Are DRill Doctor Drill sharpeners junk

[fRED mCnEILL]

I have a drill doctor(350X) that Im trying to use to sharpen a 3/8 twist drill.. Ive tried to follow the directions in the manual as well as an online video and nothing seems to work.Am I missing something? Is there some "secret" tweek I need to make to get it to sharpen a drill.Or is it a lost cause and I should toss it in the garbage? Are there sharpeners that actually work?
Any help would be appreciated.

Regards

Fred

[Frederick Skelly]

Fred, I can't diagnose what's biting you but mine works very well. It's definitely not junk.
Maybe you could call their customer service?

Best of luck,
Fred

[Robyn Horton]

Fred .... One thing to make sure is that you do a equal number of turns on the drill bit when sharpening , 2-4-6 so its sharpened equally on both cutting edges.



I have a drill doctor(350X) that Im trying to use to sharpen a 3/8 twist drill.. Ive tried to follow the directions in the manual as well as an online video and nothing seems to work.Am I missing something? Is there some "secret" tweek I need to make to get it to sharpen a drill.Or is it a lost cause and I should toss it in the garbage? Are there sharpeners that actually work?
Any help would be appreciated.

Regards

Fred

[mreza Salav]

I have a 750 model and it works really well but each time I should look up how to set it up. If you follow the instruction properly t does a fine job.

[Dave Lehnert]

I have one at work. It works very well if you set it up correct. Having said that, I do have trouble setting up smaller size bits.
This is just a guess on my part but thinking drill bits may only be hardened on the end of the bit, After you sharpen a few times they no longer hold an edge.

[Ed Labadie]

I have the older model 750. IMO, it works great for it's intended purpose of sharpening a dull bit.

It removes very little material, a chipped bit is best roughed in on a benchgrinder.

Ed

[Edwin Santos]

I've had good results with mine. I don't like using dull bits. With the Drill Doctor I can pull it out of the drawer, sharpen the bit and be back to work in a minute or two.
I have found it works better if you turn the bit in a slow, controlled manner as opposed to turning it quickly. As someone else mentioned, an even number of turns is important. I just followed the instructions, but I know there are a lot of videos on YouTube and maybe they would be helpful to you.

[Derek Cohen]

I have had the 500X about 10 years (this model goes up to 1/2"). It works well, but I also experienced frustrations at the start.

The main problem was that the bit was not set up with enough extension. Be sure that this is done correctly. I was mistaken for a while. Use the best angle (135 degrees for wood), and place the holder in the correct slot and push it in as far as it can go.

The next issue is that one needs to sharpen until either you can see that the flats are complete, or until it does not sharpen any longer (when the bit bottoms out). Complete the elliptical rotations until they stop. This is what creates the clearance angle.

Lastly, I doubt that it is the diamond wheel - mine is still the original - but diamonds do not last forever.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Phil Mueller]

Fred, you’re not alone. I fiddled with it for a while and stuck it away. Thanks for posting the question. Guess I need to get it out and give it another go.

[Frankie Hunt]

They work great. You must pay careful attention to the clamping of the drill bit in the holder. It must be at the correct depth and the correct rotational orientation. I find it best to sneak up on the clamping of the bit. Clamp very lightly and turn the bit to find the correct rotational orientation. Then tighten the clamp. Larger drill bits are easier to align than small bits, both because of the length that allows finger room for rotation once in the clamp and because the spring jaws inside the drill doctor have more grip allowing correct rotational alignment. Practice on a larger bit. Use a sharpie and color the drill bit end. Make 1 full rotation, and see where you are grinding.

As John Cox says below: "The first problem is generally not clamping the end of the bit into the little silver clampy thing right."
When viewing the bit inside the setting jig, the bit's cutting cheeks will be on top and bottom, the silver clamps will come in on the sides and go into the bits gullets. This step is very important. This is where the clamp is lightly clamped onto the bit and the bit is rotated so as to settle inside the jaws of the "silver clampy thing" Also the bit will be pressed in all the way. Once this is achieved, fully tighten the clamp to the bit.

When sharpening count the rotations. (A complete rotation (180 degrees) will remove material from both cheeks of a drill bit point) Count the rotation. Usually about 5 COMPLETE rotations will do. A complete rotation will allow equal material removal from both cheeks of the drill bit point. When sharpening, keep a little bit of pressure keeping the drill bit/holder inserted. Also keep a little bit of pressure against the cam side of the holder/sharpening body.

Hope this helps.

They work well once you get the hang of it. They are extremely fast to use and do an excellent sharpening, creating a perfect point and sharp cutting cheeks.

Frankie

[Al Launier]

If you could practice sharpening manually that would be an art form that would help you sharpen other tools as well. It's not hard to learn at all, you'll be glad you did. I find it so convenient with not having to set up any equipment, just have at it. Maintain a dressed wheel with a square corner, especially for smaller drill bits, i.e. less than 1/8" dia.

As for drill bit hardness it's my understanding they are hardened throughout as drill blanks. What can soften the cutting edge of a drill is excessive heat. When sharpening dip the drill in water frequently to keep the edge cool.

[Cary Falk]

Mine works great.

[John C Cox]

I absolutely love mine! Game changer for me....

What specific problem are you having?

