Drill Doctor - yes or no?

[Packard V8]

I recently got a near-new Drill Doctor 750X Pro at an estate sale. They have a phony suggested retail price of $199 and an Amazon price of $130.

On the one hand, it is the cheeziest, plastic-and-pot-metal piece of junk I've ever seen. It also makes the most annoying noise of any power tool I've ever owned - like a giant mosquito or a dentist drill attacking a molar. It also vibrates and tries to walk off the bench. How a wheel less than 1" in diameter can be that out of balance is hard to beliveve.

On the other hand, it does a good, quick job sharpening drill bits up to 1/4". From 1/4" to 1/2", it's slow and cumbersome and underpowered.

For the $30 I paid for it, it's good for smaller drills. Who has one and what do you think of it? Would you pay retail for one?

jack vines

 

[TxPowderCoater]

for a cheesy made critter, it sharpens like crazy! I love mine, I have the same one and use it frequently when I grab a bit that dull, It takes a couple seconds to make it damn sharp.

 

[pro machine Engineering]

I dont use one personally. If you are an occasional sharpener. It would probly work great. Hand sharpening a bit is an old dying art that I was fortunate enough to have an old timer show me how to do on a grinding wheel. I can sharpen one with a better angle and tip in less amount of time than the machine. I am also able to split the tip something the machine cant do. I only hand sharpen when I absolutely have to. I usually just put dull bits in a box and take them to the tool sharpening guys in the city they will proffesionally sharpen the bits for a buck fifty each

 

[bobcatdan]

If you can sharpen a drillbit free hand a bench grinder, ditch it. If you are like me and can't even sharpen a chisel straight let alone a drillbit, the drill doctor is great. One I have always wondered, why does it seem you can only sharpen a drillbit a couple times before is dosn't really sharpen again? Or am I the only one?

 

[royesses]

I have the DD 500SP Tradesman -(large vertical style). I have had it since 2004. It is no longer made. I spent most of my life hand sharpening drill bits until I purchased the drill Doctor. It works great and doesn't vibrate, although it is loud. I think it is a great little tool.

 

[Packard V8]

I am also able to split the tip something the machine cant do.

Actually, the DD does a decent split point.

One I have always wondered, why does it seem you can only sharpen a drillbit a couple times before is dosn't really sharpen again? Or am I the only one?

Use the split point feature and you'll be good to go once again.

the tool sharpening guys in the city they will proffesionally sharpen the bits for a buck fifty each

At that rate, I just paid for the cheesy plastic toy. However, it will need another $20 wheel every 100 bits or so.

jack vines

 

[softailgarage]

I have the 500x at home and a 750X at work. I bought mine because I've got about 700 drill bits I inherited from Dad. Cheesy... plastic....cheap.... yes,yes & yes, BUT, it works and it works well. So far I've done about 200 bits with no problems. I paid about $65.00 a year ago. At work we've started doing Lowrider Hydraulics and frame strengthening and go thru bits quickly. This is a moneysaver. I've also picked up a couple of bucks doing bits for the other shops in the complex. All in all, well worth the money...even if it's cheap.

 

[930dreamer]

I bought a used one for $30, works well.

 

[woody 73]

All of my life I wanted a darex but alas I have never seen one come up for sale so I bought the drill doctor Jack you hit the nail on the head on this one! A mosquito on steroids and yes made out of pot metal. For the small drill bits it works ok but yes it is underpowered in my book for the larger sizes.

 

[t100]

kicks *** on < 3/8" drill bits.

 

[muibubbles]

opinions on the 550 vs 750? i definitely want one but the prices new are ridiculous..

 

[larry_g]

I have the older DD. I find that it works great for putting a nice edge on a bit that is in good shape. I do not try to rework bits that are chipped or otherwise in bad shape. A bad bit I do by hand then use the DD to hone the edge and split the point. It really helps if you know what a good bit should look like, the relief angles and such, and your able to measure it. The unit have requires me to bias the bit in the holder from what the setter wants so that it has enough relief.

I believe that if you have no idea what a good bit is you will not have good results if you expect to just put the bit in and have a good cutting tool come out.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[rlitman]

All of my life I wanted a darex but alas I have never seen one come up for sale so I bought the drill doctor. . .

The DD is made by Darex. I've got a Darex, and a DD750. I use the DD750. The Darex needs to go on eBay one of these days.

For all those people who think you can sharpen by hand better than a DD. You're wrong. Period. Get over it.

IF you spend the time to learn to use the DD properly (and it does require some "technique" and learning), you can grind a better than factory perfect cutting edge in half the time it takes to grind manually (and I'm pretty darn good at hand grinding drill bits on the belt grinder).
More importantly, if you watch the swarf created, the pair of cut ribbons will be far more balanced than anything made by a hand ground bit, because the symmetry of the cutting tip will be far better.

 

[rlitman]

I do not try to rework bits that are chipped or otherwise in bad shape. A bad bit I do by hand then use the DD to hone the edge and split the point. It really helps if you know what a good bit should look like, the relief angles and such, and your able to measure it. . . . I believe that if you have no idea what a good bit is you will not have good results if you expect to just put the bit in and have a good cutting tool come out.

