Are old drill bits worth the effort?

[Michael Ray Smith]

I've recently picked up three or four batches of old brace bits -- mostly augers. After cleaning the rust, I started culling out the ones that didn't seem like good candidates for restoring. Most of the rejects were bent. Others had the spurs either broken off or worn down. I think I ended up with about 15 good bits out of a starting pile of about 75. In other words, I ended up paying about 5 times as much per bit as I thought. Even at that, they're still cheaper than new bits, but almost all of them still have to be sharpened.

One lesson I learned is to check the bits before I clean them. EvapoRust is just too darned expensive for that, and I like it so well I don't want to use citric acid or any other cheaper alternative. However, I wonder if this is even worth the effort at all.

Does anyone have any thoughts? Well, that's a silly question. Allow me to rephrase that: What thoughts does anyone have?

[Marko Milisavljevic]

My experience is this: I waited on fleabay until I found a complete Irwin auger set that looked unused and was claimed to be unused, completely rust free. These come up every few days. I paid about $75 for it. It is as new and I can't imagine wanting to try to resurrect an old rusty, dull, bent set to save $30-$40. I do wish that I had a more hardwood-oriented set - there is no way to use Irwin to bore something like hard maple, since lead screw wants to feed in way too fast. Irwins are single flute and coarse lead screw. Russell Jennings bits may be more suitable for this, but a mint set of those goes for $150-ish.

[Justin Green]

Out of curiosity, what new bits can you buy to use in braces, especially for larger sized holes?

[ray hampton]

save the bent bits and sell them to me for turner tools if they are not too big, P M me

[Jim Neeley]

Out of curiosity, what new bits can you buy to use in braces, especially for larger sized holes?

TFWW sells English-made Jennings pattern bits new, but as you can expect given their size and the amount of machining involved, they are much more expensive than the used sets. For example, a 1/4" bit runs about $30 and a 1-1/8" bit runs about $50. At this rate, a "set" of 13 (1/4" to 1") would run between $400 and $500 new.

Jim

[Mike Holbrook]

I got a set of 13 Irwins at auction for $60+ (almost like new). I bought a set of 9 Russel/Jennings for about the same money, 2 turned out to have part of the shaft missing. The Irwins are easier to find used and cost less, but some prefer the Russel/Jennings. I have read fairly good arguments for both sides of this debate. I have auger bits that have been soaking & getting brushed for over a month that are still almost like they were when I got them. I find these bits harder to restore than most metal hand tools.

[Jim Koepke]

I have had some success straightening bent augers.

Even my bad bits get used at times. If I am doing some rough work and need some holes for pipe or wires, I don't want to use a premium bit.

Lately I have been thinking of trying to make different tools out of unusable augers.

jtk

[Eric Brown]

While many bits look the same, some may have value - even damaged ones.
You can straighten bits by setting them into a wood vee groove and hitting with a mallet.
You can sharpen/clean screw points with the trick of starting a hole in hardwood, removing the bit, filling the hole with something gritty (gojo, lapping compound, etc.) and then run the bit in and out.

If you want, post pictures and describe the bits better. (name, sizes, etc.)
We can tell more then.

Eric

PS: Polished bits work better.

[Tony Zaffuto]

save the bent bits and sell them to me for turner tools if they are not too big, P M me

Can you post a few pics of turner tools you've made from bent bits? I've picked up a lot of bits over the years and a fair number are bent!

[ray hampton]

Can you post a few pics of turner tools you've made from bent bits? I've picked up a lot of bits over the years and a fair number are bent!

the only tool that I made was a boring tool made from a concrete star drill,I can not takes pictures , no camera