Mickwhitt 4,505 #1 Posted 11 hours ago Hi all. How do you sharpen your drill bits? I have a jig to use on a bench grinder but it's a faff and so have a pile of dull bits I don't get round to sharpening. There are drill doctor units but are they worth investing in. Drills are expensive so keeping them sharp is worth doing. My tool supplier does professional unit that looks the bees knees. I'm thinking about having a look at it, see if its worth the extra. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 66,829 #2 Posted 11 hours ago Poke around the interwebs for Project Farm on YouTube doing testing on different methods. I've had mixed success hand grinding but that's what I still do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,183 #3 Posted 11 hours ago (edited) Having worked as a Machine Assembler for various Companies in my early career, I met a few guys that could Freehand sharpen twist drills on a good grinding wheel. It took four different guys to show me how - each had a slightly technique. The 4th guy was hands-down the best. We always had the need for short twist drills for either tapping or dowel pinning in tight places. Most folks do not even realize that the center "web" spiral of a twist drill is thicker at the end away from the tip. Cut a drill bit in half, and try to resharpen the bottom... The 118 degree shape can be done on a Drill Doctor, but the bit will not cut - it has no chisel point. The center web needs to be undercut relieved to do so. This 4th guy could do all this by hand! What I learned from all of them - Resharpen the bit as soon as either it gets dull or the outer edge chips. WAY much easier to salvage it...... Somewhat similar to watching a seasoned Carpenter resharpen either a plane blade or a chisel on a belt sander... @formariz??? Edited 11 hours ago by ri702bill 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,368 #4 Posted 11 hours ago 24 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: hand grinding but that's what I still do. Yep ..can't dull it any worse... HF has got some too ... any good??? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,183 #5 Posted 11 hours ago 39 minutes ago, Mickwhitt said: There are drill doctor units but are they worth investing in We have a Drill Doctor here - from my son's old work truck. Works well for 3/16 to 1/2" (5 to 12 MM) bits. Does not do well with smaller than that, cannot hold larger ones. The cost of the replacement diamond grit drum wheel is NOT cheap... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,183 #6 Posted 11 hours ago 3 minutes ago, WHX?? said: Yep ..can't dull it any worse... HF has got some too ... any good??? Got some what?? Drill bits? I bought their Tridex TiN coated110 pc drill set - fractional, letter & number drills all in one - got it on sale Broke several - they are brittle. Not recommended. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 40,859 #7 Posted 10 hours ago I had a customer (retired engineer) and the subject of drill sharpening came up. He said the Drill Doctor was ok but there were several different angles to be sharpened on your average bit. He offered to sharpen all of the bits in my index. When I got them back they were unbelievable. Cut like a hot knife thru butter. Better than any machine could do. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 54,644 #8 Posted 5 hours ago Get a slow speed 8" grinder with a drill bit tool rest. Once you get the tool rest for sharpening set up correctly it works great. Start away from the cutting edge and slowly rotate the bit ending on the cutting edge. This allows the cutting edge to be slightly higher than the rest of the bit giving it a good bite. Works great. Dressing the wheel regularly is a good thing too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 7,268 #9 Posted 5 hours ago I have two Black Diamond drill grinders, a BW-70A and a BW-95C. Those two cover #70 (.028") to 3/4" (.750"). In addition I have a Drill Doctor that works just OK, I use it to grind down drills that are rather knackered saving the expensive Black Diamond wheels. For the average hobbyist the Drill Doctor will be fine. Hand grinding can be good enough, depending on the precision required, once one has plenty of practice. https://www.blackdiamondgrinder.com/95series.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,368 #10 Posted 5 hours ago (edited) 6 hours ago, ri702bill said: Got some what?? Drill bits? Sharpeners .... yes their bits are cheap and that's what you get. Pretty much one time use. Guy I know has one of these and says it works ok ... Don't know which one. https://www.northerntool.com/categories/drill-bit-sharpeners Edited 5 hours ago by WHX?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
