# Are cheap drill bits worth it?



## Cogsy (Aug 31, 2014)

I'm a metric guy and I have very few imperial bits but my next engine will be imperial so I need to buy some bits. I've been considering one of the $100 115pc sets online, rather than trying to source all the different sizes I'll need individually (which will be difficult where I live).

My question is, how bad are these $100 sets? Is it even worth risking getting one or do I need to spend a bit more, if so how much more? I don't see me doing a whole lot of work in imperial so I don't want to spend big $ that I haven't got, but I do want something that will get this job done.

Thanks for the help.


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## dave-in-england (Sep 1, 2014)

.

Does the online advert state that the drills are actually High speed steel, (H.S.S.) or coated ?
 A large cheap set are usually cheap for a good reason.

You will also be left with a lot of drills that you will never - ever use.

It would be a lot cheaper if you buy just the few drills that you need from Ebay, then you can check if they are high speed
or are from a reputable named manufacturer.

.


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## AussieJimG (Sep 1, 2014)

I bought the full metric set plus the imperial plus the number and letter sets from (I think) ArcEurotrade as a source of all those odd sizes that "come in handy" when I had a spare dollar. They are fine for the occasional use when the hole needs to be a little bit bigger or a little bit smaller. 

For everyday use, I buy good stuff - Dormer.

And I replace drills from the sets with Dormer when they become worn indicating that they are frequently used.

I also keep tapping drills with the taps.

There is nothing quite like having the right drill when you need it. The cost is forgotten quickly.

Jim


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 1, 2014)

Cogsey:

This discussion has been kicked around on more than one occasion. 

First of all let me point out there are many variables in buying a 115 pc drill bit set.  Material, coating tip grind and quality/ country of origin. 

I purchased a set from these guys a couple years ago. 

http://www.discount-tools.com/mic-drillset9.cfm
These are Michigan brand made in usa and were shipped directly from the factory. 




the other option is republic brand made in USA  from http://www.tools4cheap.net/republic.php




IMHO one of the biggest factors with drill bits is how well the tip is ground. There are ways to sharpen even the smallest bits. 
but douses one want to regrind new bits because the factory was not paying attention. also with cheap bits you sometimes  get two of the same size..

And I have had bit shatter that the boss paid top dollar for . I guess you pay your money and take your chances and hope the more money paid the better chance of a good product. 
Tin


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## gus (Sep 1, 2014)

Hi Cogsy.
Buy quality drills that will last forever. I have one set of 6----14 mm by 0.1mm increment.Miranda, Made in India and not cheap.I also use Nachi,Japan. Diager,France is also quite good. I have two sets. The M.I.C. Tin coated drills are garbage. The 'Tin' wears off after one--two jobs.
I have given up with M.I.C. endmills too. After a three mild steel jobs they go dull.They are good for cutting aluminium and brass.
 Had to use Carbide Endmills for the silver steel cams for for the Nemett-Lynx Engine.


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## Chiptosser (Sep 1, 2014)

Hi,
A good quality set of drills, should be considered an investment.
You will pleased with the performance of a quality drill and the life.
If you can swing it, cobalt drills will last you for years. If those are not feasible, then a good quality HSS, by a name brand manufacturer is your best bet.
One very important feature, is to get the drills with a spit point! This will save you a lot of time by decreasing the pressure applied while drilling and drills a straighter hole.
The cheap coated drills are just that. They are usually soft with the harder coating.


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## Wizard69 (Sep 1, 2014)

First off what sized are you in need of, letter, fractional or number?   For example if you need a bunch of numbered drills get a set of number drills to save money and buy good quality.  

Second a really good set of drills could easily go for $250++ dollars.  That doesn't mean they would be worth it in a home shop.


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## stevehuckss396 (Sep 1, 2014)

Cogsy said:


> I don't see me doing a whole lot of work in imperial so I don't want to spend big $ that I haven't got
> 
> Thanks for the help.




Why don't you save some cash and just convert your fasteners to metric. Instead if 5/16 (.312) just use an 8mm (.315) and save yourself a lot of cash. If it's just for this one project it might be worth the extra time. Find the closest size drill, tap, reamer and just go with that.


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## Cogsy (Sep 1, 2014)

Thanks for the responses guys, very helpful stuff. So I'm going to forget about the cheapie sets and instead go for a name brand 1/16 - 1/2 by 64ths set for about $80, then track down the half dozen or so tapping/special sizes I'll need and leave it at that.




stevehuckss396 said:


> Why don't you save some cash and just convert your fasteners to metric.


