Any possibility for a larger drill bit holder?

[Papa Woody]

I have a DBS-22 that I've been using for the last 9 months or so on my T-7 and I gotta say, my smaller drill bits are very sharp. I do a lot of large hole drilling on my lathe using Silver & Deming bits up to 1-1/2" in size which are too large for the DBS-22 bit clamp. It seems to me a larger drill bit clamp that uses the existing slide guides could be done. Please Tormek, consider making this as an add-on to the DBS-22. Call it a DBS-44 Magnum. My large drill bits need sharpening love too...

[Rob]

Yes I like that...."The DBS-44 Magnum, Chinook, Elephant Drill Buster"

[Ken S]

Welcome to the active forum, Papa Woody.

It would be interesting to know the factors which went into Sweden's decision to set the bit diameter range from 3 to 22 mm (1/8 to 7/8"). That range seems quite large for one holder to cover. A clever machinist could probably make holders for both smaller and larger bits to work with the jig. I am sure Tormek could,too.

In my opinion, the reason this has not happened is cost and market size. The present DBS-22 is, in my opinion, the very best of the Tormek line. It is well designed and machined. The grinding results are very accurate and consistent. It is anazingly versatile. It is priced accordingly. The price is fair, but high enough such that it will never become part of typical Tormek kit like the knife jigs. A Magnum version would cater to a much reduced clientel at a much higher price.

All that being said, I believe a good local machinist could make up a larger holder to fit the jig for you. You would probably not need the four facet capability, as I would think you probably start your holes with a smaller center bit.

This is interesting topic. Do not forget that the present forum jigs for small knives began as a posted question. Do keep us posted.

Ken

[Papa Woody]

Thanks Ken and Rob,

I'm kinda hoping this plants a seed in the minds of Tormek and if you don't ask, you'll never know. Is the large drill bit market a limited size market? Absolutely! But those of us of the large drill bit persuasion need to sharpen up once in a while  .

I was imagining a simple stand alone larger clamp as an optional add-on to the DBS-22 that would use the same adjustments and slide mount as the DBS-22 clamp. Sadly, I know, new design and tooling costs, etc...

Could I have a machinist CNC me a custom job? Sure, but knowing the guy who has done some fabrication for me in the past, he'd probably charge me more than the T7 cost. I'll just wait and see if Tormek makes it happen.

Ken, you are right, I do step drill my holes up 1/16" per bit up to the desired final hole size. It's always better to peck those holes open a little bit at a time to not overwork the drill bit, keep the hole straight and not mess up the project.

Again, thank you for your help. The Tormek T7 is by far the best product I have purchased and I have had a great time using this excellent machine. Reading your posts has helped me tremendously learning the fine points of sharpening the Tormek way. I picked up on drill bit sharpening with the DBS-22 rather quickly using the great videos but still find that no matter how well I have the technique down by the end of my drill bit sharpening session, I still have to go back to the videos the next time to refresh my memory...(how did I do this again???)

-Ted

[Ken S]

Ted,

You have some interesting ideas. My initial thinking, like yours, is all that would be involved is a separate, larger top section. Other difficulties might arise, but I don't foresee them at this point. i am glad you suggested the possibility. I hope Sweden notices it, although I would be very surprised to see any action on it (too bad).

If you decide to pursue the prototype path, I would suggest beginning with a very simple one size, non adjustable first prototype. You might even be able to use a very easily machined material such as plastic, wood or aluminum. This would not be built "for the long run", but only to determine if the idea is workable.

Once you know the idea is workable, work could proceed on a more durable, precise and adjustable model. I am just thinking off the top of my head here; you might fine it ore practical to split the range into two units, say 15/16 to 1 1/4 and the larger 1 5/16 to 1 1/2". (I don't know.)

Several years ago Robin Bailey made up a universal support with more height to be able to sharpen cleavers. He had a local machine shop make up one for him. He offered to take orders from the forum. If he had received ten orders, he would have had them made up. Sadly, he only had one interested person (me). We missed out on a useful accessory. Unfortunately, I suspect you might have the same luck with the forum if you suggested making enough units to lower the cost. You are the first person in my knowledge to mention sharpening Silver and Deming bits.

The 22 mm maximum diameter seems logical for much of the market. Perhaps Stig might post the factors which went into Tormek deciding upon the 3 to 22mm range.

i wish you the bet of luck with this.

Ken

[RickKrung]

As a newbie and as part of my character/penchant, I have been reading as much as I can of what has been discussed. Multiple reasons, but years ago my daughter correctly identified my affliction.  "Serially obsessed hobbies".  I'm actually a pretty normal guy, except for the SOH (hopefully, he said). 

To the point. Papa Woody asked for a jig for larger drill bits, but got no satisfaction.  Later, in an unrelated post/thread, Jan posted about not having the drill sharpening jig and how he made his own (Simple Jig for Drill Bit Sharpening, Jan. 6 2017). In the latter, it was discussed how that jig could be used for sharpening drills of almost any size. 

This seems a good solution for Papa Woody's predicament, assuming he could fabricate, or have it done, Jan's simple jig. 

Rick

[Jan]

My simple jig for drill bit sharpening is described here https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3226.msg18859#msg18859

I have not tested it with larger drill bits, but hope it will work also. It may be good to use the Tormek Tool rest instead of the scissors base.

The thread Sharpening counter sinks may be also inspiring (see my reply no. 29). https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3218.15

Jan