I'm looking for some good quality drill bits. I'm planning to get a full 29 piece index of both brad point and twist bit style. As far as brad point bits go, I'm probably going to go with Lee Valley HSS. For the twist bits though I'm wondering if I should go with cobalt or cobalt coated or tatanium nitride or whatever - I have no idea what they mean or what they do. I just want a good set that will handle unhardened steel in addition to wood. Any info for me? Thanks.
MEW
I seldom drill in steel, so the suggestion I have deals with the cabinet building/wood side of things. I really like, and almost always use the tapered bits with an attached counter-sink. In my installation toolbox I have a cheapo set of DeWalt bits which have the little pilot tittie on the tip. Certainly not a set of 29. I go nowhere without my trusty tapered bits.
HSS drill bits are better:
I have used common carbon steel and coated drill bits. Superior results were obtained with genuine HSS. Many drill bits are labeled HSS but not all are made with true
High Speed Steel. To convince yourself make a test drilling 1/2" and greater dia holes in oak or maple using.
brass screws and you need to set the depth precisely to match the length of the screw.
For assembly work I normally use rolled-thread screws where the shank is almost the same as the root diameter. The tapered drills don't match these screws well at all.
Chris
For that kind of assembly work, I use an 1/8" brad point in an air drill and #8 low root screws... usually 2". You don't need a tapered screw to use the tapered bits. In fact, the further in a regular screw goes into a tapered pilot hole, the better grab you get. You don't go all the way to the bottom of the hole.
--------------------------------------- A good set of jobbers HHS twist drills for metal.
Grainger, McMaster-Carr, etc will have them.
Coated drills are strictly a gimmick IMHO.
Strictly a throw away.
As far as brad point drills are concerned, a 7 pc set of HSS, 1/2" max, will do the job IMHO.
Larger sizes handled by carbide forstner bits.
Lew
If you want bits for steel, try these.
Jes where does one find those?
Anyway.... I don't know spit about wood bits, but as a machinist, for twist bits get gen-you-whine (like Denis says) High Speed Steel (HSS). Accept no substitutes. Forget "coated" or "nitride" or that real scam, the "chrome vanadium" nonsense on the $5 table. They're all junk. Get real HSS or nothing. You could go "carbide" (not carbon!), but that's money wasted unless you really need it. For wood, believe me, you don't.
If you have any doubts:
HSS it is. thanks all. MW
"Ordinary" HSS is perfectly adequate for unhardened steel. Go to a decent supplier that supplies to the metal working industry and always use lubricant. Even a few drops of engine oil are better than nothing
HSS or cobalt steel are good steel drills - the fancy gold or reddish coatings are that - just coatings that help lube the drill.
Tantalum nitride is a lube or wear resistance material only - says NOTHING of the metal inside. Some of the nicest looking drills are just junk.
M2, M42 are quality strength metals used as base metals.
Buyer beware - save m> >> I'm looking for some good quality drill bits. I'm planning to get a
Should get my Bosch "Cobalt Twist Drill Bit Assortment with Metal Index, 29-Piece" in a couple of days.
Stay tuned.
My understanding is that -- for the moment -- these are as good as it gets, will still do a nice, clean job with wood, and ... will handle those occasional, nagging titanium-drilling tasks that ... just come up.
Split point ... SHOULD keep the bits from walking -- a major issue on cheaper bits.
Bought them from Amazon:
For metal I'd go look for Dormer, Intal, Presto, Osbourne.
In the US, probably Brown and Sharpe or similar
I use these for metal:
seismo malm
Carbide will drill most things but is not necessary for "ordinary steel" and lacks "toughness" for general purpose use. It is easy to re-grind HSS to a different geometry, say for thin sheet or brass, but Carbide is somewhat trickier
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