I went to a vo-tech school in high school for automotive technology and the very first thing we had to do before we even touched a car was take a drill bit that was purposely flattened by a grinder (the tip completely removed so we couldn't use it as a guide. We had to create the tip from scratch simulating a broken drill bit) and sharpen it, cut a piece of square stock with a hacksaw and file it perfectly square (Yes, file it. Grinders were not allowed) and then use our drill bit we had sharpened and drill a hole in it and tap threads in it. It took me an entire week of trying over and over and over to finally get the bit sharp enough, but it was a skill I won't ever forget.

My father passed away years ago, I inherited his tools. He was heavy equipment mechanic. I found drawers full of different sizes of drill dull bits, I took the time to sharpen them with trial and errors, win some and lose some. Finally last summer, bought variable speed grinder, good stone, redid the sharpening again like you did. For 4 hours ( lotsa bits) now I got life time on hand bits.!!!! lol 😂 sure took lots of practice. Those examples you shown is perfect though.

As an apprentice 45 years ago i had to make an angle gauge by hand for drill sharpening, no power tools, i found when i buggerd it up it happened much slower so easier to rectify, also a drill can only be sharpened so many times as the web in the centre becomes too thick, always pilot drill (as you do) for larger holes. Grinding out the web on a 1 inch plus drill was a real challenge. Great video.

The craftsman I was apprenticed to whilst learning to be an Engineer gave me a box of blunt drills to practice on, after the third one he tested continued to drill triangular holes he said “I see we have one of those”. Apparently there are “those” among us who are innately incapable of sharpening drills or anything and at 4 years retired I still can’t, but you have inspired me to persevere until I crack it!

@Moonfleet41

14 күн бұрын

Great way to pass a rainy afternoon mate! Thanks for sharing your story...

@tommylitchfield3450

14 күн бұрын

Drilling Triangular holes is a rare talent! You should be proud of your gift! Anybody can drill a ROUND hole! Can you drill rectangles and squares as well, or do you only specialize in the strongest of shapes? :)

An old boy in the place where I started work got me resharpening drill bits fifty years ago - all by eye. The two nuts stuck together and used as a guide is so simple an idea that I've not come across! Always something to learn.

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Thanks mate, glad you can use it, you can even hold the drill up and compare it against one of the corners of any bolt head if you don't have any glue to makwe the two nuts...every Hex corner is the same 120 degrees..

Hi Del & Penny, hope you have had a great week. Excellent how to video mate, I think this one will help lots of people out + save them some money. Penny and you have a great weekend P.S we have got the sun back LOL. Take care . Cheers

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Thanks mate. Glad you enjoyed it, just a little passing forward to help those who may want to use it.. Have a great weekend too and i reckon it's certanly changiong over as we're finally getting warmer here too now !

I think the another video that Del did that go's hand in hand with this one, is where Del was demonstrating checking the grinding stone before pressing it into service, with the ring test. What with the dangers of stone at high speed coming towards the operator or even worse the metal being worked on. It's an accident waiting to happen. Not good. Check that video out on using a grinder! (Delboys garage, Our top ten tips and tricks !) Like all your videos Del and Penny, very informative and great to watch.

@Moonfleet41

10 күн бұрын

Thanks Mark, thats a good point, using a bench grinder is a dangerous business and needs respect and caution.. Than kyou for your input mate..!

Don't forget to make the cutting edges at the same height. A tell tail sign is swaf coming out different on each side

Some of the sharpest drill bits ever used when learned how to sharpen myself. Takes a bit if practice.

One quik comment. I find sharpening larger drill bits easy. Say any bit larger than 1/4”(6mm). But I keep one of those drill sharpening machines around for the smaller bits. It’s just easier than squinting at those small bits with my 50+ year old eyes.

