Drill Bit Sharpener

[Tim Gatzemeyer]

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! Got a question for all of you folks that own a drillbit sharpener. Which is the best buy for the money? Looking for something that will sharpen up to at least a half inch bit. Thank You.

 

[NCWayne]

Get one of the Drill doctors that will go to 3/4 and you won't regret it. We've got one of the high dollar sharpeners to do the bigger bits and can do the smaller ones on it too but we've also got a Drill Doctor and it does as good of a job of sharpening them as the high dollar machine does. The main thing is to read the instructions and follow them and the bit will turn out right every time. Just beware of you decide to buy a used one. They had a run of them some years back that the angles were off, I know because we wound up with one of them. They left the trailing edge of the face higher than the cutting edge and those wouldn't sharpen a bit thst would cut to save their self. They did have a recall and replaced the messed up ones for free but I imagine some of them are still floating around out there.

 

[john *.?-!.* cub owner]

I have a Drill Dr. 500 that does up to 1/2 inch, and bought the optional chuck that will take up to 3/4 inch, and really love it. Real small bits are a little unhandy to do, but still much better than my attempts to sharpen by hand. I bought it when a friend who owns a machine shop showed me how well his works.

 

[Mark-Mi]

Wayne, could you point me to some info on that recall I think I may have one of those.
I also had a early production one replaced because the chuck fit the hole so tight you could not turn it. Mark

 

[Bob]

Best buy for the money is simply to learn to sharpen bits "by eye' with no need for overpriced chinese-made junk. It's EASY to do.

 

[woodbutcher]

I bought the Drill Doctor 750 which sharpens up to 3/4" bits. I had a 3/4" bit that I had sharpened on a grinder several times. Using the Drill Doctor showed me that I was taking too much off the heel of the cutting surface. I think mine has paid for itself.
Butch

 

[Gary from Muleshoe]

Go to this site for instructions on sharpening bits.

http://home.iae.nl/users/summer/16mmngm/Articles_htms/ColinBinnie/DrillSharpening.htm

 

[Dusty MI]

Wayne you just made me feel better. I've got one that sharpens up to 1/2", works great. Latter a chuck became available for it to sharpen up to 3/4". I got one and sharpened my bits up through 3/4". Maybe a year latter I tried to use my 3/4 and it would not cut, I finally sharpened it by hand. The 23/32 cuts/drills.

Looks like when I get back home from Florida I need to get with Drill Doctor.

Thanks for the info,
Dusty

 

[John Harmon]

I learned a long time ago how to sharpen bits by eye. I use a 1" belt sander to do it. Had to redo one yesterday that broke about 1/2" off the bottom of it.

 

[John Harmon]

I learned a long time ago how to sharpen bits by eye. I use a 1" belt sander to do it. Had to redo one yesterday that broke about 1/2" off the bottom of it. Yeah I'm hard on them.

 

[PJH]

I can barely see my hands.

I can make a big bit cut pretty good, but the little ones don't seem to cut any better after I "sharpen" them.

Probly get worse as I get older. . .

Paul

 

[McFarmer1]

I have a Lisile sharpener, it does an excellent job but takes some learning to use.

 

[Mike Aylward]

I agree, Bob. I sharpen all of my bits, even the broken ones, on the side of a chop saw. I have done it for years and it works just fine. I have resurrected many bits that others gave up for dead. Mike

 

[NCWayne]

Hey Mark, the best suggestion I can make is to call Drill Doctor and talk to them about your problem. Best I can remember it's been something like 6 years or so since we ran into the problem, and we'd had the machine for over a year when I saw the recall notice somewhere. I believe at the time they were doing a 100% swap out at a year and anything past that they prorated x amount for every month of ownership over a year. I guess the prorate was because it was usable for some sizes and not others so they assumed if you kept it you were at least using it some and it wasn't just setting, unusable, due to the defect.

Reason I mentioned the problem here was that alot of people, like us, have other ways to sharpen their bits and, like us, just threw the thing in a corner for over a year and didn't use it simply because they didn't feel like jumping through all the hoops to get it returned where it was bought from. Being this far into the future I don't know if they'd be willing to do anything for yours but like they say it never hurts to call and ask. Good luck.
drill doctor

 

[Uncle Ernice]

Buy a Drill Doctor but spring for the better models. At least a Model 500. They work well once you learn how to use them.

 

[Jiles]

I am a machinist and have sharpened bits for years. Unsteady hands and eyesight prevent me from sharpening bits smaller then 3/16"
I can buy a lot of quality small bits for the price of a Chinese drill sharpener.

 

[BOBM25]

Get a dressing stone for your bench grinder. Square up the wheel and start practicing. We have a drill doctor, but I can do a better job faster with my own 2 hands. Really not that hard to do. Impressed the s**t out of my uncles one day when I put a new tip on broken 1/2" bit. "That'll never cut" I heard. Went through the next hole like a hot knife through butter. Hold 2 hex nuts together on the flats. Put the tip of the drill up to them. That's the angle you need.