Pete M Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 I'm down to about half of my original cobalt steel drill bits (purchased over 20 years ago) so I figure it's time for a new set of bits that when you open the box a light shines out and the angels sing. anyone got a set that they just rave about? looking for bits that easily take on stainless and other hardened steels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 Norseman drill bits cut like butter when new and stay that way for a long time if oiled and not oversped. Chicago Latrobe is another good choice, and when I brought personal drill bits onto a job it was one of those brands. Critical to this is not letting other people use your expensive drill bits. I die a little inside every time I see someone roast a nice drill bit with very little feed pressure at full speed in a hand drill. I prefer the ones with the three flats on the shank, with the caveat that the drill must be braced tightly. They will not slip in the chuck and will break your wrist if you let them. My experience with store brand bits has been that DeWalt are probably the best. Milwaukee bits start off with a really aggressive edge but the ones I used didn't hold their edge for as long as I would have expected. I have bad luck with the cheaper store brands. I got a cheap set of Skil bits a while ago and most of the smaller ones were bent right out of the box and weren't too sharp to begin with. That index got marked "for wood use only" For most uses I prefer mechanic length split point bits because they will stay on target without a deep center punch or pilot hole. Plain HSS is what I use, but I don't work with anything hard very often. All of this would apply to Cobalt bits as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70barracuda Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 I've always had awesome results with Milwaukee bits, but like minuit said they burn out more quickly than I'd like. Still I'll take that with how good they cut first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictlyxjs Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Pete fwiw mac tools warranties their Drill bits. I have mac at work and milwaukee at home and am happy with both. Not sure if you are looking to spend that much but its nice when a mac one breaks or gets to dull they swap it out. I don't know of any other companies that warranty bits. Not even snap on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted May 5, 2020 Author Share Posted May 5, 2020 I was looking at this set. the last set was around 75 bucks but that was years ago. this set is like $65. and made in the US too! Drill Hog® 29 Pc HI-Molybdenum M7 Drill Bit Set in Black Round Case w/ Belt Clip Includes: 29 Fractional Sizes from 1/16" to 1/2" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Have you ever tried sharpening them? I have a Drill Doctor and once you get it figured out it does a decent job of sharpening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted May 5, 2020 Author Share Posted May 5, 2020 most of the missing ones either shattered because I was hand-drilling at a weird angle and it caught and snapped (always wear safety glasses!), or the corner chipped right out. in fact the one I used today had a missing corner but the remaining was in great shape so I cut out a single string of chips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Yeah, I have a bunch of those too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictlyxjs Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Pete M said: I was looking at this set. the last set was around 75 bucks but that was years ago. this set is like $65. and made in the US too! Drill Hog® 29 Pc HI-Molybdenum M7 Drill Bit Set in Black Round Case w/ Belt Clip Includes: 29 Fractional Sizes from 1/16" to 1/2" Wow lifetime warranty too ill have to give those a shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limeyjeeper Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 If you look at reviews on Amazon. The warranty is not honored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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