Twist drill bits recommendations

[mark-NJ]

I'm growing weary of my drill bits. I have several sets / assortments of bits. 1.) TiN 135 degree to 1/2" by 32nds, 2.) M2 118 degree to 1/2" by 64ths, 3.) a set of 118 degree TiN numbers, and 4.) a 115-piece (fractions, letters & numbers) TiN 118 degree.

Other than set #2, all the rest strike me as cheap rejects, re-packaged junk, sold as premium bits. Sure, I can re-sharpen them (although my sharpener only does 118, so my 135s get 'converted' when sharpened. Every set is missing one or 2, the number drills don't size out accurately based on my micrometer, and plenty don't run true (some never ran true).

I'm ready to toss them all and buy a decent 115-piece box set and just start over. But how can you tell if they're junk or not? What should a decent complete 115-piece TiN set of fraction/letter/number bits in a decent Huot box cost?

I saw this, and Fireball makes some decent tools...but they don't make drillbits, so is this just the "SOS" from a different seller at a premium price? Or does $250 buy a decent set of first-quality, properly-sized bits? https://fireballtool.com/products/combination-drill-index-jobber-length

FWIW, I do not make my living with my tools, so this is a "weekend warrior" requirement. But regardless of my use, if I need to drill to tap a hole, the bit needs to be sized accurately and needs to run true. How much must one spend to get a decent set?

 

[scooby074]

I like Walter SST+ bits. Second would be Clarkson Osborne. Triumph etc. 3rd. Triumph is now a Walter company too.

 

[larry_g]

First of all I would avoid the tin coated. In cheap sets it is little more than gold coloring. If you look at an industrial supplier you will find a range from a couple of hundred to over a thousand dollars. https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...s=Number+of+Pieces:115--Drill+Point+Angle:118

You get what you pay for.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[RTM]

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[Pantsfall_McFixit]

There were some threads, and I built this list a long time ago. Anyone can correct for accuracy, relevancy, and currentness.
Order is not relevant, just numbers:

1. Norseman (aka Viking?)
2. Precision Twist
3. Chicago Latrobe
4. Triumph
5. Hertel
6. Guhring
7. Famag
8. Wood Owl - Auger bits
9. Dormer - USA
10. Cleveland Twist
11. Clarkson Osborn
12. Champion

 

[theoldwizard1]

As a DIYer, I bought Drill Hog because they have a lifetime warranty. They have even replaced missing bits when I sent them a picture of the empty positions in the case and their warranty card

 

[MushCreek]

I've had good results with Triumph, drilling tool steels in a shop environment, but a full set is looking like $600+. The best I've ever used are Guhring GT100, but I imagine the price of a set would take your breath away. 135 degree split points are best, but they're hard to re-sharpen properly, and a standard 118 degree grind may not play well with the bit's geometry. With my old eyes, I don't even try to sharpen anything much under a 1/4" except in a pinch.

 

[dnschmidt]

The Turbo bits from ASTRO change the game dramatically. Basically a twist drill with a step drill point on it. Norseman/Viking does make a copy of it as does Kant-Twist.

 

[Rinspeed]

Norseman are so good I never thought to look elsewhere.

 

[goldtang]

No sure in USA most of what I have (OZ) 40 plus years of collecting, all drills bits are either P & N or Sutton they also make tape etc. have had a good run with Goliath . Will only buy high speed steel Any thing else is a waste of money and time . If I buy it is from from trade outlets and not box stores , If you are only doing just home jobs I would not worry about TiN , work out the right speed or close to it and a bit of cutting fluid I use Sutton venom , if you can learn to sharpen the drill bit as for using the sharping gadgets that you can buy sorry I have know idea I can only sharpen buy hand .

 

[flyingblind]

I buy this set for my drill bit poor friends, usually shuts them up for a while after they see what a good tool vs whatever they had.
Norseman $95.60 at Amazon.

 

[four.cycle]

BowersTool carries Norseman as well - No clue how prices compare.

 

[gizardlizard]

The Turbo bits from ASTRO change the game dramatically. Basically a twist drill with a step drill point on it. Norseman/Viking does make a copy of it as does Kant-Twist.

Agreed. These are my go to bits when having to hand drill on machines.

