Drill Bit Sharpening

Drill bits are expensive especially the larger sized ones of any quality. I have ton of them that I have accumulated over the years and when needed I will hit them with my grinder to put a new edge on them. I have sharpened them this way since. . ..Well Since I started acquiring drill bits. My sharpening method is ok and works for the most part but I want to step it up and get some sort of automated drill sharpening tool / device. I remember a couple years back there was the "drill Doctor" and the reviews were good. Is this product still made? Anyone have any real life experience with it? And most important are there better / cheaper ones on the market. If I remember that thing was around $100 or more. I don't really mind the $$$ as replacement of all my bits would easily double or triple that number and it would save me $$$$ in the future.

Any recommendations out there for a tool to sharpen drill bits at home?

My neighbor has a drill doctor and really likes it. I take my bits over to him.

Harbor freight has a few different bit sharpener, but no experience with them.

I learned how to sharpen them on the bench grinder in High School Metals & Welding (Ag Class), did well enough to pass that section, but haven't been able to get much repeatability in the 15+ years since.

In a former life, when I was the drafter/CNC operator/purchaser/"College Boy" at a reasonable sized fab shop, I got sick of the fabricators going through drill bits about as quick as they went through their cigarettes, so I bought the top of the line Drill Doctor at the time.

When it came in, all the fab guys said it sucked/was a waste of time/money, etc. I got a couple of their dull drill bits, READ THE DIRECTIONS, and sharpened said drill bits to about as good as new, definitely useable again if not actually good as new. I then gave a short "lesson" on how to use the Drill Doctor, and 2 guys actually listened, they became the go to "bit sharpener guys," and we quit buying so many stinking drill bits.

So yes, real world experience, read the directions, it works, but don't expect miracles.

• Lee

I've got a Drill Doctor. Definitely read the instructions, it's not quite intuitive and has a tendency to fail a five minute test drive. But it does seem to work once you figure it out.

I have a "Pit Bull" style one from Grizzly that works OK - you need a bench grinder and a fine stone. You can only sharpen HSS or worse drills (carbide eats the stone) - but for under $20 it can save the day when you are down to your last 1/2" bit and it's too dull to break skin. YMMV.

Grizzly G1081

Drill Doctor works but is fairly complicated, 5 step? process. How large a bit will a drill doctor sharpen? 1/2" bit max size?

I sharpen a half dozen or so drill bits every day in my high school metal shop. I had a drill doctor, but I found it slower than doing it my way by hand. If you can find one to borrow or try out, it might be a good idea. I didn't care for it, but that's just me.

As my vision gets worse, I think about a drill doctor for smaller bits...

I switched from using the bench grinder to using my small belt sander. Its a bit easier with the flat surface.

I've used many sharpeners over the years, and am reasonably competent at sharpening bits by hand. However, the drill doctor is far and away the easiest and most consistent tool.

I'm going to say do not read the directions, they are confusing. Instead, watch the video. That actually explains it.

Once mastered, the drill doctor is very quick and easy to use.

I would suggest springing for the top line model, with the various accessories. I like being able to do both angles, as well left hand bits. The big bit chuck is also nice.

I have a drill doctor.

I usually use a file.

Remember that the "titanium coated" ones can't be sharpened... well, they can be, but they'll dull again right away.

Honestly, I just buy our equivalents of Harbour Freights titanium coated drill bit sets (hundreds of bits) for $30 everytime they go on sale. They cut through stainless, and for the price I just throw the bits out as I go.

I just pony up a bit extra for the HF cobalt bits and don't worry about all that sharpening crap.

http://www.harborfreight.com/29-piece-135-degree-split-point-cobalt-drill-bit-set-36891.html

Small bits are cheap enough to pitch, but from 1/2" up they start getting to pricey to scrap. Will a drill doctor rehab larger bits?

The Drill Doctor 750X will go up to 3/4, the 500 only does up to 1/2".

