I want to drill a few small holes in a steel hand saw using an electric hand drill. I have done some research and the drill bit to get for steel would be a carbide bit. From what I have read carbide drill bits should not be used in a hand drill. Is that so? What drill bit would you recommend and preferred make?
Drill Bit Advice
- Thread starter Mikegtr
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Deadeye
Established Member
Cobalt. The reason you get advised against carbide is that it's brittle and can break if your hand wanders during drilling. https://fmcarbide.com/blogs/techtalks/cobalt-vs-carbide-drill-bit
Local toolstation or screwfix and get a "cobalt" jobber drill bit.
These are made of a high speed steel alloy with 5 or 8% cobalt that greatly improves their ability to survive and cut through harder steels.
To be honest an ordinary HSS bit will probably do the job but "HSS-E" cobalt bits will do better and it's handy to have a couple in the toolbox for stubborn steels.
You pay a little more but they are not silly expensive.
Cobalt bits are IMO a must have for drilling stainless which can quickly blunt ordinary HSS.
I have no idea why you are seeing stuff about not using tungsten carbide tipped cutters in a hand drill. We use TCT tipped masonry bits in handheld power drills all the time, I wouldn't think twice about using a TCT tipped holesaw in a cordless drill or a TCT spearpoint glass/tile drill likewise.
These are made of a high speed steel alloy with 5 or 8% cobalt that greatly improves their ability to survive and cut through harder steels.
To be honest an ordinary HSS bit will probably do the job but "HSS-E" cobalt bits will do better and it's handy to have a couple in the toolbox for stubborn steels.
You pay a little more but they are not silly expensive.
Cobalt bits are IMO a must have for drilling stainless which can quickly blunt ordinary HSS.
I have no idea why you are seeing stuff about not using tungsten carbide tipped cutters in a hand drill. We use TCT tipped masonry bits in handheld power drills all the time, I wouldn't think twice about using a TCT tipped holesaw in a cordless drill or a TCT spearpoint glass/tile drill likewise.
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He did not say that. He said 'carbide', no more, no less. Nothing about tips, whether for saws, sores, pumps or billhooks.
He is more likely referring to a _solid_ carbide drill, which as the reply above your own points out, is brittle and needs a rigid machine to drive it lest it break.
I think that the cost of a Carbide drill bit would put most people off using one in anything other than a drill press or a mill and in a production enviroment.
https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/cut...ls/carbide-drill-4mm-q-coat-3xd/p/SWT1583540S
https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/cut...ls/carbide-drill-4mm-q-coat-3xd/p/SWT1583540S
pgrbff
Established Member
I've made a few bladed items from old saw blades, but not wanted to go down the road of annealing, hardening and retempering, so have just used a very fine (tiny but hot) blow torch to locally heat where I wanted to drill. The HSS bits went through no bother after that and the locally soft bits seemed to have no impact on the temper of the rest of the metal.
Cracking application of a liitle-used word (lest) ...
Fair point. If my solid carbide end mills are anything to go by, they are also ground to a near mirror finish along the shank and I imagine a 3 jaw drill chuck wouldn't get a good grip on them.
Many thanks for all your replies--much appreciated.
If looking for high quality drill bits for metal then look for Swiss Tech / Dormer but for wood I find the spur bits from
https://www.alpen-drills.com/en/product-range/drills-for-wood-32/
good allround value.
https://www.alpen-drills.com/en/product-range/drills-for-wood-32/
good allround value.
Maybe not good for the threads either clamping them in a collet chuck.
I use their very small fraction of a mm drills for watchmaking. They always cut well but seem to have a bit more give in them than others, so don't break as readily.