 

[neophyte]

Titanium Nitrate bits are really meant for aluminum, and certain other specialty alloys that are known for galling or to have high wear rates due to the metal structure.
Good titanium nitrate bits from industrial sources routinely run 2-3x the cost of bright finish bits.
Cheap titanium nitrate bits are available all over the place, but might be best bough if you need to occasionally drill aluminum.
Any major industrial supplier will have quality replacement bits in practically any size, and made to most specs, except some of the weird new patented tip designs.
Mainly though, you need to know which standard the bits you have are made for, and find the equivalent bits, which can sometimes be a bit confusing.

 

[mark-NJ]

Any thoughts on a Norseman M7 115-pc set, 135 degree for $300 from Bowers via eBay? Says "new" and "made in USA"...*seems* too good to be true, and you know what they say about THAT, right?

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[four.cycle]

^ I've been dealing with Mr. Nelson Bowers for .... 6+ years now. No problems. Straight shooter. Hell of a nice guy to deal with.

Norseman, from what I understand - mostly from comments posted by other members here - gets pretty high marks.

Considering that most of the other U.S. based twist drill manufacturers have fallen by the wayside, it's a reasonably good choice for a quality bit.
(I stopped buying anything other than Cobalt or Titanium twist drill bits years ago unless it was intended to drill holes in plasterboard walls.)

other US made options include:

Brocas / Brocas Minnesota, 1 Southwest 7th St., Chisholm MN 55719 / http://www.brocasminnesota.com/ / twist drills, punches, taps / see also Minnesota Drill, Triumph Twist Drill, Northland Drill /

Greenfield / Greenfield Industries, 2501 Davis Creek Rd., Seneca, SC 29678 / https://www.gfii.com/ / parent company of Bassett, Cle-Force, Cle-Line, Cleveland, and Chicago Latrobe / twist drills, cutting tools /

International / International Tool Mfg., 150 Express St., Plainview, NY 11803 / est. 1987 / twist drills, cutting tools / "Megapro" screwdriver / patent 5265504 Nov 30 1993 H. Fruhm / see also Winsire Enterprises, Megapro /

Minnesota / Minnesota Twist Drill Co. Inc., 1 7th St SW, Chisholm, MN 55719 / twist drills, punches, taps / see also Brocas Minnesota, Northland Drill, Triumph Twist Drill /

Northland / Northland Drill, 1 Southwest 7th St., Chisholm MN 55719 / http://www.northlanddrill.com/ / twist drills, punches, taps / see also Triumph Drill, Brocas Minnesota, Minnesota Drill /

Snappy / Snappy Tools, 1009 No. Hwy. 377, Pilot Point, TX / https://www.snappytools.com/ / est. 1962 / twist drills, countersinks, cutting tools /

Triumph / Triumph Twist Drill Division, Minnesota Twist Drill, 1 Southwest 7th St., Chisholm MN 55719 / https://triumphtwistdrill.com/ / twist drills, punches / est. 1952 / incorporated Jan 01 1961 / see also Northland Drill, Brocas Minnesota, Minnesota Drill /

Viking / Viking Drill & Tool, 355 State St., St. Paul, MN 55107 / http://www.vikingdrill.com/ / twist drills, reamers, taps, cutting tools / see also Norseman Drill & Tool /

^ I have not used ANY of these companies' products!

 

[scooby074]

You cant sharpen those Step tip drills can you? That makes them a non-starter for me.

 

[Bubba Fett]

I've heard good things about Montana/Montain bits.

 

[four.cycle]

^ that's a new one for me. sending an inquiry to the factory now. web site looks like they're making product in house.

including 1/4" hex drive bits?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Montana / Montana Brand Tools, 34837 Innovation Dr., Ronan MT 59864 / https://www.montanabrandtools.com/ / est. /

interesting 'test' video at lower right on this page.... not sure if this is a "real world" scenario or not:

14pc Titanium Coated Hex Shank Drill Bit Set

Designed for standard and impact drill/drivers and compatible with our Quick Draw Connector. Made in the USA.

www.montanabrandtools.com

 

[BillK]

At work I consider them disposable so I usually buy the cheapest ones that McMaster Carr sells.

I am not a big fan of any of the "weird" bits like the Turbo bits shown above. They might work ok but as soon as you mess one of them up (and you will) its a hassle to find just one replacement.

