Drill press/bit recs

K

Kennuf

Joined
Dec 10, 2019
Messages
19
So I got a standard Ryobi drill with some standard titanium bits that are all now broken. Can I get away with not using a drill press or spending boucoup monies on fancy bits?

Just some bored dude in his backyard messing around on a budget.

Thanks
 
Kennuf said:
So I got a standard Ryobi drill with some standard titanium bits that are all now broken. Can I get away with not using a drill press or spending boucoup monies on fancy bits?

Just some bored dude in his backyard messing around on a budget.

Thanks
Click to expand...
What are you drilling into? I ordered some Mac cobalt drill bits that costed an arm and a leg, needless to say, they left a lot to be desired. So far, my $30 set of Irwin drill bits are the best I have used. They last quite a while when drilling into annealed steel and they can be resharpened. However, you will find that a lot of folks on this site are firm believers in Norseman cobalt drill bits.
 
I can't remember ever having a broken drill bit, let alone several

Get the smallest cheapest drill press you can find on used buy sell / craigslist sites.

Stay away from hardware store drills, they are usually cheap carbon steel.
You want HSS, high speed steel. If it does not say that, it's shirty Chinese carbon steel.

No bits are made of titanium, that's just the coating and that's just marketing wank


You want to learn about letter and number sizes, drilling on size doesn't work.
 
TheEdge01 said:
What are you drilling into? I ordered some Mac cobalt drill bits that costed an arm and a leg, needless to say, they left a lot to be desired. So far, my $30 set of Irwin drill bits are the best I have used. They last quite a while when drilling into annealed steel and they can be resharpened. However, you will find that a lot of folks on this site are firm believers in Norseman cobalt drill bits.
Click to expand...
Just drilling pin holes in my blades etc. I was having to put all my weight on the my drill to get anything done at all on some D2 I've been working on. It is my first go with making knives and this is my first hang up.
 
12345678910 said:
I can't remember ever having a broken drill bit, let alone several

Get the smallest cheapest drill press you can find on used buy sell / craigslist sites.

Stay away from hardware store drills, they are usually cheap carbon steel.
You want HSS, high speed steel. If it does not say that, it's shirty Chinese carbon steel.

No bits are made of titanium, that's just the coating and that's just marketing wank


You want to learn about letter and number sizes, drilling on size doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Well now Im all sorts of worried Im more lost than I thought lol. I was getting absolutely nowhere drilling pin holes with my setup. Was having to put as much weight on the drill as I could- thus the breakage. Idk if a bit problem, drill problem, me problem, or some lovely mixture of the three.

Nice shout on the HSS, will make sure to look out for that
 
I have a few Dewalt and Milwaukee sets of the ti-coated ones from big box stores. I had most of them before I started knife making. Since I started knife making, I've been buying a handful each in the sizes I use the most (3/32, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4) from McMaster Carr, because they specifically state that they are high speed steel. I've been buying the "black oxide" ones. I am not an expert in this, I just figure McMaster is probably a reliable source and if they say "high speed steel", I trust them more than some name brand ones from a big box store.
 
Hss drill bits do the job. Here in Europe I use Bosch, inexpensive and they cut long before resharpening.

Check the work speed for the drill size you are using. You might be work hardening that D2.

Second shout out is masonry bits which are also inexpensive. They must be carbide tipped and should be run at high speed (with hss you want to go slow).
 
Also, how strong is your hand held drill and can you set up the speed on it? You should probably stick to smaller pin size, like 3mm or so.
 
Are you drilling after heat treat? If so, regular drill bits will get trashed.
 
Kennuf said:
Just drilling pin holes in my blades etc. I was having to put all my weight on the my drill to get anything done at all on some D2 I've been working on. It is my first go with making knives and this is my first hang up.
Click to expand...

My guess is that either it was not annealed, or you drilled too fast, put in too much heat and work hardened it.

Try carbide burrs and open up the drilled holes past the hard spots
 
As previously mentioned, get a cheap drill press. The 8" press at harbor freight is about $65, and run it at it's slowest speed. It will do what you are asking, and more. Mine died last week after nearly 20 years.

Quality drill bits are necessary, but even a hardware store brand should drill though many annealed knife handles if you use gentle pressure and maybe a drop of any type of oil to cool the cutting surface. Too fast of a speed or too much force will create enough heat to harden your metal or damage/burn the cutting edge of the drill bit. Cobalt bits without TiN coating seem to be the most economical for me in the long run, although they are more pricey than generic High Speed Steel (HSS) bits.

I purchase cobalt bits from MSC Industrial Supply. Mostly Cleveland-Latrobe or Cleveland brand.
 
Cobalt bits. Drill press on slow. Light pressure. #30 for 1/8, Letter F for 1/4. (I forget what the 3/16 counterpart is) You can order them by the dozen from Amazon.
You don't need a whole set, just get the 2 or 3 sizes you need for your pin stock or fasteners.
Use light pressure.. If you're not getting long curly chips while drilling, stop and figure out whats wrong before you work harden the steel.
 
