Drill bits

I have an electric corded drill and a 12-V cordless Black and Decker - Firestorm. I use both drills for occasional household repairs. I mostly use the cordless.

From time to time I break bits because the materials I am going through might be too difficult to get through. I generally replace with Black oxide bits. The 1/8" drill bit package I have indicates it's good for wood, plastic and soft metal.

I'd like to know what types of bits I should be buying. Sometimes I do need to go through a piece of metal. Most times I work with wood. Should I have two sets of bits... one for metal the other for wood? Or, is there one type of bit that is good for both?

Another question. This one about my cordless drill. It's a cheap model, but serves my purposes. I find that even though I hand tighten the bit receptor, occasionally the bit stops spinning as the receptor losses its grip. It most often happens when I am going through denser materials. Is this a drill flaw? I don't remember it happening to my electric drill with the key tightening system. I doubt I can do anything about it, but thought I pose the question anyway. Do better cordless drills have the same problem?

Reply to
Charlie S.
Loading thread data ...

Just my opinion. Others may disagree. I use a drill 5-6 days a week in my installation business.

It sounds like you are buying a cheaper grade of bits (black oxide). For general duty up to 1/4" a quality all purpose bit (twist type) will do the job. Dull bits bind and break. Cheap bits bind and break. The "brad point" style twist bit is about the fastest drilling. The "brad point" sets sold by B&D and Dewalt are both decent quality bits at an affordable price.

For holes in wood larger than 1/4" the spade type bit is the cheaper choice. It will work but will dull somewhat quickly. The best choice is the auger style bit with a screw tip. With a corded drill and reasonable care it will drill a lot of holes before it wears out or needs sharpening. It does put a load on a cordless motor and battery.

If you need nothing large than 1/2" buy one of the kits above.

IMO, keyless chucks are garbage. I used a B&D model 7144 corded drill with a standard chuck in a keyless fashion for 12 years on a daily basis. Each drill lasted 2-3 years before it died. It never loosened. Whether I was driving screws or drilling. No matter how many forward or reverses. I have been using a keyless chuck for the last 7 years or so and I wish MS. Makita had it stuck where the sun don't shine. I use the contractor model (about $109). I have sometimes borrowed other "keyless" chuck models while on a job. They all seem to have the same problem.

Colbyt

Reply to
Colbyt

What material is braking them? I can't remembe the last time I broke a bit. Perhaps yo are buying a cheap brand made of junk material. Try a better brand from an industrial supply house. NOT WalMart of Home Depot.

Most good twist drill can do both. For some applications I use brad point bits for wood as they leave a flat bottomed hole.

So then it is really not serve its purpose if the drill bit does not turn. The operative word is cheap. Buy a better brand with a good chuck and the problem will go away. I've had cheap drills boht with keyed and hand chucks. They slipped. My Panasonic never slips and works with one hand. It was $180 or so though.

Can happen, but is rare.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I"m just a homeowner with a few projects -- I don't use the drill that often.

I have high-speed steel bits for metals, and because I'm lazy, I end up using them for everything. On bits that are big enough, they have HSS on the shank.

I think a lot of people would say yes.

Anything that is good for metal will drill wood, but there are wood bits that can do a better job if a better job is needed. Either they go faster or they leave a nicer hole or something else, but for most of my uses, none of that matters.

If you don't lose your tools, it's worth buying a few more tools such as drill bits up front, I don't lose my tools. I still have some from my Handy Andy tool set that I got when I was 8.

In fact I still have the carpenter's pencil and it's never been used. how do you sharpen that thing, with a knife? Somewhere I was given the impression that one shouldn't sharpen a pencil with a knife. And it's hard to get a good point. Sandpaper?

Don't know. I got a couple B&D keyless chucks for free, and I put them on drills I already had, and I like them. These are full-size chucks and may be better than the one you have. I like them becasue I don't have to keep looking for the key, even though it was taped to the cord, and because the chucks I had didn't go down to the smallest bit in the box (1/64th?) but the keyless chuck does.

My big bits from 3/8 to 1/2, cut down to work in 1/4 inch drills (even though my drills were 3/8", they don't afaik make 1/2 drills cut down to 3/8") had flutes on the shaft so they wouldn't spin. But because I didn't tighen the keyed chuck tight enough, I ground off most of the fluting. (Once it started to spin, it didn't take long to grind it off.) I don't know if I would have done better with the keyless chuck, but I think so.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

Reply to
mm

I have 24V B&D firestorm hammerdrill.

This is because yoru bit is dull and you have not noticed and are forcing it. YOu can get bits sharpened, but I have never done that. probably should. general bits work on wood and metal.

There is high speed steel and carbon steel. you probably want the carbon tipped steel bits. standard bits work well for both wood and metal.

Bradpoint bits are for wood. They have a sharp small drill point that will contact the wood before the rest of the bit. Thus it keeps the bit from sliding while its making its initial hole which can sometimes happen when it first starts to turn.

Forstner bits are also for wood. They also are "slide proof" but their main feature is they create flat bottom holes for things like pegs.

I think you want to focus on bit material/quality more than type. And dont press too hard.

If your going into cement or ceramic, those are different bits as well.. YOu can use a hammer drill on cement which is MUCH faster.

Reply to
dnoyeB

keyless chucks on cheaper drills don't work all that well. holding the chuck ring and letting the torque of the drill do the clamping is often not enough. you may need to grab the separate parts of the chuck with both hands and give it a little more of a twist to clamp better on the bits.

Reply to
bill allemann

Reply to
Bennett Price

What's a "twist drill" (bit)? How do I recognize one?

Ditto for "brad point bit".

Thanks!

David

Reply to
David Combs

The twist drill bit is the normal bit that you find with a twisted spiral on the sides. The point is usually cut at 118 degrees and cuts most materials well.

Brad points are actually a modified twist drill They work very well for wood making a clean hole because of the way the tip is cut.

formatting link

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I use High Speed Steel bits for everything except masonry. Then I use a carbide tipped masonry bit on a hammer drill.

When drilling through metals the heat and pressures create a built up edge (from the material drilled) on the cutting surface of the bit. This increases the heat and pressure etc until the bit binds or breaks.

A lubricant will keep the temperatures down and greatly improve your time between failures when drilling metal.

Reply to
Hogwild

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.