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Drill Bits

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Plumcrazy

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It seems every high speed twist drill bit I buy dulls the first time I try to drill a hole in steel. Does anyone know a company that makes quality drill bits that I can use to drill steel from 1/8" to 1/2" thick? What kind do you use?
 
I try to buy American made but it don't seem to make much difference. They will all cut if they are sharp. I'm not always impressed with the cutting edge on new bits and sometimes have to touch them up to get them to cut. I sharpen mine freehand but can't see as good as I used too. Onething anybody will tell you, speed is important. the larger the bit, the slower you want it to run. And use cutting oil to keep the bit from getting hot.
 
Look for bit labled High Speed Steel (HSS) or Cobalt drill bits. Stay away from Carbon Steel Bits. With Drill bits you get what you pay for. Best place to buy quality bits is Enco.com

Merle
 
The colbault bits are the best not the brand name sold at lowes the actual steel and the speed is important as said in other posts also start small and work your way to the larger diameters. find a drill chart and follow it works
 

Others have said it, but speed is very important. Also using a drill press where possible will help because the drill/work is not jumping around, and your holes will be straighter. When drilling larger holes start small and go up in steps. You have to keep the bit cutting, not just rubbing. If allowed to rub with out cutting it will dull quickly. Buy the best made in the USA high speed or cobalt bits, then sharpen them correctly and you'll be fine. The website below will give you an idea of speed, remember the speeds shown are maximum, slower will keep your bit sharp longer. Good luck,
Paul, Journeyman Tool & Die Maker for 40 years

www.raygirling.com/dpspeed.htm
 
Look for the brand name "Huot" and buy the whole set and pay the price. I have a set I have used for over 20 years and have been very well pleased with them... Gene
Huot drills
 
speed is the killer of all bits. that high speed on them is BS. only drills i use are low RPM and bits last for ever also our steel is also junk a lot of hard spots in it. we use only water as a cooler. but main thing is drill with a very low speed them little 3/8 drills are about 10 times to fast invest in a low rpm drill
 
SPEED is critical-slow down in steel! Also, use oil to cool the bit. I had a bit that appeared to have stalled in steel, sprayed it with oil and WATCH OUT-it took right off again. Greg
 
My experience with step drilling is to drill only twice. The first hole is the size of the web on the final drill bit.

I realize this depends on the equipment available. If you are only using a small electric hand drill this may not be possible, depends on how strong you are/how hard is the material. If power feed is available I only drill one pilot hole. Drilling the pilot hole bigger than the web of the final drill makes the final drill chatter. Chatter is a sharp drill killer.

Paul, not trying to dispute your post, just adding my experiences.
 
In carbon steel you should not go over 100 Feet Per Minute with High Speed Steel tooling. On a 5/16 drill this would be about 1200 RPM. If you are drilling harder material you need to slow down. Also around the shop you sometime are working with mystery metal. Nick it with a file so you will know how hard it is. Figure you drill speed by: Dia. times pi divide this into 12 time 100 equals drill RPM.

Kent
 
Of course as stated, several times below, speed of drilling is very important. However, since I worked on boats a lot I used (and still do) nothing but COBALT bits. They last a long time, can be sharpend . Drilling stainless is tough but the cobalts lasted quite a while. Henry
 
There's lots of good drill bits on the market. Buy them from a machine shop supplier. Dormer are common but there are lots of other good brands. Good bits can be pricey though. Dave
 
I agree on the chatter and you are right about the first drill size. Sometimes drilling a hole larger than about 3/4 with a hand drill will mean a couple of steps because you can't put sufficient pressure on by hand to keep the drill cutting. That's what my reference was. In any case I think the guy received some pretty good advice from everyone, which is what I usually get from this forum.
Paul
 
Unless you have been trained in freehand sharpening a drill bit I suggest getting one of those drill bit sharpener jigs. It very important that the drill have the correct angles and clearances. You can narrow the web a bit on large bits so they will cut better without a pilot hole.
BUY ONLY TOP LINE BITS.
Walt
 
THEIR NAME MAY SOUND HOKEY, BUT, I REALLY LIKE DRILL BIT CITY .THEY ARE AT THE NATIONAL FARM MACHINERY SHOW IN LOUISVLLE,KY EVERY YEAR. I BOUGHT SOME AND TOOK TO WORK .THEY ARE HOLDING UP BETTER THAN THE MAC AND SNAP ON I USED TO BUY. ALSO GUARENTEED, NO QUESTIONS, JUST GIVE HIM THE BROKEN BIT.ONLY ONE I EVER BROKE WAS 1/16. I LIKED THEM SO WELL I BOUGHT HIS LEFT HAND BIT/EXTRACTOR SET ALSO. THEY ARE VERY SHARP AND STAY SHARP.
MARK
 
Concur with Drill bit City. At tractors shows they demonstrate drill bits by drilling through a spring leaf. I have two sets. Bernie Steffen
 
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