Good make Of HSS Twist Drills & Centering Drill Bits
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niall Y
Established Member
There were so many poor quality "HSS" bits around at one point ,that I gave up and now only buy cobalt ones. Which is what I have I have done now for the last 15 years. If you want HSS bits that are half decent then deal with an engineering supplier like Tracy tools, which should have all you need.
Of course there is always E W Equipment,. Well worth a look, but their prices are in a different league to what I am able to pay
Of course there is always E W Equipment,. Well worth a look, but their prices are in a different league to what I am able to pay
clogs
just can't decide
as above, gradually replacing all my HSS for Cobalt.....
can't remember the name but they are made in Austria......no complaints except 1x3mm drill that was soft/unhardened.....
trust me to find it....
Ps...if u want to use carbide drills dont bother with hand held of cheapo pillar drills they will snap em.....same with centering drill.s......
can't remember the name but they are made in Austria......no complaints except 1x3mm drill that was soft/unhardened.....
trust me to find it....
Ps...if u want to use carbide drills dont bother with hand held of cheapo pillar drills they will snap em.....same with centering drill.s......
SKF / Dormer are traditionally the goto reputable brand for quality jobber drills, stub drills and the like. 5 and 8% cobalt alloy versions for drilling stainless steel, etc.
Heller seem to be a good value option
Osborne (goldex) should be good. They make decent quality milling cutters and their sets of jobber drills look nicely made. Goldex is a range of titanium nitride coated twist drills.
Heller seem to be a good value option
Osborne (goldex) should be good. They make decent quality milling cutters and their sets of jobber drills look nicely made. Goldex is a range of titanium nitride coated twist drills.
AES
Established Member
+1 for Dormer.
Johnwa
Established Member
Another one for Dormer. I also use Heller for wood/plastics etc, not had the nerve to use on steel dont know how they'll cut, probably ok actually. Also use Brad Point twist drills from Wealden, excellent quality I think theyre Austrian (Alpine? brand)
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
Presto are fine.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
I notice Dormer are made in Brazil now.
Sadly Presto isn't on my list anymore.
They were sold off and the quality has dropped dramatically.
Of old, Presto used to make (for example) excellent quality taps and dies.
I thought I'd scored a real bargain a couple of years ago but the quality was off and I've noticed since then that there is a steady supply of new Presto items selling for far less than I would expect from a premium brand.
Old Presto is still good. Beware new and shiny Presto.
They were sold off and the quality has dropped dramatically.
Of old, Presto used to make (for example) excellent quality taps and dies.
I thought I'd scored a real bargain a couple of years ago but the quality was off and I've noticed since then that there is a steady supply of new Presto items selling for far less than I would expect from a premium brand.
Old Presto is still good. Beware new and shiny Presto.
Chief Sawdust Maker
Darren
Plus one for old Presto, I still have a full set of metric and imperial jobbers in tins from when i was an apprentice in the 80's, they only get used on metal.
For day to day in the workshop on wood I use Irwin the do a standard and long range of jobbers which my local tools and fixings company stock at a good price,
Forstner and Saw Tooth Forstner I only buy Planet as and when i need a new size, my local saw sharpening company will re sharpen forstners and sawtooh forstners which is useful when i do production runs in oak
Fairly poor drills can be made to work in wood with a little grinding
For day to day in the workshop on wood I use Irwin the do a standard and long range of jobbers which my local tools and fixings company stock at a good price,
Forstner and Saw Tooth Forstner I only buy Planet as and when i need a new size, my local saw sharpening company will re sharpen forstners and sawtooh forstners which is useful when i do production runs in oak
Fairly poor drills can be made to work in wood with a little grinding
Terrytpot
Established Member
Fed up of sets where the drill you need is the one you broke or misplaced I took the plunge a few years ago and opted for two sets, a standard titanium coated hss set and a slightly better 5% cobalt set, both in briefcase style cases with plenty of spares of the included sizes. For wood all I use are the cheaper bits switching to the cobalts for any metals…works fine for my needs. Not sure if these are the ones I’ve got which have a blue case but looks the same inside.
Attachments
For drilling in metal, my 'go-to' HSS bits are B&D Piranha Bullet Drills (made in Germany). From 3mm upwards they have a pilot tip, they do NOT wander at all and cut really well in most materials.
Keep an eye out on eBay as sets of 1mm to 10mm (in 0.5mm increments) come up occasionally ...
I use the very fine Heller ones (0.2 mm For example) for watchmaking, and find them very good. They cut well but also seem to be a little more flexible so don't break as easily. But agree with the comments about Dormer, expensive but very good.
ok thanks
chaoticbob
Established Member
Guhring is another high end brand to consider. It's worth having a look a Zoro - at the mo they have a Dormer A095 1-10 x 0.5mm set for £54, which is a good price, they also have Guhring sets cheaper than elsewhere. If you don't want to spend that sort of money their Sherwood drills are perfectly adequate - I have the 1-6 x 0.1mm set and nothing to complain about. I also have Sherwood centre and spotting drills and again nothing wrong with them - they cut true, which is the main thing.
Bob.
Bob.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
I have two incremental sets 1mm - 6mm and 6mm - 10mm from UKDrills - they might not be up to engineering tolerances but for my purposes they are excellent.
