Decent metal drill bits

[Archtronics]

I’m forever going through drill bits even with ct-90.

Anyone recommend anything so far I’ve tried the cheapo screwfix/tool station offerings along with dewalt and Milwaukee.

 

[YorkshireKyle]

Slow down and don't be a rough arsed c**t?😂

My Milwaukee and Sealey ones have been fine

 

[Brigsy]

In for replys. Im pretty careful but have been snapping or wearing them out straight away recently even with cutting fluid and slow drilling

 

[J-J]

Dormer.

Edit, don't ask me why, but my mate bought me this set a few years ago for helping him with something. No idea why he went so overkill but it's seen me very well for a few years now.

Most expensive drill bit set known to man

 

[Jamie86]

I use the dewalt extreme2 all the time work and in the garage never have any problem with them. Also have a great bit on the end for starting easily.

 

[Adey.]

Learn to sharpen them

 

[R3k1355]

I found the cobalt bits to be abit better than the normal.

If you're drilling stainless or something tho you've just gotta be patient.

 

[Archtronics]

Dormer.

Edit, don't ask me why, but my mate bought me this set a few years ago for helping him with something. No idea why he went so overkill but it's seen me very well for a few years now.

Most expensive drill bit set known to man

Well I’ve ordered a set of these , for the price I’m hoping they out live me.

 

[JamesBryan]

Well I’ve ordered a set of these , for the price I’m hoping they out live me.

Jesus! Just looked at the price of them 😂

 

[Andy_con]

Www.cutwel.co.uk

if you want expensive drill bits.

 

[Andy_con]

High Performance Coated Carbide Drills - Solid Carbide Drills - Hole Making Tools Cutwel Ltd

Cutwel is one of the UK's leading engineering cutting tool suppliers. With over 25,000 products stocked, we are unbeatable on quality & value. Buy Now.

www.cutwel.co.uk

 

[JimF]

Does it only happen when drilling specific materials? E.g, you're always drilling stainless?
Are you currently just using bog standard HSS drills?
Presuming you're on a bench drill, not by hand?

 

[Wellsmc]

New Cobalt - start small and work up to full size needed

 

[Andy_con]

Drill bit gets hot, drill bit goes blunt. This applies to all drill bits.

 

[Adey.]

I think drill bit gets used, drill bit goes blunt, drill bit gets hot drill bit goes blunt very quickly is more apt. Easy enough to re sharpen a drill bit on a bench grinder or even with an angle grinder if needed. Plenty of vids on you tube on how to re sharpen them. As an apprentice many moons back id be given handfuls of them to do.

 

[OssPoop]

You don't need fancy drill bits, you just need the right speed and feed (pressure). Upto 15mm diameter we use kenndey cobalt drills and they are by no means the best you can buy. But used correctly they'll make lots of holes.

 

[Andy_con]

Agreed with above.

On a CNC with the correct speed feed and coolant a bit can drill 100s of holes

 

[dann2707]

It's always stainless that screws me over as when it gets hotter it work hardens so before you know it you're trying to drill into something with the same rockwell hardness as a pork scratching and not the soft bits I'm talking the smaller, dense scratchings.

 

[Archtronics]

Does it only happen when drilling specific materials? E.g, you're always drilling stainless?
Are you currently just using bog standard HSS drills?
Presuming you're on a bench drill, not by hand?

Hard to say I’m generally working on farm machinery so the majority of it’s by hand and thick steel plate.

 

[Andy_con]

Cutwel do drill bits that suit different materials.

I buy just the ally power ones as I only drill aluminium on my CNC.

 

[JimF]

Hard to say I’m generally working on farm machinery so the majority of it’s by hand and thick steel plate.

As others have said cobalt should be your next port of call (Dormer call it HSSE). Alternatively something with a titanium nitride coating (some variation of TiAlN, TiNAl, AlTiN etc, all just variations of the same gold coating) would help as well.
I sell a lot of Dormer through work, and it’s not cheap (it’s pretty much an industry standard for engineering) but to give you an idea of what to look for:
Dormer A777 is their standard cobalt range.
Dormer A002 is their TiN coated range.

You could look into carbide but generally when using them by hand they cause more issues than they solve (brittle, can’t run them fast enough).
Also if you see drills advertised as 8% cobalt, or M42, that's normal cobalt. If you see then advertised as HM that's carbide.
If you were stuck drilling a 8.5mm hole I’d recommend going and getting the two dormer drills above. But that would probably be £30+. But if you’re wanting a range of drills then a Dormer drill set is eyewateringly expensive.

 

[Andy_con]

What my father in law goes for is maximum drill speed and maximum arm pressure on the drills. He kills a drill bit every time.

 

[DaveL485]

I've tried many, many types and the Milwaukee ones for the money are very good, as long as you dont overspeed/overheat. I must have dimpled over a hundred spot welds with my current 2mm Milwaukee bit.

Bosch are also pretty good. As a general rule you get what you pay for.

 

[PhillipM]

Slow the drill down, more pressure, touch the edges up any time they dull slightly, and use lube. Bog standard cheap HSS drills will go through almost anything if you stick to that.

Personally I have a few cheap sets of HSS for most jobs and then a set of Clarkson-Osborne drills, tap drills and taps for proper engineering jobs.
I don't use carbide by hand, pillar drill at least, you just can't get rigid enough with enough speed to use them properly.

Most cobalt modified HSS drill bits can stand more heat, yes, but they also have thicker webs, so they need more pressure to feed - which makes them a waste in hand drills.
Always get split-tips for hand drilluse too.

 

[Chris Enright]

Pressure is important - without pressure the drill doesn't cut, it rubs and it's the rubbing that introduces all the heat.

Also for large holes in thin stuff I prefer a step drill - they always seem to get better results than trying to use a series of bigger and bigger twist drills.

 

[OssPoop]

I managed to drill a 10mm hole through a chunk of angle iron with a cheap ass b&q drill I've had 20 years. Pilot drilled 4mm and tickled it up on an angle grinder. Ran it slow and used a bit of WD40 for lube and it went through easy. As you can see it cut nicely with no vibration or chatter and didn't blunt or overheat. Expensive drills aren't needed if you do it right.