1) buy $55 drill press from harbor freight
2) adjust pulleys to slowest speed
3) buy any name brand hss bits (even the cheapies I get off Amazon are ok, as long as they’re hss)
4) moderate, even pressure, lubricant if needed.

my guess is you’re running your drill way too fast and work hardening the steel. The drill press will be one of your most useful tools in your garage if you continue to make knives.
 
A few thoughts
- can you post a picture or link to the drill press?
-have you changed the position of the belt on the pullies? if you open the top of the lid of the drill press, the pullies and belt will be exposed. What speed is it on. There is usually a chart on the drill press that maps speed to bit size and material. For steel, you want slower speed. This is why a typical drill press for woodworking doesn't have many speeds. But one for metal working has a lot more and much slower speeds
-what are you drilling into? Mild, annealed knifemaking steel from a reputable supplier? 1084
-some steels even from suppliers, like 15N20 are difficult for me to drill, so much that I go through an annealing process before trying.

I have searched here before on drill bit recommendations, below are some brands that have come up several times. What I would recommend is to identify the main pin, thong hole diameters you want to use. I'd order the pin stock first and then use calipers to measure their exact size. Then go to a drill chart and find a drill bit size that is one step bigger than your pin size.

Also using cooling fluid is helpful

For example:
1/8 = .125. #30 is .1285.
5/32 = .156 #21 drill = 0.159
3/16 = .1875. #12 = .189 Or, #11 = .1910
1/4 = 0.25. size F = 0.257

Brands that I have seen come up as recommended:
Norseman drills
Suncoast Precision tools
Gold edge cryogenic - smith tool supply
Heller tools
Walther brand
Atlas cutting tools
Chicago Latrobe
OSG
Metal removal
Bad dog tools
Drill bit city - reground tungsten carbide
 
With the right drill press (no flex, wobble, run out), speed and feed rate, using normal black HSS-R bits isn't an issue. I use them for some of my tang drilling, without lube or coolant, with no problems.

With less control of speed, feed rate and worse drill press construction, I would say the more dependent you are on heat and wear resistant bits.
 
What you are drilling into? Why don't you give Diamond drill bits, a try to drill tough and delicate materials?
 
If you’re drilling tool steels, you want slow speed, good, consistent pressure, and some good cutting lube.

Buy a cheap drill press. Keep an eye out on marketplace or your local classifieds. People get rid of drill presses all the time.

Cheap bits are a false economy. You don’t need a $650 drill index, but you can’t get a set of 115 bits for $20 and expect them to be worth a crap. Search for cobalt or hi-moly. It might be easier to search the “m” numbers: M35, M42, etc... M2 is regular HSS. It’ll drill tool steel too (if it’s a quality bit), but it won’t last as long.

Cutting oil doesn’t have to break your wallet either. Forget all the “specialty” oils and little pocket sized tap magic bottles that cost $150 per gallon. Get some sulfurized cutting oil from the plumbing section at your local big box hardware. It’s $20-$25 for a gallon and will likely last you the rest of your life. Get a little squeeze bottle or a little can with an acid brush. Glue a magnet to the bottom and stick it to your drill press.

Lastly, learn how to drill steel and what to look/listen for. Ex: If the chips are turning blue, your bit is getting hot and likely dulling. If your squealing like a banshee it’s rubbing and not cutting. Feeds and speeds are key for cutting anything, but especially tool steel.

Proper technique will be the difference between drilling 100 holes with a bit, or 0.

Your drill press quality can also affect your results as well as the learning curve, but most newer drill presses (or a well cared for older model) should be fine for most basic drilling needs.
 
I have regularly said, "You don't need 64 bits in 1/64" steps. You need five or six each of three to five bit sizes. From there you can expand to a few second pass drills, like ones one size larger to make pins clear the tang easily. 1/8", 3/16", and 1/4" will do 90% of mostr knife drilling tasks. Add a #33, a #12, and an F bit and you will have most things covered. Get a multi pack of each from an industrial supplier like Grainger or McMaster-Carr.

I really like the 3-flute HTC carbide bits, and have them in 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, and 5/16. Not cheap up front, but take care of these and they will last many years.

Also, learn to sharpen bits. A drill Dr. is a wise investment that pays for itself - assuming you don't burn out all your bits by overheating them by trying to replace good cutting parameters with more force.

Kennuf - If you had filled out your profile I (or someone else) could have offered to send you a box of drill bits. I probably have a couple thousand assorted HSS bits of varying quality and condition you could re-sharpen (some may be brand new and unused) . I seen to be a tool magnet and keep being given things like drill bits from closed shops and peoples dad who died, etc. I may even still have a drywall bucket of them a pawn shop gave me. A flat rate box would hold a lot of bits.
 
Over the years I've simplified even more than Stacy has suggested. I only buy two size bits, a #30 for 1/8" pins and a F size for 1/4" lanyard tubing. I have adjusted all my knife patterns to just using these two size holes. I'll buy 10 at a time, (I like the shorter screw length #30s) and maybe 5 of the Fs from MSC. All hss of course. Although I can, I don't resharpen the bits. For me and how I work and the price I can get them for at MSC and the amount of holes I get out of each one (hundreds) it would cost me money to sharpen them. I think I pay like a buck and a little change for each #30. Say I make 50 knives with one #30. Not worth it to me to sharpen them. I sold my Drill Doc at a yard sale.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top