Good Drill Bits?

modirt

Member
Question for you machinists / fabricators....

Does anyone still make high quality HSS drill bits, and if so, where do you get them?

I'm talking larger and odd sizes like a 41/64 to oversize the hole by 1/64th so a 5/8" bolt will slip through it. Gotta punch some holes through 1/2" stock.
 
modirt,

I haven't got them that big, but there is a brother team that sells in Minnesota, something like "made in America sales".

These bits are warranteed for life. Break or dull one bit, and they wull sharpen it or replace it. You pay postage, one way. They replaced a few of my bits, I cannot complain, neither did they.

D.
 
MSC, Travers Tool, Grainger, McMaster Carr, and many other industrial suppliers should have an assortment of suppliers from first quality Made in USA, premium imported,
to made in china almost a tool
 
The best source will be online from McMaster Carr, MSC, any trusted name brand supplier. Ebay is a maybe, but could easily get a counterfeit, up to the honesty of the seller.

I recommend online because many of the industrial tool dealers are not walk in friendly. They want to sell only to those who have an account and will do the work of selection for them. Also you will pay convenience store prices!

I would just go with black oxide, jobber length, reduced 1/2" shank with flats.

The standard clearance bit for a 5/8 bolt is 21/32. I would not try stepping it. Trying to take a very small cut will cause the bit to grab and wedge in the hole. You can take it in larger steps if you like, like start with a 1/4", then finish with the 21/32.

What are you driving the drill bit with? Assuming you are drilling mild steel?

If hand drilling, you'll need a drill with a lot of torque and slow speed, think 1/2" arm breaker style. Run it slow, all the down pressure you can give it, keep it straight as possible, use cutting oil, hang on for the ride!

If at all possible, use a drill press or a mill. Much more control, longer bit life, safer operation. A typical wood drill press will not go slow enough for steel that size. It will quickly burn up the bit.

Also, if steel, you could rent or borrow a mag base drill. They work well.
Black Oxide Drills
 
It's been a while since buying but over 1/2", Harbor Freight quality surprised me. It's the smaller and long bits that are useless.
 
I have a privately owned tool supply that handles industrial tooling and tell him I want a good quality drill that will hold up. Good drill bits don't come cheap.
 
For that type of work you'd be better off using a reamer. If you're doing this on a machine, consider taper shank reamers.
 
I agree with you. Fastenall bits, a 29 bit set is around $130. oo. There is a guy from Minnesota I think, who shows up at several car shows in the fall. He has industrial jobber sets that are incredible. American made. I have four sets that I use very carefully for precise work. A joy to use. Then my every day knock around bits. Harbor Freight has specials all the time. Keep them cool and lubricated and they work fine. A whole set for around 15 bucks is dandy. First two photos are Fastenal. The box set is China 135 split point for bigger jobs. Looks nice.
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Want to try something even better? Gonne think I am crazy. That guy at the the car shows tells you what to use and DANG it works fantastic. I use a little squeeze bottle full of straight automotive antifreeze. Put a couple of drops on, drill just a little, put another couple of drops, etc. Drills like butter.
 
When it comes to larger drill bits, mill cutters and reamers I now go to ebay. I even buy good branded used drill bits and cutters if the picture look good. I have to do step mill cutters and grind them to the proper size to get correct bearing bores. I have saved bunches of bucks that way. On these items I have yet to be dissatisfied.
 
For stainless we used to use turpentine! Two commercial coolants for stainless were Keytap and Cooltool, but they don't seem to be available any more. I have been retired 10 years, things change
 
Thing that gets me is people who don't know how to drill that blasted stainless stuff. Grin. People don't understand it must be kept as cool as possible. Also well lubricated,and drill agressively. The antifreeze works great with it. Thing with stainless if it gets heat it INSTANTLY tempers. Now you cant drill a hole through it with a Star Trek phaser. Now and then in the kitchens we need to drill a hole trough stainless counters. After the first screw up you quickly learn how to drill the stuff. Your results may differ. Fun fun.
 
(quoted from post at 18:09:22 04/12/19) If you are looking for individual bits I would check at Fastenal.

I was at Fastenal on Friday and they do have Norseman bits.....both in an index set and for the larger bits, individually.

Was explaining my problem to a neighbor and he asked to see the piece I was making. He claimed he had the bits on hand to do the deed, so he has it for now. Will see how that turns out.

But to all who replied, I appreciate the advice.

BTW, for this type of work, I do it on a drill press......with the stock clamped into a vice bolted to the platform.
 
(quoted from post at 08:21:58 04/12/19) Thing that gets me is people who don't know how to drill that blasted stainless stuff. Grin. People don't understand it must be kept as cool as possible. Also well lubricated,and drill agressively. The antifreeze works great with it. Thing with stainless if it gets heat it INSTANTLY tempers. Now you cant drill a hole through it with a Star Trek phaser. Now and then in the kitchens we need to drill a hole trough stainless counters. After the first screw up you quickly learn how to drill the stuff. Your results may differ. Fun fun.

Years ago I needed to punch some 3/16" holes into 1/2" stainless rods......304 and 316 stainless. I could never get halfway thru it before the bit would either lose it's edge or snap in half. I was using cutting oil, but it didn't matter.

Mentioned it to an old guy I was working with.........old guys often being a good source of advice.......and he told me to just use water to lube the bit instead of cutting oil. Slowest rpm setting I could get, then set up a constant drip of plain old water. Cut through it easy doing that.
 
(quoted from post at 06:24:55 04/14/19)
(quoted from post at 18:15:02 04/13/19) Think outside of the box when punching big holes in thick stock.

HSS Nova Annular Cutters.

To think of using these, one would first have to even know about them. I didn't before, but do now. Looks like someone invented a better mousetrap?

Interesting.........except I don't have a magnetic drill press..

Nova Cutters, as we call them have been around for many many years.

The Magnetic drill press is used for drilling large slabs and on job sites such as ships, railroads, bridges, buildings etc.

You can get an adapter to fit a bench or floor mounted drill press for them. Like all good tools. Getting started can be an expensive investment. But its an investment well worth it if you do a lot of drilling in heavy stock.
 
Hi Mo.

I recently had a project that had the same requirements ie 1/2" stock, 5/8 hole.

I bought a mag drill on that bay site for a couple hundred and bought an annular
cutter.

With cutting (soluable) oil it went through the 1/2" mild steel in 35 seconds (we
timed it) and one cutter drilled 30 or so holes without appreciable wear.

I think if you are going to drill more than a few holes you might come off cheaper
renting one of these rigs.

Brad Buchanan
 
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