Short 1mm HS drill bits.

Grinder (not in this case an angle grinder) and a standard one?

Not really - as you still need the plain bit for the collet to grip square. And I'm *really|* not up to sharpening bits that small. ;-)

What about the bits with a thick shank that thins down to 1mm?

or

small bits are the easiest to sharpen. Just make them V pointed, ignore the original geometry. And don't then use them on steel.

NT

Unless you're drilling steel the angle is not critical and is happier more pointed anyway.

As per Alan's post, or something like:

Anyone know of a source of short 1mm HSS drill bits? The same sort of length as the 1/8 shank tungsten types? Which are too brittle to use hand held.

Ages ago you could buy 1/8 shank in HSS, but not seen them recently.

A standard length bit is a bit too wobbly. ;-)

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Try

Search for stub drills, size for size they are more rigid. I use them in the workshop for tapping sizes in the lathe and mill. Small sizes need to be run fast.

If these people haven't got what you want, it probably doesn't exist, although they will make it for you:

They're tungsten carbide and very brittle. I use them in my special pillar drill for PCBs, but if just wanting (say) an extra hole on an existing one, my hand held drill is more convenient. But all too easy to break small TC drills.

or

a 'bit' cheaper ;-D

???

Ah - dunno how I missed those, thanks Dave, as Rapid is one of my most used suppliers. But they do seem to have gone up since I last saw them.

They're about 10 times the price of TC bits of the same size. And even more than that for plain ol' twist drills. If only I could find plain ol' twist drills about half the normal length. ;-)

it ain't hard to shorten em

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t-2-35mm-shank--85-0455

I spend quite a bit of time searching rapid for stuff, it's more difficult to find what you want than it use to be.

PCB drill bits have always been pricey we tend to get ours from here

Could you reduce them by sawing or bolt cutters or similar, never tried mys elf.

At least I found a drill be that;'s a bit more exciting but at £123 !

Just a bit too short and possibly too bulky - too big to fit my small hand held hobby drill. But I must admit to not having thought of using those. Wonder if a TC one would be robust enough for hand held use?

Why bother if they can be bought in the length I need? The whole point of this post. ;-)

Doesn't that take an eighth inch shank? Because that seems to be what the 1mm centre drills have.

A lot less wobbly than any other sort of bit, I think. When you think of how they're used on lathes, they're jammed in quite hard at lowish revs, so spinning them at Dremel speeds shouldn't give rise to any problems except, perhaps, heating.

Anyone else happen to see naked attraction on TV the other night, the dating prog, talk about wobbley bits it put me off my kebab ;-)