Cobalt Drills

[Mikegtr]

Your advice on Cobalt Drills. There's a lot of makes to choose from. New to the Cobalt drill bit. I'm a DIY person so only to use occasionally for home use. I would be looking for a small 'set' of drills--drills that would last and hopefully be of good quality. Can you recommend a trusted quality hard wearing make?

Look forward to your experience of the Cobalt drill.

 

[Sideways]

Cobalt are usually used for drilling harder tougher alloys and stainless which work hardens and can kill an ordinary drill bit quickly if you don't have good technique.
Buy them singly when you need them for a specific job.

High Speed Steel jobber drills are disposable things. You may not even need a full range of sizes. I get most use out of 3 & 4mm as pilot drills, 6,8 and 10 to drill clearance holes for my most commonly used bolts.

If you need to tap threads in things, then there are specific size drills that match the common threads and it's nice to have the correct size, not the nearest whole or half size that happens to be in your set.

 

[John Hall]

Dormer and Presto, are really good but expensive
If you’re looking for a set of HSS 1-13mm the Dormer sets are excellent…look for recent ones which have a four facet point…much better than the original standard ground point…
Be careful of buying no name makes, even though they may say cobalt…
There’s lots of rubbish out there…
For general use you won’t need cobalt….good HSS are good for the majority of jobs…..
If you’re new to diy…..do some research on correct drilling speeds required for different metals and drill diameters…it makes a big difference

 

[niall Y]

My last set was from Axminster. When drills go missing I replace them with ones from UKDrills which, so far, have been okay.
I no longer bother with standard jobber drills as I can't guarantee that they won't be carp.

 

[John Hall]

Something fishy going on here!

 

[bentontool]

Dear Sir, I do not have a recommendation for a particular brand of cobalt drill bits, as I have purchased all of mine as used industrial surplus, but I highly recommend owning a set. They are far tougher than HSS! I love mine!
When it come to re-sharpening them, I have multiple drill bit sharpeners, but used one of the ubiquitous "General®" sharpeners for years. They work quite well if set-up and used properly.
As a woodworker and metalworker, I have the common trait of being a "pack-rat"; unable to discard anything of any potential future value (the reason I have no room in my workshop!). I resharpen most of my drill bits, especially the coveted cobalt ones.

 

[pgrbff]

You can often find Bosch HSS cobalt in marketplace at Amazon. I have a 1 -10mm in .5mm increments and I think it cost around £30

 

[John Hall]

Also on Amazon…Dewalt have a 14 piece imperial cobalt set 1/16”-3/8” around the same price…The metric set is currently around £38

 

[John Hall]

These from Sealey are probably ok…half price..
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/39039924...0F9lql0QRC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Doug B]

I started using Famag drill bits a few years back, they certainly aren’t cheap but they are excellent quality