Keeping your drilling tool effective, you should sharpen the tool to remove dullness. With time the metal bits get worn, and usage becomes troublesome. You can exert more significant pressure on the gadget the bit might break, and you suffer a personal injury. The bench grinder in your tool room can help. There are sophisticated gadgets designed to perform sharpening job on the drill bits. But the bench grinders might serve the purpose.
Contents
How To Sharpen A Drill Bit – Step By Step Guide
The method to perform the sharpening of drill bits is explained step by step below.
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Step 1
To make you drill a bit sharp, you need to remove extra metal from the drill’s surface. You must examine the dull drill bit to estimate the kind of deliberation of grinding you need. The bench grinder you are using might be coarse or fine. For drilling bits, begin sharpening with the coarse grinder. Then move onto the fine. However, the finer grinding method can be used if the bit condition isn’t that bad.
Step 2
You are required to put on the goggles before turning the bench grinder on. Ensure proper grip of the drill bit and hold the bit parallel to the front of the grinding wheel. Move the bit against the grinder wheel without changing its position. You are expected to keep the object straight at 60⁰, the original factory angle.
Step 3
The bit is supposed to be held at this same angle for four to five minutes. The main motive is to sharpen the dull edges and not lead to wearing the drill bit itself. The twisted shaft should be subjected to drilling carefully. Keep a note that the heel should be ground and not the edge. So, maintain an ideal angle. Any deviation would affect boring a bit.
Step 4
The process of grinding should be paused after four to five seconds, and the bit should be dipped in icy cold water. The metal must quench fast as the heat might affect the metal adversely. Consequently, if the quenching is not done correctly, it may reduce the ground bit’s useful life. Post cooling inspection is needed to clarify the degree of effectiveness of grind.
Step 5
Once the grinding is satisfactory on one side of the drill bit, it is flipped 180⁰ to attend the other side. The same procedure of grinding and subsequently cooling method needs to be followed. For a perfect hole, the ground should be the same on both sides. Holding at 60⁰ angles should be maintained. A lot of grinders feel it comfortable to grinding small portions flipping the drill bit 180⁰. They feel this would generate a smoother finish.
Step 6
It would be required to arrive at a pointed tip of the bit with equal width on sides. If satisfied with the finish, subject it to testing. Use scrap wood to hold the drill perpendicular to it. If you apply slight pressure as you twist the drill with your hand. This process should initiate hole drilling. But, if it doesn’t, it means you have to redo the grinding process again. The revisiting process is quite natural. You can succeed using trial and error sequences to achieve precision.
Step 7
Finally, once the bit achieves the expected result, fit the same onto the drill. The hole drilling on scrap wood should be effortless. Minimal pressure would be required to process it.
Tools You Need To Sharpen A Drill Bit
1. Know Your Bit Features
A valuable property of any drill bit is its speed. So before grinding, try knowing about the bit well; three basic features must be a concern. These are land, lip, and chisel. Lip is the feature that does the cutting in actual. So, to arrive at perfect drilling, the two lips provided on the twist drill must be symmetrical. To avoid irregular holes, you must check both sides of the lip are equal, not one bigger than the other. See the comparison of different bits that you can use.
The land is the portion that follows the lip. While bit cutting, the land serves as a sharp edge. For clearance, the land should be angled correctly. You should maintain a proper gap between the portion between the lip and portion you wish to drill. The line formed due to the intersection of land on the twisted drill I called chisel. The chisel does not produce any cutting action. But it smears to the surface of the hole of the wood piece you are drilling. Also you can get a bit set like Drill Doctor.
2. The Bench Grinder
The best way to avoid fluency of work you should ensure the bits are sharpened from time to time. In this effort, the bench grinders are quite effective. You can choose coarse or fine grinders based on requirements. The most popular methods used for sharpening the drill bit are two. They are 1) Using the bench grinders, 2) The Angle Grinders, 3) Use Dremel Sharpening station.
For proceeding for grinding, jigs are needed to fit the block surfaces perfectly. Proper angles are to be maintained. The cobalt bits are more beneficial if you are working with harder material. At the same time, you need titanium bits for softer material like wood. For commonly used twisted bits, an angle of 118⁰ would be required. Varieties of materials like plastic and wood are subjected to grinding at this angle. However, you should note, the optimum angle needs to be followed for each item.
135⁰ is used for hard and strong metals. If you are using hard metals like iron ore or stainless steel for drilling purposes, this is best.
These are some best bench grinder that you can use to sharpen a drill bit:
Table grinder motor runs at 3,600 rpm for high-speed material removal; Precision-machined aluminum tool rests allow the user to accurately position work
5-amp variable speed motor goes anywhere from 2000 to 3400 RPM; Slower speeds maximize precision while high speeds help with fast material removal
3. Gloves For The Safety Of Hands And Grip
Gloves protect your hands when working with power tools. For example, the use of gloves can be used for drilling purposes. According to need, gloves can be designed to act as anti-vibration features. For a safer work environment, the gloves are required. Secondly, the grip facilities provided by the use of gloves are remarkable. Gloves are recommended, but few find them un-useful. They are optional.
4. Goggles To Keep Your Eye Protected
The use of goggles is mandatory. Flakes of wood or metal can splash while grinding and cause personal injury. To protect yourself from getting injured, your eyes should be covered with goggles.
5. Ice Cold Sater In A Container
For significant grinding stop and cool method is essential. This prevents the bit material from getting overheated. As a reason, the bit may get damaged. For every inch of drilling, the bit needs to be dipped in ice-cold water to quench. So, you must keep ice cold water handy.
6. Scrapped Pieces Of Wood
To testify whether grinding of the bit is adequate, you need scrap wood. Also, wood scrap pieces can be used for holding the bit in place.
Some Important Tips
Three best practices can effectively keep tool bits sharp are:
Pull out your drill after penetration of every inch of wood. Blow off the flakes of wood clung to the drill flutes. The presence of these can make you a bit hotter. Dullness becomes more prominent when the bits get hotter.
If hardwood is being subjected to drill, it would be recommended to stop and cool the drill bit at intervals. So, it would be necessary to keep a container with cold water to cool down the heat before proceeding. This process can be done for every inch of the drill.
It would be wise if you maintain two bits for work. One with freshly sharpened bit the other bit older, reduced sharpness will do. Use the fresh or almost newly sharpened drills to make the hole while the other finish the hole drilling. In a way, you can restore the sharpness of drill bits for a long.
FAQs
1. When the grinder is used, small chunks of wood or metal fly off and hit my hands and arms. Is there any problem with the wheel?
The safety protection is always necessary when a power tool is used. Proper PPE should be worn. Gloves are available for various make that can resolve the issue. But the goggles for eye protection are a must.
2. Is metal cutting grinders applicable for cement or stone?
No. Silicon carbide is best suited for masonry or stones. Aluminum oxide grains are used as grain for metal cutting.
3. What is the difference between disc cutter and angle grinder?
The angle grinders are durable and versatile. They can perform cutting, grinding, and sharpening functions simultaneously. Disc cutters have small, single-handed cutting blades useful for small actions.
Final Thoughts
By reading our review you will have fair idea about how to sharpen a drill bit. The bench grinders are useful for the purpose. Before application, you should understand what material is being handled. Drill bits may vary in the material of construction. Practice the utmost safety. Proper protective equipment is needed. The sharpeners are either coarse or fine. Maintain proper angles to grind the bits. For twisted drills, lip, the land, and the chisel features need checking.
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