drill bits are there any good ones!!

I've had good luck with the older "do it best" bits that ace hardware sales. I haven’t been in a while, but these worked in an industrial setting very well. I would always pick up a hand full of the smaller ones when I would go by. I'm pretty good at breaking the 1/8" and smaller using a hand drill; no fault of the bits just me being careless.

 

I got a grab bag of bits from HF once. No index or size congruence, just a hand full of various size bits. They were all Japanese made (just marked Japan), super high quality bits. All used but resharpened. At HF junk prices too.
Those are some of the best bits I've ever seen.

The flutes spiral around the length of the bit several times more than any other bit I have.
Don't know the technical term for that.

 

I have a cheapo drill index no doubt chinese, lookes a lot like a fishing tackle box. When the hole saws were a joke the deill bits are excellent.

That said when I was Working I preferred Chicago Tool drill bits. I also used to hate a machinist who crowded a bit or a tool. I actually had a guy who thought that production meant to run everything faster than was prudent and to lean on it as hard as possible one time. He raearned the hard way when we started charging him for his tools.

Proper lubrication as well as not spinning the bit too fast or applying too much pressure will keep a bit from burning itself up.

But for bits I like chicago tools.

 

Beat me to it. Used to hate to lend bits out to guys. Their idea of "drilling" was either to get the bit red hot or try to push the bit through.

 

Practice sharpening the bits on a table grinding wheel. I got it down, when its not cutting, it take less than a minute & boom it's like the best bit ever. When newbies come over, I teach them that one quick when they start in with, "It not cutting".

 

I used to watch guys destroy drill bits at a Halliburton assembly plant using WD 40 for lube. I would sharpen the damaged bits on a grinder for them and then tell them to use water and slow the bit down! No more problems after that... Now on hardened steel like an Eddystone rifle you need cobalt bits and may even have to anneal the surface to get through.

BD

 

Stop blaming the bit, start going slower and using lube. You are welcome.

 

Just little tidbit I learned from Bob 'Gilley' Gillian. (Moldex Crank). You can drill a hole in a leaf spring with a HSS bit if you run it SLOW. He gave me a C-clamp with a 3/8" hole in the end of the screw. "Put the drill in the hole, tighten it on the spring and twist the drill with a pipe wrench or vise grips. When it stops cutting, tighten the clamp again."

I miss Gilley

 

I use drills mainly in CNC mills and the Bridgeport. The CNC mills use water-soluble coolant, I'll use the same with a brush on the Bridgeport, that also has a flood coolant set up on it.

I've been using the above formula for years, cut the resulting RPM in 1/2 for reamer use.

If a hole has to be accurate I give it a pilot hole first and step it up if I have to. Almost anything over a 1/4" gets a pilot hole as well. Really extends the larger drill life and doesn't add that much to a program.

Bob

 

That reminded me of something my Dad told me years ago---- He said that you could drill spring steel using HSS bits, slow speed and ELMERS GLUE for lubricant . Never had the need to try it but I'd bet he knew what he was talking about -- usually did!

 

Anyone have these ? www.baddogtools.com

https://baddogtools.com/styled-6/styled-8/index.html

 

If its cheap steel it will dull right away, HSS (High speed steel) is the common steel for normal quality, tool steel and carbide are harder and will last longer. Always keep them cool and keep RPM down to only what it takes to cut and not catch. use oil......

 

I use inexpensive drill bits. But then I use them (mostly) in a press with lube and low rpm. And they last. I don't care if you have drill bits made out of unobtanium. Trying to feed a 1/2" bit at 24" a minute will kill it.

 

Grainger also has good ones,....They're an industrial supplier, and they do sell to the public.

4TTRUK

 

Many years my brother buys a couple of drill indexes full of new drills, they looked real nicely finished too. He goes to use one on a mild steel bracket, it just bent over the second he leaned on it... they were marked HSS, but they sure didn't act like it.

Bob

 

I stumbled upon a lube that seems to be working well. I got tired of the cutting fluid smell and grabbed a spray bottle I had in the shop. It was water and Murphys Oil cleaner. Works really well and smells even better.

 

My brother did the same thing, 'cept he was drilling on the fender of his car when the bit bent over....yeah, nice circle carved in the paint. I'd never seen a drill bit bend!

 

Mistic Metal Mover. Yes. I laughed at the name too. Worked wonders over the other cutting fluid I was using when I had a bunch of small holes in stainless.

 

"Bad dog drool" cutting fluid.....lmfao. REAL badass drills push 1000 psi out the tip and punch holes in tools steels like butter.

 

I'm with you on that one.

 

No industrial supply places close to me with Sat hours but I have found
the step drills at HF work really well on old Henry frame steel and are cheap but
will break a cheap drill chuck if they grab.
I have had pretty good luck with the Blue packaged cheap index coated set at Northern Tool as well.
I use pilot holes, a slow drill speed, and sharpen when they get dull on a belt sander.
The Milwaukee 3/8 variable speed drill tradesman is outstanding for the price and solved a lot of my drill bit problems. I use oil on thicker metal only when using the drill press for the most part,

 

Me too, I just sharpen them for a more aggressive bit.

 

i agree on the step drills from hf, and i had trouble starting my holes and started using hex head self tapings screws, they work great even in my 1/4 tubing frame and you get a whole box for a couple bucks, oh yea , oil and slow....

 

all my bits 15/32 or larger are machine shop quality mostly from Grainger most everything smaller is "el cheapo" harbor freight gold when they have that 20 buck index for 10 bucks---seldom oil smaller bits or sharpen them ---mostly drill mild steel in a press or mill-- lean on them hard but rarely break one---when not in the press I u
se less pressure and spray on drill lube--make sure to know disposable from quality and you will have a nice assortment of sharp bits as you complete your projects----most drill presses come with charts for speed and feed---no gloves around drills or drill presses--good luck

 

Yep, 135 degree M42 cobalt. Real industrial machine shop stuff.......

 

if it says china or taiwan. You will break half the set before they wear our.

USA or Japan is the way to go. Good bits are costly and should be kept sharp and run at their proper speed. coolant too is the way to go.