Wow, that is one serious write-up about drill sharpening.Check out John's page, he has a lot of info on the subject.
http://www.gadgetbuilder.com/DrillSharp.html
There is one in this in, "Milling For Home Machinists' also by Harold Hall. I have an extra copy if you would like it Elmo?
"Billy G"
You could not find it because it is a video, unless he has a blog page as well.I just spent a half an hour looking for an article I had read recently about drill bit sharpening. I did not find it!
Anyway, from my (known faulty) memory, they compared a Drill Doctor against the older "side of the grinding wheel" type like this:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32965&cat=1,43072,43086
The reviewer started out believing the Drill Doctor would do a better job, but then by the end of the review was leaning toward the grinding guide.
I have never used either one of those so cannot add my voice.
I too would be interested in seeing plans.......but there is no way I could make one for less than the link above......and I am sure they could be had cheaper...that was just a vendor that I knew carried it.
-brino
Thanks Josh!You could not find it because it is a video, unless he has a blog page as well.
I agree with you about the wheel. That is the wrong type of wheel. Need a thick cup or face wheel. Those wheels are designed for that type of grinding.You could not find it because it is a video, unless he has a blog page as well.
Worth the time to watch, he gives it a fair shake and gets an unexpected result.
In short, the Drill Doctor is not especially good. I know I can free hand grind drills much better than a Drill Doctor and I suck and grinding drills.
My only issue with grinding jigs is they use the side of the wheel. I would invest in one of those mini bench grinders with a cup wheel from Horror Fright to go with it. Just attach it all to a board and stow it under the bench when not in use. You might have to get new wheels, but the Chinese diamond wheels are surprisingly good and cost almost nothing - I would go that route for cheap wheels rather than Chinese silicon carbide. A Norton wheel will prolly cost as much as the grinder...
Best thing is really to just learn to freehand it. I can get mine razor sharp and all, they just do not make a perfectly even chip on both flutes.
Search for That lazy Machinist on YouTube, he does a an excellent tutorial on drill grinding.
-Josh
Regular wheels are not intended to be used on the side. They have a bad habit of exploding when this is done. Trust me, an exploding grinding wheel has a really big pucker factor. You kind of stand there for a moment waiting, hoping you are not in shock and there is no pain. Then you have to go sit for a while, and reconsider your life choices.One question, why don't you like using the side of the wheel? Is it because you cannot really dress it flat then use it without eventually wearing the wheel into a funny shape?
I agree. The drill doctor like any consumer grade tool requires some learning to get the most out of. Setting the bit in the chuck is very critical and also how you turn the chuck requires a sort of rhythm. I've had the DD500SP tradesman(the tall green one) since 2003 and find it does an excellent job. If I don't get two equal swarfs it means I screwed up. I have used it to sharpen drill bits from 5/64" to 1/2'. Practice is the key. Before I used to hand grind all my bits, but as I got older my eyes and hand coordination became less acute. The DD fixes my oldtimers disease. I still hand grind the larger drill bits, but I may pick up another general tools grinding jig and try it out again. Just my opinion.The video maker seemed to be a newbie at using a Drill Doctor. After using one for years, I find its strength is the little bits like 5/32" to 5/16". Anything larger than 5/16" is pretty easy to free hand with grinder with a bit of practice. The Drill Doctor excels at the smaller bits in my opinion.
cheers
michael
I have had no luck with the Drill Doctor at all. I bought the 750x and have carefully followed the instructions with little success. The tolerances between the chuck and the body are too lose. Even with very careful use the results were hit and miss.The video maker seemed to be a newbie at using a Drill Doctor. After using one for years, I find its strength is the little bits like 5/32" to 5/16". Anything larger than 5/16" is pretty easy to free hand with grinder with a bit of practice. The Drill Doctor excels at the smaller bits in my opinion.
cheers
michael
I would agree with that. Took our instructor at the college about 20 minutes to teach 11 of us out of a dozen students. We were given 1/2"x4"long bits and told "Watch, just like this."I just use a 6" grinder and hand grind all my drill bits
I do have a new drill doctor still in the box with the VCR tape. My father In law gave to me.
I have found some shops will not hire any that can not hand sharpen drill bits.
It is not hard to teach any to hand sharpen drill bits take about 10 min
Dave
I started with the side grind type ,poor results.Not blaming the tool,maybe it was me. I then bought the 350 Drill Doctor which is the least expensive one.Been using it about 8 years,replaced the stone once.I screwed up a couple of drills while getting the hang of it when I first bought it.Sometimes I have to hand grind a bit more relief after initial grinding with the Drill Doctor.There is another type of jig that uses the front of the wheel,haven't used it but a friend has and switched to the Drill Doctor after trying mine.I just spent a half an hour looking for an article I had read recently about drill bit sharpening. I did not find it!
Anyway, from my (known faulty) memory, they compared a Drill Doctor against the older "side of the grinding wheel" type like this:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32965&cat=1,43072,43086
The reviewer started out believing the Drill Doctor would do a better job, but then by the end of the review was leaning toward the grinding guide.
I have never used either one of those so cannot add my voice.
I too would be interested in seeing plans.......but there is no way I could make one for less than the link above......and I am sure they could be had cheaper...that was just a vendor that I knew carried it.
-brino
Thank you very much for posting this, this will keep me busy for a while!Check out John's page, he has a lot of info on the subject.
http://www.gadgetbuilder.com/DrillSharp.html
Mark,I grind all new drill bits I get on it before I use them. I also feel four facet ground bits work a whole lot better than the conical grind.
THIS IS MY OPINION on drill grinding.
Those look great. This is how grind my bits. Even new ones I find are off as much as .005" off center. I regrind them to 4 facets, right on center and they drill with a lot less effort, really close to on size and no walking.Mark,
If you get the chance try out these bits, they are 135 degree 4 facet split point bits, you can get them from enco individually. They cut through everything like a hot knife through butter.
http://shop.triumphtwistdrill.com/Product/viewitem/?Style=T1HD
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