9 times out of 10 I sharpen them by hand. The 10th time I stick them on a Drill Dr to bring the angles back where they should be.

I also don't sharpen them one at a time. If the Drill Dr is coming out of the cabinet, I'm sharpening everything that needs it...after I re-read the instructions.

Then I'll pull out all the lathe bits, chisels and knives, and sharpen them too. It's pretty easy to spend an evening with assorted grinders and sharpeners running. Then the wife gives me strange looks because I won't have any hair on my arms. You can bet everything is sharp though.

I used a DD a lot in the past. I didn't really like it that well. I can put the same quality edge on a bit in less time, unless that is, the DD is sitting on my bench all the time. But, if you aren't experienced, a bench grinder can be tricky. I actually like sharpening bits.

Learned how to sharpen drills by hand in high school. Mr. Carney showed us how it was done and cut us loose on a grinder with a bunch of dull drills. About two hours later I went back to him with one decently hand ground drill. He looked it over, said "good work", jammed it in to the grinder and said "now do it again."

I was heart broken.

I used to have a Drill dr and now have a Darex. Its overkill for home use, but its been used plenty for the last 5 years in a shop setting and it works great. If its for a machine shop, it will pay itself over many times in a couple of years.

www.darex.com

Slippery wrote: I used to have a Drill dr and now have a Darex. Its overkill for home use, but its been used plenty for the last 5 years in a shop setting and it works great. If its for a machine shop, it will pay itself over many times in a couple of years. www.darex.com

I can by several Miata's for the cost of that thing. BUT man does it look nice!!!!

Slippery wrote: I used to have a Drill dr and now have a Darex. Its overkill for home use, but its been used plenty for the last 5 years in a shop setting and it works great. If its for a machine shop, it will pay itself over many times in a couple of years. www.darex.com

I believe I'm well below the effective cost threshold for that solution.

I find hand sharping drill bits of 3/8 and larger is somewhat easy on a bench grinder. I also just use a flat stone if the bit is only a bit dull and I want a nice round hole. I will buy small drill bits when I see them on a close out at one of the big box home supply stores. Usually when they are dropping one brand and are going to another.

The one thing I do not do is buy Chinese made HHS drill bits. They are usually crap! I have some made in India and surprisingly they do a good job. These are the 1/2 shank over size drill bits from 9/16-1 inch. I have hundreds of drills in all sizes from .017 of an inch up to 1/2, I have numbered sets, letter sets, and fractional inch sets. All have been collected over the years. Having a good size drill press and a lathe I'm seem to be able to justify their purchase to myself despite the fact that I use them mostly for my hobby and not to make money.

Right Idea, poorly executed.

During my tool and die apprenticeship I learned to sharpen them by hand using a wheel dressing tool to flatten the wheel and a drill sharpening gauge. Within a couple hours I had it down.m it isn't hard.

Time and money well spent rather than a sharpening machine.

But I'm old school...

gofastbobby wrote: Learned how to sharpen drills by hand in high school. Mr. Carney showed us how it was done and cut us loose on a grinder with a bunch of dull drills. About two hours later I went back to him with one decently hand ground drill. He looked it over, said "good work", jammed it in to the grinder and said "now do it again." I was heart broken.

Curmudgeon wrote: I just pony up a bit extra for the HF cobalt bits and don't worry about all that sharpening crap. http://www.harborfreight.com/29-piece-135-degree-split-point-cobalt-drill-bit-set-36891.html

Are the cobalt bits that good? I've been considering, but never jumped.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Slippery wrote: I used to have a Drill dr and now have a Darex. Its overkill for home use, but its been used plenty for the last 5 years in a shop setting and it works great. If its for a machine shop, it will pay itself over many times in a couple of years. www.darex.com

I believe I'm well below the effective cost threshold for that solution.

Law of diminishing returns, bust out the smokewrench.

I learned how to hand sharpen bits at an early age from my father. Later I taught machine shop and taught students how to do it. Now I use a Drill Doctor most of the time.