Drill Doctors

[Buddy]

Been thinking of getting myself a Drill Doctor for myself for Christmas .
Any thoughts here on which model I should get ?
Anyone here have one ???
I been sharpening my own bits for years on a bench grinder but , I just can't see as good as I use to , must poor lighting in the shop its not that im getting old . LOL !!!

 

[jon f mn]

I had the one that would work for up to 3/4" bits I believe. Didn't work well for anything over say 3/8". I threw it away and went back to doing them by hand. I too can't see as well anymore, but I can still do a better job and do it faster that that thing did. But then I've had lots of practice and am very good at it. I know lots of people who just can't seem to do it.

 

[Ronald Anderson]

they work from 3/16 up fairly decent. not much good for smaller ones.
I think they have two models. I got the one that does larger bits too.

 

[old]

I have two of those pieces of junk. Never could sharpen a bit well with one so both have sat for years since I could never make one work

 

[showcrop]

I have one that I am happy with. It took some time and practice to get the hang of it but after that it worked well.

 

[JGayman]

I went with the 750X and I am very happy with it. I went through my entire box of bits and it really did a good job of sharpening them. I have not done any split-points yet.

 

[teddy52food]

I couldn't understand why I had to sharpen my bits every time I tried to drill something. Then I found out my kids had bought a drill doctor. I had to teach them how to grind a bit right. (without the doctor)

 

[NCWayne]

For those that have one that has stayed on the shelf for years because it doesn't work, there was a run of them long ago that were screwed up and would leave the trailing edge higher than the cutting edge. At one time they were offering a free replacement, and after so much time it became a pro-rated deal to get a replacement. Dad had bought one of the 750's that was messed up, and it sat for quite a while because it didn't work. I finally found the recall and it cost him like $20 to get a new one. With the new one, we did everything from say 3/16" up to 3/4" with it. When you got to the larger sizes it wasn't good for much but a touch up, but it did a good job when you took the time to set it up right.

On my end I bought one on clearance from HD with the one, smaller chuck that does up to 1/2". It worked great for me until the motor burned up about a year in. I called customer service, and they sent me a brand new one to replace it, along with a SASE to return them the cut cord off of the other one. When I asked the lady about cost of the chuck to sharpen the larger bits (up to 3/4") she first gave me a price. She then said not to worry about getting one as she would send me one free, along with the new machine, to make up for my trouble with the original one.

The main thing with these machines is that you have to take the time to read the directions and set the bit up right, otherwise it's not going to sharpen like it should. Personally, other than Dad's original one that was screwed up, I have never had a problem with either his or mine getting a but plenty sharp to cut. In fact I usually keep it on my service truck so I've got a good way to sharpen bits when I get into a situation where I've got broken bolts to get out and they wind up being hard, and hard to cut....it's easier than carrying 2 dozen of the same sized bits around all the time.

 

[jon f mn]

Now that makes sense and is exactly what mine did. It would work ok on small bits, but anything larger the back was taller than the cutting edge. Wish I had known that.

 

[JMS/.MN]

My first job during college, after getting the Army discharge, was working in a machine shop. Hey, GI bill paid for school, but if single and wanting to chase girls, have a life,....needed a job. Bought a drill gage at Sears for about a buck 2 89......learned to grind bits with it, still have it, don"t need a drill doc. Simple gage like that is really hard to find now, although in an Ag Engr class we had to make one.

 

[NCWayne]

Don"t know how old yours is, and I can"t remember exactly when Dad bought his. Regardless, give the folks at customer service a call and they can probably tell you from the serial number if oyurs was effected or not. If so they went out of their way to help me out, so they might be willing to help you out too. Good luck.

 

[PJH]

Seems like I remember that you can clamp two nuts in a vise and the angle of the flats where the nuts meet each other is the correct angle for sharpening bits.

I have a 750 Drill Doctor, and I like it. As the others said, you gotta read the instructions. I think it even comes with an instructional DVD. I used to think I could sharpen bits by hand, but now I wonder. Sometimes, the older I get, the better I was, if you know what I mean.

 

[Ian Beale]

Years agone I got a sharpening setup that mounted so it used the side of a grinder wheel. Cost not a lot and worked pretty well, even up to inch.

Kids in workshop - - -

Now can't find another - probably infringes some regulation now

 

[36 Coupe]

General Tool makes that drill grinder.About 30 bucks now.Theres an import copy sold for under 20 bucks.Ive used one for 40 years.

 

[JT in CT]

I have one and I like it. I use it enough that I wish I spent the extra few bucks on the split point version.

 

[36 Coupe]

General Tool Co still makes that gauge.It costs 12 bucks now.Sears sold a lot of General Tool items with the Craftsman name on them.

 

[Chris(WA)]

Buy a REAL Drill Doctor not one of the knock offs. Also buy the most expensive model you can manage to afford.
The better tool and YOU are worth it!

 

[jimg.allentown]

I have a Drill Doctor. I bought it to save time sharpening a bunch of drill bits I bought at a flea market (all dull, of course). For the first 20 or 30 drills, it worked fairly well. Then it started doing a poor job. This turned out to be an accumulation of grinding dust in the chuck/drill holder. Cleaned it up and it worked better for a while, until it accumulated more grinder dust.

Overall, I would say that for light occasional use, it does an acceptable job. It will require frequent cleaning, and much attention to how you chuck up the drill bits for sharpening.

I found that I can do a better job by hand. A bench grinder with a fine stone is a better investment.

 

[Jiles]

I don't know if they have changed the chuck design or not, but several years ago, I received a DD as a Christmas gift. It cost well over $100.00 but I can't remember the model number.
I could not get it to sharpen a drill because this particular one had a chuck that closed with a tapered collar working both ends if the chuck veins.
This allowed the bit to be moved sideways after chucked, so it could be centered, somewhat, after it was tightened.
Too much hassle for me, so I returned it, and resumed hand sharpening.

 

[Dusty MI]

I have one and feel that it works VERY well.


Dusty