In a bind I have gone to Home Depot and bought individual Dewalt bits and have been very happy with them. That is probably what I would do in your case. Or buy a complete set if thats what you think you need. That way when you need to replace one it will be easy.

 

[ronkz650]

I got the Norseman 115pc set on Ebay through Bower tool and have been very pleased with it.

 

[gizardlizard]

You cant sharpen those Step tip drills can you? That makes them a non-starter for me.

I have two sets of these. One for work and one for home. Had the work set sharpened twice so far.

 

[mark-NJ]

I got the Norseman 115pc set on Ebay through Bower tool and have been very pleased with it.

Great to hear. I *think* that's the direction I'm headed.


General question for all of you who know more about metalwork than I do: 135 degree bits can do more (i.e. cut harder steel, etc.) than 118 bits can. But if you own a complete set of 135 bits, is there a reason to own 118 bits as well? IOW, is there a job 118 bits can do that 135 bits can't?

 

[oldwino]

Love my Noresmen’s but hate the index they come (largest bits in front, smaller in the back).

 

[scooby074]

I have two sets of these. One for work and one for home. Had the work set sharpened twice so far.

Did you sharpen them yourself? Not being able to sharpen on a grinder or worse, having to PAY someone to sharpen kills me

 

[threewood]

I'm currently using Chicago Latrobe and they are very good.. Next time I need to buy some, I'll try Norseman to see what I'm missing.

 

[Kuma601]

Greenfield Industries has a variety of tiers in drill bits to fit the budget. Most my sets started out as basic black oxide coated and as those wore out the common ones were replaced with cobalt 135 degree split points in jobber and screw machine lengths. It is nice to have a full set but it is $$ if going all cobalt. Some of the number and letter as well as fractional don't get used so while nice, money sitting. The common stuff those bits get bought by the dozen + from the suppliers. MSC, Travers Tool, etc.

 

[rancherbill]

-Practice proper drilling technique, position and lube. I mix 50% motor oil and 50% water and dish soap and keep it in a ketchup squeeze bottle. The drills are lubed and cool and don't break as much and stay sharp longer..

-do all drilling with 1/16" drills and then finish with the correct 1/128" drill All the letters and odd size ones treat them properly.

-use your drill sharpener frequently on the 1/16" drills.

I do not have the frustrations I used to have.

It is easy to break really expensive drills, btw, if you have poor technique.

 

[dnschmidt]

-Practice proper drilling technique, position and lube. I mix 50% motor oil and 50% water and dish soap and keep it in a ketchup squeeze bottle. The drills are lubed and cool and don't break as much and stay sharp longer..

-do all drilling with 1/16" drills and then finish with the correct 1/128" drill All the letters and odd size ones treat them properly.

-use your drill sharpener frequently on the 1/16" drills.

I do not have the frustrations I used to have.

It is easy to break really expensive drills, btw, if you have poor technique.

Are you sure you have your factions right? I know you're in Canada and you guys have gone metric but who the hell uses 1/16" and 1/128" drills. Their isn't a drill sharpener on the market that will sharpen a 1/16" drill. You've got me confused.

 

[KnurledNut]

To @mark-NJ

You may well know this, but left hand drills can be very valuable. I keep a smaller set of cobalt shorter mechanics length, and a standard set of HSS in jobber length.

Also, you mentioned tapping. If metric, it would be good to get the appropriate corresponding metric size drills, instead of using a close fractional equivalent.

 

[dnschmidt]

Great to hear. I *think* that's the direction I'm headed.


General question for all of you who know more about metalwork than I do: 135 degree bits can do more (i.e. cut harder steel, etc.) than 118 bits can. But if you own a complete set of 135 bits, is there a reason to own 118 bits as well? IOW, is there a job 118 bits can do that 135 bits can't?

I find no difference between the two but since I bought the Turbo bits those are the ones I currently use.

 

[gizardlizard]

Did you sharpen them yourself? Not being able to sharpen on a grinder or worse, having to PAY someone to sharpen kills me

I did not. My sharpening guy does all our sharpening at work. Drills, blades, end mills, everything. These are too specialized to sharpen yourself. Same goes for your standard step drills.