Now that's the best advice I've seen in this thread yet!

 

[Nelson58]

I've heard that the 750 model is the one to buy- not the others. Is that so?

They just had a sale on them at Enco. For $150 or less, seems like a decent buy.

Nelson

 

[kc-steve]

I'm sort of curious about them. But I have always used oil when drilling holes in metal to prevent the bits from over heating and then dull. So if I ever buy a Drill Doctor, it will have to be cheap since I haven't had any dull bits in a long time.

Steve

 

[IndyGarage]

I have one and have used it very successfully on a lot of bits up to about 3/8. They flat-out work.

My wheel isn't out of balance, but they do have a cheap motor in them that is annoyingly loud, and yeah they are made out of plastic - I wouldn't say cheap plastic, but plastic nonetheless.

I've found that it takes a little bit of a feel to learn to do a good job, but once you do it's very quick and easy to sharpen bits. So quick that I rarely use mine and have to relearn every time.

For homeowner use - which is the target market - it's a bit of overkill. You can sharpen 20 bits in an hour and not use the thing for another 2 years. I would imagine most folks who are DIY'ers would want one.

As far as the hate for them. I think it's a bit like when Glock introduced the plastic frame gun. All the old timers wrote them off, thinking there is no way a plastic gun could be durable or accurate. Just like Glock, Darex figured out what the real critical pieces are on a sharpener, and only those pieces are made of metal, the rest are not.

 

[Packard V8]

Update - Agree, the DD is really for bits smaller than 3/8". Seems to do a better job of sharpening really small bits than any other method I've tried. For the little guys alone, I'll keep it.

For 3/8"-1/2", it's overtaxed and the idea it will sharpen a 3/4"drill which needs work is a joke.

Anyone seen any good deals on replacement diamond wheels?

jack vines

 

[nomad69]

I have one of the older ones called the tradesman. I kept an eye on ebay for a couple of months after I bought it at an auction and picked up a lot of 5 someone was getting rid of. I cant stand ebay but 10$ plus shipping is very hard to say no to.

 

[Packard V8]

Update - just spent the past couple of evenings sharpening drill bits. The DD works quickly and accurately on the <3/8" drills, definitely worth the investment for them.

For >3/8", I used the big old Sellers. Look up "built like a tank" and there'll be a photo of this bad boy

I've got five 1/16"-1/2" by 64ths drill indexes, plus one each of 1-60, 60-80 and A-Z and #2MT. Even after sorting through all my to-be-sharpened drills, it appears I've got a lifetime supply of 3/8", 7/16" and 1/2", but there were still a few empty holes in the odd sizes. Chances are, I'll always have anything I need in one of the indexes, I like to have a full box with each drill press and mill. Saves a lot of walking.

One thing for sure, if I could get hardware store prices, for the extra drill bits, we'd be on the next plane to Hawaii.

jack vines

 

[Greatwhitewing]

I got one a while and agree it appears cheapish it do a good job once I got the hang of it. No more dull twist bits.

 

[pirana]

I wish sombody made one for annular cutters.

 

[route246]

I have plenty of those drill index case thingies (probably like a whole bunch of people here) with the same bits that have rotted out edges from normal use. The rest of the bits are in great shape. The DD has turned these partially good sets into fully good sets just by fixing the ones that have rotten edges on them. From that standpoint, it's a real bargain for me. It's rehabilitated many (less than 3/8 as people here noted) bits for me. I especially like the way it does smaller bits which I use frequently for pilot holes and they get worn out quickly.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I was just thinking of a drill doctor last night. i was trying to drill through a piece of 10 gauge steel and found that my 5/16 bit was really dull.

I think I'll put one on my list to buy.

 

[JASTECH]

Where are they made? I have a sharpener from my g-pa after he died, it's yellow I think and bits go in from top you dial size.

 

[wrench]

I have one,It is great.there is nothing more frustrating than trying to drill with a dull bit.If I have several holes to drill,I will sharpen the bit before I start,then again before I put it away.I never was very good at sharpening bits by hand,and my eyesight is'nt what it used to be either.

 

[Packard V8]

I never was very good at sharpening bits by hand,

Neither is most anyone else. I had twenty pounds of drills to sharpen. Most I had picked up at garage/estate sales and a few I had dulled myself. I was amazed at how badly wonked were some of the ones I had bought used which someone else had tried to sharpen. The two sides were usually nowhere near the same height. As often, the relief angles were way off also. After a few, if I saw a drill didn't have evidence of the factory grind, I knew I was in for a lot of work and just threw away any bad ones between 1/4"-3/8". I've got lots of drills I bought cheap and a new DD diamond wheel costs $20, so I figured why wear it out sharpening one bit?

I'm still not impressed with the material and build quality of the DD, definitely hate the noise it makes, but I'm a convert for using it to keep the <3/8" end of my drill indexes filled.

jack vines