# CENTER DRILL COUNTERSINK



## JPigg55 (Jan 18, 2014)

Where's a good place to get CENTER DRILL COUNTERSINKS ???
Been looking on eBay, but the prices/sizes vary drastically. Nees them for my SB9.


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## TomS (Jan 18, 2014)

Any of the on-line tool suppliers are a good source for center drills.  Here's a short list.

Shars
Victor Machinery
Enco
Wholesale Tool
Msc
Graingers
McMaster-Carr

Prices vary as do shipping charges.  Have fun shopping.

Tom S


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## JPigg55 (Jan 18, 2014)

I know this is a loaded question just asking for the answer "It depends", but in general, what sizes/types do you find the most useful ???
My shop finally got to the point I can start making some chips, but looking through my tooling, I've found a few basic necessities missing.
Do center drills work as well in a chuck as a taper adapter ???
At least my lathe tailstock & mill both use the same MT2 taper so things like this would be useful on both.


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## Bill C. (Jan 18, 2014)

JPigg55 said:


> I know this is a loaded question just asking for the answer "It depends", but in general, what sizes/types do you find the most useful ???
> My shop finally got to the point I can start making some chips, but looking through my tooling, I've found a few basic necessities missing.
> Do center drills work as well in a chuck as a taper adapter ???
> At least my lathe tailstock & mill both use the same MT2 taper so things like this would be useful on both.



I alway chucked my center drills.  If I need to mount one in a tool holded I would grind a flat spot on the shank so the set screw could get a firm grip on it.


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## V31JoePalooka (Jan 18, 2014)

I have bought two sets of centre drills off of eBay from China. One was bright and the other not bright.  When I need to use one, I pay no attention to which and both perform well for me. I chuck mine up in my tail stock as well as used in my drill press.


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## dsh1001 (Jan 18, 2014)

MSC has a good selection of center drills. I always buy their Hertel cutting tools unless it is a special situation. Hertel is MSC's house brand. They are manufactured specifically for sale by MSC so the prices are usually significantly lower than the others. The tools that MSC sells that are listed with no brand name and are simply listed as "import" are usually not very good quality but are usually really inexpensive. If you have any connection with a business or (even better) an educational institution, you can get an even deeper discount.

On the subject of combination drills; most are 60 degree to be used for centers on a lathe, but you can also get 82 or 90 degree with the drill portion sized for specific clearance holes. I like these when creating a bunch of clearance holes of the same size where flat head screws are going to be used as fasteners.


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## BenjamanQ (Jan 18, 2014)

I second MSC for center drills, among other things. As for size I'd say I use a #3 more than any others. Now that I am building tiny engines I use a #1 and sometimes #0. It really depends on how big a drill you are going to follow the center drill with, or how much of the tailstock center you want holding the part.


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## Sharky (Jan 18, 2014)

I just picked up some KEO #3 and #4 center drills from Enco for just over $5 each.  
If you watch their promos you can get free shipping at least once a month.

As the others, I often chuck them in my tailstock chuck, but I got ambitious one day and built some center drill holders to match the MT2
works great on my little 7x10 when I need a bit more space on the bed:


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