Drills for steel

[bcoke]

looking to purchase a good set of drills mainly for drilling in steel.....brass .......aluminium ......any brands recomended that are good and hold an edge longer than most ???????? sources of said drills ????https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/images/smilies/dunno.gif

 

[Rinspeed]

I've had great luck with Norseman.




https://www.amazon.com/Norseman-44170-240-UB-Degree-Premium/dp/B00627C8ZU/ref=asc_df_B00627C8ZU/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309735728871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9060695990456621899&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005685&hvtargid=pla-568756968860&psc=1

 

[larry_g]

Be aware that for good drilling in brass you use a different rake on the cutting edge of the bit and so for best results you need a set for brass and another for other metals. Cleveland, Norseman, OSG are all good bits. Browse the MSC catalog and you'll find more that 300 bits for making a 3/8" hole. https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...5+4288242029&searchterm=Drilling+&+Drill+Bits
Drill bits can be a complicated subject if you really study it.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[dogdog]

maybe check out your local machinist supply ware house ? or industrial supply stores ?

this one is quasi local to me... 50 minutes drive... they do web order also...

https://www.travers.com/solid-carbide-drills/c/297629/


most of the time, it's how you use them and the material, thickness, size of hole, speed of bit , lubricants, and pressure on the feed.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

USA made 135* tips will almost universally be acceptable. Softer metals can get away with 118*.

Norseman, CTD, Chicago Latrobe, Cleveland, etc. Center punch, small pilot, the main size. Don't jump up just a few sizes at a time, it beats up the bits. Down pressure is king for anything above 1/4 or so. RPM is for small bits, but I find the "poke and clear" method at lower rpm works as well.

 

[turtleman321]

precision twist

 

[Dave455]

Another vote for the MSC catalogue here. I don’t know what’s in the U.S. version, but in the U.K. edition there are generally 4 choices for twist drills. Anything in the top 3 will be better than drill bits from a non specialist!

I’m lucky and have a drill specialist locally. I normally just take their advice and have never been let down. If you have such a place it’s probably worth a visit. If not there’s probably somewhere the local machine shops use.

As others have said, one type does not suit all. If you’re drilling brass you will need “slow helix” drills. I don’t have a set of these. I have a few popular sizes and buy the rest as required. You can get through aluminium with regular drills, but if you’re doing a lot there are specialist drills that work better. Ditto stainless.

You asked for brands. Guhring (German) Presto (British) Walter (German) and Izar (Spain) tend to be my favourites, but if I visit the specialist supplier I sometimes get offered makes I’ve not heard of, but they always seem decent!

You should have lots of good choices in the U.S. I’ve used both Cleveland and Triumph and found them both good. Love the Triumph cobalt - I bought one for one job, and it was so good I bought a set!

 

[Paul_The_Builder]

I've had good luck with Cobalt bit. I have a few sets of Cobalt Milwaukee bits that I bought from Home Depot on my corporate account that serve me well. They last a LONG time if you don't abuse them, but they do snap pretty easily.

I have a set of Drill Hog bits at home that work well also, but I pretty much only use them on the drill press so they live a pretty easy life.

 

[matt_i]

precision twist

These are really nice. I've survived on C-L for a long time and they have always done me well.

I've always run 118s in black oxide, the 135s don't follow the pilot very well and jump around and are impossible to resharpen the same by hand.

If I care about the location I'll start with a solid carbide 120deg spot drill, followed by a 1/8" followed by something else. If smaller than 1/8" I won't do that last step

 

[woody 73]

Working on a project in steel and going through bits like crazy...I picked up a few brick and cement carbide bits that cut well but they shatter very fast; That carbide is brittle stuff.

 

[MushCreek]

It depends on what you're drilling with. In a drill press, or especially a milling machine, I like cobalt 135 split points. They're not 'impossible' to resharpen, but it takes skill, a steady hand, and a sharp corner grinding wheel. For hand drilling, the 118 degree points and softer bits are more forgiving. In steel especially, low RPM, oil, and high pressure gets the job done. In a machine tool, I use combination center drills, but they're very easy to break drilling by hand.

I've had good results from Triumph Thunderbits for an affordable bit. Guhring GT100's are great if money is no object, but too fragile in a hand drill.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Very few drill manufacturers actually specify what type of metal they are using. At a minimum you want M7. Cobalt is good for steel, but they are more brittle so go light on the pressure.

 

[1949 caddyman]

Project Farm on youtube did a test on drills.