Having bought my T8 and using it to sharpen my handmade knives using CBN wheels and paper wheels to incredible edges I thought it about time I utilised the T8 in order to sharpen my drill bits.
I have gotten into the habit of throwing away blunt drill bits and buying new but that's obviously wasteful.
So are there any jigs I can make for sharpening drill bits please?
I know I can buy the Tormek jig but for the amount of drills I sharpen it would not be a viable option where costs are concerned.
Thanks
Pete
Pete,
The DBS-22 is an amazing jig, and I would urge you to look at drill bit sharpening differently. Now that I have this jig, I sharpen my drill bits more often. The sharper bits give me some very amazing benefits:
- It takes less work to use them, resulting in more safe use of the drill bits. This was never was a huge problem, but it is very noticeable how much easier it is to use a sharp bit.
- With less pressure used, the drill bit does not heat up as much. Controlling heat is a critical with some work.
- And as it cuts better, I have had fewer broken bits. A broken bit can be annoying, but it typically also makes the piece being drilled to be lost.
- A sharp bit also cuts smoother, particularly for burl woods. This has resulted in less "blow out" as the bit exits from the piece, making my work results better.
In addition to that,
- I can reshape the drill bit angle quickly, giving me the ability to re-use older bits for other functions. One such example is the bit I reshaped from 118° to 90° as I needed a bit for drilling holes for flat head screws (https://www.mcmaster.com/screws/flat-head-screws/hex-drive-flat-head-screws/alloy-steel-hex-drive-flat-head-screws-9/).
Yes, resharpening the bit is good, but having the ability to always use a sharp bit with the right drill point geometry is an awesome benefit.
Rich
I would add to Rich's comment that cheapo drill bits, when properly sharpened with the DBS-22, cut way better than they originally do. I had a whole series of blunt drill bits bought at the french equivalent of Home Depot, I converted them to 90° with the relief angle, and they now serve often in drilling polycarbonate and variopus plastics. The holes are clean as can be.
Cheers,
Nick.
Quote from: Peter Eaton on May 21, 2021, 02:32:17 PM
So are there any jigs I can make for sharpening drill bits please?
Yes, there is. Jan, no longer on the forum, made one. As I recall, he was able to accomplish a four facet point. See the following links.
https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3226.msg18859#msg18859
https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3226.msg26866#msg26866
https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=4149.msg29183#msg29183
Notice that Jan said that with
careful work the four facet could be accomplished. I am sure that the DBS-22 makes it more accurately and easily done.
Elden
Thanks for the replies .
Yes I would love the Tormek Jig but at the moment I just cannot afford it so in the meantime just looking for a way of 'bringing some life' back to my drill bits.
Many thanks
Here's what I made using Birch plywood and machined on my CNC. It can easily be made with a table saw also. It's set for 118 degree bits, and I can do the 4 facets also. It works reasonably well, and the greatest challenge is setting the bit alignment, which has to be repeated to get the other side of the drill. I can provide more details if required.
BTW, this is my first forum post. I've only had my T8 a couple of months, but I'm learning fast.
Thanks for all your replies gents.
On average how many drill bits would be reasonable to sharpen in an hour. I am considering getting am T8 for custom knife sharpening business. Could drill bits be profitable?
In my experience, drill bits are sharpened very quickly on the SB stone (the contact area being small, and the jig very well done). So I'm not sure the question is how fast you can go, but rather "how much are people willing to pay", given that standard new quality bits are in the $5 range. It would take a connoisseur to want a 4-facet grind, and there probably aren't that many people around you with costly bits who want them sharpened.
I'm afraid Nick is right. Many people use relatively cheap drill bits, often in complete sets. Although a single bit is sharpened quite quickly, sharpening a whole box of bits still takes some time. (I've done that with several assortments I have around here). It's well worth it, but if you'd charge a realistic sum for your time, it might easily exceed the purchase price.
I see another problem with having to refuse brad point or masonry bits all the time and having to explain that.
If someone has ever offered sharpening drill bits as a service, how are your experiences? I'd really like to know, maybe I'm too pessimistic.
As for the time it takes to sharpen drill bits: You can sharpen a lot of 6mm drill bits in an hour, but you will spend quite some time on a 22mm bit, especially when re-shaping it for the first time. The latter is easier to adjust with the naked eye, however. ;)
Mike
And you'd have to not only charge for your time but also for recouping your investment in the DBS jig and the SB/CBN/Diamond wheel that you'd be using for that, the SG stone being helpless for HSS bits.