Who makes good drill bits?

[Munkul]

So cobalt for hardened steel. Cheers.

If that's what you need to do... you can also get solid carbide bits relatively cheaply these days if in a rock-solid drill press or a mill-drill, I'd go the carbide route personally.

 

[Gritineye]

For sheet metal drilling I find these double ended stubbys very good and hard to slap in a hand drill.

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[mtt.tr]

Thats exactly what I did too with the cobalt bits from amazon..

my amazon cobalts are surprisingly good

 

[timgunn1962]

For hard steel, or anything obnoxiously prone to work-hardening with a hand-held drill (stainless in an awkward orientation, for example), I make sure I have TCT drills handy.

TCT Drill Bits (Metric)

Hss ground drill bit with a Tungsten Carbide Tip. Specially designed for drilling stainless steel.

www.ukdrills.com

I'll usually use HSS and not have a problem, but it's nice to have the Carbide if/when the HSS stops cutting. Using TCT, rather than solid Carbide, means that the drill is much less brittle throughout its length, so much less likely to snap. Being cheaper is a bonus.

If work are buying, I'll obviously get the nice Dormer stuff from RS (I really don't understand the "reamer" part of the RS link above). When I'm paying, I tend to use a lot of the HSS stub drills from ukdrills. The double-ended ones are particularly good value in the small sizes that are not practical to resharpen.

 

[Turbo]

Nice to know.

I've never had a good experience with cobalt bits - not unless using a heavy drill press with no movement or chatter. I've got a full set of Presto cobalts that barely see use, as well as a number of various brands I bought to try. They just chip the cutting edges in minutes when using a hand drill.

There are different grades of cobalt drills, the harder ones are easier to break. I have a small set of Heller bits that are high grade but very brittle. They snap if you put any side load on them so they're strictly for pillar drill or lathe use.

I was expecting these cheap ones to be similar but they are quite forgiving & no problem using them in a hand drill. They are similar to the Dormer A002 in that respect hold an edge just as well. They will be easier to break than a decent HSS bit but you can get small sets of 1-3mm & 1-6mm from Banggood for a couple of quid to replace the commonly broken sizes.

 

[Smouser]

Has anybody spotted some great deals on Dormer bits lately?

I love the Dormer bits but their 'usual' price, not so much.

I seem to get a random size on Amazon cheaply sometimes.

 

[Brad93]

Has anybody spotted some great deals on Dormer bits lately?

I love the Dormer bits but their 'usual' price, not so much.

I seem to get a random size on Amazon cheaply sometimes.

Zoro usually best place

 

[graffian]

For sheet metal drilling I find these double ended stubbys very good and hard to slap in a hand drill.

Scroll down

Drill Bits | Wood Drill Bits | RS

Shop our range of Twist Drill Bits supplies & accessories. Free Next Day Delivery. Browse our latest Twist Drill Bits offers.

uk.rs-online.com

Have you tried sheet metal drills?
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