 
Normally I do just that, I even convert shaft, material and bearing sizes because of the cost as well. For this one though, I want to stick as close to plan as I can. I'm not entirely sure why, it just feels right for this build. Of course then I'll have most of the tools to build your V8 the same way too, when I get to it.


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## stevehuckss396 (Sep 1, 2014)

Cogsy said:


> Thanks for the responses guys, very helpful stuff. So I'm going to forget about the cheapie sets and instead go for a name brand 1/16 - 1/2 by 64ths set for about $80, then track down the half dozen or so tapping/special sizes I'll need and leave it at that.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





Well I have been flamed pretty good for this opinion but I think cheap tools are junk. I had a set of chinese drill bits when i was a machining pup. Used to break taps all the time and have all kinds of problems. A metal club member came over to help me one day and grabbed a caliper and started measuring my drill bits. As he went up in size there were 3, and in one case, 4 drills in a row that were within .001 in size. I would bet that at least 30% of the drills in the case were not the correct size. Not a wonder that taps are breaking when I drill undersized holes. I'm sure i'll hear about it but it's hard to argue with the fact that after I purchased "quality" taps, drills, dies, reamers, ect, all those problems went away. Metric, imperial, whatever your working in, get some good quality cutters. If you can't afford a full set, just buy an empty index and the drills you need. Your way better off with a few great cutters than a drawer full of junk ones.


Go ahead boy's, let me have it!


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## Omnimill (Sep 1, 2014)

Over the years I've bought most of my drill bits as I've needed them, so only good brands. More recently though I have bought a few sets at a good price for "rough use" and they've worked out fine. Best bargain was this box of bits which was on special offer at £19.95 at the time. I split a box with a mate. Less than 14p a bit and they seem pretty good to me!

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-hss-drill-bit-trade-pack-150pcs/73567


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 1, 2014)

steve I agree that with drill bits you can not assume anything you need to measure and inspect before use .
Tin


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## gus (Sep 2, 2014)

Today's encounter confirmed messing around with dubious quality drills not wise when a broken drill could mess up a a carby that I took a week to make.
Carelessly took out a 1.5mm drill a cheapy box of drills. Drill broke despite pecking and withdrawal. Drill broke inside the fuel nozzle. Re-do same with a Nachi.

Carby done . Will figure out throttle lever later.
The carby has too many small holes to drill and tap. Ham-fisted hands not wanted.:rant:


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## bazmak (Sep 3, 2014)

Always buy good quality drills,but i realized long ago thats its not economical to buy,nos,letters etc
2 good metric sets 1to 6 in 0.1 and 1 to 13 in 0.5 will do most sizes you only use a handfull of no and letters
the rest are an expensive waste of time


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## Fabrickator (Sep 3, 2014)

Flat out, NO!  I bought a set of Harbor Freight drills and had to re-grind 8 out of the set because they were sharpened wrong by hitting only on one side.  I guess they would be OK if I wasn't doing precision work and used them for common contractor work.  Spend some money and get some quality bits.


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## crueby (Sep 3, 2014)

My vote is no on the cheaper drill bits.

Bunch of years ago I finally swapped out my cheaper drills for a good set, been glad I did. They are sharper, cut better/quicker, last much longer. I got a full set of fractional/number/letter sizes, have at one time or another used about 80% of them at least on different engines/models/etc. Kept the cheaper ones, use them in the wood shop. Not sure where I got them, it was someplace like Enco or Grainger, they had a good set on sale at a price I didn't choke on.


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## gus (Sep 3, 2014)

Please include high quality taps. Go for HSS as they last longer. I bought Japanese and UK Taps. Grew up/old with Dormer/Triangle. A broken tap stuck deep in is very ''tragic'',when that happened to be the last hole.:wall:
When buying taps,please check packing. ''Japan'' is is most like Made in China. The Chinese Gov. is very strict on factories printing '''Made In Japan''. Such factories can have their export license hung. Packing with "Made In Japan''  does not guarantee made in Japan but quality seems up to JIS.


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## crueby (Sep 3, 2014)

Gus - are taps with coatings worth it for hand tapping, or the plain hss ones enough? Use of tapping fluid makes a huge difference on some alloys. Do coatings help too?


