Help me a "bit"
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jeffmoss26
Well-known member
Search function is your best friend! This comes up a lot.
Personally...Norseman, Viking, CTD, Greenfield are all good. HJE, MSC, Enco, McMaster are all sources.
Personally...Norseman, Viking, CTD, Greenfield are all good. HJE, MSC, Enco, McMaster are all sources.
Jim Johnstone
Well-known member
I use a lot of Cleveland twist products at work, drills, reamers, counterbores etc. Excellent stuff we use them all day in the cnc department.
Addison, if you can find them. German made and stay sharp in use with steel. I think they are an industrial only brand, I got lucky and found 3 packets of them 1/16 - 1/4" for about $10 a set.
I'll never go back to any other by choice.
I'll never go back to any other by choice.
abk241
Well-known member
Cheap drill bits work fine as long as you have a good edge on them.
Most of them come needing to be sharpened before being used.
If you don't know how to sharpen a drill bit this is the perfect opportunity for you to learn...on your companys dime.
All it takes is lots of practice to become proficient at it.
twertsy
Well-known member
Norseman, period
truth right here. good and bad seems to be more about who is using and sharpening them. an awesome bit wont cut worth a damn after a guy gets it hot and ruins the edge. and a "****" bit will cut like a dream when someone has their speeds set right and is using cutting fluid after sharpening it properly.
good example is at work, i was telling an intern how to sharpen a bit back up since it got chipped. apparently i was too indepth with it and another co-worker came up and gave him a super simplified easy way to ruin a bit (no mention of angles, etc, he even said he didn't care about the angle as long as it was "good"... whatever that means). when he took him to our tool and die shop and came back with what looked like a toothpick point, almost 70 degree angle. i grabbed a similar size bit the intern was using earlier, walked to the angle grinder in our shop and a few seconds later had a bit that tore through the workpiece he needed it on.
knowing how to sharpen a bit is a good skill to have.
espyking83
Well-known member
Norseman.
Though, all bits need lube, slow speed, and pressure. Also helps when you have a pilot hole (when drilling metal anyways).
Though, all bits need lube, slow speed, and pressure. Also helps when you have a pilot hole (when drilling metal anyways).
kelpaso1
MEMBER EMERITUS
Drill Doctor. After sharpening, even cheap drill bits cut good. I haven't bought a drill bit in years (unless I broke one) since getting mine
kelpaso1
MEMBER EMERITUS
Yes well worth the money. I have tried to sharpen bits on a grinder for 20 years and still can't get the hang of it. Drill Doctor solved it for me
Plus when your cheap bit dulls, a couple passes in the doctor makes them sharp again, and you can sharpen them a hundred times before it gets to short and have to buy a new one. Sometimes I find it sharpens them so well that they are too sharp for drilling aluminum or brass and I have to dull them a bit with a piece of emery cloth.
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BlackjackNA
Well-known member
Have a collection of Norseman.... great stuff!
Has anyone used TTP bits? Impressions?
Oh, and by the way - carbide twist drills like to go fast.
Has anyone used TTP bits? Impressions?
Oh, and by the way - carbide twist drills like to go fast.
twertsy
Well-known member
I was waiting for someone to say this.....
Steevo
Well-known member
Yes, Drill doctor is a good bit sharpener.
Just don't expect to take it out of the box and magically produce properly sharpened bits with it.
Here is a pic of bits, on the left is a factory sharpened bit, on the right the first one run through a new, un-adjusted, un-tuned Drill Dr.
Obviously, that one on the right wouldn't drill butter.
After carefully adjusting settings and calibrating the Drill Dr, it produced excellent results, even doing a good job on split points:
This is my second Drill Dr 750x. I had the first one performing excellently, when the motor died, and they replaced it free, but I had to start over tuning it in to get good results from it.
kelpaso1
MEMBER EMERITUS
Steevo, do you have a link or can explain how to adjust one properly? Mine sharpens pretty good but I often find it sharpens one side of the bit more than the other, more so with small bits. I even called DD and had them send me a new bit holder thingy but still have the same problem. Mine does not do split point. Model #250.
VersionOne
Well-known member
Try taking a look at Bosch's cobalt bit set, it's reasonably priced at about $35 for 1/8"-3/8".
Increments wise, how small do you need them to be; 1/32", 1/16", 1/8"?
Increments wise, how small do you need them to be; 1/32", 1/16", 1/8"?
nationalminer84
Well-known member
I buy mine from the local industrial supply.... Not sure the brand but they are tough bits for not a lot of money
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Version honestly i haven't to drill small holes beside pilot holes which i can manage changing sizes. The main reason i am wanting some is because i recently had to drill holes on a frame of a kenworth to relocate the back motor mounts because we swapped out the small L10 for a 400 cummins. Which i ended with a 5/8 bit.
And lets just say it took forever with the bits i had
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
And lets just say it took forever with the bits i had
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Whiskeymike
Well-known member
Yes well worth the money. I have tried to sharpen bits on a grinder for 20 years and still can't get the hang of it. Drill Doctor solved it for me
Anything special on the settings for sharpening for Aluminum? I have a couple hundred holes to drill in 1.5" aluminum bar with a drill press. After about 4 holes my used dewalt bit was significantly slower. I'm running the press pretty slow, but I'll need to look up the RPM.
Wamsutta
Well-known member
Toledo Consolidated
d.mcfarland
Well-known member
Pick any USA and you will be better off than any Chinese. Lets all be honest and on the same page here. The USA manufacturers are still in business for a reason.
Same as Norseman.
If there is enough interest, I'll put together another Norseman group buy. Let me know.
twertsy
Well-known member
I'd be I, but you may want to start a new thread.
kelpaso1
MEMBER EMERITUS
I believe you need faster RPM's for softer metals.
And STEEVO can you answer my question previously in this thread?
Having cut more than a few holes in truck frames, I would suggest you aren't looking for a drill bit for anything larger than a 3/8" hole.
You want these: (careful, most exciting youtube vid ever
)A couple fast twist reamers, a corded drill that runs no more than about 800-900 RPM, and a spray bottle of coolant/lube make punching holes in frames pretty easy. It really goes smoothly when you have one hand to feather the trigger and you can lean your hip against the back of the drill, other hand for lube. Gotta be a little careful though, if the reamer snags you can punch yourself in the junk
.If you have to drill that many holes then it's definitely worthwhile trying to get the feed and speed about right. So tell us what diameter you're drilling and what speed you have your DP set to. Also, are your dewalt bits coated and if so what type of coating.
I'd definitely be using some lube with that many holes to drill. If you don't have anything special on hand then even kero or wd40 will help. I'm pretty sure something has got to be wrong if your HSS bits are significantly dulled after just 4 holes in aluminium.
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BlackjackNA
Well-known member
Has anyone tried bits from Drill Bit Warehouse or Drill Bit City? The former has carbide twist drills, which work well, and the latter has excellent moly bits and great prices. I can investigate group buys with these companies also, if demand warrants.
This is a good question to ask. If you don't have anything else, start out with a bright finish HSS and use WD 40 as lubricant. If you drill alu with dry black oxide bits, bad things will happen.
. That being said, aluminum is a very wide range of materials, so there is no 1 size fits all answers.
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