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CA-ON Decent Drill Bits?

Ontario
Type
Tool
dave_lawson@

dave_lawson@

Active Member
Looking to elevate my drill bit quality a little. Recently got a number drill set from Temu in China and (unsurprisingly) the result was underwhelming. Not actually cobalt (despite the claim) and several bits were identical diameter despite being stamped otherwise. It was less than $40 delivered, so I did get about what I paid....lol.

Anyone have a line on a non-bank-breaking brand of drill bits? I like the idea of cobalt, but perhaps just a good reputable HSS set would be better?

Budget- target under $100 for a number drill set.
 
Most industrial supply companies offer quality drill bits. I have a set fractional inch bits my son bought for me a number of years ago from Fastenall. I keep them for my better efforts in the mill, lathe and drill press. I kept my old Busy Bee sets for rough work and hand drills. I think they where about $100.
 
I have a set of screw length Drill Hog - they seem good, I use them sparingly
I have a set of Dormer (lightly used eBay) - Also good, I use them sparingly
I have a couple of cheaper number-letter sets

I have several sets of mixed HSS, Cobalt that I use day to day, when one gets dull it goes in the dull bin for a rainy day and I pull a sharpened one from the drawer. Every once in a blue moon I sharpen a bunch of dull ones.

I'm on the lookout for a high quality number-letter set as well as full set of screw length. Neither of these seem to be affordable on my budget, and even less so with the ever increasing dollar spread.
 
I have many junk drill bits that get used once and then tossed out. CanTire and P.A. are sources for them. You can buy a lot of scrap metal for 29.95, and they will work ok in wood.
The exception is in the Princess Auto surplus isles where I have picked up more than a few metric and inch size Dormer bits.

For good quality drill bits I buy Norseman because they are decent quality but still affordable. The last 29 piece set I bought from KMS Tools was $109. Over 1/4" they have 3 flats, which offends some people, but if they feel round is more accurate they can stuff them further into the chuck and grip the round.
These drills stand up very well and stay sharp.
I see Amazon has the 29 piece set on in a scuzzy plastic holder for $130 and in a real drill index Number set box for $147. The peso does not fair well against the USD.

Edit. I checked, KMS has the 29 piece set of Norseman bits for 130 bucks
 
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https://www.harryepstein.com/products/norseman-60-pc-drill-bit-set

Shipping might sting coming up from the states, but I'm sure browsing around the rest of the epstein site you can find a bunch more things to fill a box and make it more worth your while..... I've bought from them a few times, and always been satisfied and never had issues.

I have a 115 piece set of the same drills (Norseman 118* jobber length bright finish HSS) and think they're great, and just as good as the precision twist ones I used for years at work. I prefer bright finish drills over other finishes. Jobber length bright finish 118* drills are probably the best all around general purpose drills you can get IMO. Specialize in different lengths, coatings or materials if you have greater needs, when you need them, but the above is a great baseline to start from for all general drilling needs.

I did a bunch of searching around, and was surprised at how much prices have gone up since I last bought drills.....I thought for sure you'd be able to get a decent 60 pc # drill index with good quality drills for ~$100. But most I found were in the $150 range. The ones from HJE are the only ones I found under $100. Shipping might bring that up closer to the others though.
 
dave_lawson@ said:
Looking to elevate my drill bit quality a little. Recently got a number drill set from Temu in China and (unsurprisingly) the result was underwhelming. Not actually cobalt (despite the claim) and several bits were identical diameter despite being stamped otherwise. It was less than $40 delivered, so I did get about what I paid....lol.
Click to expand...

I echo @DavidR8's recommendation. Though not amazing, I am not unhappy with a set of Drill Hogs drills I got. They sell numbered sets too. If you sign up for email blasts, he often has sales.

My favorite drills are Dormers. I buy them two or three at a time only as needed.

I have a handful of really good quality split point drills, but I only use them sparingly when they really matter. I got them at a garage sale and I don't know the brand. What I can say is that anybody who doesn't like split point drill bits can't have given them a decent try.
 
The best lasting drill bits I have found are the German made Walther bits. For rough use I buy Can. Tire titanium nitrate bulk packs when they are on sale. There is a website on YouTube called Pierre’s Garage, he has good video on testing cheap and expensive drill bits by drilling thru circular saw blades.
 
Been years since i bought a drill, and other than maybe some specialty use, I can’t forsee needing to buy one for a long time to come. Between places I’ve worked, and buying batches of tools that included drills and cutting tools, and different stuff I’ve been given/inherited, my supply is pretty good. I just need to finish sorting and organizing.
 
I recently picked up...

Mastercraft Silver & Deming Black Oxide Drill Bit Set for Wood, Metal, Plastic, 8-pc​

#054-0281-2

At 55% off the regular price seemed like a good buy for HSS. I will try not to abuse them (cutting fluid, proper speed for the material, etc.) and hopefully they will last.
 
