I made a Mess Today

Your drill wandered off center for several possible reasons: Did you center drill the hole first? Was the drill ground freehand a little off center? Was the drill a little bent?(you can chuck the drill by the shank in your chuck and run it to see if it wobbles.

When starting a drill,if it wobbles at all,it will not drill a centered hole very deep. I stabilize drills by putting a blunt ended tool against the side of the drill with the tool post holder as it begins to drill. Carefully push the drill sideways until you get the wobble out of it. DO NOT push it past center. You frequently can find even new,USA made drills that have a bit of curve to them,especially in the smaller sizes,though I have seen 1 1/2" drills that are badly curved. They leave scored sides in holes they drill.

Go read my useful tips listed at the top of this column. It's at the top under "Important threads"(or something like that).
 
I will probably make myself real unpopular with my next statements, but so be it. I always suggest that guys not waste their money on import drill bits, in particular anything up to 1/2". I know very well that quality USA brand bits cost a hefty sum for a home shop guy but they are worth the extra money spent if you ask me. I paid dearly for new USA sets of fractional, number, and letter bits. My thinking was I will spend the extra for quality bits once, take real good care of them and they should serve me well.

As for larger silver and demming bits I found a USA set in it's case that were dull in a pawn shop cheap. I paid a few bucks and had them sharpened by a service and they too have served me well.

My point is, generally speaking with end mills, lathe cutters, and drill bits take the hit and pay the price to buy the good stuff then take real good care of it. The difference is worth it. If you do it right you will only buy them once and down the road you will know you made the smart decision.

Some import tools and tooling are worth investing in but cutting tools are not on that list.

That is just my 2 bits.
 
I would NEVER recommend Asian drill bit sets. All kinds of things can be wrong with them. Some of their sets only harden the common fractions,like 1/4",1/8",etc. They think that the average USA house repair guy will only ever use the most common fractional sizes,so they leave the in between sizes soft.

Bite the bullet and buy a DECENT set of USA made drills,and I DO NOT mean Irwin. They are imports. Do not buy Vermont American at the hardware store. Most of their stuff is carbon steel,not HSS. Make sure that any drills you buy have HSS stamped on their shanks. I have bought nice USA number drill sets from MSC for a reasonable cost. Cobalt will cost a lot more. I don't find them necessary for most of my work.

The trouble with Asian end mill sets are that some are sharp,and others of the same sets will not be sharp. They work o.k. if they are sharp,but are more brittle than USA HSS. You have to be careful to not over stress them. Their TIN coatings may be so thin you can see through them!! I have seen coatings that thin!! You never know what you are going to get when you order those 10 or 20 piece end mill sets. Dull or sharp,you never know what you will get!!
 
Thanks for all the replays,that's what I have is only the Vermont American and for once I want to purchase a decent set at the 100.00 mark so I will be on the look out---KaroKaro
 
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