. They are now the go to bits and are holding up great. Money well spent.

 

[MrJason]

I bought a set of these at Costco, and figured they'd be the expendable bits that I would recycle within a few weeks.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOW3ENO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Two years later, they are still going and tough as nails. I've sharpened a few, only broken one- but I was gladly surprised. I went back and bought a few more, as the sale price at the time was $19.99. They're in storage, waiting to be used.

Happy hunting!
Jason

 

[jgorm]

I use cheap bits and they work great. I sharpen them on a drill doctor (love that thing) if I'm drilling metal. If you are using a hand drill, push really really hard, and go really really slow. Use oil if it's thick metal. If you are going full speed you will dull the bit in seconds. You should see chips at the minimum if not coils of metal coming off. If you see dust, you are going too fast/ not pushing hard enough.

 

[fsae0607]

Harbor Freight HSS drill bits and a drill doctor for me. I like to custom-grind my drill bits with the doctor for use with the different metals I drill. I use Cool Tool II cutting fluid and they work great. They **** out of the box, though.

 

[uart]

it was just old rusty pipe from when we had trees here.

No I burned up 2 smaller bits first lol

Ok so very gradually, one drop at at time, you're finally giving up all the information that should have been given in the opening post.

I'd still like to know what size "smaller" bits you tried and what speed your drill runs (Is it a single or variable speed motor? Does it have high/low speed selectable gearing?)

Anyway, as to the pipe you could try hitting it with a file to see how hard it is. If it's mild steel the file will bite in and cut it easily without a lot of pressure. If it's harder then you need more pressure to make the file bite. Get a piece of known mild steel to compare with.

 

[chris142]

I dunno probly 1/8 then when that burned up a 3/16 bit.