Which Drills to buy

[Dgrose]

I need to buy some drills (I understand you are not supposed to call them drill bits). I was looking at drill sets rather than individual drills. They have inch/metric. Also have drills lettered from A-Z and some listed as wire size. There are jobber drills and screw?? drills. Some sets are $100 and others are $800 dollars for 115 pc sets. What is the consensus on buying drills. Should I go with regular shiny HSS split point jobber 115 pc set for $800 or go with something cheaper?

 

[T Bredehoft]

I bought the three sets, fractional, letter, and number shortly after I began my apprenticeship. That was just about 50 years ago. There are some I haven't used yet. There are some I've replaced over and over. If I'd kept a list of drills I had to replace, I'd give it to you gladly and save you LOTS of money. Now I'm replacing them by buying six of each as I run out. (I'm primarily using smaller than 1/8).

I guess what I''m trying to say is...."Buy the ones you need, one or two at a time. Spend what you need for them, if you need solid carbide, buy one, if not HSS is adequate for most operations."

 

[Shootymacshootface]

I bought the cobalt letter/number/fractional drill set from Harbor Freight and do not regret it one bit. I dont know how they could be any better at the price they sell for. They stay sharp and do not brake easy.
Absolutely stay away from the hss drills that they offer, unless you will only be using them for wood. The hss from them are only worth whatever the scrap guy will give you.

 

[benmychree]

I would buy a set of fractional and a set of number drills of good quality, hopefully USA manufacture. Don't bother with letter drills so far as a set is concerned. Aside from a few (letter drill) sizes for tap drills, they don't get used much; review tap drill sizes and buy only those you are liable to need.
Jobber drills are generally what you want for ordinary work, screw machine drills are made shorter than jobber drills. Split point drills are nice, they are able to center on smaller punch marks and do not skate around like regular points, but are more difficult to sharpen without special equipment, although they can be carefully sharpened by hand.

 

[ThinWoodsman]

As above, go for one of the 115-piece cobalt sets that are (usually) under a hundred bucks. Replace with Vikings (or equivalent) if/as they break.

Also, if just learning/starting out, get a set of stub drill bits (a set of up to 1/4" will run fifty bucks or less). You'll break fewer of them during the learning period.

 

[mikey]

I call drill bits drill bits all the time, mostly because that's what they are.

• I would buy them in sets because you never know what you'll need; machining isn't just about tapping.
• I would buy them in this order: wire size, fractional and then letter size. I use them all.
• I would opt for 135 degree split points if you can, although the typical 118 degree drills work for most things.
• Buy good drills from good makers; cheap Chinese drills are not worth the money. PTD, Triumph, Chicago-Latrobe, Cleveland, Dormer are a few good ones that I own. There are many others
• Screw machine drills are better for accuracy. They are shorter, stiffer and give you more room to work.
• Include spotting drills in your search. Buy them to suit your drill geometry. If you go with 135 degree drills, buy a 140 degree spotter; if you go with 118 degree drills, use a 120 degree spotter.

I have jobber drill sets and a 115 piece set of screw machine drills from PTD and this meets most of my needs.

 

[Cadillac]

Check eBay the brand is drill hog. There made in America great prices and they are lifetime warranty no matter what. I have them and no complaints.

 

[stupoty]

I call drill bits drill bits all the time, mostly because that's what they are.

it feels like an in joke I'm not getting

I like having a selection and have of late dedicated one small box to drill press use and one to hand drill use , i have done this because of the ease with which drills can get bent in a hand drill.

Stu

 

[gerritv]

I have a collection of drills from SKF, Dormer and no-name. The no-name ones from a 118 set I am regrinding to 135° four facet, fixes the poor grind on some of them. For smaller work (<6mm or 1/4")I much prefer a good quality set of metric drills in .1mm increments over the number/letter/fractional drills.
You will find that the 135 ones wander less, often I don't need a center punch/spot drill for those.

 

[NCjeeper]

Check eBay the brand is drill hog. There made in America great prices and they are lifetime warranty no matter what. I have them and no complaints.
View attachment 312822

X2. I have them also and they work well.