Drill Doctor
- Thread starter Tom Hintz
- Start date
nissan_crawler
Well-known member
Yes, they work well. Yes, they're quick to use. We were using some carbide bits on case hardened steel, and they were getting killed rather quickly. The drill doctor touched them up in a few seconds.
Full Size 66
Well-known member
LMAO, I just saw the picture of the drill angle gauge. This reminded me of the first metal shop project I ever did in 7th grade. We made our own drill angle gauge. I can not remember the exact process but I do remember hand filing the edges until they were straight, this was checked by droping it in a fixture the teacher had made by a machinist friend. If it wasn't right you did it again. I made 2-3... Anyhow I can sharpen by hand fairly accurately on some pretty small bits, I still want a Drill doctor!
With a Drill Doctor, you must take care to properly position the bit in the chuck. If you do a sloppy job with the setup, It will not sharpen well.
I have a Drill Doctor 400 which came with the standard chuck and the 1/2" to 3/4" chuck. I think it works great.
Here is a picture I took with my iPhone of a 3/4" bit. I sharpened the bit and split the point using my DD400.
I have a Drill Doctor 400 which came with the standard chuck and the 1/2" to 3/4" chuck. I think it works great.
Here is a picture I took with my iPhone of a 3/4" bit. I sharpened the bit and split the point using my DD400.
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Big_John
Well-known member
Soooo....if I'm reading this post correctly. No one here knows how to sharpen a drill bit correctly the old way? By hand on a fine wheel.
and yes, I can do 1/8" double ended bits without any trouble too.
I can sharpen by hand. No need for a Drill Doctor for me!
Shadowdog500
Well-known member
Here is a good video on how to sharpen a bit by hand.
http://www.youtube.com/user/mrpete222#p/u/61/cqn2VPGYA9c
I dont have a drill doctor, but I don't see why it wouldn't be as good for smaller bits.
Chris
http://www.youtube.com/user/mrpete222#p/u/61/cqn2VPGYA9c
I dont have a drill doctor, but I don't see why it wouldn't be as good for smaller bits.
Chris
Full Size 66
Well-known member
I do sharpen by hand because I do not have the drill doctor. I have seen mixed results. As I said in my other post I learned in the 7th grade to sharpen with a grinder by hand. I would rather have the industrial version by Darex. These are very expensive though.
willysrule
Well-known member
carbide or cobalt???
reason I ask is carbide takes a special type of griding wheel...just wondering how hard it would be on the drill doctor wheel...
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nissan_crawler
Well-known member
carbide. If it was cobalt, I wouldn't have bothered sharpening them, we have them by the hundreds.
All I know is...they wouldn't drill at all and would squeal like hell after about 45 seconds of use...put them in the drill doctor, and they would go another 45 seconds.
We should have had different bits probably...but that's what we had.
UncleJoe
Well-known member
Based on my personal experience with them and the experience of many members here I would say maybe, just maybe you are not using it correctly. Exactly how is is a piece of $%^&? What is it doing that makes you say that.
If you load the drill bit in correctly and turn the thing properly it can do nothing but sharpen the bit. It is not like you can load it right and turn it corretly and it can fail. The thing does not have that capacity unless there is a flaw in the manufacturing of your drill doctor and something is not lined up correctly.
I use mine all the time and I just don't see how a properly maintained one can produce anything but a sharp bit. I am not trying to start an argument but I don't get it.
I just came in from sharpening 60-some bits for my neighbor. He brought a few over last night because they wouldn't drill for a job he was doing in the house. I fixed those and he came over this morning with a big box and said it was worth a big steak this evening if I could sharpen these as well.
It works for me - and gets me free steak!
nate379
Banned
I have tried every trick in the book with mine and it doesn't work well. Watched the video tape that came with it and follow the directions exact and still no luck.
My brother, who is a machinist, was helping me out one day and tried to use a bit that I had sharpened at some point with the Drill Doctor. He asked me who the hell sharpened the bit cause it was all *** backward.
I busted out the Drill Doctor and he couldn't make it work correctly either.
I have the 750SP model, can do up to 3/4" bits with it.
Look at the pictures. 7/16" bits. Left one is brand new, right one was sharpened with Drill Doctor. The only thing that is correct is the point angle.
My brother, who is a machinist, was helping me out one day and tried to use a bit that I had sharpened at some point with the Drill Doctor. He asked me who the hell sharpened the bit cause it was all *** backward.
I busted out the Drill Doctor and he couldn't make it work correctly either.
I have the 750SP model, can do up to 3/4" bits with it.
Look at the pictures. 7/16" bits. Left one is brand new, right one was sharpened with Drill Doctor. The only thing that is correct is the point angle.
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mdbeck1
Well-known member
My wife bought me one for Christmas several years ago. I broke a bit one night and was in a hurry so I tried to use it and could not for the life of me get a sharp bit. A few days later I decided I was really going to give it a try. I cleaned off the work bench, grabbed a bottle of water, pulled out the instructions, and spent the evening reading and following the instructions. I think I grabbed a couple of 1/4" bits that I had. After an hour or two I got a feel for how the machine worked and was able to sharpen all of my bits fairly quickly. I usually save up my bits and when I get several I'll sharpen everything that I have used in the index.
NOTE: When I sharpen the bits I put them in sharp tip up. When I use them I'll put them back tip down. Then when I start sharpenning them I know which ones to touch up.
...and I was taught how to sharpen drill bits on a bench grinder. I don't sharpen enough drill bits to keep the "feel" so I'll go with the Drill "Doctor.
Joe69
Well-known member
I bought a DD 500 tradesman 10 or so years ago. Before that, I always sharpened them on a bench grinder. I bought the DD so I had a decent way of sharpening a bit in the field. I plug it into my Miller Bobcat welder in my service truck, and away I go. I have had really good luck with it. Especially now that I need bifocals, and can't see the very small bits as wells as I used to. If it ever wears out, I'll buy another. The only times I've ever had a problem sharpening a bit with it, was because I got in a hurry and didn't get everything lined up properly.
Joe
Joe
nate379
Banned
Have yet to sharpen any bit with good success!
nissan_crawler
Well-known member
pretty much anything that fits.
The one thing I've found is that when you have the drill and the chuck in the alignment part of it, you have to hold the drill bit tight while you tighten the chuck down, otherwise the bit twists with the chuck a little, and you end up with the lowest point of the bit being a hair back from the cutting edge.