drill doctor

[shotman]

I saw from a few posts that some of you have these.
Here is a note that the manuel dont cover. The drill chuck needs to be cleaned INSIDE. that means you have to take it apart to do it right .
Be REAL carefull or you will have parts all over the room . DO NOT oil the inside of the chuck just the threads on the back .
They will not cut a releif if the jaws get a build up under the rear.

[Bret4207]

I've blown my chucks out with air, seemed to help. Think I lubed it with silicone too.

[375RUGER]

is it worth the money? I'm just wondering. I usually do my drills by hand and have considered a drill doctor.

[Longwood]

I use them a lot.
There is a learning curve but it is not hard to learn.
I especially like how they will sharpen the double cutting tips on the newer drills.
Some drills they will not work with if the twist is different , but other than that, they will pay for themselves the first time you do a box of dull drills.

[Bret4207]

is it worth the money? I'm just wondering. I usually do my drills by hand and have considered a drill doctor.

I think so. I suppose if you have a lot of time, a dedicated grinder your kids don't screw the stones up on, decent eyesight and a good drill gauge them doing by hand is the way to go. If you have kids that grind "swords" out of old files they found in the woods, no time, poor eyesight and a lot of sub 1/4" bits to do....the Drill Dr is a godsend.

[John 242]

I'm glad this thread was started, because I was wondering the same thing. I watched Mr. Pete's videos on drill sharpening and even tried to do a couple bits. Although sharper, I worry about keeping the right angles.
Anyway, any recommendations on which model Drill Doctor to buy?

For anybody interested, Mr. Lyle Peterson (MrPete222) has many really interesting home shop videos on machining and foundry work on YouTube. The drill bit episode where he explains bit sharpening is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqn2V...feature=relmfu

[missionary5155]

Good morning
I have used the grinder attachments and done bits by hand and eye with guages. Bottom line, the Drill Doctor is faster , easier and gets it done right the first time with a whole lot less fuss. I recommend not the cheapest but the middle of the road tool. Not sure of the model number. I am still using my origonal drills purchased many years ago that were stored in a box dull till I bought my first Doc 15 years ago. Have one in ILLinois and one down here in Peru with me. Will never run out of bits in my lifetime. Have a few bits that are mear stubs due to resharpening on the Doc. I generally drill 5-7 holes with a bit then into the re/sharpen bin it goes. When there is a bunch or a size needed they all get sharpened. It does not take long to sharpen 20 bits.
Mike in peru

[jmsj]

We have one at work and I find a very valuable tool as i am horrible at hand sharpening. With the nearest hardware store 50 mles away it can save you a lot of time and frustration when trying to meet a dead line.
Good luck, jmsj

[Longwood]

I have a Starett drill sharpening gauge for the old 118 degree drills and got really good at sharpening drills.
Then along came the 135 degree double cut drills and that changed everything.
Eventually the boss bought a 750 Drill Doctor and it saved us more money than we could have ever expected.
They are made by Dyrex which is a very well known company, and I had seen the professional models in several machine shops I had been in, back before they made the home use models..
A few years after getting the 750, a customer sold me one of the pro models for $200.
I still have it and use it a lot. It is so simple to use if you use them frequently.
I just ordered a small order of drills that came to over $65. They sure cost a lot for good ones these days.
Any hobby machinist or gunsmith should own one of the better Drill Doctors..

[mstarling]

I have used on in the home shop for years. Works well for me. Have saved many times its cost in drill bits!

[waksupi]

It seems when you get a new drill, they are terrible as far as being off-center goes. Does the Drill Doc cure this?

[mstarling]

When you get a little practice with the Drill Doctor it produces well centered bits.

[MBTcustom]

When you get a little practice with the Drill Doctor it produces well centered bits.

Not my experience at all. The whole thing is made of plastic. If you just slap 'em in there, you will get off center tips. Most folks wouldn't care, but I need drills to produce holes that are within .002 of stated size. I bought one for the company I work for, thinking to save some time with some of the other machinists that can't see very well anymore to sharpen by hand. There is nothing about the drill doctor that gives it the ability to cut perfect edges. If you want them right, you have to use a pair of calipers to compare the cutting edges just like you do grinding them by hand. I suppose it does help folks hold consistent angles if they have no training for it, but you have to fiddle with it to get the proper relief on the cutting edges too.
I can fiddle with it and get a good, perfect grind, but I it doesn't cut as aggressively or smoothly as a properly hand ground bit.
Bottom line is, If you don't know how to sharpen a drill bit by hand, and all you have is a pile of unusable bits, then this could be a good thing, but if you care about your holes coming out the right size, you are going to need a way to measure the edges to make sure they are right. This is especially true with tap drills, and even more so with the fine threads we deal with on firearms. You need the smallest hole that the tap-drill can produce in order to get full thread engagement. Some of the sizes we deal with would be ruined if the tap drill made a hole .010 over sized like has happened when I sharpen with the DD and just use it without measuring. It wouldn't fail until it was being used and subjected to field conditions (my personal worst nightmare).
I just sharpen by hand.

[largom]

It seems when you get a new drill, they are terrible as far as being off-center goes. Does the Drill Doc cure this?

Yes it will cure off center as well as chipped bits. I sharpened by hand until my eyes caught up with my age, now I use my DD750. The Drill Doctor will do a good job IF you pay attention to detail in its use.

Larry

[bedwards]

I have had really good luck with my DD750. I sharpened bits I have saved for years with it.


BE

[shotman4]

if the grinding dust builds up under back side of chuck jaws it will not set bit correctly. I talked to factory and they are going to add about cleaning the inside of the chuck. Air wont do it as the springs keep the jaws tight against the back of the chuck. If you set the bit right it will cut perfect