How much do I have to spend for a good set of drills?

[Bird_E]

I a hobbiest machinist and looking for a full set of drills. I see full sets of drill priced from anywhere from $45.00 to well over a couple of hundred dollars.

How much do I need to spend to get a decent set, mostly for aluminum and some steel?

what makes some better then others?
Thanks!
Bob

[JFettig]

You can get a decent set from harbor frieght, thats what I have, they are by no means the best, but they work, Just make sure you dont get homiers cheap set, it is absolutely the worst set of drills that I have ever seen.

the higher quality the higher price, I kinda wish I would have spent a few more bucks on a set.

Jon

[Ken_Shea]

High quality drill bits start with good steel, go through a rather extensive heat treatment and are dimensionally more accurate, the inexpensive sets start with less quality steel, a quick heat treatment and dimensionally close enough. I have a 29 Piece premium set I paid $185 and I have a 115 piece TiN coated set I bought at Sam's Club for $38.71. Drilling in aluminum and softer steel I can tell the difference but barley. There are times I suppose that a premium set is a worth while expense, like when you have to cut harder material but for aluminum and normal steel the $38.71 set has been just great. For hobby stuff I would save the bucks for other things.

[BIG AL]

You know there is always an attraction to getting that big set. Fact of the matter is I find that I use the same sizes over and you guessed it over again. The way that works best for me is, to once you figure out which ones you use the most, you buy them in quanity and save some bucs. I sure have alot of bits that never get used out of that dream set. But hey, it looks neat!

[DareBee]

I am very partial to Dormer "Tri-na-do" or "Thunderbit".
High quality steel, split point ground, material treatment is sintered right thru, & the Tri has 3 flats for no slip hand drilling.

[kong]

What about cobalt drills? There is a set made by Heller on ebay at the moment I am watching. Any thoughts?

[BIG AL]

The best drillbits on this earth are made in Japan! The Nachie colbalts being the best I've ever seen. They have the highest cobalt content at above 8%. If you will consult MACHINERY'S HANDBOOK you will find the max that steel can hold is 12%. I don't know what your application is but unless it calls for cobalt I would not use it. If HS in a 135` split point will work go for that. Good cobalt bits are not cheap, and to risk them when not needed is hard on the pocket. But hey it's all what a guy wants to spend his loot on!

[kong]

Lol, I hear ya! I have been drilling a lot of steel sheet recently, only thin stuff, but it wears the drills down quick. I do not own a "quality" set of drills at the moment, so I am after either a set of Dormers, or the slightly cheaper cobalt Heller bits. Either way, I will probably still buy a cheap set just for general use!

[Ken_Shea]

I will probably still buy a cheap set just for general use

These are the ones you hand to your friends when they ask if they can borrow a drill bit

[DareBee]

If you drill a lot of sheet (especially by hand or in a manual machine) I highly recomend a Unibit step drill. they can be bought with a Tin coating as well.
I also like carbide spotting drills for that application if you have a common size that you use frequently (for CNC).

[Swede]

Put me in the quality cutting tool camp, whether it be drill, mill cutters, whatever. I firmly believe that paying a higher price for quality cutters is WELL worth the money. It is no fun to put 20 hours of work into a precision assembly, only to bugger it with a cheap Chinese "oxide" coated drill.

For 95% of normal shop work, a set of HSS, Western-made (this includes Japan and Europe) drills, is fine. I buy most of my stuff from MSC. If you get their flyers, watch for drill sets on sale. The best way, IMO to get a good drill collection going is to splurge on a big Huot, Kennedy, or similar, chest for drills, with compartments for #1-60, fractions, and letter sizes. Each niche can hold dozens of the same-sized drills. The wire-guage and the fractionals get the most use, so every so often I'll buy one of those sets, then distribute the set to the big chest. You'll also use drills which correspond to common tap sizes like 4-40, 8-32, etc. quite often, these can be purchased in packs of 10. Likewise, sizes like 3/16", 1/4", etc.

If it sounds like I'm advocating a BIG collection, then yes I plead guilty. Let's say you need a #23 drill for a crappy piece of angle iron. Reach into the "big" chest, and grab a handful of #23's. Pick the most beat up drill bit, and use it for the low-precision work. Conversely, visually select the finest bit for precision work.

Finally, if you spin a shank or chew up a drill bit, toss that bit into a "crappy drill bit" box, and use those for rough work, especially with hand drills. Nothing screws a bit up worse than using one in a hand drill, drilling into hot roll or cast iron.

[DareBee]

Swede

Sounds exactly like my drill collection.

I also like to use the drills with the 3 "chucking" flats on the shank to prevent spin syndrome. There is still plenty of shank left to hold in a collet below the flats as well.