Drill Bit Set Info!

[seagiant]

Hi,
I have for years threatened to break down and buy a decent 115 pc. set of good drill bits!

Well I finally did it today as I found a decent price on a good reviewed "Norseman" made drill bits.

Enco had "Triumph" drill sets on sale a few days ago and I missed that! The 115 set was $179!

I searched the WEB and found the Norseman brand set for $180 which I believe are just as good and comparable,USA Made and have good reviews.

This is really a decent price as these sets usually go for $300+! Oh yea the Norseman comes in a HOUT made case that actually works unlike the Chi-Com ones!

Just thought I would pass this on for anyone interested! http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/DrillBitSets/J-115.html

[jonas302]

Saved the website lots of USA made tools

[seagiant]

Hi Jonas,
That is suppose to be a family owned business from the 60's! They do have a good rep on carrying mostly USA Made tools at a fair price!

[bangerjim]

Looks to be a quality set. I bought a similar one 10 years and never looked back. Paid in the $250 range back then. If they are really GOOD drills, you can cut yourself on the flutes......all the way back to the shank! Now that IS sharp. I only use them for precision drilling in my lathes and mills. NEVER in a handheld abortion. I hate to see a shank of a good drill chewed up beause some bumbling clown let the drill shank gaul in the chuck jaws in a stupid hand drill.

I have never had to sharpen any of the drills and they get used a lot in soft and hard metals.

"Ya gets whats ya pays for!"

I have 2 HF sets of nitrided garbage I use for rough drilling and hand held drills!

banger

[seagiant]

Looks to be a quality set. I bought a similar one 10 years and never looked back. Paid in the $250 range back then. If they are really GOOD drills, you can cut yourself on the flutes......all the way back to the shank! Now that IS sharp. I only use them for precision drilling in my lathes and mills. NEVER in a handheld abortion. I hate to see a shank of a good drill chewed up beause some bumbling clown let the drill shank gaul in the chuck jaws in a stupid hand drill.I have never had to sharpen any of the drills and they get used a lot in soft and hard metals.

"Ya gets whats ya pays for!"

I have 2 HF sets of nitrided garbage I use for rough drilling and hand held drills!

banger

Hi,
That is a good point! This set will be to give me any size bit I may need to drill holes for taps and other special jobs, and as you say I need to use them for mill and lathe work only!

A word of caution when you look for a set. Do a good search as I have seen the same sets of drills vary as much as $100 in price from one dealer to the next! This was the best price I could find on a nice set of bits at this time!

[W.R.Buchanan]

I was lucky enough to work for an outfit that filled my drill index for me... I bought a new one minus the drill bits for about $25.

I have that index full and the only time I use it is when I need a long drill bit that is not in my big chest.

Having a complete set of drills is a basic set of tools for the machinist.

Just remember when you break one of screw it up you need to replace it immediately or else next time you need it, it won't be there.

Randy

[seagiant]

Hi Randy,
Why I have put off getting a good full set of bits all these years is a mystery! I knew a guy that worked at a machine shop and he would give me the worn out bits and I would throw them in a bread pan and when I needed a bit would get my caliper and find what I needed and sharpen it on my DD!!! Yea not to smart!

Fastenal,carries Norseman bits which is down the road from me so if I break one I know where to get a replacement,but their Norseman sets are high priced (to me)

[bangerjim]

The Drill Doctor is an excellent investment! I use it to re-sharpen my cheap HF drills all the time.

What it does is "split-point" the drills. Especially nice on large Silver & Deming drills.

But......a drill should really only cut on the outside of the flutes. A machinist ALWAYS step drills any holes for precision. Never drill a big hole blind!!!!!!!! I always step no more than 3/16" at a time in soft stuff. Less in hard stuff. On precision holes the last is completed either with a boring head in the mill or a boring bar in the lathe.

But the "Doctor" is a very nice tool for the average guy sharpening and re-pointing drills. It uses a diamond wheel to do the sharenning, just like a Darex! No way can 95% of us can get a perfect grind on BOTH flutes by hand on a bench grinder. A correctly sharpened drill will produce identical spirals of waste on each flute!