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## Hopper (Sep 3, 2014)

No such thing as cheap tools. You always end up buying the better quality tools after the cheap ones muck up a few jobs, break or plain just don't work. So then you have paid twice for the same tools, so it works out more expensive to buy cheap tools. 

Ditto for aftermarket motobike parts, bearings etc etc.

I learned this the hard way over many years now.

IF I am strapped for cash, I will buy used but good quality tools before I buy cheap new tools. I always look out for boxes of old drill bits at garage sales etc, the old ones are nearly always good US, UK, Australian made ones and a bit of a touch up on the grinder and they are good for many years.


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## gus (Sep 4, 2014)

stevehuckss396 said:


> Well I have been flamed pretty good for this opinion but I think cheap tools are junk. I had a set of chinese drill bits when i was a machining pup. Used to break taps all the time and have all kinds of problems. A metal club member came over to help me one day and grabbed a caliper and started measuring my drill bits. As he went up in size there were 3, and in one case, 4 drills in a row that were within .001 in size. I would bet that at least 30% of the drills in the case were not the correct size. Not a wonder that taps are breaking when I drill undersized holes. I'm sure i'll hear about it but it's hard to argue with the fact that after I purchased "quality" taps, drills, dies, reamers, ect, all those problems went away. Metric, imperial, whatever your working in, get some good quality cutters. If you can't afford a full set, just buy an empty index and the drills you need. Your way better off with a few great cutters than a drawer full of junk ones.
> 
> 
> Go ahead boy's, let me have it!



Hi Steve.

Well done and said.  Stood up and counted. 
A mastercrafts man buys only good tools. 
A bad craftsman blames his bad tools for bad jobs.

I am just wondering how good or bad the Black& Decker   and   the Bosch
drills are. Suspect they are all ''M.I.C.  By now the 5 year old Black and Decker set is infiltrated by "Nachi". I like the B&D drill set due to inclusion of tapping drills included such as 2.5   3.3    4.2   which are for M3  M4  and M5 taps.
This post will serve as eye opener to beginners in this hobby. Buy one set of good drills or Buy two bad set of drills.


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## Wizard69 (Sep 5, 2014)

crueby said:


> Gus - are taps with coatings worth it for hand tapping, or the plain hss ones enough? Use of tapping fluid makes a huge difference on some alloys. Do coatings help too?




I tend to believe TIN coated taps are worth the little extra they cost.   The main reason is that they seem to stick less.  Obvious you still need lube or tap fluid.


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## rtp_burnsville (Sep 12, 2014)

My experience with drill bits the past few years have been mixed.  I have gotten both good and bad from name-branded or mid-priced sets.  It really depends what one is going to be drilling in and the required finish that is required.  Other than a few incorrectly sharpened bits the mid-priced sets have work fine for most things.   Avoid anything labeled India.

Taps are another completely different situation.  I will never again buy anything but name brand taps as the risk of breaking one of the cheap one's is just to great.  The spiral point taps are wonderful.

Robert


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## gus (Sep 13, 2014)

Wizard69 said:


> I tend to believe TIN coated taps are worth the little extra they cost.   The main reason is that they seem to stick less.  Obvious you still need lube or tap fluid.



Hi Wizard,

I am also on the lookout for TIN Coated Taps. Forget the so called TIN coated drills from CHina. Tapmatic Fluid is great. Been trying the China version which is cheap and nasty but not to bad.


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## gus (Sep 13, 2014)

Even good Taps will break after some time. Tapmatic seems to enhance the tapping life but when the cutting is not so great and when extra force needed then its time to throw away or risk breaking a tap which not romoveable and  job piece scrapped. I have learnt my lesson with M2 tap while tapping a blind hole.:wall:


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## mcostello (Sep 13, 2014)

Where I used to work, We used a Rockwell drill and tap drill press type machine. It would tap 1/2" x 13 tpi with the belt constantly slipping. We thought to try and see what would lower the friction the most and see if We could do the job on that machine as it would be faster and easier. We tried Cool Tool ,straight cutting oil, Tapmagic and a couple others. What worked best and made the machine capable of doing the job was 1/2 cutting oil mixed with 1/2 NeverSeeze. Worked the best. Don't ask about the mess though.


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## gus (Sep 16, 2014)

Was told   ''Prestel'' brand drills are UK. Just in case this turns up at your cheap hardware shop,be informed it another M.I.C.. Upon visual inspection I found no two drills have same angle point. Some were near flat and some very sharp point. Looks like drill end grinding subcontracted out at RMB/kg.


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