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Drill sharpener

Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 6:38 am
by mick whittingham
Hi all.
Like most folk with a workshop I have a box full of dull drill bits that I always say I will get around to sharpening at some point.

From the tiny to half inch it's a good chunk of money sat doing nothing. Easier to grab another new bit than to set up the bench grinder and a fiddly, temperamental drill jig and spend a whole day making dust.

So I decided to buy a drill bit sharpener of some description. Lidl do something, if you can wait for it to hit the middle aisle, fleabay have more involved machines but most come on a slow boat from China, and various tool suppliers I've bought from before offer something ranging in price from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand quids.

After much consideration, well having looked in my piggy bank, I plumped for £335 worth of metal and motor from Warco, a tool importer who have a very good reputation.

It's a small portable unit, but heavily built and pretty robust looking. It handles from 3mm to 13 mm drills and not only grinds the web but also thins the point.

Initial results have been really good, it's very easy to set up and it takes seconds to transform a dull bit into something that will cut through steel like a laser.

Wish I'd invested earlier, I'd have spent a lot less money on drill bits over time.
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Re: Drill sharpener

Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 11:03 am
by Gerhard Michel
Looks like a very valuable tool!

Other drill sharpeners in similar construction are less expensive (costs about 50 to 70 €), but some simpler. All these tools can create sharp drills, the ones for hobbyists, the others for craft experts.

Re: Drill sharpener

Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 1:52 pm
by Martin Usher
good investment for the hobbyist, my only advise if taken is to keep clean, the fingers in the collets collect every spec of grinding dust and accelerate wear as you can imagine, small vacuum for internal parts and mech, the material is soft and will literally grind itself away affecting drill point accuracy.
will certainly help in the workshop.

Martin.

Re: Drill sharpener

Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 9:57 pm
by mick whittingham
Thank you for the comments. I'm sure it would not stand up to constant or industrial use, but in my shop it will definitely outlast me lol.