drill doctor

[ron]

thinking about buying one..any opinions would be appreciated,,,ron

[Phisherman]

I've heard more negative view than positive on the Drill Doctor. Twist drills are inexpensive; I just replace them.

[cm]

I have two different drill bit sharpeners that work well, but I find myself just buying new bits at HF rather than sharpening.

AZCRAIG

[John]

I like it. Like any other tool it takes a little bit of practice to get the hang of it.

J.

r> thinking about buying one..any opinions would be appreciated,,,ron

[Mark]

I bought the Drill Doctor a couple of years ago. I am very pleased with it. Seems to sharpen the drill bits better than new...but I may have forgotten what "new" was like. Let's just say this.....when drilling through some aluminum or steel with a bit sharpened by the Drill Doctor, I get two nice long spirals of metal as the drill does it's thing...you only get continuous spirals if the bits are sharp. 'nuff said.

Just my 2 cents.....

Mark

[Edwin Pawlowski]

We recently bought one at work. It works but takes a little practice on the smaller bits. I've never been able to justify spending near $100 for a sharpening tool when I've probably not spent that much on bits in my entire life. It does not do brad points either.

[CW]

I have one. Bought it as a stopgap due to our high dollar one going down at work. Guys love it. Not rugged enough for sustained commercial use (machine shop) but should last forever in home shops. If you can't get a good point with it, take up knitting.

[Leon]

From what I understand it works well but not on wood working bits.

[tom]

Allright, what model Drill Doctor do all y'all recommend? Tom

[Ba r r y]

They don't work on common woodworking bits. Twist drills aren't that handy to a woodworker, so I rarely wear them down.

Barry

[ron]

thanks all for the input...ron

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

I have around 3-400 bits of various sizes and shapes, many of which I inherited. Most of them were grossly dull so I bought the Drill Doctor (don't remember the model but it's the larger one capable of sharpening up to 3/4" I believe). It's worked great for me so far. It has definitely saved me money if I had gone out and bought the 400 bits to replace (not that I'd ever need all of them however). I see they've got a newer model out that is supposedly easier to use. I didn't find the older version to be hard to master. The one thing I will say about cost and such is this. Nothing's worse than needing a bit on a Sunday night and the only one you've got is dull. For me, the ability to sharpen whenever I need to vs. having to stop work and drive to the local store is worth it. Not to mention, many of the bits I have are much better quality than I can buy new so it's nice to be able to keep em.

Cheers, cc

[Dave Jackson]

Not meaning to hijack the post, but does anyone know if drill dr. can sharpen mortising chisel bits? Thanks, --dave

[Leon]

NO

[Lee Michaels]

Mine will only do the standard twist drill.

[CW]

No. Twist drills only.

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

and concrete bits....

[Bradford Chaucer]

No, only twist drills, and perhaps carbide masonary.

[Randy Dickinson]

I had an earlier dirll doctor several years ago, and had no success with it. I now have one, almost the same model, the 500 or 750, but I have had very good success with it, I believe that they have improved them quite a bit, and I don't have the latest model with the metal guides. I have 3 half inch 64ths sets that I sharpened. It is really nice to have sharp drills. Also, one set I did with split points, and the 1/4" set, for easy hand starting with hand electric drills, I find the split points nice for hand metal drilling.

Someone mentioned concrete bits, I tried and ruined the bits, I think sharpening them by hand works much better, but that is my take.

As for Harbor Freight drills, I thought I would sharpen a set of them and it would solve their poor performance problem. It did not, I friend told me HF drills are junk, I tend to agree, there is no comparison between them and my "rea": drill bits. I beleive that the flutes are badly done, but I am no expert.

My take and successes, I like the drill doctor; it is worth the time to learn how to use it and keep the drills sharp. Of course, the real small drills just need to be replaced, I think much less than 1/8 inch, but I don't remember it is in the drill doctor manual.

Randy