Drill bit index recommendation

[marhar]

I am looking for a brand of drill bits suitable for drilling into metal. I do not know what is better, cobalt vs titanium. I am looking for a recommendation on the brand and type of drill bit index to buy. You do not know what you do not know; I know I need advice...drilling wood is a lot different than drilling metal. I am usually using a cordless drill and drilling into metal no thicker than 1/4". The metal is "soft"..it is not heat treated.

 

[4570Man]

Hand drills break and overheat drills so there’s no need to spend a lot at least that’s my opinion. Keeping the drill on the lower gear and using oil helps the overheating problem.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

I buy basic black oxide drill bits for steel. IMO the key to drilling steel is learning how to sharpen your drill bits. Every bit is going to dull.

 

[ruffdog]

US made and high speed steel (HSS).

 

[Jims1025R]

High speed steel (HSS) drills are generally good for most applications. "Titanium" is a very tough and light metal, from which drills are not made. There is titanium coating applied to some drills - it's pretty. If you ever sharpen the drill, it's gone. I have never sought drills with titanium coating, though I have "inherited" a few. I wouldn't spend any extra for them. Buy good quality drills, I had a set of Cleveland, which were my father's and lasted me more than 40 years of use (until lost in a workshop fire). I prefer USA or European manufactured drills to those from the orient. There are good oriental cutting tools, but it's harder to tell.

Brand names I like include: Cleveland, Butterfield, and Dormer, though there are certainly many other good brands too. If you're buying "split point" drills, they will be more expensive, and you'll be happier with how they find a center, and cut just a little better.

Center punch your hole to start, and consider drilling a small pilot hole. Use the lubricant recommended for drilling the metal - or light oil, if in doubt. Choose a reasonable drill speed - slower than you'd expect for steel.

I have a few drill bits, they're on the floor, under the drill press, from when I have broken a drill.

On the topic on breaking drills, depending upon what type of metal you're drilling, there are preferred ways to sharpen the drill. The sharpening best suited for steel or aluminum is how you'll commonly buy drills. To drill brass, copper, lead, or plexiglass it is wise that the drill be sharpened differently so it does not bite into the material, stop and break.

 

[rangerfredbob]

If you're of the "buy once cry once" mindframe then I'm not the guy you get advise from... Myself I have two of the cheap $10 on sale Harbor Freight drill index sets in my "drill drawer" in the tool box, sure they're not great but it's cheap... as you would expect some of the bits are better than others but whatever, $10 is disposable anymore...

When I buy cheap I don't generally cry about what a bit costs if it breaks, I'll use normal size bits for more abusive tasks and just get multi packs from Amazon or even HFT, it's almost always the 1/8" to 3/16" bits that take the most abuse anyway...

 

[WranglerX]

I usually buy what ever is on sale, but have learned to sharpen the bits once dulled... Have only bought real expensive bits a few times when exact size and real precision is required.. Bits used in drill press under better control (speed/pressure) will last longer than bits used in corded or battery hand drills with poor control (speed/pressure) .... And with drill press we tend to use cutting oils for coolant where we skip that step in hand drills...
Also process of using small bit for "pilot" hole and then stepping up in sizes to reach desired size helps to give more life to bits..

 

[5030]

Cobalt and Titanium are nothing but plasma applied coatings on a drill bit. Drill bits are all HSS but there is good HSS and not good HSS. Only drill bits I have that are not HSS are the solid Tungsten Carbide bits I have for die reclaim purposes and you cannot afford them anyway. Called Hi-Roc drills. A set costs upwards of 500 bucks.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Cobalt and Titanium are nothing but plasma applied coatings on a drill bit. Drill bits are all HSS but there is good HSS and not good HSS. Only drill bits I have that are not HSS are the solid Tungsten Carbide bits I have for die reclaim purposes and you cannot afford them anyway. Called Hi-Roc drills. A set costs upwards of 500 bucks.

Cobalt is not an applied coating. It is added to the HSS at a rate of 5-8%. We run cobalt drills almost exclusively in our machine shop. The exception is that we run solid carbide on some stainless steel.

"Made of cobalt steel, which has better heat and wear resistance than high-speed steel, they can run up to 25% faster and have a longer tool life."

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[bigtiller]

For my cordless drill motors, I am really impressed with the Dewalt split-point drill bits. And they come with their own drill bit index, as do most bit sets.

For the drill press I use mostly cobalt bits.