After spending hours drilling 4 small holes in a couple of pieces of angle iron, I need new drill bits, I wore out my Dewalt bits, any suggestions?
I can't figure out if old bed rails are hardened steel but I could not drill through them to save me, I ruined several bits before I finally got them hogged out big enough for the bolts. I don't have the time to spend doing something like that, that should have taken 10 minutes tops
Buy a drill bit sharpener, you will never regret it! I bought the smallest drill doctor years ago & love it! The only time I ever buy bits now is oddball sizes that I dont have,but that is rare. It is so much easier to drill with a sharp bit & it only takes about 10-20 seconds to sharpen one after you do a few. it will sharpen up to 1/2'' bit. any bits I have bigger than that I drill with a 1/2'' first so I don't wear out the bigger ones as much.
If there is harder steel than a bed frame; I haven't seen it. That stuff is wicked.
66 Cyclone GT; 245/60R15's on 15x8's and 215/70R15's on 15x7 Magnum's.
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poboyjo65 wrote:Buy a drill bit sharpener, you will never regret it!
Well my bits were brand new, now some are broken and all of them are dull. They would only cut at first for a short time (3 seconds) before I stood there just burning them, it was one of the most frustrating things I have done in a while, it put me in a foul mood and I am hardly ever in a foul mood So maybe a drill sharpener would revive some of them
I will never use that steel again if I need to drill holes, there is just a little short piece left anyway.
Lip Ripper wrote:If there is harder steel than a bed frame; I haven't seen it. That stuff is wicked.
I don't see how it could be worse than a leaf spring, which will just laugh at you for trying,more of a squeal even with a drill press.
Mike I'll put broken bits on a grinder to get the rough shape, otherwise you'll need to re position it in the bit sharpener many times & unnecessary wear on the grinder wheel on the sharpener. I have never had to replace the grinding wheel but I have always did the pregrind on broken bits. I learned this using a 10,000 dollar sharpener with a built in microscope. with it you could get small bits under 1/4'' as good or better than new.
I adopted a rule years ago that if I was planning a drilling project I bought new bits for the job. Titanium last longer I think, I use a drill press as much as possible for consistant angle and pressure, I use slower speeds and keep it lubed and use step up drilling on most things a 1/4 or bigger but in the end it can still be very frustrating on some pieces. AND yes bed frames and leaf springs are a biotch reguardless how you do them.
lavron wrote:I see Dewalt and Irwin have Cobalt bits too maybe those would be better, I need a new set of titanium bits now too
See Ya,
Mike
I like the cobalt bits and feel they work better for me than the titanium. Are you using cutting oil?? Using a cutting oil or any oil will help, a lot. When drilling holes I always start with 1/8" and work my way up to whatever size I need, use a lubricant and don't force it.
I had to drill some 7/8's holes for cowl lights on a street Rod few weeks ago. Didn't want to spend a lot of money for a good 7/8 bit just for two holes. So I bought a cheap step drill from HF that went up to 7/8, been using the crap out of it for the last few weeks and it has held up pretty good, for like 4 bucks (might have been less) I will buy another when this one wears out. The step bit kind of impressed me
I use to run machines that drilled thousands of holes per day. over 100,000 holes per week. we used regular high speed bits. compared to most they stayed sharp longer or just as long & much cheaper if kept cool. cooled by liquid. keeping the bit cool is key to its long life. we would resharpen them until they were too short. if you aren't using a coolant just go slow, stop & let the bit cool off some, the hole will get drilled quicker in the long run, especially if it's more than one hole.Kevin you're wasting a lot of money buying new bits every time, if you drill a lot, & you should have a pretty good collection of dull bits by now.
stuff your own stocking this christmas ! I guarantee anyone who drills much at all will love it!! https://www.amazon.com/Drill-Doctor-DD3 ... ill+doctor
Tally hole!
lavron wrote:After spending hours drilling 4 small holes in a couple of pieces of angle iron, I need new drill bits, I wore out my Dewalt bits, any suggestions?
I can't figure out if old bed rails are hardened steel but I could not drill through them to save me, I ruined several bits before I finally got them hogged out big enough for the bolts. I don't have the time to spend doing something like that, that should have taken 10 minutes tops
See Ya,
Mike
my cobalt from matco are 10% not the 8% that they sell at lowes.......it also depends on the cutting oil you are using. I found one site where
they use a cutting paste.I also learned as a fab. assistant that you don't go full bore. do it pulses. it saves the bit. even if you are using a drill press.
Keeping bits sharp, keeping them cool while drilling and avoid tempered steel they last a whole lot longer. having a machine to sharpen them is probably a good idea. I have never had one of those as I just use the wheel on the bench grinder and do them all by eye. Learned how to do that many years ago so it's quick and easy to keep a sharp edge on my bits. I generally buy decent quality bits and they do quite well. I find the cheap bits from HF not to be very good and don't hold an edge real well so I only use those on simple and less demanding metals.
Ron
I have a Drill Doctor I love it. However I do know how to sharpen drills by hand. I had to learn it when I went to Dunwoody. The best way to make drilling easier is to use pilot drill s . If you are drilling say a 3/8“ hole pick a pilot drill just a hair under the center web or chisel point of the larger drill. A smaller drill can run at more RPMs than the larger drill. And the force pushing on the drill will be greater per Sq inch then when you go to the larger drill you won’t have all the heat and resistance of the chisel point working against you.
Only use the brakes to stop and get gas.
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poboyjo65 wrote:I use to run machines that drilled thousands of holes per day. over 100,000 holes per week. we used regular high speed bits. compared to most they stayed sharp longer or just as long & much cheaper if kept cool. cooled by liquid. keeping the bit cool is key to its long life. we would resharpen them until they were too short. if you aren't using a coolant just go slow, stop & let the bit cool off some, the hole will get drilled quicker in the long run, especially if it's more than one hole.Kevin you're wasting a lot of money buying new bits every time, if you drill a lot, & you should have a pretty good collection of dull bits by now.
stuff your own stocking this christmas ! I guarantee anyone who drills much at all will love it!! https://www.amazon.com/Drill-Doctor-DD3 ... ill+doctor
Tally hole!
Thanks Johno, I always wanted one of these and just ordered it.
Your welcome big Al! Mine is an older model , that one looks like it has improvements. If you drill much at all you'll love it. NO ONE cannot sharpen a very small bit on a grinder nowhere near as good as it will, or any size bit for that matter. If I break a bit,I do a lot of it on a grinder ,then true it up on the d.doc. I use to hate to drill metal but not any more!
Like stpro, I use more than one bit. 3 or 4 bits,keep stepping up in size, for a 1/2'' hole or bigger,depending on thickness of the metal. just makes it easier & faster & easier on the bits, you can drill more holes without stopping to sharpen bits. I dont use cheap bits but I dont get the fancy ones either, just usa made high speed bits. I haven't bought any in years except a certain oddball size if I don't have it when I need it.
So maybe a drill sharpener would revive some of them 
even with a drill press. 
