Quality drill bits can take a bite out of your tool budget but, with proper care, they can last a long time. A variety of drill bits are required to perform all the work you need to do but drills can become dull or chipped.
A dull or damaged drill bit:
Slows down the job. Your time is valuable.
Causes wear and tear on your electric drill. Your power tools are valuable.
The resultant hole can be inaccurate or rough.
Dull drills generate more heat and wear out faster.
Using a damaged drill can be hazardous.
Drill care suggestions:
Store drill bits in a case
This case should provide a separate compartment for each drill bit
Keep your drills sharpened and ready for use.
Don’t wait until you need the drill to sharpen it. There is nothing more frustrating than being ready to work and find that you need to stop and service a tool.
Drills can be sharpened over and over again. Sharpening a drill costs a fraction of the price of buying new.
Never toss drill bits loose into a drawer or tool-box.
The cutting edges can become chipped or dulled Hazard: Loose drills can cause injury!
Drill Sharpening Service
S&J Machine, Inc. can professionally sharpen your drills for a fraction of the price of buying new. Sharpening is performed by experienced machinists on modern, state-of-the-art equipment. Your re-conditioned drills will be sharp and precise. Dull, chipped and broken drills can be restored to like-new condition.
Sharpening can reduce or eliminate the need to purchase new drill bits.
How many times can a drill be sharpened?
How expensive is re-sharpening?
Can a damaged drill be saved? How do I decide if a damaged drill is worth saving?
Depending on condition and size, most drills can be sharpened about 100-150 times. The longer the drill, the more times it can be sharpened. The larger the drill diameter, the longer it takes to grind so cost increases with the diameter. Larger diameter drills are generally longer than small drills and therefore can be sharpened more times than small drills.
The sharpening process removes a small amount of material (usually .015”- .020”) from the length of the drill. A chipped or damaged drill requires longer sharpening time to facilitate removal of enough material to eliminate the damaged area. Badly damaged areas can sometimes require extensive grinding and therefore damaged or chipped drills are more expensive to recondition. If in doubt, we can evaluate a damaged drill and provide a quote prior to service.