Which Letter Drills Are The best Bang For The Buck.

projectnut · Nov 19, 2019

My current supply of letter drills has diminished to the point I need some replacements. I've run across the usual lines like Morse, Cleveland, Chicago Latrobe, Precision, OSG and a dozen or more others.

There seem to be some newcomers to the game that span the price spectrum. One I've never heard of before at the lower end of the price spectrum is Drill Hog. On the other end is KnKut. does anyone have experience with either of these brands, and if so could you share them? I'm looking for something, hopefully made in the USA, that won't break the bank, but is high enough quality that they won't have to be sharpened or replaced on a weekly basis.

aarongough · Nov 19, 2019

"Buy once, cry once."

Go with a USA company you know and you won't have to worry about the quality. I but Morse HSS drills from Maritool.

DDoug · Nov 19, 2019

1. "A"
2. "E"
3. "I"
4. "O"

And don't forget

5. "U"

Illinoyance · Nov 19, 2019

Norseman or Viking.

Mike1974 · Nov 19, 2019

General purpose for all your mats you run or..?

Except for our teeny tiny carbide circuit board drills, we just use plain old HSS, either Accupro or whoever (OSG, Guhring, but I do stay away from Hertel and Interstate if possible) for aluminum and brass with no problems with tool life. However, we aren't pushing anything in the speeds and feeds department.

bigjon61 · Nov 19, 2019

We are partial to Nachi in our shop. They seem like a good balance between cost and quality.

projectnut · Nov 19, 2019

Mike1974 said:
General purpose for all your mats you run or..?

Except for our teeny tiny carbide circuit board drills, we just use plain old HSS, either Accupro or whoever (OSG, Guhring, but I do stay away from Hertel and Interstate if possible) for aluminum and brass with no problems with tool life. However, we aren't pushing anything in the speeds and feeds department.

I intend to use the drills in 2 manual lathes, 2 manual mills (one vertical, one horizontal) and 3 manual drill presses. None will be used in hand drills.

Sorry I misunderstood the "mats". These will be used by in large on 1018 mild steel, 316 stainless, and 6061 aluminum. There are other materials, but the above mentioned are used 90% of the time. One vendor is offering attractive prices on Greenfield jobber length, TIN coated parabloics. Any comments on this style and coating?

Larry Dickman · Nov 19, 2019

digger doug said:
1. "A"
2. "E"
3. "I"
4. "O"

And don't forget

5. "U"

And sometimes, "Why"

AARONT · Nov 19, 2019

projectnut said:
I intend to use the drills in 2 manual lathes, 2 manual mills (one vertical, one horizontal) and 3 manual drill presses. None will be used in hand drills

I believe Mike was referring to materials.

For general applications(not high quantity runs) I usually buy Precision or Chicago-Latrobe. It's served me well. 118° bright hss for Aluminum, 135° Cobalt for the rest.

Mike1974 · Nov 20, 2019

projectnut said:
I intend to use the drills in 2 manual lathes, 2 manual mills (one vertical, one horizontal) and 3 manual drill presses. None will be used in hand drills.

Sorry I misunderstood the "mats". These will be used by in large on 1018 mild steel, 316 stainless, and 6061 aluminum. There are other materials, but the above mentioned are used 90% of the time. One vendor is offering attractive prices on Greenfield jobber length, TIN coated parabloics. Any comments on this style and coating?

I would go with plain (bright) no coating on aluminum. Don't use black oxide on aluminum as it will start to stick, but seems to be ok in 1018 or A36. Not sure on stainless... I would go split point if possible if you are using them in manual machines.

Don't think I have ever used a Greenfield brand drill so I don't know if they are good or not.

basalt · Nov 20, 2019

digger doug said:
1. "A"
2. "E"
3. "I"
4. "O"

And don't forget

5. "U"

And sometimes "Y"

Mateomicro · Nov 21, 2019

digger doug said:
1. "A"
2. "E"
3. "I"
4. "O"

And don't forget

5. "U"

Oh come on Doug, Tell him the truth..... When using "letter drills", UPPERCASE for finishing and lowercase for roughing.

That said...... I buy the cheapest drills I can get from MSC or Western tool for all-around student use. And I buy Precision or Chicago or Nachi for the important stuff..... but I really haven't found the need, most of the time those cheapies work really well.

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Which Letter Drills Are The best Bang For The Buck.

projectnut

Stainless

aarongough

Stainless

DDoug

Diamond

Illinoyance

Stainless

Mike1974

Diamond

bigjon61

Hot Rolled

projectnut

Stainless

Larry Dickman

Titanium

AARONT

Stainless

Mike1974

Diamond

basalt

Aluminum

Mateomicro

Plastic

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