Is it worth buying a drill bit sharpener?

All I know is what I've watched Project Farm test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmr34sUFpK4

I swear half of my posts in this forum are links to Project Farm, but I do love his stuff. In this case, testing drill bit sharpeners. There are also lots of videos on youtube about manually sharpening a bit, though there's a bit of skill involved there.

High speed steel is an entirely good tool material, takes a good edge and can be very sharp. But since it's not as hard as other materials, it dulls faster, so benefits from being sharpened.

I have freehanded a few bits on my bench grinder and it makes a huge difference, but I've only done so on a spade bits and a bellhanger bit... all large bits that don't need to do more than hog rough holes in pine.

Since most of what I know about drill bits is what I just watched from Project Farm, it looks like even though sharpening makes a big difference, none of the sharpened bits were better than the factory edge. I guess it depends on how often and heavily you do drilling, i.e., as a generic handy homeowner, or do you have a basement machine shop as a hobby. For me it seems likely more effective to just buy a new set of bits for $20 every few years.

Yeah, I think it's like chainsaw chain.

You will have those that treat bits as wear items and just buy new ones, then there are the "sharpener" people who buy something to do the work, then there are those who do it free-hand.

I'm in the first camp. They're cheap enough that there's no reason to bother sharpening them, at the wear rates that most people will put on them. Or you can buy more expensive bits that hold an edge better (not HSS) and replace them less often.

I do sharpen my own kitchen knives though, because it is easy and makes a big(ger) difference.

AmigaPhreak said:

Yeah, I think it's like chainsaw chain.

You will have those that treat bits as wear items and just buy new ones, then there are the "sharpener" people who buy something to do the work, then there are those who do it free-hand.

I'm in the first camp. They're cheap enough that there's no reason to bother sharpening them, at the wear rates that most people will put on them. Or you can buy more expensive bits that hold an edge better (not HSS) and replace them less often.

I do sharpen my own kitchen knives though, because it is easy and makes a big(ger) difference.

Click to expand...

Well, on the other hand, it's not just that they're relatively cheap but even with the cost for a sharpener (or free hand effort), it can long term be cheaper. As well, you never 'run out' exactly, you just take a few minutes, get it back to sharp, and go back to using it. Otherwise you need to run out and buy a new one, or wait for shipping, rather than just starting to use immediately.

Also, you can consider that it's just some waste and contributing to the global issue of excess consumption and waste. Something else to think about.

Personally, if I don't have a belt grinder, I'd use a bit sharpener. Little makes a job more frustrating than a dull bit, besides breaking your only bit that size. A drill sharpener solves both, and with a little love from a machinist's stone or mill file, you can do the needful as far as rake angle adjustment or relief

I buy the cheap variety packs of HSS bits, toss them in a can when they get dull, when I run out - use a drill doctor. I used to free hand them on a grinder which would make them usable but I could never get the flutes even. Keep an eye out for drill doctors at estate and garage sales, people usually let them go cheap.

You can forget about sharpening ~1/16" bits for things like pilot holes, just buy those in bulk.

One neat thing you can do if you have broken bits laying about - hardfacing with a tig welder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVCs4T7uCg

If you are concerned about waste, steel is the most recycled thing on the planet. Lots of places to go with it and lots of people who will take it.

AmigaPhreak said:

If you are concerned about waste, steel is the most recycled thing on the planet. Lots of places to go with it and lots of people who will take it.

Click to expand...

Sure. But is HSS recyclable through the normal recycle channels? Or more likely than not most of us would just toss it into the trash, especially given how small they are.

Although a broken drill bit, yeah, I'll just go ahead and toss it and buy a replacement.

I did buy a good full index set of brad point drill bits, since the vast majority of my drilling is with wood, and I want to start getting cleaner edges and such. Plus a full index is handy to match for the indeterminate size bits for various types of screws/anchors/etc.

After just watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGbMQul6_Bc recently, I did decide to get the Dewalt step bit, for the rare times I might need to drill some metal or widen a metal hole. Damn thing goes right through armor plate too!

It seems virtuous to sharpen old bits, but I doubt it's economic for anyone doing production work - you would just roll the cost into the price of the product.

As an amateur carpenter, it seems even less likely - I buy a box o bits every few years and compared to the price of a plank of oak (when I'm buying ten), it's irrelevant.