Do you have the same problem with a 3/16" or something small?

Drill bits cut at the wrong angle?
Or
it's properly cut but it won't start the hole right?

The first problem is generally not clamping the end of the bit into the little silver clampy thing right.

The second problem - you probably need to split the point of a 3/8" drill bit for it to start a good hole properly...

[glenn bradley]

Have one. Works great. I think the hardest thing for me to learn was to just let the cam-shape on the holder do its job. Don't try to guide it, it guides itself with just a bit of pressure to keep the cam against the pin. Correct bit position within the chuck and an equal number of turns. Not much else to it.

[John McClanahan]

I have one and really like it. The drill bit must be locked in the chuck correctly, using the jig on the side. If it is just "close" the tip will not be ground correctly.


John

[Andrew Seemann]

They sharpen well, but you do have to pay attention to set up and what you are doing. The old man got one a number of years ago, and we naturally sharpened all our old bits in one big session. At some point we must have done something wrong, because the last half we did ended up having a left hand grind and now refuse to cut. I have it now and I should really learn how to use it, but I learned to sharpen drill bits free hand when I was a machinist years ago, so I seem to just fix them individually when I run into one.

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks all. Of course I had to find mine and give it another try. You helped me understand what I needed to do and it does work well. I don’t think I was inserting the bit deep enough, nor insuring it was locked into the holder correctly. Ok, I admit, not one to read instructions....

I guess you know what I did for the next hour.

[Ed Labadie]

Good to hear it's working out for you.

Ed

[John Terefenko]

Definetly definetly not junk. 750 here and it has saved me alot of money well worth the money.

[Mike Kreinhop]

I have the 750 and it works perfectly for me.

[Bill Space]

When sharpening count the rotations. (A complete rotation (180 degrees) will remove material from both cheeks of a drill bit point)

Good info! But just to clarify, since I don't have one yet but am thinking of buying one. Frankie, you obviously meant count 360 degree rotations, right? Not 180 degree half rotations...

Bill

[tom lucas]

After reading this thread, I felt inspired. I gave a quick look on Craig's list and lo and behold there was one for sale within a couple of miles of me. I picked up a 500X for $20. I went out tonight and tried it out. Worked great. I only mis-sharpened one bit.

And Bill, it's 180 degrees (half turn). It is quite obvious once you've turned it a time or 2. Really pretty darn easy.

[Bryan Cramer]

Not to hijack this thread but I have always thought that the Drill Doctors feel cheap just by looking at them in the store. Has any body tried one of these machines (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Drill-Sharpener-2-15mm-Drill-Bits-Grinder-Grinding-Machine-100-135-Angle-MR-13A/231636334001?epid=1925247973&hash=item35ee99f5b1:g:j5IAAOSw0rpZlOSG)? At least they're made of metal and I do like the metal chuck and collet. Grizzly has one similar for twice the price.

[Frankie Hunt]

Good info! But just to clarify, since I don't have one yet but am thinking of buying one. Frankie, you obviously meant count 360 degree rotations, right? Not 180 degree half rotations...
Bill

Oops.... YES 360 degrees!

Each 180 degrees grinds ONE cheek, so you want to grind both equally.

In practice you turn it 180 degrees, then preposition your hand and turn it another 180 degrees. On each of these 1/2 turns you will feel it grinding then sorta release. Just do it an even number of 1/2 turns so as to grind both cheeks equally. This will create a centered point to your bit. (In other words complete 360 degree rotation) sorry for the confusion. In practice its real easy.

[Mike Kreinhop]

And Bill, it's 180 degrees (half turn). It is quite obvious once you've turned it a time or 2. Really pretty darn easy.

No matter how you slice it, 360 degrees is still one complete revolution. It takes two half turns to complete one pass on the drill.

[John Sanford]

As for drill bit hardness it's my understanding they are hardened throughout as drill blanks. What can soften the cutting edge of a drill is excessive heat. When sharpening dip the drill in water frequently to keep the edge cool.

Hardening through the blank is entirely dependent on the quality of the bit. As anybody who has used more than the most common sizes of a cheapo large set of bits.....

[Dick Brown]

Works well. The problem I have is not with the way it works but I don't want it setting out all the time so it is ready to use anytime your bit gets dull. If I am drilling a lot of holes in steel and the bit gets dull, I will sharpen it on my grinder or disc sander and go right back drilling holes rather than set up and use the D.D. I should dig out all my bits, sharpen them, make them readily accessible, and if one gets dull grab another and keep going. Then when there is a bunch of dull ones, take the time to set up and sharpen all the dull ones at one sitting.
By the way, if you are hand sharpening and don't have a point angle gauge, put two six sided nuts together and the "V" is 120 degrees which is close enough to the recommended 117 that most of your twist drills are that they will work just fine. I have two nuts welded together and a little handle welded on with a loop to hang it up next to the grinder to check angle when hand sharpening.

[Steve Peterson]

I have one and really like it. The drill bit must be locked in the chuck correctly, using the jig on the side. If it is just "close" the tip will not be ground correctly.


John

Another point that has not been mentioned is that the step that aligns the bit in the chuck is designed for the most common twist angle. Drills with different angles will not grind properly unless the bit is rotated slightly in the holder.