Best drill bit sharper??

[Cmoran]

I’m looking for the above as I can’t master sharpening them with grinder have a lot of expensive cobalt bits that are gone blunt so wondering what is best type of sharpener as there are loads of type on eBay. Thanks

 

[john432]

Have a good look at a new bit and keep trying.once you get the knack of it ,there's nothing to it. So difficult to explain..but two hexagon nuts side by side in a vice will give you the main angles, for the cutting angle, too sharp and it will bite and chip the cutting edge, too shallow it won't cut,but you have to do a downward movement as you sharpen or you have a 'heel' that holds the bit from cutting. Must be a video on YouTube. That can explain better than me.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

I would really like sharpener too plus one that does bigger than 10mm!!!

 

[y2kf]

Drill doctor.

 

[Goweresque]

I do all of mine by hand, and have discovered that a sort of rolling motion as you grind is whats required. You start at the back, away from the cutting edge and get that well down, and then roll the drill on the right angle so that the grind wheel does the cutting edge last, just feathering it. This rolling motion does away with the 'heel' as mentioned above by @john432

 

[Ffermer Bach]

two ways of doing it on a grinder, Tom Turney (at Otley College) taught me another way of grinding it, they must be on youtube, bigger the drill bit, easier it is

 

[Goweresque]

This video shows the twisting motion quite well:

 

[daveydiesel1]

I do it on the bench grinder. I start at the cutting edge. Like all jobs once uv got the hang o it its simple but when u cant do it its frustrating. I can even reshape and sharpen broken bits which saves a few quid now and again

 

[Cmoran]

Thanks folks but I’ve decided I’m just going to buy a sharpener I have tried hundreds of times and for the sake of a few quid it’s not a skill I’m going to master

 

[Dave W]

Big drill doctor does up to 19mm.
I love mine but they're only as good as the bits being sharpened. Can have the best sharpener there is but if the bits are made of cheese it's a pointless exercise

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Thanks folks but I’ve decided I’m just going to buy a sharpener I have tried hundreds of times and for the sake of a few quid it’s not a skill I’m going to master

Let me know which you get I can’t be arsed trying to sharpen them triedbeford would rather just buy one that does the job

 

[Goweresque]

If I admit I often sharpen a blunt or damaged drill while working using the cordless angle grinder, how many bodge-it points do I get?

 

[spin cycle]

If I admit I often sharpen a blunt or damaged drill while working using the cordless angle grinder, how many bodge-it points do I get?

none...a real bodger just switches drill to hammer til it breaks or you give up

 

[ACEngineering]

Thanks folks but I’ve decided I’m just going to buy a sharpener I have tried hundreds of times and for the sake of a few quid it’s not a skill I’m going to master

drill doctor is one of the better ones, can even get attachment to do left handed drills!

The key to a good sharpener is a Dimond wheel any sharpener with an abrasive wheel will need to be dressed every couple of drill bits as the wheel will wear and you will never get the drill bit right as it will follow the shape of the worn wheel. Dimond wheels dont really wear at all in the drill doctor or at least mine hasn't and i have had it a good while.

it only likes to do standard drill bits with a normal flute pattern though, i got set of dorma that have a goldish coloured coating and they have an different flute to normal and it don't sharpen them very well.

 

[startinghandle]

I use bench grinder with no problem at all .. a few weeks ago there was sharpener in Aldi in Welshpool

 

[MrNoo]

I do them by hand on the wheel or grinder with a flap pad on it, Father taught me years ago, as above it's all in the rolling motion. I did see someone made a jig to hold the bits at the right angle on the net somewhere, looked very simple and mounted on a grinding wheel frame.

 

[Gapples]

I was shown as an apprentice how to sharpen drills, the foreman give me a box of knackered drill bits to practice on until I got it right.
It's a bit like riding a bike, once learned you won't unlearn the technique.
Getting angle right is so important, I've seen so many people think they're sharpening a center punch lol.

 

[Netherfield]

A mate and the Father in law used to keep me supplied with drills, both worked at David Brown Tractors.
Once a drill got down to a certain length it it was thrown out, trouble was they were mostly the same sizes, either used for drilling before tapping or drilling for clearance for a bolt to go through, I'd get allsorts of odd 64ths or 32nds and always morse taper.

And not stolen, they were signed out by the scrap manager, who just happened to be the father in laws drinking buddy.

 

[Goweresque]

none...a real bodger just switches drill to hammer til it breaks or you give up

Of course, minus bodge-it points, for actually sharpening them as they get blunt. What was I thinking???!!!!

 

[Mur Huwcun]

We’ve just sorted the worst 30 morse tappered ones from 2” down to go and get sharpened on a machine as they had lost their shape and angle and centre! Looking forwards to getting them back. We can keep on top of them afterwards hopefully.