Drill Dr.

[Gregor 4,838]

Several years ago a friend borrowed my drill press. I called him and set up a time to come and get it. When I got there of course, he wasn't home. (go figure) I manged to get it loaded in my truck. A floor model 1/2 Delta drill press is a tad heavy. On a shelf in his garage I noticed a brand new Drill Dr. still in the box, covered in dust. I decided to borrow it. I have been sitting here playing with it. I think it might actually work. Better than me with a bench grinder anyway. I may have to order one of these for myself, when I am done borrowing his. Anyone else have a Drill Dr. ? Does it work for you?

BTW If you do use it, do you use cutting fluid?

Edited December 19, 2020 by Gregor

[WHX?? 46,736]

I usually just buy the cheapy drills from HF and usually after the second hole it's shot and gets tossed. If those drill sharpeners really do work may consider getting one and buying better quality drills. 

[Handy Don 10,594]

I keep twist drill bits that have become a bit dull and touch them up with an old Craftsman bit sharpener similar to the Drill Dr. It isn't perfect (it doesn't hold the bits as firmly as I'd like) but it does extend the life of these bits saving money and keeping usable stuff out of the recycling bin. For fussy job, I go to a newer, sharper bit.

[cafoose 3,135]

I got one, works great for me!

 

 

[WHNJ701 4,164]

The quality of drill bits anymore is terrible.  I have tried several new bits, lose edge quick, break etc... Hopefully some flea market and swap meets start again, it's almost worth buying old bits made out of better material.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

I have a Drill Doctor as well and it did work but most of the time I grind by hand.  Learned long long ago.  

There are still good drill bits out there but what I think happened is that now days there A LOT MORE mild steel bits out there.  Coating low carbon with titanium doesn't make a good drill bit.  AND I've seen some of those that I must have sharpened decades ago when I was learning how!  Especially the small ones that didn't have any cutting edge!  Nah, wasn't mine, even when I started I was better than that.

 

Try some Irwin or Milwaukee Cobalts.  Other brands I'm sure but I sold those and I've used them.  

[pabird 40]

I have the 750. Works great.

[JoeM 7,623]

I have a 500 and it works well, especially now that I am older and lost the touch on the grinder. 

The last real good set of bits I got came from McMaster Carr. I use these with the Dr. and use a cheap set when I am drilling junk. I have had the good set of bit for 8 years.

Sharpen dry on the Dr. 

[ebinmaine 63,100]

2 hours ago, DennisThornton said:

Irwin

That's what I've been using for a couple years and have had reasonable wear from them. I've been considering getting a drill doctor to help keep things sharper longer. 

 

[DennisThornton 4,769]

1 minute ago, ebinmaine said:

That's what I've been using for a couple years and have had reasonable wear from them. I've been considering getting a drill doctor to help keep things sharper longer. 

 

I was happy with the Drill Doctor after I figured it out and I intend to run a bunch through it sometime but I've just been sharpening as I go by hand.  I am going to buy a bunch of double ended 1/8" because I haven't yet learned after 50 yrs that you can't put your entire weight on them!

[slim67 2,730]

I have the 500x and am happy with it. I rather spend the time sharpening good bits then constantly buying crappy ones.

[Gregor 4,838]

1 minute ago, DennisThornton said:

I was happy with the Drill Doctor after I figured it out and I intend to run a bunch through it sometime but I've just been sharpening as I go by hand.  I am going to buy a bunch of double ended 1/8" because I haven't yet learned after 50 yrs that you can't put your entire weight on them!

Sounds like my son. "Battery?  We don't need no stinkin' battery, I can push the bit through this!"

 

That being said, I just finished a project using many of my re-sharpened bits. They performed very well I thought. How long they last, is another question. Many (too many) years ago I bought a set of bits from Lawson Products Co. A 30 piece set, split point, VERY good drill bits. I still have most of them, but after 30 years they weren't what they use to be. I sharpened many of them today.  With this particular Drill DR. you can't reproduce the split point, but still they performed well. Much better than I expected actually.

[BOB ELLISON 2,976]

I have one and I have good and bad luck. 

Most of the bits I sharpen are ok. I have noticed the small bits are harder to sharpen correctly for me.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

Just now, slim67 said:

I have the 500x and am happy with it. I rather spend the time sharpening good bits then constantly buying crappy ones.

Not long I bought a BIG HF TITANIUM coated bit set for stupid cheap, opened them up and smiled!  Then I pulled out a 1/8" and laughed!  

 

Don't know for sure but I'm betting the Chinese military contractors aren't using these...

 

Honestly, overall, to have big set like this in one of my WOODWORKING portable tool boxes is still worth it and perhaps if later I redress the small one it will be a bargain but for right now, laughable.

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,041]

I had one of the drill dr. a long time ago. Did not have good results from the unit.  I finally tossed in the trash.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

3 minutes ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

I had one of the drill dr. a long time ago. Did not have good results from the unit.  I finally tossed in the trash.