There are at least 2 ways to grind a drill by hand and I see the way you do it is you start grinding at the relief end and work your way toward the cutting edge. The other way is to start at the cutting edge then grind the relief angle. My preference is the latter but both work equally as well once the technique is mastered. After 50 years of grinding drills I still never get it right first time every time and another trip to the grinder is sometimes required, especially the smaller diameter drills.

Thanks for your patient explanation. Your method saves money and energy. Have a great week, Günter/Nürnberg

I do mine by eye have some two hundred drill bits. Some are half size been sharpened so often😊 similar method as yours but made myself a drill guide that i hold on the fence, it does the job and i use old engine oil to cool the drill bit down after. Not every drill bit is a success 😂 overall even get neighbours come in with theirs 😊

Great tutorial Del. Love the tip for making an angle gauge. Spot on with the advice to drill at a slow speed. Also ironic that you mentioned butchers at the start of the video since I have butchered a few bits while trying to put a point back on them. 😁 A great weekend to you and Penny. ❤👍👍

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Hi Rick, glad you approve... I'm no expert at this by any means, and as you will probably agree, with all things engineering focused, the dull men will always come along and tell you you've done it incorrectly, but then the same people would tell you you sharpened a knife wrong, or invented the wheel wrong lol It's why I drilled a hole in a 1/4" plate to prove that it works and cuts a clean round hole so I can't think what else is important! Have a great weekend, D&Px

Always useful to be able to resharpen drill bits. I have never seen a stone dresser like that before. A nearby cup of water to cool the drill bits is useful too. I have been following this channel for years now, thankyou for all that you share.

Superb vid, Del. I sure do go through more than my share of bits. I suppose most end up broken especially the smaller ones. BTW, I use a similar technique on the MIL’s claws. I don’t use a cooling agent though, so will add that to the process. That might fix the burning smell that the neighborhood dogs complain about. Hope you both are doing well. I have some catching up to do. I’ve been down for the count a bit but am fighting back. Kind regards… 🏍️👍🏍️

@Moonfleet41

12 күн бұрын

Thanks to much Gary, sorry to hear you've been a bit under the weather, i guess it hits us all now and again.. Take care wit hthe drill bits, anything under 1/4" shouldn't break unless you make some kind of error, like getting it too hot, or leaning on it too hard, and of course you should never use them at all on the big toe nail, only use diamond bits for that...lol! Take care both. D&Px

@garya3056

12 күн бұрын

@@Moonfleet41 Thx, Del. I’m coming back strong! Your vids are a great treat! Yes re the MIL! 😎 Hugs to Penny and you from both of us…

''all mine snap before going blunt' .......... any videos on joining them back together .......

I deal with this 2 different ways, I have a bin full of cheaper bits from the hardware store I can throw out when the dull and a set of my dad's Mac Tools bits and when those dull, the tool truck replaces them for free haha. Like the video, I always thought there must be a way to do this without the gadgetry and extra tools you see people using.

@Moonfleet41

14 күн бұрын

Like always mate, it was a manual hand skill long before any of the little gadgets and machines were invented to do it for you.!

Really good tutorial. Was always wanting to learn how. Thanks

That good to know pal,I have about 20 of them to do😂

Thank you, there was so much in this video that I just didn't know!

Nice tutorial! I've never had much luck with the actual machines specifically made for sharpening drill bits. Fortunately, my 60-year-old Dayton bench grinder has a drill sharpening guide (a v-notch angled at 118 degrees from the face of the stone) formed into the platen (work shelf) at the grinding wheel. The trick of gluing two nuts together for a quick and easy jig is new to me, and a great idea. Thanks for that tip. 👍

@Moonfleet41

14 күн бұрын

Most welcome Sir, just passing it forward and yeah, i think this whole process is largely subjective, everyone has different ways of doing it. The main message overall is to keep them sharp in the first place, dull edged drills only get worse and can jam and break which can injure you... Have a great weekend and stay safe. D&Px

Hit and miss with me but I was taught not to throw them . Rarely get it right first go but usually end up with an ok bit.. ✌️♥️👍

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Ok is all you need mate, the keyboard engineeers always like to spout how everyone does things wrong... but it cuts clean holes.. what other job does it have?.. so it can't be too far out or overly critical aye !! Peas n loaf buddy.!! D&Px

@springy-2112

13 күн бұрын

@Moonfleet41 Yes, if it makes a hole it's working! Wise words brother. 🤗

Much have watched a dozen tutorials on drill sharpening and this one made me understand the principles. Thanks!

