Drill Bits

[Garno]

How do you guys keep your drill bits sharp?

Do you re-sharpen or replace?

Are drill bit sharpening machines any good?

I see the "Drill Doctor" machine can cost £200+ that is far too expensive does anyone have one of these instead? Sealey SMS2008 Drill Bit Sharpener, Bench Mounting, 80W, 173mm x 235mm x 196mm : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

[flexi]

I tend to just replace when blunt, I look at them as consumables and build that into final costs... :pray::pray:

 

[Garno]

I tend to just replace when blunt, I look at them as consumables and build that into final costs... :pray::pray:

Thing is, I am not at a good enough standard to sell my pens yet, however it makes sense to do what you do when I consistently reach the stage I can sell my pens.

 

[Penpal]

I just junk mine when ready the cost is minimal over the number of drillings IMHO I mostly do not sell my pens and stay within my means.

 

[CraftyNick]

I tend to sharpen them on my old grinder but recently I purchased a cheap drill sharpener and to be honest it does seem to work. Possibly better on the larger sizes. Who knows how long it will last but only time will tell.

 

[wm460]

3 mm and down I buy them in packs of 10 and just grab another one when one breaks, just cheap chinese shiite.
Above 3 mm I sharpen, years ago I bought a pommie made drill sharpener, that you are supposed to be able to sharpen spade bits, brad point etc etc.
Not long afterwards I picked up another one when I went to a lawn sale. Works well never tried it on a masonry bit yet.

After Dad died I got his drill sharpener that was easier to use.

The price of drill bits now days I can't afford to just throw them away.

 

[wm460]

This is the pommie made drill sharpener, the one at the back I was going to set up for masonry bit but never got around to it.

 

[silver]

Like Mark [MENTION=626]flexi[/MENTION], for the price of the most used drill bits they are classed as disposable. But do I ever throw them away ?

The ones larger than 8mm get re-sharpened, I use a bench top grinder. Same one I use for my turning chisels.

Aldi or Lidl do the occasional drill sharpeners, don’t know what they are like but at the price might be worth a punt. Sure someone on here would have seen them or used them to give feed back.

 

[Dalboy]

Very small bits are replaced larger ones I sharpen freehand on the grinder not had any problems as long as the angles and land are all correct there should be no problem

 

[wm460]

I got this one from dad easier to get to and use.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AllenN]

Gosh seeing that Martek brings back memories. Pretty unobtainable now. Mine used to do an ok job until the stones started to wear. Don’t suppose you can even get those these days. I buy smaller drills but larger ones I sharpen on my Tormek. Larger bits especially MT are expensive and I hate waste anyway.

 

[Terry Q]

Many years ago an elderly gentleman who happened to be a retired machinist showed me how to hand sharpen drill bits. The trick is don't wait until they are blunt. A quick touch up is the way to go. I still occasionally mess one up which I will replace.

 

[Penpal]

I hasten to say the very cheapest drill bits are kits where the average price is so cheap over all,eg price 1/2 inch etc individually.

 

[wm460]

Gosh seeing that Martek brings back memories. Pretty unobtainable now. Mine used to do an ok job until the stones started to wear. Don’t suppose you can even get those these days. I buy smaller drills but larger ones I sharpen on my Tormek. Larger bits especially MT are expensive and I hate waste anyway.

Blimey its not that old.

 

[21William]

An inexpensive, accurate and easy to use drill bit sharpener seems to be the holy grail for home machinists! I’ve not found one.

 

[winchman]

Over the years I have managed to collect quite a lot of Dormer, SKF, Presto etc drill bits.
I keep them in proper boxes and spares in a draw, as they go blunt I sharpen them or if in a hurry swap them out. There really is no substitute for quality tools. Sharpening takes practice and I do struggle to see the smaller ones but once you can do it its great
Most of mine have come from Car Boot sales etc, some of the quality brands are easily spotted by the different colour for cobalt drills and Dormer have part of the shank thats shiny so can easily be spotted and usually purchased for a couple of pounds.
I did once need a 8.something drill it was £8 for one! but it did the job perfectly

 

[monophoto]

I have a random set of drill bits that I have accumulated over the years. These I reserve for metal. I also have a full 116 bit imperial set that I reserve exclusively for wood and soft plastic. I do that separation as part of my strategy for keeping my bits sharp - bits used in metal get dull faster than bits used in wood.

As others have said, when a small bit breaks or gets dull, I replace it - it's just too fiddly to try to sharpen small bits.

For larger bits, I use either a bench grinder, or better yet, a diamond paddle. I find that a few strokes with a diamond paddle go a very long way to restoring the cutting edge on drill bits.

As to Forstner bits, I routinely sharpen them using a diamond paddle. I even made the jig (in the picture) from a scrap of construction timber that allows me to clamp the bit in a bench vise so that I can use both hands to sharpen.

I've thought about purchasing a bit sharpener, but so far I haven't found that necessary.