Drill Bit Sharpeners

[lenray]

I see on the internet they show a couple different units that bolt on to a side grinder. The appear to be orange in color and have different size holes to install the drill bit in. Any info. on these. I am not good at free handing to sharpen...

 

[rrlund]

I've got a Drill Doctor, but I don't remember if it's the one that Wal Mart is showing for $109 or that Home Depot has for $159. Either way, they're a pretty slick outfit. I'd be afraid of the wheel on a bench grinder being too coarse or having a groove somewhere.

 

[Red Dave]

I also have a Drill Doctor. I've had good results with it.

 

[Fawteen]

I have never successfully sharpened a drill bit by hand.

I had a Drill Doctor (750??) when I worked at the cannery and it did okay, but was slow and the grinding wheel wore out more quickly than I expected.

I bought a Vevor MR13. NOT cheap, but worlds better than the DD. Quick, pretty much all metal where DD was plastic, with separate collets where the DD had one-size-sorta-fits-all.

 

[Hayfarmer]

I also have a Drill Doctor, the higher priced one that does larger bits. I have had good luck with it. I used to sharpen by hand and had some success but Drill Doctor much better.

 

[chvet73]

I’ve had a Drill Doctor for years. Does an excellent job if you know how to use it. It took me awhile to master it.

 

[flembo]

As a young tool maker / machinist I learned how to sharpen drills by hand all the way down to # 51 drill. Now I use a drill doctor.

 

[Non-farmer]

I'm another Drill Doctor user, am happy with it.

 

[CLYDE MASON]

i also have a DD it is good. but do not get one with sanding wheel. they don,t last very long

 

[da.bees]

+ Me on DDr. As mentioned above, there's a learning curve before getting best results possible. Two predominate mistakes I see people making is applying too much pressure which removes un-neccessary material and wears stone out and being in a hurry. To overcome this I suggest coloring tip of bit with marker and starting out using light pressure and inspecting tip often to where and how much tip is being ground away. It only requires a small amount to be removed before it's sharp. I keep a full set of bits next to press, another on bench for hand drills,a third index holding random bits that have been sharpened and a bunch of spares in an index and tray that need to be sharpened. If a bit isn't cutting well I stop before it gets hot and ruined ( always use oil at press and when called for hand drilling). Dull bit is placed index 4 or tray next to it. I first look in index 3 for sharp bit and if there isn't one I look in 1&2 and make a mental note to do some sharpening soon. When I sharpen I take my time and fill indexes 1-2&3.

Mind you I didn't go out and buy all those bits in order to do that set-up, I started with one set like everyone else then bought more at garage sales and auctions over the years.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I have a Darex M4
One of these days I need to buckle down and go through my junk bits drawer and sharpen some of them.

 

[Butch(OH)]

I have a Darex M4
One of these days I need to buckle down and go through my junk bits drawer and sharpen some of them.

That's one of those someday jobs that never gets done! LOL.
I had a big tub of 1/2 and down bits that came from a local factory shut down. They have taken up space in the shop for 15 years. Back in January I found an ad on eBay for Huot 1/16-1/2 x 16ths bit boxes and got 8 of them for $8 each. One below zero day I drug the tub out from behind the lathe and went to work. I sharpen everything larger than 1/8 by hand and I filled all 8 boxes with sharpened bits down to 1/8 and purchased new smaller ones. Said good bye to the rest and dumped them in the scrap hopper, I'll never need them and don't miss looking at them,LOL

 

[Pete in Holland MI]

I taught myself how to sharpen drill bits by hand many moons ago. Before you do start sharpening bits with any kind of jig though, you need to study up on all of the geometry that makes a drill bit function. There are a few ways to make a drill bit cut correctly, and plenty more to make it cut poorly.........or not at all.

 

[Butch(OH)]

I taught myself how to sharpen drill bits by hand many moons ago. Before you do start sharpening bits with any kind of jig though, you need to study up on all of the geometry that makes a drill bit function. There are a few ways to make a drill bit cut correctly, and plenty more to make it cut poorly.........or not all

Self taught also. I learned most of what I know about drill sharpening 50 years ago in one short day. Had one new bit to look at, a few dull ones to sharpen, a bench grinder, a wheel dresser and a few chunks of scrap steel, and drilled a LOT of holes. It was time well spent.

 

[Ray,IN]

I taught myself how to sharpen drill bits by hand many moons ago. Before you do start sharpening bits with any kind of jig though, you need to study up on all of the geometry that makes a drill bit function. There are a few ways to make a drill bit cut correctly, and plenty more to make it cut poorly.........or not at all.

I agree! I learned how to sharpen drill bits free-hand from a friend. I've never seen or used a fixture that could sharpen a bit as well as I could. I think the most difficult bit to sharpen is one used to drill copper. An uncle tried to show me how to sharpen a bit to drill holes in glass and mirrors; never did master that. He had worked at Neurys glass company till they closed.
Using the side of a bench grinder wheel is a great way to get hurt, they are not designed to withstand side stress.

 

[jimg.allentown]

I have a drill doctor. I found that it takes a while to get the hang of it, but it can do a good job once you master it.
One thing I found is that it is very important to keep the chuck clean. It doesn't take much to mess up the sharpening. I actually bought it to save time as opposed to sharpening my drills by hand. I can still do a better job free hand.

 

[4wdtom]

I see on the internet they show a couple different units that bolt on to a side grinder. The appear to be orange in color and have different size holes to install the drill bit in. Any info. on these. I am not good at free handing to sharpen...

I agree with those who do it freehand. Study a new drill bit that is big enough (3/8 or 1/2in.) to easily see the angles. Get a drill point gauge to get the same length and angle on each flute. When done put the drill bit in a drill press vise with the cutting end up and fine stone the grinding marks out. A smooth cutting edge will last longer than one you can see grinding marks in. Holding the drill bit with the shank a little down and to the left, the cutting edge of the left flute horizontal, and facing up, I touch it to the wheel or belt of a belt sander then sort of roll or lift the point end up while still in contact with the wheel or belt. This gets the relief. Do other flute check angles and length of flutes with gauge, correct, and so on. Been doing this for 50 years.

 

[cleddy]

I see on the internet they show a couple different units that bolt on to a side grinder. The appear to be orange in color and have different size holes to install the drill bit in. Any info. on these. I am not good at free handing to sharpen...

I have a Drill Doctor still in the box stored in a cabinent. When we first tried it maybe got excited about a couple bits we sharpened but for the most part I never have found it any good at sharping bits. I don't know what I'm missing that thing is either a cheap worthless model or it will only work on bits that don't need sharpening. I might put it by the curb for free and see if it disappears?

 

[Bill in Colo]

I have 2 DD use them for small bits, also have a large Darex for 1/2 up. I still do some by hand.

 

[504]

DD for me, watch you tube videos and don’t expect to sharpen the bit the first time if it’s really worn. I have hit them thee times to get one right