DBS-22

[Mike Fairleigh]

In case anyone has been holding out, the drill jig is $50 off right now on Amazon.


I dont have one, and have been on both sides of the fence with it, but thought I'd pass it along.

[Ken S]

Welcome back, Mike! It's good to hear from you again.

That is a good price on the DBS-22. With my limited shop time, I have not used mine very much. It does an amazing and very versatile job sharpening drill bits. Make sure you read the topic posted by Elden in drill bit sharpening about modifying the jig.

Ken

[cbwx34]

Wish I had the need for one... never seen one in person, but always thought that it looked like a cool piece of machinery. 

[RichColvin]

I use mine often.  Very easy to use & fast.

Rich

[Ken S]

Rich and CB bring up a very relevant point. Rich needs the DBS-22; CB does not. Yes, CB, the DBS-22 is indeed a cool shelf decoration. For most of us, Leonard Lee's drill sharpening advice applies: Buy quality US made HSS bits.

Every Tormek owner needs a TT-50 truing tool. It is a necessity; it should not be an option as the T4 is marketed. The regular knife jig and a square edge jig should be considered almost universally useful. Beyond that, I think the scissors jig and conversion to Herman's platform is generally useful. Turning tool jigs for turners and carving jigs for carvers.

Speaking from personal experience, I bought some jigs I have never used, and, some of the jigs I have eventually used Tormek has replaced with improved models. It isn't just about cost. I have never quite been able to buy an ax jig. Why? I don't have an ax!

CB, the DBS-22 is a fine jig if you really need it. If you don't, a better investment is in learning, with something like Tormek's woodturner info box or Steve's Sharpening School DVD. I would a very recent addition to that list. I just purchased the software program from knifegrinders.com.au. (That's Wootz of our forum.) It is a fine program for knife sharpeners at a very fair price. I will post more about it soon.

Ken

[RickKrung]

The DBS-22 jig is the primary reason I bought a T8.  I have four drill index sets that I will work my way through as they need it.  Knife sharpening was secondary, but so far has been the majority of the use.  I even sharpened one of the disposable box knife blades, just to see if it could be done.  Sharpened (repaired actually) a chisel that had been so badly abused it looked like a screwdriver. 

Rick

[RichColvin]

Rick,

My father-in-law once used one of my chisels to open a paint can.  Even my wife was appalled.

From that point on, I made sure he had a paint can opener nearby !!

Kind regards,
Rich

[RickKrung]

I've had that chisel (my only one) since the 70s and it survived pretty well.  Until a year and a half ago, when I was getting the house I'd lived in for 39 years ready to sell.  My hired help was awesome, but brutal on my tools.  It bothered me at the time, but I made enough of a killing on the house I was able to overlook it.  That is also what made it possible for me to buy the T8, so it has worked out much to the better. 

Rick

[Ken S]

Rick,

With four indexes (indices?) of drill bits, I think you are a prime candidate for a DBS-22. Fifty bucks off a new one and free shipping sounds like a good deal.

Ken

[RickKrung]

Already have the DBS-22 and as previously stated (somewhere) it was the prime motivation to buy the T8.  Somewhere else, I posted about the drill bit holding device (I think on the drill sharpening forum), as being exactly like the holder I used on a friend's high speed specialized two-facet drill sharpener.  That is what caught my eye and it was over as soon as I read about the four-facet grind possible on the Tormek.  The other deciding factor was when I realized the Tormek was the very same machine that was being used by the guy I took my knives to for sharpening.  Double wammy. And then there are all the other tools that can be sharpened...

As I mentioned in a PM, my plate is very full right now, so I've only sharpened two drills, 1/2" and 5/8" but I love the results.  Have only used the 5/8" in wood so far and cannot say I've noticed a difference.  Hoping to use them in metal soon, but as others have mentioned, centering such a large drill in metal is not usually an issue as I use center drills to locate the hole and work up in increments to the larger diameters.  Takes time, but it is easier on the drills, which results in not having to sharpen as often ... also part of the reason the drill index sets are holding up well with the two-facet grinds. 

Rick

[RichColvin]

Rick,

I found that the sharpened drill bits caused less blowout, especially on burl wood.

Kind regards,
Rich

[Ken S]

Rich,

Before we get too far away, The story about your father-in-law and the paint can gave me a good laugh. It may also explain the paint on many old chisels.

You also bring up an important and overlooked point, the condition of the "exit wound". There is more to intelligent hole drilling than just how quickly the bit cuts through metal or wood.

Rick mentions our most prevalent difficulty with sharpening drill bits. We, certainly including me, buy this wonderful DBS-22 drill bit jig with great expectations, and then only sharpen a few drill bits. Rick, if I may use you as an example with no intention of picking on you, if you methodically worked your way through carefully sharpening all the bits in your four indexes, you would have a very solid skill base with the DBS-22. Using it would be no more difficult than sharpening a chisel. If you included a commensurate amount if serious time in studying drill bit geometry, you would be expert.

