Drill Sharpener

[jmshep]

Has any one tried one of these drill sharpeners? It has the advantage that it is self contained and not an attachment to a grinding wheel but is it any good? With built in 250v motor and a cost of about £20.00 in the UK it is cheap but is it good value?

http://www.silverlinetools.com/messages.html?closeUp=127569

Regards
John

 

[bearcar1]

John, I have not used that particular unit so I can not speak to its quality, however, here in the states they have a 'somewhat' similar device named The Drill Doctor. It differs in that the bit to be sharpened is gripped in a special chuck after a very simple aligning procedure and then the chuck is inserted into a bore of the motor body. A few rounds on the chuck by hand and the bit is sharpened perfectly. This unit appears to be a simple index type of size selector that guides the bit at a preset angle, over a stone of some sort. Does it employ any stops to prevent one from removing too much metal on one side of the cutting face as TDD unit does.

Cheers

BC1

 

[rake60]

I'm a big fan of the Drill Doctor.
I bought the CHEAP one!

It has worked perfectly for me.

Rick

 

[Holescreek]

John, Black and Decker made a model similar to what you have pictured back in the mid '80's. It didn't do horribly but did not get the proper relief found in sharpeners using a camming action such as that found on the drill doctor. I have an even older model DD that the one Rick shows and it works great. -Mike

 

[itowbig]

ill second that one Rick . i too have that same machine and it works great. im pretty good at hand sharping those drill bits but i could not beat the drill doctor (although i was really close) its proved to be a very good tool to have.

 

[bearcar1]

I have to admit that I was VERY skeptical towards TDD machines for the longest time and had become relatively proficient in terms of doing them manually. "My Dad and Grandpa did them this way and that's got to be the best way to sharpen them" was my phylosophy, or mind set as it were. A friend brought his new high end DD over for me to use (he must have thought that I needed it for some reason and left it and a handful of his dull bits for me to sharpen for him) Well gee golly howdy! I'm here to tell you that after I sharpened one and used it for one of my projects, I was sold on it's final product results and went out and bought one for myself. They truly do a fantastic job of grinding the points and angles cleanly and accurately. I spent the next two days sharpening all of my bits, even the brand new ones. (yes, I have ALOT of bits) Best money I have spent in a long, long time. Two thumbs up! Thm: Thm:

BC1
Jim

 

[Tin Falcon]

I have one of the older mid grade IIRC 500 series DDs it does a decent job . Some folks have trouble with these . I have considered ubgrading to one of the new ones from what i understand they have gotten rid of the quirks in the older ones. sounds like they have. Even the older model is a good machine and works as adtisezed has anyone here used the older ones and then upgraded to an x series are they in fact that much better??
Tin

 

[bentprop]

The only one available here must really be top dog,they want upwards of nz$800 for it!
I can buy a LOT of drill bits for that sort of money.
I think it's probably directed more towards users of the larger morse taper drills,as that would be the only area where it would be cost effective buying this DD.

 

[bob ward]

The only one available here must really be top dog,they want upwards of nz$800 for it!
I can buy a LOT of drill bits for that sort of money.
I think it's probably directed more towards users of the larger morse taper drills,as that would be the only area where it would be cost effective buying this DD.

I've noticed that Drill Doctor and/or the suppliers tend to gouge for the 240V variety, they are approx 3 times the price of the US 110V ones, or at least they were when I gritted my teeth and bought a DX750 about 18 months ago.

But apart from that I find it to be a very useful piece of equipment. My drill bits are always sharp, and for someone who is a muggle in Harry Potter terms when it comes to hand sharpening, that is a real bonus.

FWIW, there may be a cheaper route to 240V DD ownership. I'm told, I hope reliably, that a US 110V 60Hz DD will work on 110V 50Hz given the type of motor they have in them. There are any number of 240V to 110V transformers available cheaply on ebay, but of course they only convert voltage and not frequency. YMMV

 

[steamer]

I have the 3/4" size DD and I have decent luck with it.

Don't tighted the collet very tight.....it will throw the clearance angles off and the drill won't cut.

But if I am gentle when I tighten...it works fine.

Dave

 

[Holescreek]

Tin,
As I said I have the older model too, tall rectangular blue thing. I have trouble sharpening bits below 3/16" as they tend to not locate correctly and sharpen backwards like left hand bits. Is this the "trouble " that you have heard about? -Mike

 

[10K Pete]

Mike,

I have the older "tall rectangular one" also. I experienced the same problem with the smaller drills so I did something very unusual.

I read the instructions.

Plus I called the DD guys about the problem. Same answer.

After you tighten the chuck on the bit, and take it out of the alignment port, look at the end of the bit. If the chuck 'fingers' are twisted, carefully turn the chuck 'nut' (while holding the chuck in your hand) back until the 'fingers' are straight.

This cures the 'backward' relief problem.

The other thing I discovered was that I was not pushing straight in while grinding and I was pushing too hard. It seems that you want to push just enough to make the cam track but not much harder.

I've seen pictures of the new ones and wonder if they've fixed the things that seem to require all the finess to get a good point.

I use the heck out of my DD. Bits seems to stay in much better shape these days......

Had access to a 'real' DD, the Darex, back in the mid '80s and that was quite a machine!

Pete

 

[rake60]

Actually the little Drill Doctor machines are made by Darex.

At work the drill bit sharpener is a Darex.
As with anything else in the machining field of interest,
it is only as good as the person who is using it.

It takes a good eye, a feel for the tool and the patience
to learn to use it properly.

So many tools and machines have been given negative
reviews for reasons that were not the fault of the tool
or machine.

I had a Foreman tell me: "You gotta be smarter then what
than the machine your working with."
He was joking and just giving me a hard time, BUT..........

Rick

 

[David Morrow]

I'm glad this topic came up. I bought a model 500 two years ago on a factory special for about $115 but it's been sitting in the box since it arrived. You all gave me the kick in the pants that I needed to unwrap it, read the instructions ( several times ) and try it out on some old drills. It took a few tries on worn drill bits and a few return trips back to the instruction book which could have been much clearer, but I'm now confident that I can sharpen my drill bits back to a good useful state.

Thanks all.

 

[Tin Falcon]

It has been a couple of yeasr since dicussing the problems of the drill doctor with others .
I have had good results with mine.IIRC the problems were mostly folks expecting the machine to be idiot and guerrilla proof.
A little common sense reading the instructions an gentle touch and a little practice and it work well.
Tin

 

[jwsvandr]

I have had my DD for about three years and really love it. I have it mounted on the wall next to my drill press. When I need to sharpen a bit it is ready for use right away.

 

[itowbig]

"qoute" I had a Foreman tell me: "You gotta be smarter then what
than the machine your working with."
He was joking and just giving me a hard time, BUT..........


ha ha my dad told me that a long time ago except he said you stupid kid you got to be smarter than that dam tool. then he wacted me with it . ;D

 

[10K Pete]

I have it mounted on the wall next to my drill press. When I need to sharpen a bit it is ready for use right away.

Kinda like a pencil sharpener??

;D

Pete

 

[EvanVH]

I am also happy with my DD. I have had it for 3 years +. A couple of weeks ago I tried to sharpen a center drill and it worked very well. Don't have any idea if any one else has done this.




Evan