I would have done the same but I must have spent a few more minutes with mine.  I had issues at first but darn it, can't remember to share with you but I DID get it to work well.  Of course as I've posted, I've hand sharpened since then...

 

I will get it out again though and hope to run through a bunch.

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,041]

I hand sharpen the good bits and visit HF once or twice a year when I get my son to help with a project . LOL

[DennisThornton 4,769]

16 minutes ago, Gregor said:

Sounds like my son. "Battery?  We don't need no stinkin' battery, I can push the bit through this!"

 

That being said, I just finished a project using many of my re-sharpened bits. They performed very well I thought. How long they last, is another question. Many (too many) years ago I bought a set of bits from Lawson Products Co. A 30 piece set, split point, VERY good drill bits. I still have most of them, but after 30 years they weren't what they use to be. I sharpened many of them today.  With this particular Drill DR. you can't reproduce the split point, but still they performed well. Much better than I expected actually.

Love them but I've not mastered sharpening the spilt points!

[slim67 2,730]

19 minutes ago, DennisThornton said:

Not long I bought a BIG HF TITANIUM coated bit set for stupid cheap, opened them up and smiled!  Then I pulled out a 1/8" and laughed!  

 

Don't know for sure but I'm betting the Chinese military contractors aren't using these...

 

Honestly, overall, to have big set like this in one of my WOODWORKING portable tool boxes is still worth it and perhaps if later I redress the small one it will be a bargain but for right now, laughable.

I still have a Snap On set I paid 150 bucks for 20 years ago.I use the 135 degree bits more than 118s.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

42 minutes ago, slim67 said:

I still have a Snap On set I paid 150 bucks for 20 years ago.I use the 135 degree bits more than 118s.

I think I paid $19.95 for a HF set 1/16th -1/2" by 32nds of Titanium coated.  

Worth every penny but not much more...

[formariz 11,849]

I have used one in the past and quite honestly was not impressed. The odds were not in its favor to start with since all my life I have sharpened them by hand regardless of what type or size. I can do that in a seconds notice without have to setup a machine and having inconsistent results . I can see however that if sharpening them by hand on a grinder is intimidating to someone then  it would something of great use. 
I don’t usually buy new bits since fortunately I probably have several lifetimes worth of great American made bits of all kinds and sizes that don’t have any fancy coatings or special names that in reality mean nothing. As a matter of fact many of my frequently used ones are now down to less than one third their original length. I refer to them as “stubies “.

 

[slim67 2,730]

6 hours ago, formariz said:

I have used one in the past and quite honestly was not impressed. The odds were not in its favor to start with since all my life I have sharpened them by hand regardless of what type or size. I can do that in a seconds notice without have to setup a machine and having inconsistent results . I can see however that if sharpening them by hand on a grinder is intimidating to someone then  it would something of great use. 
I don’t usually buy new bits since fortunately I probably have several lifetimes worth of great American made bits of all kinds and sizes that don’t have any fancy coatings or special names that in reality mean nothing. As a matter of fact many of my frequently used ones are now down to less than one third their original length. I refer to them as “stubies “.

 

My neighbor is one who sharpened his on a grinder and showed my how but I never got the knack of it. I even changed my grinding wheel to a much smoother grit. Maybe I need to practice.

[ebinmaine 63,100]

2 hours ago, slim67 said:

Maybe I need to practice

That's key. 

It isn't necessarily something one can pick up in a couple minutes. 

 

I've taught myself in the past and did ok. Haven't tried it for awhile and recently discovered I've lost the learnin' of it. 

[Lane Ranger 10,494]

My dad who was a blacksmith and he use to use his chop saw to sharpen his drill bits.   He would turn on the chop saw and bounce the drill bit against the side of the blade .  Sparks would fly and he would turn but to other side to finish.

 

I also recall he would once in a while use his industrial sized belt sander (about 30 inches long) mounted on a bench and tap the drill bits as the belt sander ran.   Sparks would fly and the bit would have a new point.   Might not have machinists specs but the bits always seemed to do the job required after following that process.It wasn’t rocket science to him! 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by Lane Ranger

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

I learned to grind drill bits while working as a machinist in training but most of our bench grinders had a rest with the correct angle to follow. But after learning the basics a belt sander works just as good especially for larger say 3/4" and up. Also depending on material you are working with aluminum,brass, bronze, tool steels, or more common low carbon steels cold/hot rolled ect, or even wood sharper or flattering angles are needed for better smoother faster cutting than the standard 118° or 135° angles as I was taught by my mentor being in the trade for 40 years, the biggest thing to remember is to have a thin sharp cutting edge on both sides with enough chip relief below that edge as not drag in the bottom of the hole you are trying bore. Then speed and feed and lube depending on materials plus don't try to drill a 3/4" hole in 1 pass step it up (under 1/4" single pass should work) at least 2-4 sizes till the one you want works best then of course a 60° center drill helps greatly too.