Wow...Not the best per se, but very helpful and lots of fractional increases that make it more than worth it:
The 115 piece Cobalt drill set from HF. They have been excellent in drilling in metal for me.
Cobalt Drill Bit Set, 115 Piece
Amazing deals on this Cobalt Drill Bit Set, 115Pc at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.www.harborfreight.com
Again there are better bits for both (wood and metal) out there and I have numerous individual bits from different vendors that are excellent. But most of my individual ones are metric and were purchased when I lived in Japan.
Thanks for the ref. I found a set similar to the one Hank shared. Its more expensive, but, the DrillHogs are really nice. They have Molybdenum in them, which I guess makes them M7. The nice thing about both these sets is they have nearly everything...including A-Z and #0-60.
Just to make sure I understand your meaning here...when you say Twist, do you mean something like this:
Those are more specialized wood and acrylic twist bits. I do not use them I use the standard HSS high speed steel twist bits that are good for metals and wood. As I said they come in different angles of cut too. 118* and 135* are common. There is charts on which angle is best. There are charts on what coating on these bits are best such as titanium and cobalt. I will leave that to you to tract down and test if you like. But as I said I buy the HF or my better bits are Dewalt 135 degree twist titanium bits. I use them for everything. If you do a search here you will see threads on bits and people explaining why they use such and such angle and the main reason are grabbing of soft metals. I can not confirm that or deny it because I have no problem with the bits I use and never did any testing. Good luck. By the way yes on the HF sets having all bits numbered and letter. You can find these larger sets in different brand but for my money HF does well here. I have a large set and actually just bought another 2 sets when they were on sale a few months ago. Have a set in garage workbench too. Handy.Just to make sure I understand your meaning here...when you say Twist, do you mean something like this:
Fisch HSS Pen Making ''O'' Drill Bit - 8.03mm
Designed especially for turning projects, this 8mm bit drills quickly and cleanly through end grain and acrylic without breakout on entrance or exit.www.rockler.com
So far, all of my letter bits have this kind of twist to them. I thought it was just how lettered bits were, but the Harbor Freight drill bit set seems to have everything (and they are cobalt bits as well, which should hold an edge for a long time), including lettered and # bits, and they all look like "normal" bits to me.
I believe JT means the regular jobber bits. One thing about the jobbers is that they are cheap and easy to sharpen (the drill doctor is a good investment).
Sure can; No problem with that. 1/8" / 3mm and smaller get difficult to do, but 3/16 or 4 mm and up are OK for me.
yes
I second this recommendation, which was received here, so there are definitely more folks that will agree with it than just me.
Exemplified.
My Experiences have been to buy in sets if you amortise them they only cost peanuts this way. Now as an 87 yr old I have discarded the desire to build a stone lathe because it is tough stuff.Sorry my computer chucked a lifetime of pics months agon,one time I could illustrate with pics.Enjoy working with Mammoth Tooth ,Google this subject ,mine came from Canada via Russia and this guy is wonderful IMHO.Exemplified.
I've been very, very seriously considering some mammoth tooth blanks. I guess I'm a sucker for exotic and rare blanks. I picked up some Conway Stewart blanks recently, along with some other rare blanks from historic pen companies. I've picked up some other interesting and rarer materials (such as certain trustone I've only ever found in these 1.5"x1.5"x6.5" blocks that had to be cut down on the bandsaw). I've wondered how the mammoth tooth would handle... So far, I have only found it in one color that was pen blank size, and wasn't really what I wanted...
I did some more research, looked at a bunch of other drill bit brands, including Norseman. The Norseman bits seem to be particularly highly regarded, and they seem to have some interesting bit designs (the way they do their twist, I guess...it looks the same from the outside, but is nuanced in certain ways), and apparently they cut exceptionally well, especially in metals (steel). For a drill bit set the same as the one from Harbor Freight, the Norsman set is nearly $400...
I think if drilling was my life, I'd get the Norseman set. ;P For what I do though, the HF set still seems to be THE unbeatable deal. They are cobalt steel, and with a drill doctor should last a long, long time.
I have found one thing about the drill doctor. A number of people complain that the little sharpening drum inside (which looks a bit like a CBN sharpening wheel) leaves a rougher surface than the bits have right out of the box. Has anyone who has used the drill doctor experienced this? Does it matter?