Also, I have a great hardware store near me that sells fasteners and other ironmongery including drill bits loose. Want a single bolt? We got ya. Need to stock up on a few 1/8" bits, no problem. Need one 7/64? Grab one and we'll bag it for you although you should get another because you'll break it. Given that, drill bits, like Stanley knife blades, are just consumables.

I've used a few and decided it's a better deal to buy bulk packs (five or ten bits) in cobalt alloy for common sizes and two each of anything else as needed. I mostly order online but if you need something special immediately Fastenal, McMaster-Carr, MSC etc can overnight it for a price.

Most bits in a drill index see little use except for common sizes so buying bits for the task is economic and buying in quantity very convenient. I mostly drill steel and use small bits for pilot holes (the center of twist drill bits "crushes" the work more than "shearing" it) so packs of common sizes plus a few step drill bits works nicely for stuff I don't carry to the milling machine.

I scored a tool and cutter grinder to sharpen end mills and may do bits on it but that's a waste for most people and I mainly bought the thing to learn how to use one and make a few custom tools like piloted reamers. Most pro machine shops CAN sharpen their own bits and mills but usually send out the work and only for bits and mills worth the expense or for something custom they don't feel like doing themselves. Smaller bits are more hassle to get right and few hobbyist will do enough volume for a quality unit to pay off. There are better uses for the money like more small drill bits.

Belt grinders are insanely handy and I'd buy one before a bit sharpener, no contest. I have an industrial Rockwell belt sander but still want a couple of the small, cheap belt grinders because they're so versatile (and I can carry them). Unlike a drill doctor you can use a belt grinder to sharpen (and make) knives and put an edge on anything you can get next to the belt. The styles that take round sanding disks are handy if you've use for them but the belt is the most important feature.

I have two Wissota bench grinders, several angle grinders (which get MUCH more use than any other grinder and are far more versatile), a steel body Jacobs chuck tapped 5/8"-11 to fit my angle grinders (I should have done that thirty years ago and it's stellar for burrs and flap wheels), a Milwaukee 5196 die grinder (a wonderful beast for heavy use and worth buying used as they're easy to fix), a RotoZip (used as a much torquier "Dremel") and pneumatic die and angle grinders and still want a couple of small belt grinders. They need not be fancy or expensive. I would buy a belt grinder before a bench grinder, and a 6" (for the glorious thin kerf cutting wheels along with ability to run 4.5" flap discs and cup-style knotted wire wheels) angle grinder before either (but not for sharpening tools).

No matter what you drill with (manual, handheld electric, drill press, mag drill or milling machine) treat yourself to some machinist "center drill" bits which do not "walk" unlike twist drills and produce a countersunk hole to guide your subsequent drill bit.

https://www.shars.com/1-5-60-degree-m42 ... k-5pcs-set Shars make decent tooling but there are many sources. I'd spring for the cobalt alloy (I don't buy new HSS as it's not cost-effective for my use but someone working wood would be fine with HSS).

Any (non-radioactive, and recycling mills do check so don't toss your old radium dial alarm clock into your scrap bin!) steel is recyclable through normal channels.

For 5mm diameter, HSS + titanium coating is 2.50 per 2, HSS cobalt 5% 4.00 per 2, both are cheap enough to not bother sharpening it. Not sure the sharpener likes the 5% cobalt one anyway, it may be too hard, and the titanium coated one obviously loses the coating when you grind it off.

For pilot holes, I use 2mm HSS non coated drills for basically anything soft like wood and aluminium. 1.70 per 10, just throw them out when they dull. The HSS-Co ones are 9.77 per 10, need that for steel / stainless. Hmm, maybe I'll grab a few 1mm too with next order (1.81 per 2).

I really love having a Toolstation near me, their catalog have basically everything you need for a job and often (much) cheaper than any webshop.

1/8" cobalt jobber bits are $1.59 each at MSC. Just buy a ten pack of whatever you're using most and not worry about it. Most drill sharpeners don't do a very good job anyway, unless you get the several hundred dollar ones.

I'm more inclined to learn to sharpen for those late-night-only-drill-near-the-right-size-is-so-blunt-it's-a-ball-end situations.

Joe Pieczynski - drill bit sharpening on youtube

TBH it's more of a personal interest thing though - at work we buy half decent (dormer, presto) coated HSS drills.