Who has a well priced drill bit set now?

[Ohio Andy]

Thank you. Used the set I got last week on a small project. What a difference REAL drill bits make.

A friend dropped by to work on something and was amazed at the quality of the holes. He made some comment on maybe needing to upgrade his drill bits

 

[16again]

Since I'm on this drill bit binge. Added these today. Wanted the 5 piece set but couldn't find them on their site.

 

[16again]

Still need a small set of concrete bits for my cordless hammer drill. Suggestions, links are welcome.

 

[16again]

Ok, just ordered another set of bits. Of course, MADE IN THE USA.
These will be only for concrete.

 

[16again]

Brown truck dropped this off today. Index is terrible. thin, flimsy and bits fit so tight that the lid jambs when opening or closing. Hope the Made in USA bits are better than their index.

 

[neophyte]

Brown truck dropped this off today. Index is terrible. thin, flimsy and bits fit so tight that the lid jambs when opening or closing. Hope the Made in USA bits are better than their index.

Most drill index cases are made by outside manufacturers, and there aren’t that many of the outside manufacturers.
Huot is the major US manufacturer of Drill indexes, and that index looks like it might be made by Huot.
Drilbox is the major German manufacturer, with a few different quality levels, but like Huot, mostly metal, but with some plastic parts, with more plastic and thinner metal used on the cheaper options.
Rose plastics is a German company that makes plastic drill bit indexes, but I think they manufacture in China.
Some drill bit and other tool manufacturers make their own indexes, mostly using plastic, or a mix of in house and indexes made by one of the above manufacturers.
Technically, dome of the index manufacturers will customize the indexes, but I doubt Bad Dog Tools is a large enough purchaser to have that done.
Huot indexes use thinner metal, but seem to hold up fine, and are usually more compact than the plastic indexes, and the Drilbox made indexes in most cases.

 

[Steel_Rain]

@16again , we need to see all your new “good” drill
bits all together in one pic. You have to have a bunch by now, and I’m jealous .

 

[Steel_Rain]

With HJE's sale right around the corner, it's time to commit to some long standing tools I've been putting off. In this case, drill bits that I can give to my Son someday (I'm still using my Dad's Cle-Lines from maybe the 70's?).

I use drill bits several times a month both around the house and in a professional setting, but mainly for automotive and heavy equipment.

Here are the two sets I'm considering:

Norseman 115pc Magnum Super Premium Drill Bit Set SP-115

Norseman 115pc Magnum Super Premium Drill Bit Set SP-115

www.harryepstein.com

115 pc High Speed Norseman Drill Bit Set

115 pc High Speed Norseman Drill Bit Set

www.harryepstein.com

The SP-115 seems geared towards heavy metals and heavier gauge metal drilling, but the J-115 seem more general use for light metal, wood and plastic.

Can you anyone that owns these comment on them?

 

[Ohio Andy]

With HJE's sale right around the corner, it's time to commit to some long standing tools I've been putting off. In this case, drill bits that I can give to my Son someday (I'm still using my Dad's Cle-Lines from maybe the 70's?).

I use drill bits several times a month both around the house and in a professional setting, but mainly for automotive and heavy equipment.

Here are the two sets I'm considering:

Norseman 115pc Magnum Super Premium Drill Bit Set SP-115

Norseman 115pc Magnum Super Premium Drill Bit Set SP-115

www.harryepstein.com

115 pc High Speed Norseman Drill Bit Set

115 pc High Speed Norseman Drill Bit Set

www.harryepstein.com

The SP-115 seems geared towards heavy metals and heavier gauge metal drilling, but the J-115 seem more general use for light metal, wood and plastic.

Can you anyone that owns these comment on them?

And don't ignore the fact that the sp-115 is at an angle of 135°, which is more geared towards metal. Which makes sense given the steel used to make those bits.

The j-115 has 115° angle which is generally geared towards wood or plastic and it's just the standard steel

 

[theoldwizard1]

I brought Drill Hog. Maybe not the best, but they do honor their lifetime warranty !

 

[RoninB4]

Can you anyone that owns these comment on them?

-I don't own either but have been using twist drills for several decades in machine shops. There's a considerable price difference between the two sets, both should clearly state that they're HSS. The more expensive set should have the addition of cobalt but no mention of it in the description. Cobalt works better for tougher/harder materials but unless you're expecting to encounter this the added expense is questionable.

-I've worked with almost every type of the usual SAE steels, tool steels, and SS but have only needed cobalt type twist drills a few times for steel that's gone through heat treating or drilling through weldments. If you adjust your spindle speeds to what's appropriate for the material condition a regular HSS is almost always good enough to get the job done. Cobalt might have greater longevity in production drilling cycles or the more exotic alloys but you're not doing that.

-I don't find that the angle, 118° vs. 135°, makes much difference in drilling a hole or two every week. Constant production perhaps but not a hole or two now and then. A HSS twist drill at a 118° angle works just fine on steel unless it's on harder material and/or in a production setting. The importance of 135° for garage work is sales hype. The biggest consideration IMO is whether the drill is HSS or plain carbon steel. Plain carbon steel is barely ok for wood, plastic, or aluminum but they dull quickly. Avoid plain carbon steel cutting tools. Any twist drill that doesn't clearly state it's HSS is not and is merely plain carbon steel like in the big box stores.

-I feel the best thing you can do is to learn to sharpen a drill, either free hand on a bench grinder or get a sharpening jig. Even the most expensive drills will eventually dull, chip, or shatter. For me, being able to re-sharpen a drill when it gets dulled is far better than an expensive cobalt drill that's dull and has now work hardened the material (common with SS). Purchase price doesn't solve everything.

-Years from now your son says "Thanks for the set of drills dad but they're all dull".

 

[Steel_Rain]

-I don't own either but have been using twist drills for several decades in machine shops. There's a considerable price difference between the two sets, both should clearly state that they're HSS. The more expensive set should have the addition of cobalt but no mention of it in the description. Cobalt works better for tougher/harder materials but unless you're expecting to encounter this the added expense is questionable.

-I've worked with almost every type of the usual SAE steels, tool steels, and SS but have only needed cobalt type twist drills a few times for steel that's gone through heat treating or drilling through weldments. If you adjust your spindle speeds to what's appropriate for the material condition a regular HSS is almost always good enough to get the job done. Cobalt might have greater longevity in production drilling cycles or the more exotic alloys but you're not doing that.

-I don't find that the angle, 118° vs. 135°, makes much difference in drilling a hole or two every week. Constant production perhaps but not a hole or two now and then. A HSS twist drill at a 118° angle works just fine on steel unless it's on harder material and/or in a production setting. The importance of 135° for garage work is sales hype. The biggest consideration IMO is whether the drill is HSS or plain carbon steel. Plain carbon steel is barely ok for wood, plastic, or aluminum but they dull quickly. Avoid plain carbon steel cutting tools. Any twist drill that doesn't clearly state it's HSS is not and is merely plain carbon steel like in the big box stores.

-I feel the best thing you can do is to learn to sharpen a drill, either free hand on a bench grinder or get a sharpening jig. Even the most expensive drills will eventually dull, chip, or shatter. For me, being able to re-sharpen a drill when it gets dulled is far better than an expensive cobalt drill that's dull and has now work hardened the material (common with SS). Purchase price doesn't solve everything.

-Years from now your son says "Thanks for the set of drills dad but they're all dull".

This is solid advice and why I like GJ. I really appreciate the time you took to write this, it helps me make the right call.

 

[RoninB4]

I really appreciate the time you took to write this,

-If it helped then I'm glad I took the time to write it.