09-01-2010, 04:10 PM
wikipedia is your friend
But here are a few key points:
If you're drilling into weird stuff like high hardness tool steel or exotic materials like Titanium, you should know what to get. Generic drill bit sets won't give you what you want.
Harder drill bits keep their sharpness longer.
Unless you do a ton of drilling, buying a drill bit sharpener is a waste of time, bench space, and money.
Drill bits are nothing more than tools designed to remove chips of material from a circular area with a rotary motion. Essentially they are lathe tools. Some forms work better on different materials. Spur bits are great for drilling in wood, because they allow you to start a hole and keep the bit centered on the hole more easily. Masonry bits are necessary when drilling through.. well, masonry. They are harder and are designed to extract larger chips.
Make sure you own a nice center punch for drilling through metal, and an awl for drilling through wood. Mark your hole, then start the hole with a punch or an awl. You'll be able to control the bit that much better.
And finally, safety first. Tiny sharp chips of material can fly out during the drilling process. Eye protection is not 'optional'... you can't see with a glass eye. And avoid drilling through your body parts, unless the kit you purchased comes with a packet of appropriate curse words and band-aids. It hurts !
But here are a few key points:
If you're drilling into weird stuff like high hardness tool steel or exotic materials like Titanium, you should know what to get. Generic drill bit sets won't give you what you want.
Harder drill bits keep their sharpness longer.
Unless you do a ton of drilling, buying a drill bit sharpener is a waste of time, bench space, and money.
Drill bits are nothing more than tools designed to remove chips of material from a circular area with a rotary motion. Essentially they are lathe tools. Some forms work better on different materials. Spur bits are great for drilling in wood, because they allow you to start a hole and keep the bit centered on the hole more easily. Masonry bits are necessary when drilling through.. well, masonry. They are harder and are designed to extract larger chips.
Make sure you own a nice center punch for drilling through metal, and an awl for drilling through wood. Mark your hole, then start the hole with a punch or an awl. You'll be able to control the bit that much better.
And finally, safety first. Tiny sharp chips of material can fly out during the drilling process. Eye protection is not 'optional'... you can't see with a glass eye. And avoid drilling through your body parts, unless the kit you purchased comes with a packet of appropriate curse words and band-aids. It hurts !