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Who makes good drill bits for metal?

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lat905

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I need a good set of drill bits that are useful for drilling steel. I have several Home Depot/Lowes etc. sets, and they are fine for wood/plastic and minimal metal use. However, while they say they are for metal.....meh. I've mostly been using cheap Harbor Freight bits and resharpening them on my drill doctor every use, but that gets old, especially when I have to sharpen several times to drill one hole.

I've looked at several online sites, but I have no clue what is good and what is junk.

I don't need machinist quality stuff, but something decent that will hold up for a while when used on metal. I'm mostly using 1/2" 18V cordless, 3/8" 12V cordless, and occasionally my small drill press. I'm thinking like a 30 piece set going up to 1/2".

So what brands are good without breaking the bank?
 
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DocsMachine

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lat905 said:
[...] especially when I have to sharpen several times to drill one hole.
Click to expand...

-Unless you're getting utterly **** quality drills, there's other issues at work if you need to sharpen multiple times to drill a single hole.

Chances are you're turning the drill too fast. Most "home shop" drill presses have a slowest setting that's still too fast for anything but small drills, when used on metal. A half-inch drill going through steel needs no more than a couple hundred RPM. Turn it 400-500 RPM and yeah, you're going to burn the lips off.

Either that or you're trying to drill hard metals- leaf springs or armor plate, maybe? Trying to add that LED lightbar to your surplus Abrams tank? :D

Doc.
 
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MacMcMacmac

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I bought an index of Triumph fractional twist drills years ago and they have served well. Nothing fancy, just plain HSS bits with no coatings or special shanks.
 
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lat905

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DocsMachine said:
-Unless you're getting utterly **** quality drills, there's other issues at work if you need to sharpen multiple times to drill a single hole.

Chances are you're turning the drill too fast. Most "home shop" drill presses have a slowest setting that's still too fast for anything but small drills, when used on metal. A half-inch drill going through steel needs no more than a couple hundred RPM. Turn it 400-500 RPM and yeah, you're going to burn the lips off.

Either that or you're trying to drill hard metals- leaf springs or armor plate, maybe? Trying to add that LED lightbar to your surplus Abrams tank? :D

Doc.
Click to expand...
Wish I had an Abrams tank!


I'm exaggerating, but I have found that with the cheap HF drills I get about 1 hole through 1/4" steel before they are dull, provided they work at all out of the box new. The Home Depot stuff I might get 2-5 holes.

I always run my drill press on the lowest speed, but I'm not sure what that speed is. Haven't looked at the label in years.

I'm mostly doing automotive stuff, making/repairing brackets and whatnot on my old truck, odd fab jobs now and then for gym equipment, etc. Weekend warrior stuff.
 
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A_Pmech

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Most any commercial quality drills will work fine for mild steel.

The "lowest speed the machine will go" is not the correct speed. The correct speed varies based on the drill diameter. 40-80 FPM peripheral speed is a good ballpark for mild steel.

Running a drill too slowly results in a tendency to over-feed it causing chip welding and breakage. Running a drill too quickly results in poor tool life. When a drill is running at the correct speed and feed rate, mild steel should feel like drilling firm butter.
 
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sailah

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The best thing you can do to prolong your drills is to use some cutting fluid. I have all kinds from tap magic, mystery metal mover, and mixed water based cutting fluids in my machines. Almost anything is better than nothing and pulling the heat out through the chips and vaporizing cutting fluid will help prolong the cutting edge. That and drilling in a machine vs hand.

I have a ton of USA indexes and similar. My favorite are Dormers. Which are english I believe? I bought a metric index from enco during a 20% off sale and it was already half price, Hertel brand. I think a 29 piece set of HSS black oxide finish was $50-60 in a Huot box. They are decent quality I like them.
 
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lat905

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A_Pmech said:
Most any commercial quality drills will work fine for mild steel.

The "lowest speed the machine will go" is not the correct speed. The correct speed varies based on the drill diameter. 40-80 FPM peripheral speed is a good ballpark for mild steel.

Running a drill too slowly results in a tendency to over-feed it causing chip welding and breakage. Running a drill too quickly results in poor tool life. When a drill is running at the correct speed and feed rate, mild steel should feel like drilling firm butter.
Click to expand...

Most of the time I'm using a hand drill anyways------can't put the frame of my truck in the drill press. I'm not building a space shuttle, I'm drilling a hole for a bolt. I just need a decent bit that will stay sharp for a reasonable amount of time. I'm not going to calculate drill speed for my 18V drill to make a 3/8" hole........LOL
 
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ajchien

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lat905 said:
I always run my drill press on the lowest speed, but I'm not sure what that speed is. Haven't looked at the label in years.
Click to expand...

This might be an issue.

Some folks may know what speed to run based on memorized experience, but I'm always checking a hole size v. Material v. Speed chart when going through metal.

EDIT: nevermind. I just saw your post regarding using hand drills most of the time.

FWIW, many times I've thought a drill bit was dull when drilling by cordless hand drill, only to put the same bit into my drill press to find that it cut just fine. Thus the problem was me, not the bit.
 
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lat905

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ajchien said:
This might be an issue.

Some folks may know what speed to run based on memorized experience, but I'm always checking a hole size v. Material v. Speed chart when going through metal.
Click to expand...


Let me clear this one up-------I use the drill press when I can, but in general for the stuff I am doing its not possible. I've probably used it 6 or 8 times in the last year. 99% of what I am doing is hand drilling by necessity.
 
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ChrisLS8

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Norseman again. But low speed, pressure and cutting oil are just as important as bit quality.
 
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A_Pmech

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lat905 said:
I'm not building a space shuttle, I'm drilling a hole for a bolt. I just need a decent bit that will stay sharp for a reasonable amount of time.
Click to expand...

No drill from any manufacturer is going to stay sharp for a reasonable amount of time if you abuse it.
 
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uart

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DocsMachine said:
Chances are you're turning the drill too fast. Most "home shop" drill presses have a slowest setting that's still too fast for anything but small drills, when used on metal. A half-inch drill going through steel needs no more than a couple hundred RPM. Turn it 400-500 RPM and yeah, you're going to burn the lips off.
Click to expand...

I agree about many "home shop" drill presses turning too fast, particularly for drilling harder metals. But the example you give of 400 to 500 rpm at 1/2" is actually right about the correct speed of 60 sfm for mild steel.

A lot of small 4 and 5 speed DP's actually have minimum speed as high as 600 to 700 RPM, and yeah that's starting to get a little high for 1/2" in mild steel. But 400 rpm is not too bad at all.
 
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justtools

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do most on here feel all USA made drill bits are about the same. Or do a few brands stand
out
 
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