Drill bit sharpening

[JRobyn]

I am guilty of being lazy and not first doing a search on here for previous posts.... but,

has anyone had good experience with any commercial drill bit sharpening services?

I have just a few larger ones, 1/2" to 7/8" that I don't trust myself to do a really good job on.

 

[Wagtail]

What a coincidence... This Thursday I'll be going to my State Field Days (AGFEST) and one of the products I am planning on checking out is this kit:

Vintek Drill Bit Sharpener | Amaze Products | Product Demonstration - YouTube

I don't know the cost yet, but it looks "Wagtail-Proof" (which is one step higher than 'Idiot-proof').

 

[mapper]

I received a Drill Doctor for Christmas this year, does a really nice job. The bits I sharpened came out a lot sharper than when they were new. It also enables you to split the tip making the bit self centering and requiring less power.
Never had any bits professionally sharpened, they turned out way better than some that had been sharpened by hand or with a grinder.

 

[Furu]

Ever since member Shield Arc showed me how to sharpen drill bits by hand I swear by the method he uses. The larger the bit the easier it is IMO. Amazing results compared to when they were new even.

 

[r porter]

Furu
can you share?

 

[prichard]

I had an old machinist teach me to hand sharpen years ago. 1/4 - 1/2" aren't bad. Over 1/2" are easy. Under 1/4" are tricky. No way I could explain but I think I could still do it.

My eyesight being what it is I'll stick to the little sharpener unless I need some thing large.

I don't remember the brand of the sharpener, my father in law have it to me a few years back.

 

[Furu]

Furu
can you share?

As prichard said there is no way I could explain how to do it in writing. It is one of those things that you have to see someone do and then try to duplicate while having them looking over your shoulder giving you feedback and critiques.

I did find a youtube video of a guy that talked about it and demoed how to do it and found it interesting but there is no way that it could even come close to having "one on one" instruction from a truly knowledgeable expert/instructor.

Sharpening Twist Drills by Hand - Part 1 of 2: Introduction.mp4 - YouTube

Sharpening Twist Drills by Hand - Part 2 of 2: Sharpening.mp4 - YouTube

 

[crazyal]

I use to do them by hand but now have a drill doctor. The DD will do up to 3/4" in size. Anything bigger than that I do by hand. The problem I have is that I don't have a grinder mounted on a stand or bench. So I'm either using a vice to hold the grinder or using a 4 1/2" hand grinder. Of course that's the real problem, I don't sharpen them unless I need them and then I don't want to spend a lot of time not working on the project at hand.

 

[ultrarunner]

Which model Drill Doctor?

 

[LD1]

As prichard said there is no way I could explain how to do it in writing. It is one of those things that you have to see someone do and then try to duplicate while having them looking over your shoulder giving you feedback and critiques.

I did find a youtube video of a guy that talked about it and demoed how to do it and found it interesting but there is no way that it could even come close to having "one on one" instruction from a truly knowledgeable expert/instructor.

Sharpening Twist Drills by Hand - Part 1 of 2: Introduction.mp4 - YouTube

Sharpening Twist Drills by Hand - Part 2 of 2: Sharpening.mp4 - YouTube

Excellent videos. Worth watching if anyone is sharpening by hand or wanting to sharpen by hand.

He makes some good points in the later half of the first video about pilot holes and chisel point bits. His advise is spot on. You hear it alot here that if someone wants a rather large hole, say 3/4-1" or so....lots of members usually advise to start small and step up in bit size in small increments. Which is not good advise, very hard on the bits, and hard to control as it makes the bit real "grabby"

As to the sharpening....I prefer a belt sander as opposed to a grinder wheel. But same method pretty much. Only thing I do a tad different is when giving the heal a little relief, Instead of just lowering the shank as you are grinding, I also give it a little twist.

 

[thompsonseatgrinder]

I have tried most every way possible to sharpen small drill bits. Including, having them sent out and done on sharpening machines. I can usually hand sharpen them pretty well but not like a regular machine can do them. You have to have both cutting edges the same angle and height. Several years ago I bought the Drill Doctor Model 750. It will sharpen bits up to 3/4" with very good results. It is a good addition for the small shop or farm. I had some issues with bigger bits at first but found out the chuck was not tight enough to hold them (my bad). It makes it easy (and actually fun) to keep all my small bits (up to 3/4") sharp and ready to go for the next job.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Do these sharpeners sharpen reverse twist drill bits? I use them to remove broken bolts.