I just realized that I should have used impersonal pronouns. Rick, with your tool and die background working with your father, you probably already have this skill.  So, if someone were to put in the study time..........

One of the outstanding strengths of this forum is having a number of active members who are highly skilled in math and science. Their contributions have been invaluable. We are also blessed with some very experienced and innovative knife sharpeners. We have a considerable experience pool of veteran sharpeners who have worn out several grinding wheels over the years with their faithful SuperGrinds.

We also have a shortage of skilled turners, carvers, and sharpeners of planer blades and drill bits. We do have a few, but they are mostly non posting. I wish we had more members who are skilled machinists. We have the math/science innovations. We don't seem to be able to retain those with the machine shop skills to put those ideas into more general practice.

In my opinion, the DBS-22 is Tormek's most advanced jig. Used with knowledge and skill, it is incredibly versatile. In spite of its costs, quite a number of us own one. We just have not dedicated the time to use it enough to become fluent with it. (Please prove me wrong.)

Ken

[RickKrung]

You also bring up an important and overlooked point, the condition of the "exit wound". There is more to intelligent hole drilling than just how quickly the bit cuts through metal or wood.

Rick mentions our most prevalent difficulty with sharpening drill bits. We, certainly including me, buy this wonderful DBS-22 drill bit jig with great expectations, and then only sharpen a few drill bits. Rick, if I may use you as an example with no intention of picking on you, if you methodically worked your way through carefully sharpening all the bits in your four indexes, you would have a very solid skill base with the DBS-22. Using it would be no more difficult than sharpening a chisel. If you included a commensurate amount if serious time in studying drill bit geometry, you would be expert.

I just realized that I should have used impersonal pronouns. Rick, with your tool and die background working with your father, you probably already have this skill.  So, if someone were to put in the study time..........

One of the outstanding strengths of this forum is having a number of active members who are highly skilled in math and science. Their contributions have been invaluable. We are also blessed with some very experienced and innovative knife sharpeners. We have a considerable experience pool of veteran sharpeners who have worn out several grinding wheels over the years with their faithful SuperGrinds.

We also have a shortage of skilled turners, carvers, and sharpeners of planer blades and drill bits. We do have a few, but they are mostly non posting. I wish we had more members who are skilled machinists. We have the math/science innovations. We don't seem to be able to retain those with the machine shop skills to put those ideas into more general practice.

In my opinion, the DBS-22 is Tormek's most advanced jig. Used with knowledge and skill, it is incredibly versatile. In spite of its costs, quite a number of us own one. We just have not dedicated the time to use it enough to become fluent with it. (Please prove me wrong.)

Ken

With experience in drilling, there comes a sense of when you are about to break through and backing off on the rate of plunge and bracing the quill against plunging as the drill exits, which goes a long way to minimizing adverse breakouts. Using a backing material similar to that being drilled is also an excellent way to minimize breakout, but that isn't always possible or practical.   

There is a also a sense of how much pressure to apply during drilling, the nature of the chips, sounds, etc.  Yes, I have developed those senses and skills.  I have also learned to work my way up incrementally with large holes in metal, particularly steels, which goes a long way toward preventing dulling and breaking. 

The major hindrance that I have had for doing more drill sharpening is family related, with lots going on in my household.  I'll get around to it, but that is what I've been saying for several years about getting on with bamboo fly rod making in my retirement. But then came the granddaughter, and the game was over.  No regrets.  It will still be there when she gets into school and gets older and doesn't want to spend as much time with Grampa 

I have no problem with you using me as and example. The DBS-SS jig and becoming aware of multi-facet drill grinding are compelling reasons to own and use the Tormek, for me at least.

Rick

[Mike Fairleigh]

I'll say this: I've owned three Drill Doctors now, due to my weakness for needing to have the latest & greatest.  The current one is a DD750X I believe, and the previous one was the 1st-generation (tall-ish) 750.  I should have kept that one, it worked great.  This latest one is junk afaic, always leaving either neutral or even negative relief grinds, especially on larger bits.  A quick search will show that it isn't just me; there are countless complaints about the same problem, with suggestions from the manufacturer which are either ineffective or are ridiculous workarounds, or both.


This is why I'm reconsidering the jig.  However, what I'd really like to do is develop the skill to sharpen drills manually on a bench grinder.  There are guys out there who are artists at doing it, and it seems to me that such a skill would "set me free" from the processes, limitations, and costs of single-purpose jiggery.

[Ken S]

Mike, I agree with you. A well rounded sharpener should be able to sharpen by hand as well as by jig. I remember a situation when a small woodturning parting tool needed to be sharpened. The sharpener fumbled with it; it was just too small to fit in the jig. It would have been a very quick, easy job to rest it on the universal support.

I routinely sharpen my pocket knife freehand. I try to keep my hand sharpening skill level at least "fair to middlin'".

I was one of the few telephone men who filed my long bell hanger drill bits. (Bell hanger bits are a holdover from wired door bells. The bits have a hole where the end of the wire could be secured and pulled through the hole when the bit was removed.) A DBS-22 would have been a real pleasure for that work.

Ken