Thread: Punch 12mm hole in 8-10mm steel

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

I own 3 sets of Alpha drill bits -1 to 13mm . When I purchased the first set I asked about COO and was told they are made in Europe.

Mine are 135 degree split point.They are individually replaceable and the available as individual pack, jobber packs, complete sets and long series.The local Global fasteners shop carries them.They are high quality and excellent value for money.I can't remember exactly what I paid but it was a darn sight better than the Sutton stuff.

If you are curious to why 3 sets- one for the drill press ,one for lathe and one for backup.

Grahame

Cannot knock having three or more sets. With my bad shed setup its a walk from the lathe to drill press and back. I like having sets at the drill press, lathe and the bench for hand drills. Buying a second chuck was a great move too.

Your comments comparing the Alpha bits to Suttons is interesting. My Suttons and P&H are over 20 years old so how the old ones compare to their new line up I don`t know.

Tony

I was informed by the local reseller that they are the reincarnation of the old Goliath brand. I have a 6mm replacement drill and a number of HSS taps of the Alpha brand and quite impressed.

Ken

The shop a purchased the Alpha`s from sells Goliath taps and dies as well. I usually buy Sutton taps as they are still good and cheaper than Goliath.
Goliath have been with Bordo for about 2 years now and looking at the current web site Alpha is net mentioned.
Everyone is buying everyone else so quick these days its hard to keep up.

Tony

Merry Xmas everyone,

My curiosity re Alpha got the better of me and I just had do a Google search on them.
It would appear that they are owned by the Sheffield Group.

Sheffield Group are a wholly Australian owned 4th generation company based in Australia.

A good reason to support them.

Cheers
Grahame

A couple of my local suppliers are selling Alpha. I mainly use their rivet drills here at the shop. Seem to be doing ok.

A bit of sheet rubber on the floor in front of bench has saved the points of several drill bits over time. Start using stuff like 4 flute mills at over $100 a throw, and it will soon pay for itself.

Thing is today we have a vast varity of tools some poor some mild and some wild takes a lot of shopping around
, searching and asking for advice just due to how many products we have available

Im always lured in to cheap i bought a ozito orbital sander thing how could they get a spinning disc wrong ha thing barely turns the pad had to go buy a bosch orbital after advice was given, have owned the bosh about 5 years now works wonders

Originally Posted by gazza2009au

Im always lured in to cheap

There in lies probably one of your biggest sources of frustration. Learn from the example you posted. You have some name brand drills coming, but you were lured by the cheap pricing and will be frustrated when you get them and realise you will have to sharpen most of them as well as knock off the chew marks where they have slipped in the chuck in past lives.

Sometimes cheap is the appropriate way forwards, most times it’s a path to frustration and additional costs...

Yeah they are cheap, not sure if the chewed shafts are a problem? If i do up my chuck tightly the motor stalls before the drill bit spins in the chuck

The resharpening, i watched quiet a few free hand sharpening videos i think my problem were i was just trying to mimic the old angle i now realise i should draw a line on the tool post on the bench grinder at 59 degrees for holding refference when sharpening the bit, sharpening the bit is easy its just trying to sharpen and do the relief cut in one go and keep it consistant is tricky

Still happy to buy a sharpener if it will help

You could always make a fixture for your grinder to help you

Originally Posted by jhovel

Go and have a look at drills at
mag-pro.com.au
I've had no issues at all with them and his cobalt drill sets are affordable.

Cheers
Joe

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Hi Gazza, Guys,

Like Kryn, I'm an oldie on a pension, so every penny counts !

As far a drill grinding is concerned, drills 1/2" inch and over are easily ground by hand using an ordinary bench grinder. A very usable device for grinding drills from 3/16" up to 1/2" inch is one of these Picador drill jigs.

Attachment 383767
Ok you have to set it up properly, but you will get usable drills without a lot of effort !

There is another even simpler jig but it requires far more setting up !

Gazza, here are the 2 best bits of information from this whole saga. I have a set of Mag-Pro Cobalt drill bits and they work very effectively on SS and Hi-Tensile steels that I use. I also have that drill bit sharpener, cheap, very efficient and easy to use. If you get both of them, you will be set up for a long time. When you get more financial, you may want to consider a Drill Doctor, I have one and use it for doing split point drills.
Rgds,
Crocy.

25pcs/set HSS Cobalt Fully Ground Jobber Drills Brown ,135 deg split Point 1-13x0.5mm_Cutting Tools_M&G Productions

Originally Posted by Com_VC

25pcs/set HSS Cobalt Fully Ground Jobber Drills Brown ,135 deg split Point 1-13x0.5mm_Cutting Tools_M&G Productions

Yes that's the set I bought, like I said they are performing well.
Rgds,
Crocy.

I like that drill set for $50 thats a bargain and would fit my budget

I cant splash out a huge amount of cash on a sharpener another case of u get what u pay for but the drill dr i think i seen for $250 some i seen were up around $400 im not that lucky or wealthy enough to afford one of those for a drill bet i may flog out for a couple days once a month or two or maybe longer

I really do need quality tools this has proven with my sander, welders, lathe etc... but i have to be realistic in what i can actually afford

Was looking at a sharpener that is as basic as this so its idiot proof https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Electric...0AAOSwmXtdpXp3

Had to do some drilling on my small boat this morning some bright spark decided to loctite the screws on the forward control box so had to drill the heads off, this is where i got stuck i had a small 6-8mm bit i found the otherday laying around the house thought i would give it a go drilling stainless screws

Pretty much drilled one screw and went blunt so i grabbed my only 13mm in reach gave that a whirl just to knock the heads off the counter sunk screws it worked but took a while susspected the bits were blunt

This is where i wish i had a sharpener or knew how yo sharpen..

I bought a fairly pricey Drill Doctor, thinking it would be the solution to all my sharpening woes. Turns out it's not - very easy to get negative relief - that means the area behind the cutting edge is higher than the cutting edge, so the drill just rubs the work rather than cutting into it. That said, if you persist you can get a nice, evenly-sharpened bit, but it takes time and a lot of double-checking to make sure it hasn't gone wrong.

Once you know how, it's *much* faster to sharpen a bit on a bench grinder, and apart from the angles and movements for relief, you just need to be careful about taking off the same amount of material from each side. I'll typically sharpen 8mm or larger on the grinder a few times, then spend the time on the Drill Doctor to reset the geometry (and split the point).

25pcs/set HSS Cobalt Fully Ground Jobber Drills Brown ,135 deg split Point 1-13x0.5mm_Cutting Tools_M&G Productions

Set of Cobalt for $50, hmm.... But hey if they are working for what folks are doing in the shop.


Used to work with 316 stainless and standard HSS bits wasn't doing so well, so it was cobalt. At least for the pilots. Boss got sticker shock when I asked for a set of Suttons.

When you start comparing HSS to cobalt in say Sutton brand..... the prices jump somewhat.