I use a Drill Doctor to sharpen mine.  Takes very little time and does a great job.

jkordzi wrote:

John Ha wrote:

I use a Drill Doctor to sharpen mine.  Takes very little time and does a great job.

Same for me.
 

I always wanted to get something like that. We had a drill shaprner at the Power Station maintaince shop I worked at years ago. In just a few seconds it was like you had a new bit.
 

Mine says XPK on the side.  Don't have a clue what the differences might be but it works well.

I have a Drill Doctor and I am mostly happy with it. I have found that the folks that complain about them not working correctly are victims of 100% Operator Error, they don't take the time to learn how to use them correctly or they are trying to do something the Drill Doctor was not designed to do. Having said that, the lower level models do not have replacable grinding wheels, so when you use up all your diamonds, you have to buy a new Drill Doctor, not a new grinding wheel. I gave my Dad one of the original models to sharpen the 3 lb coffee can full of salvaged bits he had accumulated  and he wore out the grinding wheel on that can of bits.

Guys, I learned in my apprenticeship how to sharpen drill bits. Drill Doctor didn't exist back then (1960's) It isn't difficult to 'freehand' those bits, especially the larger 1/4" and up sizes. It takes a left 'roll' of the hand while sharpening to get the leading edge out front. Look at a large bit to see what the angle is. Hardest thing is getting the center 'centered'. Once you have it figured out, you'll laugh at all the 'Patent' methods out there. Literally a ten second job on the grinding wheel. Always wear goggles when doing this; that wheel will occassionally throw a drill at you. 

ChrisH IA wrote:

Guys, I learned in my apprenticeship how to sharpen drill bits. Drill Doctor didn't exist back then (1960's) It isn't difficult to 'freehand' those bits, especially the larger 1/4" and up sizes. It takes a left 'roll' of the hand while sharpening to get the leading edge out front. Look at a large bit to see what the angle is. Hardest thing is getting the center 'centered'. Once you have it figured out, you'll laugh at all the 'Patent' methods out there. Literally a ten second job on the grinding wheel. Always wear goggles when doing this; that wheel will occassionally throw a drill at you. 

  I saw a youtube video of a guy free handing it and showing his technique.  My give that a try and if all fails buying the Drill Doctor.   Thanks for all the info!  Steve69

ChrisH IA wrote:

Guys, I learned in my apprenticeship how to sharpen drill bits. Drill Doctor didn't exist back then (1960's) It isn't difficult to 'freehand' those bits, especially the larger 1/4" and up sizes. It takes a left 'roll' of the hand while sharpening to get the leading edge out front. Look at a large bit to see what the angle is. Hardest thing is getting the center 'centered'. Once you have it figured out, you'll laugh at all the 'Patent' methods out there. Literally a ten second job on the grinding wheel. Always wear goggles when doing this; that wheel will occassionally throw a drill at you. 

 
Yup, if you had someone that knew what they were doing teach you and you sharpened enough bits to develop the hand/eye coordination and muscle memory plus the experience to get the point centered, all you need is a grinder of some sort. Watch Tubal Cain's youtube on drill bit sharpening to see how its done and hear his opinion on the Drill Doctors. For the average hobbiest that sharpens a bit every couple of weeks, the sharpening machines make sense.

Buy the real cobalt steel bits which are pricy, but worth it. I drill quite a bit of stainless (food industry stuff) and have great success with them. Only time I replace one is got broke or lost. I have a couple of drill doctors one for smaller drills and one that does up to 3/4 inch. They work well for most stuff. I find that if you drill tough material like the stainless, feeds and speeds are critical. You need a drill motor with enough torque to keep the chip curling. If you get into anything that starts to skreech or sing, you probably do not have enough pressure, but that doesn't matter now since the skreech starts after the damage is done and the bit quits cutting. Now you are just wearing through. So get good bits and keep them sharp and use enough pressure to get them cutting right away and keep them cutting.

I cut a lot of Firewood and bought a electric chain sharpner.  It took my about 2 years to master that to sharpen a chain properly.  Now when Im cutting I need saftey goggles on because the wood chipps are flying in my face...LOL 

I have a variety of drills from plain HSS to cobalt to carbide.  I keep them all sharp, but more importantly I try to use a slow speed, and most of the time use cutting fluid when I drill.  This is especially important when I drill large holes.  If you're making dust instead of curls when you drill, then it's likely you either have a dull bit and/or are drilling too fast.  There is an optimal speed that depends on the diameter of the hole, but I typically drill at 200 RPMs or less on anything over 1/4".  This is what I use:
 
That thing hanging off of the drill press is a speed reduction kit I bought from Rogue Fabrications (https://www.roguefab.com/category.php?category=DPRKS).  Here's a closeup:

The link belt reduces the vibration over a plain belt.  On the lowest setting, I think I can go down to about 60 RPMs.  Using a slow speed makes a big difference in drill bit life and accuracy.  It's also much more satisfying watching those big curls come off the steel rather than watching your drill bit burn up.

barnett468 wrote:

Steve69 wrote:

I cut a lot of Firewood and bought a electric chain sharpner.  It took my about 2 years to master that to sharpen a chain properly.  Now when Im cutting I need saftey goggles on because the wood chipps are flying in my face...LOL 

so you know about the hodag then?

one of my relatives was with the group that started that.
 

  The only thing I know about the Hodag is its a Festival in Rhinelander in Northern Wisconsin...LOL    Is that what your talking about?
 

Steve69 wrote:

barnett468 wrote:

Steve69 wrote:

I cut a lot of Firewood and bought a electric chain sharpner.  It took my about 2 years to master that to sharpen a chain properly.  Now when Im cutting I need saftey goggles on because the wood chipps are flying in my face...LOL 

so you know about the hodag then?

one of my relatives was with the group that started that.
 

  The only thing I know about the Hodag is its a Festival in Rhinelander in Northern Wisconsin...LOL    Is that what your talking about?
 

lol . . ok, . . a group of guys in a logging camp were bored and thought up this hoax . . they actually "built" a fake animal and claimed they found it and the newspapers took photograps of it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hodag


hodag stickers


purses and t shirts

Last edited by barnett468 (3/20/2015 2:31 PM)