Drill Doctor ???

[Buffalo]

I'd appreciate any thoughts & experiences regarding the Drill Doctor Products or any other drill bit sharpening tools, out there.



Do these things work, as advertised, or are they just a gimick?



Most of my drill bits are not of the highest quality (Costco brand). Is it worth buying a Drill Doctor that is much more expensive than the drill bits, themselves?



I noticed that the Drill Doctor uses diamond cutting wheels. Some of the other brands, I've seen, just use stone wheels. My experience, owning a dental lab, has been that diamond stones last much, much longer, than regular stones.



There are a number of Drill Doctor models available. Is any one the "Best" value for around the house use. The more expensive ones will sharpen up to 3/4" bits. The website is drilldoctor.com.



Thanks.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[WDixon27]

i have the 750 and it can do a good job but it may take a few trys to get the tip centered, not quite as easy to set up as they say, i use colbalt bits and buying new ones is too expensive

 

[DieselTweaker]

I love them, some of the best money you can spend to keep your drill bit's in good shape, and plus the time you will save on your work.



I use colbalt bit's as well very very expensive and it only take's a few mins to bring an bad bit back to new, or even better!

 

[Dieselnut59]

I have had a 3/4" capacity one for several years and have been very happy with it. I got the extra stone when I got it and have never had to use it. I have sharpened close to 100 bits, I would say. It is a good machine, but a little tricky to get used to. It sharpens just about any bit well, although not quite as well as a new bit, in my opinion. Another good point about the Drill Doctor: It is made in USA... . Hard to find just about anything with a power cord that can claim that these days, unfortunately!

 

[BTighe]

there made about 15 miles from where i live but ive never used one.

 

[LarryM]

It's one of the best tools for the shop. I have used the dickens out of mine over 5 years now, never changed the wheel and it does a great job. I can't tell the difference between a sharpened bit and a new one. It is a little tricky to get the first one done like the other guys said, but it won't take long before you get great results. It's a good machine. Get the 3/4 inch job, it's more versatile and you never know when you will need the larger sizes. You can't go wrong. Enjoy

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

I used one last summer while drilling stainless steel. Had to redrill some bolt holes in the share of a mule drawn plow. Couldn't find a Chatanooga hillside plow share anywhere - hint, hint .



So, took a close second fit donated from Gene's tractor sales out of Atlanta, GA - great folks!!! Jason filled the holes in the cast share with stainless steel rod while in a sand box. The fill was so incredibly hard that it took many many many resharpening of some top dollar titanium coated bits to redrill the holes in the new location. Couldn't have done it without the ol' Drill Doctor. First time I've used one and, imho, they definately do the job.



Of course we've yet to here from the "free hand sharpening on a grinding wheel" folks.

 

[sstefanini]

I use a steady hand on a bench grinder to sharpen all my bits. They always end up being sharper than when I started with them. It takes a little practice and they don't always look pretty when they're done, but they get the job done. I wish I had a Drill Doctor though.

 

[Nate]

It's "OK". I wouldn't really praise it, though it does ok. I have the bigger one, 750 I think. Does up to 3/4" I think.

 

[Buffalo]

Thank You, VERY MUCH, for all your reply's. Very informative!



I was trying to drill into a stainless countertop & could barely scratch the surface with my drill bits. Had to go to ACE Hardware & buy a high dollar bit, which, really did the job. What a difference!

Then, the other day, I saw an "infomercial" on the Drill Doctor & that's what prompted my questions.



Thanks, again, for your help & I hope you all have a great Christmas & Holiday Season.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[2-ND TIME]

Sharpening drill bits

Well here's another hand sharpener. The big trick with stainless is to flood it with coolant to remove the heat. If I have much stainless to drill I do change the tip angle. Just do it by hand unless you have lots of them. The trick I use on them is put them on the side of the stone and (Lightly) touch them on the side produce a few sparks and do the other side evenly. If you are unsure of the contact surface try it with the wheel not spinning. Then start from the new cutting edge to the tail end 3 or 4 passes ( forgot the proper terminaligy. It neither heats them up too much or is hard to do. It works for me from # 33's to 1" . Just take the time and do some praticing. Oo.

 

[Woodenhead]

I've got a kid (Ron) working for me that can sharpen bits on a grinder by hand like a machine. Another guy (Lou) at work brought in his drill doctor and him and Ron were joking back and forth about it, Ron was telling him how he wasted his money and Lou was telling Ron he's getting replaced . So eventually I told them to each sharpen a bit and start drilling. Lous bit (the Drill Doctor) barely made it through the plate once. Ron kept knocking out holes with his hand sharpened bit while laughing at Lou and asking him how much he paid for the Drill Doctor. According to Lou the drill doctor needed a new stone, maybe it did but it was sure funny to watch Ron the young kid sharpen it the old way and kick the old mans butt.

 

[Champane Flight]

I learned

Thats how I learned to sharpen bits, by hand that is. Had an old timer in machine shop during highschool teach me. They used to make jigs for this, I haven't seen one in awhile though. .

 

[nickleinonen]

at work, the cheap bits we buy are basically disposable [we buy sizes from 1/16"-1/2" in 1/32" & 1/64" steps by the box full] but sometimes i will resharpen the 5/16" and larger ones... when i get to drilling on the radial press or mag base drills with the 3/4" and larger bits [taper shank], we don't get new ones of those very often, so those are sharpened by hand [although, i found it kinda hard to sharpen the 1-3/8" one by hand on the small grindwheel] at home, i use many of the cheap bits from work, and i will resharpen them by hand on the grindwheel, but if i did much more drilling, i would be real tempted to get a drilldoctor [or if it goes on sale for dirt cheap locally]

 

[Dane]

Do these things work, as advertised, or are they just a gimick?

Yup, best invention since toilet paper in my book



Owning a Drill Doctor means never having to quit what you're doing cause you smoked the bit. I have 2 sets of "cheapie" bits. When both bits of the same size are dull, I break out the Drill Doctor and sharpen all the dull ones.

 

[Nyoest]

I work for an old time fella sometimes and one job we had a bunch of inch holes to put in 1/2 plate. He grabs the drill bit from the drill clamps it in the vice takes a four inch grinder and dresses both sides. He hands it to me and says "that oughta urk". I drilled 10 holes in 1/2 plate with a hand drill with that bit. I would give anything to be able to do that! I'm currently saving for a drill doctor.

 

[willysrule]

being a journeyman machinist I would say that they are great for the person that doesn't know how to properly sharpen a drill by hand…Unless you need a drill that will cut in different odd metals or high quantities of parts a drill doctor will do you just fine….



At work we have a form of a drill doctor that is slightly more advanced (and a whole lot more expensive) but the drill doctor that I have at home does almost just as well as the advanced one at work



One suggestion that I may offer…. How a drill sharpens and holds a cutting edge can only be as good as the material that the drill is made from, if it’s a cheap drill it is not going to sharpen or hold an edge very well. A good set of cobalt drills is priceless when using common tools and machines to drill holes…without the proper RPM, feed and coolant a high speed steel drill will not hold up as well cobalt drill…Not to mention that a good drill will cause less wear and tear on your tools and machines…It really pays off to spend that little extra and get a good set…