 

[5030]

As prichard said there is no way I could explain how to do it in writing. It is one of those things that you have to see someone do and then try to duplicate while having them looking over your shoulder giving you feedback and critiques.

I did find a youtube video of a guy that talked about it and demoed how to do it and found it interesting but there is no way that it could even come close to having "one on one" instruction from a truly knowledgeable expert/instructor.

Sharpening Twist Drills by Hand - Part 1 of 2: Introduction.mp4 - YouTube

Sharpening Twist Drills by Hand - Part 2 of 2: Sharpening.mp4 - YouTube

Exactly. I learned early on in my apprenticeship at Standard Products in Cleveland, Ohio from a seasoned hand. Proper sharpening takes 2 hands in concert with each other, sort of like TIG welding. It's a learned discipline and not very many folks have it mastered on bits less than 1/4". I wear head magnifiers when I do small drills and I sharpen drills as a favor for a lot of people. Takes a very short time to sharpen and relieve the heel so the drill cuts properly and self feeds.

Best thing to do for the unskilled is get a drill doctor, or, only buy parabolic drill bits. Parabolic fluted drills are easy to sharpen because the cutting edge and heel are flat and not ground in a decreasing radius that entails using 2 hands in concert with each other. I tend to use parabolic drills for deep hole drilling because the 'fast helix' pulls chips better. They are more expensive but easy to dress (compared to a conventional helix twist drill).

 

[5030]

Do these sharpeners sharpen reverse twist drill bits? I use them to remove broken bolts.

No. Besides, most reverse helix drills (called reclaim drills) are tungsten carbide, not HSS and carbide takes a specific wheel, much softer than a conventional bench wheel.

 

[LD1]

The small bits, 1/2" and under are cheap enough to buy I dont bother sharpening them.

But then again I know how to drill and my bits last a very long time.

Once they are lacking in preformance, they get retired to drawer of drill bits for wood/plastic. A drill that is too dull to drill metal still has lots of life ahead as a wood bit.

 

[Ford850]

Do these sharpeners sharpen reverse twist drill bits? I use them to remove broken bolts.

Drill Dr does offer a left hand chuck for reverse twist bits 3/32" - 1/2".

 

[pmsmechanic]

No. Besides, most reverse helix drills (called reclaim drills) are tungsten carbide, not HSS and carbide takes a specific wheel, much softer than a conventional bench wheel.

I by my reverse helix drill bits from NAPA. They are HSS and work really well.

That was another question I had after watching the two sharpening video's. He doesn't talk at all about what kind of a grinding wheel to use.

I can do a fair job of sharpening bits as I do mine by hand all the time. I did learn that I need to measure from the video which I'm sure will raise my ability above fair.

Here's a funny story about sharpening drill bits. I was in my friends welding shop and a farmer walked in wanting a drill bit sharpened. My friend looked at it and said these were easy to sharpen and handed it to me to sharpen. It was about a 1" bit or so. I sharpened it and handed the bit back to the farmer. You should have seen his eyes. Huge!

 

[DK35vince]

Which model Drill Doctor?

I have a Drill Dr. 750 that will do bits up to 3/4". I like it, works good.

 

[Mysfyt]

The OP's original question was about a drill grinding service. How about finding someone local that you could bring them to? Any machine shops or fab shops close by?

I'm with the rest of the posters that you should attempt to grind them yourself. Like so many other things, it will take practice but it is a skill certainly worth learning. FWIW, I have both the Drill Doctor and a Lisle drill grinder to touch up my drills. I almost always go to the Lisle because it is so convenient. Sometimes they can be found on Ebay for a couple hundred bucks or so. I like the Drill Doctor for smaller bits with split points.

 

[JRobyn]

The OP's original question was about a drill grinding service. How about finding someone local that you could bring them to? Any machine shops or fab shops close by?

I'm with the rest of the posters that you should attempt to grind them yourself. Like so many other things, it will take practice but it is a skill certainly worth learning. FWIW, I have both the Drill Doctor and a Lisle drill grinder to touch up my drills. I almost always go to the Lisle because it is so convenient. Sometimes they can be found on Ebay for a couple hundred bucks or so. I like the Drill Doctor for smaller bits with split points.

Thanks for bringing this back (some) from the do-it-yourself crowd. I WILL try the very good local fab/machine shop; hadn't thought about that. I WILL NOT do these myself. I maybe should have more plainly stated at the outset, I suck at the required coordination to do a good job myself. Might be different if I had a sharpening rig, but for my amount of usage, a couple hundred $ for such a rig would be a real waste. Especially when there's professional services that will do a bit for $2-$3.