USA-made drill bit company

[dnschmidt]

CL could be Chicago-Latrobe or Cleveland both top tier brands.

 

[four.cycle]

I think your first guess is correct and I think they should have been on that list on the previous page:

Chicago / Chicago-Latrobe Twist Drill Works, 411 W. Ontario St., Chicago, IL / see Greenfield Industries / twist drills, reamers, cutting tools /

and

Cleveland / Cleveland Twist Drill Co., Cleveland, OH / see Greenfield Industries / drills, screw extractors / patent 1105535 Jul 28 1914 Julius O. Roberts /

are both owned by the parent company

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 /

yes. exactly. the markings on the bits match the logo on their website.
again, we only had to punch one hole - door hinge bushing replacement on a Ford truck - he had to drill out the old hinge pin.

my regular "users" are in a different Huot holder like that one above but it's a mish-mash of different brands. Most of my older (larger) bits are Columbia Tap & Die, but they're not around any more.

 

[Steve_P]

this may or may not be a complete and comprehensive list of U.S. based twist drill manufacturers. with the exception of Century, these are all manufactured in the U.S. to the best of my knowledge:

Brocas / Brocas Minnesota, 1 Southwest 7th St., Chisholm MN 55719 / https://triumphtwistdrill.com/home/brocas-minnesota-logosm/ / twist drills, punches, taps / see also Minnesota Drill, Triumph Twist Drill, Northland Drill /

Century / Century Drill & Tool Corp., P.O. 5216, De Pere, WI 54115-5216 / https://centurydrill.com/ / est. 1940 / distributor of outsourced products - not a manufacturer /

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 /

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

Northland / Northland Drill, 1 Southwest 7th St., Chisholm MN 55719 / https://triumphtwistdrill.com/home/brocas-minnesota-logosm/ / twist drills, punches, taps / see also Triumph Drill, Brocas Minnesota, Minnesota Drill /

Rocky / Rocky Mountain Twist, 34837 Innovation Dr., Ronan MT 59864 / "Montana Brand Tools" / https://www.montanabrandtools.com/ / est. 2001 / twist drill bits, 1/4" hex bits, power tool accessories /

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

Thompson / R.W. Thompson Inc., 3715 Harrison Rd, Ste. 500, Loganville, GA 30052 / https://knkut.com/ / est. 1982 / "KnKut" twist drills /

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 cannot offer any opinion in respect to which brand might be "better".
I appreciate the "Project Farm" videos, but unfortunately more often than not they do not show all of the options currently available (as is clearly evident when you look at the list above.)
I sent a set of the "Montana Brand" titanium hex-drive drill bits to another member for his "Secret Santa" gift, but we have yet to hear any review on the product from him.

As for myself, I finally figured out that buying cheap drill bits is penny wise and pound foolish.
In cases where I know I will be destroying the bit, I'll use anything at hand. (Drilling through old plaster walls or mixed media.)
If I go to a hardware store to buy a drill bit, high-end cobalt will be my first choice. Titanium second. Plain black steel only if they have nothing else.

YMMV

CTD, Consolidated Toledo Drill, is also at the "Norseman" address with Viking. They don't advertise that the products are all apparently the same or that the companies are related. You can shop the three brands for the lowest price on the same set.

 

[mreisner]

H u o t actually just makes the case, CL would be Chicago Latrobe. Sorry didn't see the post above

 

[four.cycle]

@Steve_P -
thanks for that.
yes, looks like they're all at the same address:

Consolidated / Consolidated Toledo Drill, 355 State St., St.Paul, MN 55107 / http://www.ctddrill.com/ / twist drills /

 

[neophyte]

Couple of comments: 1) They must be drilling a shitload of holes up there in Minnesota. 2) TiN covered bits tend to be cheap junk. See Ryobi and most of the drills at Home Depot. Plain black high speed steel is far superior to these made from pot-metal bits. 3) I personally know of no drill bits made from titanium.

If you mean "titanium coated" (I am not a metallurgist), I'm not sure I'd disagree. Gold-colored things - on regular twist drill bits I haven't found them to be much better than the plain black steel bits.

For that matter, the last "set" of drill bits I bought for my own use was a Huot full-blown set of HSS bits. We only used one - a 23/64 bit to drill out a door hinge bushing - but it was amazingly sharp. The bits are marked "CL USA" - I am assuming this set was old stock so I have no clue who actually made the bits.

I've had the best luck drilling through tool steel with cobalt bits.

Titanium Nitride coated bits have the coating for specific reasons, including lubricity and to prevent galling when drilling certain metals known for the issue.
Not all Titanium Nitride coated bits are not always cheap junk.
TiN bits that are made in the USA, or from other high end industrial manufacturers, tend to be fairly expensive, sometimes as expensive as Cobalt HSS bits from the same manufacturer.
Aluminum, for instance, is known for falling issues, and the TiN can help prevent this.
There are other coatings such as Titanium Aluminum Nitride for other materials.(not recommended for drilling aluminum).

 

[5ubtle]

Discount for Garage Journal members?

@Montana Brand Tools
See post #30.
Yes or no?