Sharpening drill bits with the Sharp maker

Cereal_killer

Cereal_killer

Joined
Apr 4, 2013
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Does anyone have any tips or pointers for sharpening drill bits on the SM? Drill bits have always been consumable to me so the idea of sharpening them sounds like a easy money saver (I go threw tons of bits).

I've watched a couple of videos but they're pretty basic "watch how I do it" without really explaining their technique much.
 
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Also while we're talking about sharpening drill bits what methods do you use for small ones (ones that are to small for the SM to work on)
 
I had a job in a small factory that used close to 90 autodrills and 1 of my tasks was to sharpen the drillbits nightly. You get fairly proficient at hand sharpening or buy a LOT of drill bits daily. A dual wheel bench grinder was all I had to sharpen on,one fine wheel and one extra fine wheel. After the 1st thousand bits you get the skills needed LOL
 
See if you can find a darex drill sharpener or drill bit doctor from a machine shop that is going under. I can do it with a bench grinder but the results are hit or miss. And I've been a machinist for twenty years. Keep in mind I'm trying to drill a hole within +-.002

Doing it with a SM? A big no thanks on that one.
 
Ive used the drill bit doctor, It does not do such a good job IMO. Id use a grinder before that. You can get a clone Cobalt set these days for under 100$. For the 120+ bit set.
Id rather just buy a new one, same with expensive router bits. They are disposable tools to me. Which sucks.
 
I do prefer the old school darex Sharpener. It gives you a lot more options, but can be a little tricky from bit to bit.
 
blame it on god said:
I can do it with a bench grinder but the results are hit or miss. And I've been a machinist for twenty years. Keep in mind I'm trying to drill a hole within +-.002
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That's a good point. When I worked in my father's garage during school I learned to sharpen bits on our bench grinder, but then I was just trying to drill holes in soft steel to put bolts through them. It's not hard to sharpen a bit on a bench grinder, but it is unlikely that you would get a very symmetrical point that way. And a nonsymmpetrical point might affect the precision of the hole.

Small bits you could probably sharpen with the sharpmaker stones if you didn't have anything better. Clamp the bit in a vise and use the stone like a file. Maintaining the proper angle will be tough and when sharpening a bit, angle is everything.
 
I am also a machinist. I also would recommend picking up an actual drill grinder if you want to sharpen your drills. Notice that both of the machinists are giving the same recommendation.

I would recommend picking up a nice drill grinder from eBay - I have a Black Diamond BW-80 which is very nice. I can grind drills by hand with a bench grinder and get them to cut pretty close to size, but it takes a lot of practice and it also takes a lot more time than using the dedicated drill grinder.
 
I have been a machinist/mechanic for over 45 years. Sharpening bits on a bench grinder was one of the first things I was taught. My foreman made me show them to him and he would just say try again. Sometimes letting me know what was wrong. It takes quite a bit of practice to do it this way. Ferrous and non-ferrous material as well as stainless vs. carbon steel etc. need different angles. Different edge so that you don't pull into the material is also necessary so that the hole is the right size and you don't get hurt. What I am saying is if you don't get instructions and practice often the best way is to do it with a drill sharpener. If you know what you are doing I found that I can sharpen a bit faster by hand then the time it takes to set up the drill in the sharpener. Like sharpening a knife by hand it takes practice. The bits under 1/8" are getting harder due to my eyes and age.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys.

Another reason I'm wanting to learn is I have a local tool store that has huge bins of used drill/router bits and end mills for $1/each so of I can learn to sharpen them well I could really save a lot of money buying expensive bits for a buck a pop and sharpening them back up to like new.
 
Cereal_killer said:
Thanks for all the advice guys.

Another reason I'm wanting to learn is I have a local tool store that has huge bins of used drill/router bits and end mills for $1/each so of I can learn to sharpen them well I could really save a lot of money buying expensive bits for a buck a pop and sharpening them back up to like new.
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You might already know but make sure the bits say HSS if you intend to cut metal. Carbon steel bits are the bottom of the barrel as far as quality and cannot take the heat when drilling steel. HSS have been hardened above the hardness of most steels including SS and perform much better. Cobalt is V.G. for stainless but should be sharpened different then normal bits.
Good luck as it's a nice feeling that you can sharpen your own bits then buying new when they get dull. When I started I made them worst then when they were just dull.
Ron
 
Cereal_killer said:
Thanks for all the advice guys.

Another reason I'm wanting to learn is I have a local tool store that has huge bins of used drill/router bits and end mills for $1/each so of I can learn to sharpen them well I could really save a lot of money buying expensive bits for a buck a pop and sharpening them back up to like new.
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Drill bits are easy, but even straight flute router bits require some pretty specialized equipment to do them right.
 
Yeah, don't be expecting that you're going to be able to sharpen endmills and router bits with a bench grinder. Not gonna happen.
 
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