If you're buying drill bits, that's the problem - just buy the whole damn drill! :D :D

In the past I've always said Precision Twist Drill, figuring they are a medium quality/price option...... today I went and looked at the current prices! WOW. They are decent enough but I recall getting a set of three for a few hundred dollars. Oh well, that ship has sailed. I've a lot of dormer sets as well, many new, just collected them from bulk purchase. (multiples as it makes things faster having sets close to each machine). They are the best imo. Given what PTD now wants, looking for sets of used Dormers would be my first choice. We all should know how to sharpen drills, they last a long time and likely only a few sizes have seen significant use.

For new, I'd say forget $500 for PTD and try some of the Amazon offers for <100. Easy returns means trying them out is, well, easy. IF they're crap, send 'em back. You'd think with everything being automated there'd be some good offshore choices, but its still hit and miss - e.g. bought a set or forstners recently, beyond bad. Like why did they bother to package and ship that crap bad. otoh sometimes you get some good stuff out of China..... maybe this is where Accusize, who increases the price and rebrands stuff, might be adding value, i.e. seperating the good from the crap.

I've a mystery set of ER40's on its way claiming .0004" run out..... we'll see. :)
 
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The neat thing about forums is the wide range of input. A few years back I guess now,on anther forum, the question of good drill bits came up. One guy posting worked in the industry, he said basically that that there are few drill bits made in the States now. One manufacturer in Brazil makes most of the quality brands and they are just branded. That made sense as there wasn't much money in drill bits.
 
Downwindtracker2 said:
The neat thing about forums is the wide range of input. A few years back I guess now,on anther forum, the question of good drill bits came up. One guy posting worked in the industry, he said basically that that there are few drill bits made in the States now. One manufacturer in Brazil makes most of the quality brands and they are just branded. That made sense as there wasn't much money in drill bits.
Click to expand...

Dormer drills are made in Brazil which supports your colleagues comment.

I don't buy cheap drills anymore, but I can't justify prices higher than I pay for dormer. So far, I like my Drill Hog set, but I wouldn't say they are better than Dormer. I don't know where they are made.

The problem is that I can't justify buying a full set of dormers so I buy them as I need them. On the other hand, Drill Hog drills are only practical in full sets. Individual drill are available but shipping for individual drills from California isn't practical.
 
Drill bits are something I learned about on the job. A drill motor quickly teaches you that the bit is dull. Early on, one crew I was working on would only use shiny Butterfields stubby split point bits . They would last at least 20x longer than standard made in the States black bits. And made drilling much easier. At the time I didn't know what made them so special.
 
Kinda late maybe, but Canadian tire has a great set of drill bits that rival my favorite Viking drills. They're not cheap but when they go on sale, they are totally worth it. They are my go too for fractional drills. Viking is my preferred choice for Metric( only because Canadian Tire doesn't have Metric sets in Cobalt) .

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/maximum-industrial-cobalt-drill-bit-set-for-wood-metal-plastic-29-pc-0540286p.html​


Also, Nachi, YG and Morse are also a great drill and with most common machinist sizes.

Here's a link to where I go if I want them through the mail.

https://cuttingtoolpickers.com/search?q=Nachi+drill+set

This place has many other things but mostly machining tools.

​

 
Tinker said:
Kinda late maybe, but Canadian tire has a great set of drill bits that rival my favorite Viking drills. They're not cheap but when they go on sale, they are totally worth it.
Click to expand...

Wow. I would not have guessed you could get really good quality drill bits at Crappy Tire. I saw smaller sets at your link too. I've always bought Milwaukee or Dewalt drills if I wanted decent quality at low cost.

I'll have to try a set when they go on sale the next time. Thanks for that tip. I like to use drills like this for every day jobs to save the wear and tear on my good dormer drills.

Thanks for posting that.
 
Tinker said:
Kinda late maybe, but Canadian tire has a great set of drill bits that rival my favorite Viking drills. They're not cheap but when they go on sale, they are totally worth it. They are my go too for fractional drills. Viking is my preferred choice for Metric( only because Canadian Tire doesn't have Metric sets in Cobalt) .

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/maximum-industrial-cobalt-drill-bit-set-for-wood-metal-plastic-29-pc-0540286p.html​

Click to expand...
Seriously, they charge $3 to pick something up if you buy less that $25??
 
Susquatch said:
Wow. I would not have guessed you could get really good quality drill bits at Crappy Tire. I saw smaller sets at your link too. I've always bought Milwaukee or Dewalt drills if I wanted decent quality at low cost.

I'll have to try a set when they go on sale the next time. Thanks for that tip. I like to use drills like this for every day jobs to save the wear and tear on my good dormer drills.

Thanks for posting that.
Click to expand...
Years ago we had a Canadian Tire set at work, that a manager picked up on sale. Sheet metal box, with multiples of everything. Except… they were junk. Bits sharpened backwards. Bits with the point split so far they had a little gouge where the point should be. I had one bit seize in a hole and actually untwist the bit, into something like a little rectangular bar. I’d go to the office (I’ve since taken over ordering) and let them know we needed bits, and they’d point to this damned box. In the end, I sat down at my bench to sort the good from the bad, but eventually dumped all the smaller bits into the steel scrap bin.

Mostly order PTD bits now, from KBC. Tried their house brand, got some poorly sharpened bits, called them about it, and their response was ‘what did you expect?’
 
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