Can Anyone Recommend a Drill Bit Sharpening Machine?

[mjk]

My first drill sharpener was a 1x42 belt sander
For touch ups it was ok

My first dedicated sharpener was a STD/TRD DG80m
It is good for smaller drills, or just a refresh of a tip

My latest is a Brierley ZB32 that I use the most.
This one does nice work on larger drills that have had major damage.

I've found with both having my own cheat sheet with just the basic setup/loading diagram makes for quick drill sharpening.

A dedicated lighted magnifier helps

I try and set aside an hour every couple weeks to touch up the drills that need attention.
Although I have a full range of sizes, I find a dozen or so sizes that I commonly use.
I don't attempt to sharpen anything smaller than 1/16" unless I don't have a choice

Whichever one you are about to purchase, see if someone has done a Youtubbbe video of that model to give you an idea of how hard or easy it is to use. Manuals are great(but sometimes not available) but seeing someone do the operation can shed a new light on how the machine operates

 

[Terry Keeley]

Before I got my Black Diamond I did this too, but started right away with the newer fancier model "Drill Doctor." It didn't do a very good job at all, and not only that, but it wasn't very repeatable when I actually did get a usable edge. I sold it down the river on eBay (with description mentioning it didn't work well for me) since it was still basically brand new. I surmise that they must be rather hit or miss on quality; when they come up as a subject of discussion it always seems that some like them and some hate them. Then I found an almost new looking Black Diamond with collets for $300 (shipped no less!) and it also came with a CBN wheel. Deal of the year for me.

You stole that!

IIRC I payed C$500 for my 1B. I restored it, bought other units and sold off the parts on Fleebay so I can now do #70 to 3/4".

Love it, even cheap "silver and deming" drills cut nice with a proper grind. I've been able to split the point on a 3/32" drill, made all the difference in Ti.

Before:

After:

 

[eKretz]

Yeah, I did. Especially since it was one of the new ones like this.(Not mine, just almost identical). Mine has all 3 setting turrets though. Good job on that restoration.

 

[Mike Henry]

I lucked into a pair of Black Diamond BW95's for $300 each, one with the stand and most of the drill bushings. Sold the other to a friend and picked up loose lots of drill bushings on Ebay until I had a full set (less one that seems to have gotten lost). Drove 700 mile RT to Minnesota and back in one day, but the grinder was in great shape so it was worth it. It doesn't get used much, but has been a real life saver on small bits several times.

 

[dian]

"The idea is that the machine would be for the people who aren't skilled enough to do it by hand so they don't have to keep asking the people that CAN do it for help."

biggest problem with drill grinders is to position the drill correctly in whatever fixture is being used. no idea if there is a way around it.

 

[john.k]

The Black Diamond has features of the old WW2 Warren and Brown....so I assume there is a earlier grinder the ideas are lifted off....unfortunately the W&B while simple is only for number size up to 1/4 max,when ,we assume the big machines take over....The W&B has a set of dedicated collets,as the diamond,but no removable bushes ......so you simply push the drillbit into a collet,twist it around to engage the indexing cross cuts,tighten the collet,and stick it in the grinder....the grinder part is the base of the W&B valve facer.

 

[Windy City]

For the guys who have used or own a Black Diamond, are there any provisions to grind drills larger than 3/4"?

 

[eKretz]

I lucked into a pair of Black Diamond BW95's for $300 each, one with the stand and most of the drill bushings. Sold the other to a friend and picked up loose lots of drill bushings on Ebay until I had a full set (less one that seems to have gotten lost). Drove 700 mile RT to Minnesota and back in one day, but the grinder was in great shape so it was worth it. It doesn't get used much, but has been a real life saver on small bits several times.

That's what mine is, a BW-95. Nice little grinder.

For the guys who have used or own a Black Diamond, are there any provisions to grind drills larger than 3/4"?

No, the master collet is ¾", so that's as big as you can grind. If you were to make your own larger ID holder for a bigger collet it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility to go slightly larger but not a whole lot. I'm pretty sure there's room to do so as far as width of the grinding wheel face, but not in the original holder. It has a 1⅛" outside diameter but ID is only big enough to fit the ¾" collet with a pretty thin wall on the collet already. But that would be a bit of work.