@Moonfleet41

14 күн бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

Hi Del, i`m 66 and have been sharpening drills for the last 50 years or more, and i still sometimes don`t get it right, it`s a real art. Also, witha properly sharpened drill, if drilling a through hole, you get very little burring on the outward hole oin the reverse face. All too often i`ve had to de-burr drilled holes where other people have used blunt drills, which have almost melted there way through the metal, resulting in a rough hole, and large burrs on the reverse face. It`s always good to see video`s on teaching people how to not only use tools properly, but also how to look after them, garunteeing much longer life. It`s also more cost effective to re-sharpen tools than to simply throw them away in this throw away society.

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Thanks for sharing your story!

A most worthy skill to develop, saves a lot of money, frustration & once attained, yields instant results. However, to gently kiss an old 1.0 mm HSS back to life, with a rattly old Dremel after three mugs of 'Italian roast' & an Old Sockburn roll-up, you truly must study the Millyardian ways of the Shed-Eye. (& tomorrow's a rather forceful 'date' to start on! : )xx

What a great video, took me back 50 years to my apprenticeship days. Well done Del, great content👍

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it, have a great weekend there!

He gave them the right to become part of God's family 😊 There was a cut there (pardon the pun) "don't lean on it, monkey boy " 😅 Another awesome simple skills video Del and Penny x

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Ah you spotted that did you? I did cut that out for fear of offending primates... you know how easy that can be these days... have a wonderful blessed weekend Sir!

Just fantastic, del. I normally just buy new bits but i might purchase a grinder and give this a go in the future. Thanks.

@Moonfleet41

14 күн бұрын

Good plan Jim, you'll use the grinder for many other jobs too ,so it's a worthy purchase !

Been to a few shops and they they just have boxes of dull bits.

What a great little video Del! I will be putting this one in a safe place for later use. Much appreciated as always. Best to U&P, have a great weekend. Cheers.

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Thank you Shaun, glad you enjoyed it, yeah stick it in your saved box, could maybe get you out of trouble one day!

Always good to know & great work PP. Enjoy the long weekend 🏍

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Thanks mate, you too, hugs to the family, D&Px

Hi...im not being pedantic but i haven't got a grinder..is there another way...angle grinder 🤔 ..cheers.

@Moonfleet41

14 күн бұрын

No mate, you need a stone, nothing you clamp into a greinder will be solid enough.! maybe treat yerself to a grinder, the replacement drills you're buying will pay for it in the end,.!

@tonymarchant9083

14 күн бұрын

Yes looks like I will have to ...thanks for the reply 👍👍

Great video, thank you!

Very cool mate, great video

@Moonfleet41

14 күн бұрын

Thanks 👍

Good skills Del. 👏

Good stuff thanks

As you say, heat is the enemy, so here's a nice tip for you... Instead of waiting until you can feel the heat in your fingertips, just stick the tip of the bit to your tongue. Not only is your tongue much more sensitive to heat than your fingertips, but you actually get to cool off those hot bits often enough that you don't even need a water container handy... Since most people keep their tongues close by, you will always have your Drill Quenching Fluid handy. A handy tip, and totally free of charge!

@Moonfleet41

13 күн бұрын

Thank you for that nugget, Itchiban Moto would have been proud of you for passing on suh wisdom!

bloody great video.

nice demo dell

Dont turn it. Keep it flat to the grinding wheel on the right angle. When You turn drill bit youre getting round surface. Check brand new drill bits - they are always flat. Everything else is ok. Thanks ;)