Have fun making chips in the shop! And ALWAYS use REAL cutting fluid.....not motor oil, WD-40 or 3-in-1 oil.

banger

[merlin101]

That's a good price on good bits. I have many MANY odd ball (to me)drill bits from when I worked in a machine/welding shop. The machinist wouldn't bend down to pick up a dropped bit from the floor! They said "if it hit the floor it's damaged" They sure were good enough for me to pick up while sweeping the floor. That was 30 years ago and I still have a lot of em. yep ya get what ya pay for and sometimes ya don't have to even pay:)

[seagiant]

Hi,
Thats the first model of the DD and they don't make that one anymore. I bought that one LNIB from E-Bay. I like it better than the ones out today although nothing wrong with what they make today. It is modeled off the $1400 DAREX that I really wished I had!!!

[flylot]

Thanks so much for the link. I am always on the lookout for good tools at reasonable prices. Good drill bits are worth every penny!

[Blanket]

When I went into my apprenticeship as a toolmaker I had to buy my own reamers and drills and they were Union ButterField, still have them and they are still in good shape. That was 30 years ago Russ

[seagiant]

When I went into my apprenticeship as a toolmaker I had to buy my own reamers and drills and they were Union ButterField, still have them and they are still in good shape. That was 30 years ago Russ

Hi,
In my search I did a lot of reading on drill bit quality and what was the best bang for the buck. I even looked into import bits but the problem is that although there are good import bits ,how do you know which ones?

The import quality (Chi-Com) is nothing steady and really no brand names? What was good yesterday is not so good today! Really uncertain and confusing!

The good news is if you stick to "Made in USA" from the usual suspects you are assured pretty much of quality. The next trick is to get the best deal and the 115 pc. sets run from $40-$1200!

You would think drill bits were easier than that!

[Any Cal.]

A relative gave me a set, it has been hugely useful. Considering the cost, it isn't likely I would have learned that on my own...

Mine are assorted, but the index is close to full. It has some less expensive bits in it, not sure of what they are, but they work fine too for small jobs. For repetitive work or difficult stuff the nicer bits are much better, and usually sharp from the start.

[georgerkahn]

I have several sets of number, letter, and fractional bits I have been using for 40+ years; I very recently noticed something: To wit, a #27 bit snapped on me, and I was lucky to have shank stay in drill press, with broken part in workpiece. No problem, I chucked in another #27 bit, and it seemed a tad smaller. Huh? Using my Starrett .0001 micrometer, I found the new labeled #27 bit is ~.00015 smaller than the #27 it replaced. I grabbed a 3rd #27, and it was just about equal sized between the two. My point -- if there is one ;) -- is since then I use the number/size on the drill as a GUIDE, and the micrometer to elect the bit I actually will be using.

[pjames32]

Enco has been a good source for me. They do label which products are USA made. They also have the "cheaper" stuff. Anything I buy ofr long term use is USA. YMMV
PJ

[seagiant]

Enco has been a good source for me. They do label which products are USA made. They also have the "cheaper" stuff. Anything I buy ofr long term use is USA. YMMV
PJ

Hi,
Yes! Their USA Made drill bits are now made by "Triumph" which are suppose to be excellent! There are also imports made by others beside China, (Japan,Taiwan) that are suppose to be good also.

You can buy a 115 pc. drill set for $40 but I knew I would not be happy with that!

[akajun]

I have had very good luck with the Hertel brand from Enco, they drill very accurate sized holes and are sharp.
BTW, I dont like to buy the big 115 piece indexes, they are too bulky. I keep all my "good n sharp for important stuff" in the smaller Letter, Wire, and Fractional indexes. That way I only take out the series I need, and they fit better in the tool box.
I also have some of the Huot Drill cabinets for my older, "Dont give a darn just need a hole bout that size" drill bits with burred up shanks or too much wooble in them. I just cant bear to throw them away.