drill bit sharpeners

[Leonard Keifer]

I'm new to this part of Smokstak so pardon me if this question has been asked before. Do those drill bit sharpeners like Harbor Freight work well? Are they worth the price?

[Frank Y]

Get yourself one of those Drill Doctors sears sells. They are the BEST! Ive had one for 4 years now and I sharpened all my drills about a thousand times! It works great! Whenever I get a brand new drill I take it straight to the sharpener. Works excellent after that!

Just my opinion!
Frank Y

[LundMachineWorks]

How do the work when you are drilling Stainless Steel?

[Leonard Keifer]

Looked up the Drill Doctor on the Sears web site: $100 - 140 (depending on model). I'm sure it's great but does anyone have any experience with the cheaper ones Harbor Frieght sells ($20 - 30)? I'll probably have 6 or 8 bits to sharpen in a year.

[Andrew Mackey]

When looking for a sharpener, look for diamond abrasive. it will last 100 times longer than the cheap corobundom ones.
Andrew

[Phillip Hutchinson]

G'DAY are you blokes talking about the thingamagigi that holds the bit at the correct angle or the grinder itself?I have what is called a tool wheel in my grinder that I use only for lathe tools and drill bits,my dad taught me to sharpen bits when I was a little tacker,said those sharpening jiggers are good but if ya cant do it without one what happens when your out somewhere and have to sharpen a bit?.Happy sharpening Regards Phillip

[Craig A]

We don't use any of these things but I HAVE heard GOOD THINGS about the Drill doctor.
DRILL DOCTOR DRILL BIT SHARPENER
Make worn bits work like new
Save 32%,just $124.95!
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=NC890-9007

I wonder how many bits Paul Harvey sharpened with one.......

[Scott]

I agree drill doctor works very well. If your only doing a few bits a year those sharpeners that set next to your grind stone work ok too.

[Leonard Keifer]

No shop, no grind stone. When the weather permits (as it doesn't right now) I work outdoors on my patio. I live in a townhouse in a suburb of DC.

I think I'll "splurge!" on one of the $20 Harbor Freight ones. I'll let y'all know how it works out. If nothing else it might work as a pencil sharpener!

[Havvey]

my exsperiance with harbor freight is it junk the sears one might work ok a good one that a machine shop uses costs booko bucks did i mention they have them that sharpen 3 inch drills

[Leonard Keifer]

So, if I'm hearing you guys correctly, if I can't afford the $130 - 150 Drill Doctor I'm better off not buying anything but new bits.

[Leonard Keifer]

Finally dawned on me--look on ebay for a used Drill Doctor. Which I did. Got one for just a little more than I would have paid for a drill sharpener at Harbor Freight. Of course now I have to hope it works!

[LundMachineWorks]

Until you learn to sharpen bits by hand your life will be dull. Certain materials require a certain grind on the bit. One such material is stainless steel. You should really visit your grinder and experiment. The common mistake made by people is to make the bit to pointed. The flater it is the faster it cuts, although you have to be carefull when the bit comes out of the hole. Remember to twist and drop. I taught a metal shop class for four years and made student sharpen their own drill bits. If you study what the bit should be doing it is not that complicated.

Good Luck.

[Frank Martin]

I own a Drill Doctor and I also sell them at my tool company. I think they're great. To be objective though I have to admit that you would have to sharpen an awful lot of drill bits for it to be worthwhile. However, a Drill Doctor is particularly helpful if you needed to sharpen a bit to the most suitable point for drilling a particular material. I have to agree that the Harbor Freight stuff is lacking at best. I own a small distributorship for tools and equipment, specializing in professional quality stuff and I don't even consider Harbor Freight a competitor. If anybody is thinking about getting a Drill Doctor, I suggest that you spend a couple of extra bucks and make sure you get one that will do split points as well as the 118 and 135 degree points. I have one that only does 118 and I kind of wish I had more flexibility.

[Tanner Remillard]

I am in a machinist school now, and we have to learn how to sharpen our own drills. It really is'nt that hard to do as long as you know what your doing and have the angles and back relief right. BUT, we do have a majority of sharpeners too, and they are nice to have.

[MoRo]

What techinque do they teach you, Tanner?
~M~

[Dick-CT]

i use a drill doctor and i also hand sharpen, allthough my eye sight isnt what it used to be. i tend to used the drill doctor more and more. two things to keep in mind when hand sharpening try to keep the orginal angle and make sure the leading edge of the bit is higher than the trailing edge. the leading edge cannot cut if it isnt touching the metal its trying to bore.

[Elden DuRand]

Last month, I got a Drill Doctor (from Grainger's) - the mid-price one.

It does a credible job sharpening and gets the relief right but mine doesn't split the bit quite right and I had to shim out the grinding wheel by about 0.015" to keep it from splitting the bits too far.

For the sized bits that the Drill Doctor won't do, I just use the 'ol grinding wheel. Works fine for big bits and is tolerable (if I'm careful) for small bits. The medium size bits are what I use most and they fit the Dr's schedule.

Oh, yes - I threw out that "side of the grinding wheel" sharpener a few years ago. By the time you get it set-up and adjusted right, you've used-up a lot of the bit.

Take care - Elden

[Franz©]

Is there a way to get a pool going on how long this looser,jneave's post lasts?

[MoRo]

Since pools are illegal in lots of places, I guess it'd have to be imaginary anyway, so, consider an imaginary cyber-pool going.