A DECENT DRILL SET

Drill Hog and Norseman are what I buy. I think they are made in USA.
 
Guys have had pretty good comments about the Harbor Freight 115 pc. cobalt set. Most of my drill bits are Cleveland with a couple of Viking/Norseman thrown in. I have some cheap supposedly HSS bits too; those don't fair too well drilling stainless. The Norseman, no problem.

Bruce
 
mksj said:
I would buy a mainstream brand not made in China, such as Norseman, Cleveland, Triumph, Chicago-Latrobe, etc. I would recommend 135 degree split point, I have a set of jobber length, but I mostly use a mechanics/stubby length because they are stiffer and less likely to walk. Common sizes that I use often I buy backup drills, also those that are frequently used for tapping. The Norseman Magnum have held up well, I like their drills and they are reasonably priced. Example: https://www.emisupply.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2202

If you are using them for a hand drill then some have flats that prevent them from turning in the chuck, but if used in a mill, then I prefer them in a round shank. I use both keyed and keyless chucks and do not have issues with the drills spinning in the mill chuck vs. hand drills which seem to have poorer chucks. I keep a separate set for hand drills because they tend to damage the shanks.
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Good advice, above.
Buy a good set, sharpen bits over 3/8 (just my opinion) and replace broken small bits from McMaster.
That’s my 2 cents.
I didn’t pay much attention to drill bits either until I needed to drill a hole in steel :)
 
BGHansen said:
Guys have had pretty good comments about the Harbor Freight 115 pc. cobalt set. Most of my drill bits are Cleveland with a couple of Viking/Norseman thrown in. I have some cheap supposedly HSS bits too; those don't fair too well drilling stainless. The Norseman, no problem.

Bruce
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I have a cobalt set that works very well but they will shatter on you from time to time.
 
I have a full Drill Hog set of fractions, letters and numbers. They work fine, but there is no valid indication that they are made in the US.
 
I picked up a used set of Dormers (made in England), as well as a new shorty set of Drill Hog.

Both sets are much much better than the generic Titanium junky ones I had been using.

Ability to really dial down the speed on the drill press for large bits really helps as well.
 
I have been using a set of Harbor Freight drills for 25 years now. When I break one I replace it with a quality drill. I usually buy a single size in a pack of 10 (for the smaller ones at least). I am too cheap to pay for a bunch of high end US drills in sizes that I will never use. I just have nice drills in the sizes that actually get used.

P.S. I believe there are two common cobalt steels used for drills. M35 (5% cobalt) and M42 (8% cobalt). My understanding is the M42 are harder and will perform better on really hard steels BUT are more brittle making them more likely to break. I believe M42 is NOT recommended for hand drills.

I also understand that drills come in two standard lengths, jobber length and mechanics length. The mechanics length drill bits are shorter and have less flutes per inch than the jobber length making the mechanics length bits stronger and less likely to break... i.e. more suitable for hand drills but still good for drill presses and mills. My understanding is that when comparing the cross sections of jobber length and mechanics length drills the mechanics length drills have more steel, the jobber length drills have deeper flutes so less steel.
 
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I also have drill hog bits. They are warrantyable. I have return one 13/16 and only because I drilled through about 3 feet of steel 2” at a time.
 
The warranty is for snapped bits, did you break one?
 
Nope it still cut actually. I wanted to see if they would honor the warranty. I had just bought the letter set, 0-60 number set and 2 of the 13/16 for a job. Only used one throughout the job and like said wanted to see the process. I did have to pay shipping there but they paid back and got the exchange. Win win in my book
 
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