Are DRill Doctor Drill sharpeners junk

[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? 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.