Looking for DRILL BIT recommendations! :)

mhardy6647

So -- in the past week, I managed to break a 3/32" and a 7/64" drill bit, drilling in very soft wood (fir). Realizing full well that a good mechanic doesn't blame his [or her] tools -- I don't usually break drill bits, so I am thinking that the bits in question (both branded "Ryobi") may be, shall we say, junk.

Would any of you fine folks be willing/able to recommend a specific brand of small twist drill bits (HSS or cobalt or titanium coated or whatever) of high/superior quality.

Thanks!!!

ZLTFUL

I used to recommend Vermont American but the last batch of them that I bought don't seem to be any better than the Hitachi branded bits I went through like a hot knife through butter.

Irwin, Black & Decker and Dewalt branded bits have been my recent go to for wood while the same brands' Cobalt steel offerings have been my choice for metals.

mhardy6647

Thanks for the quick reply!
I have a project that's dead in the water 'til I replace one of those bits (for drilling pilot holes).

afterburnt

.17 HMR?

DollarDave

I have both Dewalt and Milwaukee. I prefer the Milwaukee slightly.

decal

Drill Bits are expendable items, especially small ones. Just keep more on hand.

mhardy6647

decal wrote: »

Drill Bits are expendable items, especially small ones. Just keep more on hand.

gladly -- what brand would you suggest?

Mikey081057

I like Milwaukee bits for the drill and the drill driver.

Bosch bits are good too

kharp1

I have an older set of Vermont at work that I keep in top shape, I feel they're the last of the good ones. Around the house I keep several sets of whatever is on sale. I've had decent luck with the ones from harbor freight for throw away. Bosch and Dewalt have exceeded my expectations.

Take that with 2 grains of salt.

msg

mhardy6647

Wait, what?
Owen Wilson makes drillbits?
Do I have to buy the signature model?

Thanks, folks.


FWIW

I have a number of old (late 1980s) Vermont American US-made tools and bits etc. Like 'em a lot. As I recall, Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) in the Bay Area (aka Silicon Valley) carried 'em --although I might've gotten them at the local hardware store in Ayer, MA in our early days in the Bay State (i.e., early 1990s).

I assume that the brand was in some way related to the now long-gone history of the Vermont "upper valley" as a center for precision machining and hardware. Springfield, VT was a nexus of such industry; now, AFAIK, all that remains is the American Precision Museum in nearby Windsor, VT


https://www.americanprecision.org/

Tony M

Drill Hog® USA 21 Pc Drill Bit Set Metal Hi-Molybdenum M7 MOLY Lifetime Warranty

mdaudioguy

mhardy6647 wrote: »

decal wrote: »

Drill Bits are expendable items, especially small ones. Just keep more on hand.

gladly -- what brand would you suggest?

For everyday work, Ryobi! I rarely, or basically never, break even the smaller ones when using my press with clamped material. With the handheld drill, however, I do go though some, but not enough to make me think I need to spend more. There's a reason why the sets tend to include multiples of the smaller bits...

Viking64

VERMONT AMERICAN ARE FU(KING FRAUDS!!!!!!

delkal

Look for any HSS bit made in America. You might have to get your reading glasses out, take the bit out of the package, and read it. Any Japanese / European brand you find should be good too but they are even harder to find.

Unfortunately you can't go by any brand name sold in hardware stores anymore. And who knows when the accountants will make them change to some Chinese made junk in the near future. Anyone remember Craftsman?

afterburnt

My two cents, anything from Harbor Freight should be approached as a one-shot deal. If you get more than that out of it consider it gravy.

My Black and Decker bits have served me well but they are pretty old so who knows what they are like now??? I did get a Black and Decker drill a year or so ago and there is a recall on it. I am not returning it though, I am gonna sue them when it blows my balls off.

At any rate, I try not to be a handy DYI guy anymore. I find breaking stuff easier and more satisfying.

Nesmith98

In the machine shop we use either Morse or Cleveland Twist Drill.

Here's a link to MSC for the Cleveland drill bit.....

https://mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Holemaking/Drilling-Drill-Bits/Metalworking-Multipurpose-Drill-Bits/Jobber-Length-Drill-Bits?navid=12106186#navid=12106186+4294951008+4288243005

It looks like Amazon has some Morse tools....
https://amazon.com/stores/node/9684002011?_encoding=UTF8&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=Morse%20Cutting%20Tools&ref_=bl_dp_s_web_9684002011

Nachi from Japan are great too but harder to find.

Small drills like that are easy to break when using a hand drill.

tonyp063

I throw away Milwaukee & Bosch less often than others.
But yes, the smaller ones are consumables.

I'm using them as a homeowner/hobbyist. Not a pro.

mhardy6647

I mean, yeah, I've broken bits before, but not usually without due cause (or old, well worn bits) -- this was two, from the same set, in three days. That is new to me.

voltz

I have drill a trillion hole in my career in Aircraft. I spent most of my time in the Rout Cell but now I was transfer to take over the drill cell by myself after my buddy Mi Lu retired. but all I ever have drilled was Aluminium or Steel. never wood.
I could send you my 3/32 bits but have no idea what brand they are or how they would handle wood!

verb

DeWalt is my brand as of late. On occasion, some of the closeout stores (Big Lots, et., al) will have em, I usually snag em all up! And yes, I have spares!

afterburnt

@voltz Darryl, you use them number bits that no one else uses. Fractions of a nonexistent number. Rock on dude, some of my friends built L-1011's and they never fell from the sky, go figure? My friends fell off cliffs and stuff though.

voltz

I have ever bit and reamer you could ever imagine. a reamer has a flat end a Dreamer has a pointed in so you can use it to drill out smaller hole and the reamer has to have a hole near the size of the reamer.

you should see my tool box..it is so heavy it will take two people to move it and it has wheels on it and I can't move it by myself

verb

voltz wrote: »

I have ever bit and reamer you could ever imagine. a reamer has a flat end a Dreamer has a pointed in so you can use it to drill out smaller hole and the reamer has to have a hole near the size of the reamer.

you should see my tool box..it is so heavy it will take two people to move it and it has wheels on it and I can't move it by myself

Pic's bro! Let's check it out!

voltz

If I take a pic at work and it shows up on social media I can get walked out. Number#1 rule at work "NO PIC"S Textron/Cessna has fired dummies for this.

I am now the senior employee in the Fab cell and close to retirement. we make the parts that go on the plane, we don't do any assembly.

verb

voltz wrote: »

If I take a pic at work and it shows up on social media I can get walked out. Number#1 rule at work "NO PIC"S Textron/Cessna has fired dummies for this.

Oh gotcha! Same here at my work, and when I worked at Pratt & Whitney!

motorstereo

I'll take cobalt as my preferred drill bit. I still have a tri-dex of hss drill bits of extreme quality from an aerospace factory I worked at in the 70's. I even have a few carbide bits left. Modern cobalts easily out do these older bits. FWIW if you're breaking bits in fir I'm thinking you need a steadier hand rather than better bits.

mrbiron

Hardy breaking bits...Now i can die a happy man!!

Like already mentioned, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Rigid, Bosch, hell even Ryobi.
For drilling 2x stock, they will all suffice.

Drill bits break. It's what they do. Kind of like concrete will always be grey and crack.
You can minimize breaks by keeping the drill level

xschop

Whichever alloy the Craftsman Cobalts from @ 10 years ago is the beeswax for me. Never broke a single one and have resharpened a few times. Cut through stainless like butter. Other Cobalts Ive tried from dewalt and others do not last. Black and Decker is junk for sure.

gudnoyez

Triumph twist drills or Champion are the better ones.