Santa dropped off a Drill Doctor 500X.
For years I have been waiting for Drill Doctor to come out with the sharpener that would sharpen a brad point bit.
I gave up.
After buying some COLT 5 Star brad point bits and seeing all the grind angles to produce that cutting tip I think the machine would be too expensive if it ever surfaces.
The Drill Doctor 500X is stupid simple and fast and will sharpen most any common twist drill bit including carbide tipped masonry bits.
The results I was getting yesterday on my first through last, about 30, yielded results that felt sharper than a "never been used" set of Hitachi drill bits.
A sharpened 1/4" bit through 1/4" steel was relatively quick and with out heat. The steel was mildly warm as was the bit after making the through hole with out lubrication.
That same bit through a rabbet without bottom support, to reduce tear out, on a piece of oak yielded an entry and exit hole with less tear out on both sides than any of my "common" brad point bits have ever been able to produce. The COLT 5 Star brad point bits still produce holes similar to those cut with a Forstner bit.
Using a sharpened 1/2" twist bit on the piece of oak yielded the same results on entry, I did not go through however.
This particular model sharpener also lets you add a split point to any normal twist bit. The split point helps prevent the bit from wandering at the beginning of the cut and reduces the need for a punch point normally used as a starting position in steel.
Soooo it looks like I may go back, after 25 years, to using regular twist bits for those odd sized holes when drilling holes in wood. AND because the sharpening operation is so quick and easy I may resharpen every bit before it goes back in the box.