Home made drill bit jig

[Herman Trivilino]

Another issue is the small drill bits.  Those are the hardest to sharpen free hand, or I would imagine with any jig.  I know that's the case with the drill doctor.  The DBS-22 would be especially helpful to me here as the smaller bits are the ones I use the most.

[Ken S]

Herman,

I believe Leonard Lee has a wise thought about drill bits in his sharpening book.  He recommends purchasing high quality American made high speed bits.  They stay sharper longer. (He also happens to sell them, however, I believe his recommendation is solid and honest.)

The smallest bit I have sharpened with the DBS-22 is 3/8".  Next time out, I should try a 1/8" bit.  For bits smaller than that, I suspect Lee's advice is the best course of action.  Bits that small are more prone to breakage, so I would suggest purchasing more than one at a time.

Ken

[Elden]

Watch eBay. They come up  once in a while. The last new one went for $197 plus about $12 for shipping.

[Herman Trivilino]

Watch eBay. They come up  once in a while. The last new one went for $197 plus about $12 for shipping.

The thing about Ebay is I never know if those low prices are real.  I think they use that as a scheme to trick potential buyers into raising their bids.  I've seen stuff with really low prices, but then if I submit bids the price goes way up and at the very end goes for almost retail.  I wonder if there's really a buyer paying that much or if it's all a scam.

[Rob]

You could try using snipe software

[Ken S]

I would respectfully disagree.  Nothing personal, but I hate snipers.  I bought my planer jig on ebay.  I knew how much I would be willing to pay.  If it went beyond that, someone else would own it.  While there are deals on ebay, I believe a lot of people use ebay as a retail store.  (One often with new new product warranty)

Tormek gear is not rare. I have had more success being patient and waiting until my local dealer has a show and/or 20% storewide sale.  My dealer occasionally has 20% bag sales.  Anything which fits in their sale bags is discounted.  The bags will just barely hold an SB or SJ-250 wheel.  That's how I bought them.

The world is not yet totally out of the woods from the pain from the sub prime mortgage/ hyper leverage mess our dear Wall Street brethren gave us.  I believe tool merchants will have to continue to offer occasional sales to stay afloat.

Ken

[Rob]

eBay is a market place.  It's imperfect like many but I for one have bought literally hundreds of tools off it...many second hand and saved a small fortune

You just have to know how the game is played.

[Herman Trivilino]

What happens if there is already a sniper in cahoots with the seller?

[Rob]

You lose the auction..it's simple

However, there will be, much like the proverbial bus, another along in a minute. Because of the nature of the connectedness of the Internet.....another will always arrive. Patience is a good eBay skill if you want bargains

[Elden]

I would respectfully disagree.  Nothing personal, but I hate snipers.  I bought my planer jig on ebay.  I knew how much I would be willing to pay.  If it went beyond that, someone else would own it. 

That is the key, know how much you are willing to spend, then bid it. Let eBay do the rest for you. They are not going to charge you more than the next incremental bid beyond the 2nd highest bid if your bid is higher than theirs. All sniping does is to keep someone from increasing their bid in the heat of the moment. If you have bid the maximum amount you are willing to spend, it doesn't matter whether it is a regular bid or a snipe that comes against your bid. Either you or someone else was willing to pay the most and that person wins the auction.

Not everyone is like you Ken, some bid what they hope to get it for. That amount keeps increasing in regular bidding. Checking the bid histories on some  eBay auctions will verify this. Heat of the moment bidding comes into play. This happens at regular public auctions, as well. Sometimes, if you are not careful, you may go home with an item and say to yourself, "Self why did you spend that much on that?"!   So as you said, "I would respectfully disagree." I believe sniping is not all together bad. As a seller, I would prefer it didn't happen. However, it does and there are other ways of selling if it bothers me too much. As a buyer, it makes sense.

[Elden]

Ken, hopefully you hate sniping instead of snipers.

[Ken S]

"Hate the sin, but love the sinner."

I still prefer a  more out in the open and fair auction approach.  Even when I have placed a late bit, I try to allow several minutes to give other parties fair opportunity.  if I want the item more than the next guy, I will get it.  If the next guy wants it more, it's his.

In general, I have done better with Tormek gear when my local dealer runs sales.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

However, there will be, much like the proverbial bus, another along in a minute.

I once tried for several weeks to buy an expensive professional universal remote control (the MX-850).  The high bid showing was way below retail but in the last second I would always get beat out by a higher bidder.  I guess you could say I wasn't bidding high enough, but this went on for weeks before I finally gave up.  I believe it was a scam and no one was really paying those almost-retail prices for that remote control.

I have limited experience, so perhaps I should get some more and see what happens. 

[Herman Trivilino]

If you have bid the maximum amount you are willing to spend, it doesn't matter whether it is a regular bid or a snipe that comes against your bid.

I don't get it.  It seems as though you see no advantage, for yourself, in sniping.

[Rob]

That's taking being sporting to its logical extreme Ken. In an auction you re in competition after all