Drill Doctor, Which Model?

[johninct]

My 750 wasn't giving me the right relief angle (negative). I switched over to the coarse stone and find that the relief is much better.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

The shop I work at has 3 people plus the boss. None of them know how to use a grinder to sharpen bits. I was sharpening bits for several months and the boss bought a 750x to replace the old 500. Mainly because I'm not always around. But the 750x does a decent job, and i love the split points. And after I trained the crew they can sharpen their own bits now. I still prefer to hand sharpen the carbide bits myself even tho the DD will do them.

 

[tominboise]

I bought an older 750X DD at the pawn shop the other day. It works well for conventional bits. Split point doesn't seem to work that well but I don't really use split point any way. I have been sharpening by hand on a bench grinder and am OK at it, but the DD is more consistent and results in a sharp bit. Some that are really honked up, I sharpen on the grinder to get close and then finish on the DD. I am glad I found it as I wanted one, but didn't want to pay full retail for it.

 

[Firebrick43]

Unless you get the commercial version shown by @ricleh I would suggest that a TDR/SDR drill sharpener is a very good in between sharpener.

 

[rodhotter]

retired + looking, had an older model that was hit or miss!! looking at the 500 but see the chuck that works for bigger bits they note it needs a standard replacement wheel which i dont understand, a little help please!

 

[Two Sheds]

I have the older 750. It takes some practice with junk bits to get the hang of it. I ruined the first bit I tried. It's a little flimsy feeling, but I was able to do a decent sharpening of a bunch of dull bits with it. I definitely got my money's worth, but then I only paid $10 for it at a garage sale. I would avoid the older non-X models, as they no longer support them with spare parts (including grinding wheels).

 

[N8sToolz]

Yeah it's a device that takes some practice. I've had mine for a number of years and I've gotten good enough to get a bit to a factory edge. It's fussy for sure and without patience I can see how it would end up in the trash.

 

[Sumboodie]

I bought the Velvor unit a while back and it works well. All steel and heavy.

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[zendriver]

Maybe they are designed for idiots.

I've used mine 4 times for metal drilling jobs and ended with a nice useable re-sharpened bit, every time. Sure I can re-sharpen on a grinder, but I'd rather have a more precision sharpening, than with old eyes.

 

[64C10]

I never could get the hang of the Drill Doctor and traded it for a 30 pack years ago. Anything 1/4” and above I sharpen on the grinder - anything smaller is pretty much a consumable.

 

[oldmachinenut]

My wife gave me the DD500 for Christmas many years ago. I am very pleased with it, does a much better job than my 69 year old eyes and arthritic hands can do on the grinder.

 

[Sumboodie]

Still happy with the Velvor one. Only complaint is it's limited to 1/2". The Drill Doctor i.have somewhere (still mia) goes to 3/4"

Velvor does have another version that goes to 3/4", but it's alot more $$

 

[Rockable]

I have a 500 and I use it all the time. You sometimes have to play with which slot to index it to in order to get good relief but I've learned how to use it and get good results.

 

[MichaelP]

I own DD 500 and 750X, Vevor MR-13B, Black Diamond and a large Oliver. And I have no problem sharpening drills by hand.
The latter two are in the professional league.

I never had any problems with DDs and, frankly, don't understand why some people do. They are far from being perfect, but for a basic home owner stuff they work just fine.

Vevor is built and designed much better than DD, produces better and more consistent results and is more versatile. However, sharpening short drills (usually those around 1/8" dia) is tricky. I carefully researched different models of Vevor sharpeners and chose MR-13B model. It was a purely out-of-interest purchase. I don't know how long the motor will last (I bought the sharpener only a few months ago), but the overall built is very decent and sturdy, so it makes me think it should last for a very long time.

I can strongly recommend this sharpener over DD. It's reasonably more expensive, goes to 1/2" dia drill bits (unlike DD 750X), but is definitely better in terms of built quality, drill tip geometry options and consistent results.