Some time ago a bought a box of JBG HSS Fully ground cobalt coated drill bits. They have been very good apart from the poor design of the box which has lead to some of the smaller bits breaking. A set of 19 bits from 1mm to 10mm cost me £15.95
What I would like is a new set of the smaller bits in the range 1mm -
Where or maybe what make of bits should I buy.
Keep an eye on Lidl special offers. They do such a set in a nice steel case. Last time they came up I bought a few sets. Usually on offer a few times a year.
I use Screwfix "jobber" drills. Packs of 10 IIRC
Having bought a set of bits for steel and a set of lip and spur for wood ma ny years ago I now just replace those that need replaced on an ad hoc basis . Axminster sell packets of jobber drills in many sizes and I rarely need t o replace the lip and spur ones.
We got some toolsatan jobber packs recently, and found they only lasted a f raction as long as a better brand. Their cheap titaniums were also much out performed by dremel HSS.
NT
Toolsatan "cobalt" bits go down to 2 mm
I havn't tried these ones, but "proper" cobalt bits (e.g. Bosch) are very good indeed.
Prior to cobalt, the thing to look for on drill bits was HSS (high speed steel), normally M50 in drills. Reputable firms like Axminster will have these.
For industrial use, drills, mills, and lathe inserts are coated with Titanium Carbide by a vapour deposition process which improves life considerably. However there are plenty of fake gold coloured coatings on unbranded consumer drills which are exactly as effective as yellow paint (and the drills won't be HSS).
Carbon steel drills are OK for wood (and will work on metal up to mild steel *if used correctly*) but for practical purposes don't use anything below HSS on metal.
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