The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest drill doctor

looks cheap, but it works great. I've got the 750 model that does up to 3/4 and it is easy to use after a little practice. I just used it on a fairly big metal project and it sure saved effort in the drill press.

thumbs up.

....so where did you buy it and how much was it. After 50 years I've about decided I can't live any longer without one...but the ones I see around here at a tat pricey for my wallet.

I've got a Darex V390 at work, a little more expensive/professional than some of the smaller ones but it sure does a nice job.
I've used some of the smaller/cheaper ones too and they also work well.

Grigg

yes, you can't do without Alvin, regardless of price! I got a DD500 at a Canadian Tire Christmas sale a couple years ago for under $50, have prolly save $100 in UN-purchased drill bits, resharpening even broken ones, not to mention the time not wasted using dulled bits .... see here for a US source that looks about best price

Bill

Thanks Bill, I checked out the site and see they have a sale on.
My nephew worked for years at a place he could keep our bits sharp but he changed jobs a couple years ago. I'm going to check with a local tool supplier that always gives my nephew a great discount on stuff. If its not good I think I'm going to have the girls get me an early birthday present from Drill Doctor!
Thanks again.

Alvin you will like it..with decent drills costing a bundle, it will pay for itself pretty fast.

Years ago I bought a Lisle drill grinder. I don't think they are made any more, but we have saved a lot of time by keeping bits sharp, and a lot of money by not buying bits. I think it is very important these days because good made in USA bits are getting hard to find.

i paid 80 bucks for mine and it has probly saved me 300 bucks in drill bits. i love my drill doctor!

Over the weekend I used my dad's Drill Doctor 350x model to sharpen up all my bits. It did take a little bit to get the hang of it, but not long. It makes a huge difference. It's amazing how nice a sharp bit is to work with. Only problem I had was I burned up my cheap little Skil drill. Of course, to be fair, the drill had about 18 years of use on it.

"After 50 years I've about decided I can't live any longer without one...but the ones I see around here at a tat pricey for my wallet."

Alvin, about 45 years ago I bought a drill grinding attachment and set it up with its own dedicated grinding wheel. It was great to be able to repoint dull drill bits.

Then I took a machining class in the evening at the local high school. The instructor showed me a very simple way to repoint drill bits freehand on a bench grinder. Only a simple stamped steel tool is required to verify that the flutes are ground at the correct angle and are of equal length.

Freehand repointing is so simple and quick that the drill grinding wheel only gets used to sharpen tig welding tungstens now.

You might want to learn and practice the freehand method before buying an expensive gadget.

yeah, I've had several guys(even shop teachers)try to instruct me on sharpening drill bits. I had one buddy who could do it better than the factories it seemed. I just can't do it, they are worse than when I started. I got a Drill DR for Christmas, it works great.

The old man and the boys at the boat yard could sharpen bits by eye, they probably learned using flint.

They could also sharpen a bow saw by hand, cut a field with a scythe and a variety of other things. Good salt of the earth stuff.

I suspect they would have used a Drill Doctor if available tho. That would have left time for other matters, although with 17 kids, that was probably enough time spent at one particular activity.

64fleetside, here's the "drill":

Hold the drill bit in your right hand (if you're a rightie) between your thumb an index finger and rest the point end on the index finger of your left hand which is resting on the tool rest of the bench grinder.

Orient the bit so that its chisel point edge will make a horizontal line of contact when it contacts the grinding wheel. Angle the bit up or down so that the entire length of the flute edge contacts the grinding wheel.

Now, without rotating the bit at all pivot the end of the shank to your right while continuing to support the point end of the bit on the index finger of your left hand. That sweeps the flute across the grinding wheel in an arc that creates the perfect clearance angle.

Now, rotate the bit 180* and do the same thing to the other flute.

It is an insanely simple procedure. I will be the first to admit that a little practice is required. After about 15 tries I was getting it right most of the time and now, 30 years after I took the machining class it's second nature.

I've demonstrated that to many people over the years and, without exception, they are surprised at how simple it is.

The nay sayers and gadget lovers will not even try it. But I can almost guarantee that if you give the technique I described above about 15 minutes of your time you will be a believer.

To me, even at age 66, a huge part of the fun of this hobby is learning new skills. In fact, in 2008 when my wife asked me to make her an aluminum competition dog cart I happly bought a Miller tig machine and took the same welding class that I took in 1967 to get my tig welding skills back. I now can weld aluminum and stainless steel whenever I want to. I just made some very cool aluminum headlight support brackets for my '32 Ford roadster street rod.