 

[dutchgray]

Are you sure you have your factions right? I know you're in Canada and you guys have gone metric but who the hell uses 1/16" and 1/128" drills. Their isn't a drill sharpener on the market that will sharpen a 1/16" drill. You've got me confused.

Think he means by 16ths and by 128ths size steps.
I'm in metric land so we just do by 0.5 or 0.1 mm

 

[Steve_P]

Any thoughts on a Norseman M7 115-pc set, 135 degree for $300 from Bowers via eBay? Says "new" and "made in USA"...*seems* too good to be true, and you know what they say about THAT, right?

Pardon Our Interruption...

Norseman is made in USA; they also sell the same bits under a couple of their other brand names. The M7 line is the one to get, and I have several different variations.

I would recommend the mechanic length bits instead of jobber, which that set has; or mechanic in addition to the jobber. Mechanic length are slightly shorter, and have three ground flats at 120*, on the sizes that it's possible, so that the drill chuck can grab them; the flats are a huge advantage when using in a cordless drill.

 

[mark-NJ]

To @mark-NJ

You may well know this, but left hand drills can be very valuable. I keep a smaller set of cobalt shorter mechanics length, and a standard set of HSS in jobber length.

Also, you mentioned tapping. If metric, it would be good to get the appropriate corresponding metric size drills, instead of using a close fractional equivalent.

Metric: I have loose bits for the common tap sizes that I've had need to use.

Left hand bits: I don't own any & never have. Not entirely sure what they're for. Left-hand taps? Yeah, I have some of those...but left-hand bits? What are they for?

Moreover, my drill press won't go backwards and a hand drill wants to loosen when going counter-clockwise...so I'm stumped. What are left-hand bits all about?

 

[tjansson]

Get a vintage Craftsman drill index off ebay. NOS would be best but lightly used or empty works too. Then buy basic HSS individual drills off McMaster as necessary to replace the worn out ones.

Whoops, I missed that you wanted letter & number drills too. I just keep a fractional set, up to 1/2 by 32nds, and then buy tap drills as I need them and keep them with the tap.

 

[scooby074]

Metric: I have loose bits for the common tap sizes that I've had need to use.

Left hand bits: I don't own any & never have. Not entirely sure what they're for. Left-hand taps? Yeah, I have some of those...but left-hand bits? What are they for?

Moreover, my drill press won't go backwards and a hand drill wants to loosen when going counter-clockwise...so I'm stumped. What are left-hand bits all about?

In a drill motor that reverses, a LH drill bit can sometimes back out a stuck screw as you drill out the centre of the stuck bolt. I find its a 50-50 chance at best.

 

[dscheidt]

Metric: I have loose bits for the common tap sizes that I've had need to use.

Left hand bits: I don't own any & never have. Not entirely sure what they're for. Left-hand taps? Yeah, I have some of those...but left-hand bits? What are they for?

Moreover, my drill press won't go backwards and a hand drill wants to loosen when going counter-clockwise...so I'm stumped. What are left-hand bits all about?

left hand bits are used in drill spindles that spin backwards. (the machines that bore shelf pins, for instance, have a set of spindles connected by gears, so every other spindle is backwards. there are other similar uses)

Some people claim you can use them to make a bolt walk out of a hole. I've never seen it happen....

 

[rancherbill]

Are you sure you have your factions right? I know you're in Canada and you guys have gone metric but who the hell uses 1/16" and 1/128" drills. Their isn't a drill sharpener on the market that will sharpen a 1/16" drill. You've got me confused.

I was unclear, I should have said use drills that are multiples of 1/16", eg 1/16, 1/8, 3/16 etc. They are common and cheap. Then finish the hole with the correct drill.

If you break a 21/64 or or any letter drill, they are expensice to replace.

 

[four.cycle]

I just got off the telephone with Mr. David Tyler at Montana Brand Tools in Ronan, Montana, U.S.A.
They are manufacturing twist drill bits in house.
They are manufacturing 1/4" hex drive bits in house.
TODAY ONLY They're having a BOGO sale - buy one item, get second item HALF PRICE.
Mix-and-match.
TODAY ONLY

Montana / Montana Brand Tools, 34837 Innovation Dr., Ronan MT 59864 / https://www.montanabrandtools.com/ / est. 1996 /