I generally just hand grind the larger drills and use the BD grinder for the small ones.

 

[CarbideBob]

What kind of a tip does a Black Diamond make?

 

[eKretz]

90° - 140° included. Split point or thinned web. I use mine for modified split point, which is basically just having the drill rotated a bit from the regular point splitting angle. This helps in starting so the drill doesn't want to wander/lobe as much.

 

[CarbideBob]

I ment conical, helical, other?

 

[metalmagpie]

I was down at my buddy's shop today working on no. 4 Morse taper drills. Of seven drills we sharpened 4. His drill grinder is made by Rush, and it appears very well made, robust, and way out of my league. Here's a pic:

Once my friend hit his stride it only took a minute or so to grind one of these drills, all of which were close to 1.5" diameter.

Now *that*'s a drill grinder!

metalmagpie

 

[mjk]

The Rush and Brierley are very similar
Not sure who copied who

 

[Brett W]

Apparently I have two defective Drill Doctors, cuz my ancient one and the newer 750 model sharpen drill bits fine. While an am looking for something a bit more high end, I can't complain with my DD. Its nice to be able to walk over and sharpen a drill mid cut.

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't notice a difference in my resharps and the drills I get from McMaster like Viking or Greenfield. My hole quality seems plenty good. They don't seem to waller around and cut oversize. If I need a better hole, I ream. Maybe I have never seen a high end drill ground on a super pimp sharpener?

 

[eKretz]

Apparently I have two defective Drill Doctors, cuz my ancient one and the newer 750 model sharpen drill bits fine. While an am looking for something a bit more high end, I can't complain with my DD. Its nice to be able to walk over and sharpen a drill mid cut.

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't notice a difference in my resharps and the drills I get from McMaster like Viking or Greenfield. My hole quality seems plenty good. They don't seem to waller around and cut oversize. If I need a better hole, I ream. Maybe I have never seen a high end drill ground on a super pimp sharpener?

Just because you had a couple that worked doesn't mean they all do... Thought I had made that easy enough to understand in the earlier post so that none could miss it.

 

[eKretz]

I ment conical, helical, other?

Plain-jane drill point. Not sure why a conical point is named that way... To my eye they are helical. A conical shape would have no clearance, right? Anyway, as the drill is rotated in the holder it's moved in toward the wheel as well as the horizontal angle of the holder rotating/swiveling a bit.

 

[dian]

it is conical with the axis offset.

 

[eKretz]

Yes, I get that, but then each side forms a helix, so....anyway, no big deal. Cuts nice, that's all that matters.

The ones called helical points that I'm familiar with are Bickford, Spiropoint, Winslow etc. but those all look more like some kind of complex curve that doubles back on itself rather than a helix.

 

[CarbideBob]

Conical grinds are two cones setting sideways (radially at a angle) and offset to centerline. This style uses mostly a swinging motion during grind.
Yours sounds helical which I suspected from the pics and is an infeed motion during rotation. Depending on where the base circle is set most helical grinds will have a S shaped chisel.
This does not self center as well as straight chisel from a four facet or conical so splitting or web thinning is often added and the S not seen in the finished product.
Drill doctor points are helical grinds so need this modification to work well.
in most cases the chisel area is the most important part of a drill grind and is up to 50% of the Z axis drilling force.
That is crazy it is a such tiny bit of the hole... Stranger still the chisel makes it's own little chip and not the thought of just wedging in and brutal force.
Notching and splitting reduce the size of the this and it's terrible negative face rake but sort of an art to not trap the chips formed here.
When hand ground most will go higher clear rake, this makes a better cutting chisel at a sacrifice of tool life.

Drills are so way complicated compared to a turning, boring or milling tool.
The top face and flank angles the cutting edge sees while working change so drastically from OD to center of the tool.
That lip is above centerline so OD and inside very different. Add to this the flute helix and shape which is not helpful at all in most cases.

Theory is great and I could do all kinds. The best drill tip grind and mods is what works great for you.
Bob

 

[SteelrFn]

I recommend a pedestal grinder and a drill gauge, served me well, takes me about 1 minute to sharpen a drill properly, if that, once you get good at it.