Enco drill bits

You've got the right idea, get a cheap set for the variety of sizes that you might only use a few times and have good drills in your working sizes.

It's been a while since I checked but J&L used to regularly run a $95 sale on their Hertel 115-bit sets. I've found them to be well worth the money.

Mike

Dick, I have a couple of the cheap sets.

One has been fully ground for use on Brass and Acrylic, both tend to suck in a drill bit.

The other is right beside the drill press, I refer to it a the "Visitor Drills", to those that get on my case for having an el-cheapo set. Truth be known, I use them all the time on Aluminum, for pilot holes, and non critical clearance holes. And I have replaced the tap drill sizes I use the most with good drills.

I keep the good set out of sight. Dave

Personally I went with the middle of the road price point, decent drills in a nice case (might even be Huot?), from Enco, around $120 several years ago. For metal use consider screw machine length, much more rigid and you can often get by without center or spot drilling. Forget the flashy gold coatings and all that, although split point grinds are definitely worthwhile. Unless you're doing production and in difficult materials the titanium coatings et.al. are just gimmicky in my opinion. I do keep a set of jobber length fractional drills for deeper holes (mostly lathe work). I've found that cheesy twist drills always disappoint, even the sizes you rarely use. Even a good set will end up with replacement drills for the more popular sizes. Just my experience.. Oh yeah, don't loan em out, they tend to last much longer that way.

Regards Paul

As did I -- for about the same price. Made-In-USA bits, but not Cleveland (which were in the top-of-the-line sets at the time).

The HUOT index is a *lot* better than the import cases. And one thing which is not said anywhere, but which I just discovered. There is a clip on the divider between the fractionals and the letter-sized bits on the letter-sized side. That clip will very nicely hold a HUOT index for the #61-#80 bits, which I already had.

Indeed so. I later picked up a set of machine-length in high cobalt steel with split points. The only disadvantage is that the set is only number-sized bits. The full 115 bit set is just too much for me to afford these days.

They do tend to shed welding of built-up-edges better for things like aluminum. But you want to make sure that the drill bit *under* the TiN coating is a good metal. The import ones tend to put the coating on junk metal, so you still have a junk drill bit.

The really cheap ones will have unequal flute length (making oversized holes), and sometimes even were ground with negative clearance, so they don't drill at all. A nasty thing to discover the first time you use a given size.

And the metal is likely to be so poor that you can wind up with a reverse twist by the time you give up. :-)

Of course -- but make sure that these are the best quality bits you can get. Buy them in package lots (10 or a dozen in the smaller sizes, perhaps five to a package in the larger sizes.)

Amen. *That* is what a cheap Chinese set is for. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

Right on, Mike! Hertel is American made, also.

It's been a while since I checked but J&L used to regularly run a $95 sale on their Hertel 115-bit sets. I've found them to be well worth the money.

Mike

Well, I've narrowed it down to two sets that are American made and normally

Black oxide, good on steel, bad on aluminum. shiny, good on both, but the black is a little better on steel, keeps the chips from welding to the bit.

Thank You, Randy

Remove 333 from email address to reply.

Well ... it really depends on what you drill most. The shiny ones (if they are shiny in the flutes as well) mean polished flutes, which causes some materials to exit easier, and perhaps less chance of built-up-edge welding. (I think that aluminum qualifies there). But other materials do better with the black oxide finished bits.

FWIW -- I got the shiny ones and have been happy with them (as a hobby metalworker), but if I were doing serious production work I would contact the drill manufacturers and find out what *they* consider the best choice for that specific material.

And -- my indexes of metric drill bits are black oxide -- but I don't use them often enough to have really developed an opinion on which is better for what I drill -- mostly aluminum, brass, and mild steel (12L14 by preference), but occasionally drill rod and other hardenable steels. Obviously, a modified set of bits would be better for the brass, but I have yet to pick up a spare set which I am willing to modify. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

Thanks for the info. Since wood, Delrin and aluminum is what 98% of my drilling consists of, the polished set will be ordered shortly. Thanks once again.

Dick