I have several sets of cheap Chinese bits that cut poorly until I properly sharpened them. I have a set of HSS bits that I bought decades ago, made in West Germany (remember that?!), that cut really well. Does the package mention material and Country of Origin?

Mike

Even the 'good' brands are having to go cheap on their process to compete so you will get more & more crap hitting the consumers, and yes this problem filters though to industry as well.

Tony

Noel, your friend need a set of these.

Strange – a £100 set of 'good' drills are all faulty? Might be counterfeit. But then a tool-seller independently produces another example, which implies it's a common problem. A 'good' maker is producing lots of dud drills? Have they gone south, or could the drills be a specialist type?

A picture would be good – the angle, grind-type, flute arrangement etc might reveal all. The good, the bad and the ugly!

Dave

hi guys it was me who rang Noel to tell him i was having a lot of bother using the drill set i bought … so i done a bit of homework and i don't know what if anything is wrong so help me understand i have the correct drill set … here is the set i ordered …… https://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/Presto-09501M25—M25-COBALT-DRILL-SET-1MM—13MM-IN-0.5MM-28299.html#SID=207

i bought them from RDG but the set that came are these .. i found them on Ebay, are they the same and if so look at the price difference ….

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122349977083?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338353466&toolid=20006%26customid%3Ds%253AGS%253Bgc%253ACj0KCQjwz7uRBhDRARIsAFqjullw5kxgS_gS6EFsXnhtvUntlt9ic7SvOVFEmFkIAGxeVeih1HQNdw8aAlJ5EALw_wcB%253Bpt%253A1%253Bchoc%253A2&customid=s%3AGS%3Bgc%3ACj0KCQjwz7uRBhDRARIsAFqjullw5kxgS_gS6EFsXnhtvUntlt9ic7SvOVFEmFkIAGxeVeih1HQNdw8aAlJ5EALw_wcB%3Bpt%3A1%3Bchoc%3A1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz7uRBhDRARIsAFqjullw5kxgS_gS6EFsXnhtvUntlt9ic7SvOVFEmFkIAGxeVeih1HQNdw8aAlJ5EALw_wcB

why the big price difference and why the different case they are in ? are they the same bits ? thanks guys …

That picture is a cracker…

I got a cheap cobalt set and they were very variable, a few bits were great and a lot were bad, a couple were actually wobbly and one was like glass it was so hard

I think what I got was a set from the rejects bin in China

The good cobalt ones really are good, better than hss for tough jobs

edit: when the big 15quid boxes of hss showed up a few months ago in Lidl I grabbed a couple, they've been very reliable

Edited By Ady1 on 14/03/2022 23:19:33

You are not alone pgk pgk.

As an Apprentice I was told that the man who never made a mistake never made anything.

And promptly went and ran a small Theil universal milling machine in reverse and wondered why it did not cut!

In my experience, any drill performs better once it has been Four Facet ground.

Howard

'ang on chaps, we've got lost in the brambles somehow.

The OP's (and his friend's) original query was "why do my (expensive) (Presto cobalt) drills not cut at all?"

Notwithstanding the niceties of whether these sets of drills are overpriced, on the face of it they ought to at least cut holes when offered up to a bit of steel or aluminium. But they don't, or so is reported.

So can we see a picture of the actual drills that don't cut please. In focus and showing the shape of the tip side on please. 'Cos they're either being run backwards or they're ground wrongly. The steel could have work hardened, but the aluminium isn't.

The drill with a carbide tip ground in a wedge is a perfectly usable thing, I've got a set of them and they are for drilling hard steels. You essentially melt your way through, so you need a fair amount of power to drive them. They're not for the faint hearted! This doesn't, however, inform the OP as to what is the problem in his particular instance.

I'm looking forward to a picture.

Rgds Simon

If you have a problem with a purchase from RGD, why not contact Richard and ask the questions you have?

Talking of counterfeit copies, I recently bought a bunch of Brazil manufactured Dormer drills off e bay at a very reasonable price. During my search of e bay I came across a lot of cheap Dormer drills and started me wondering if they are copies/fakes. Anybody got any thoughts on this or am I just paranoid.

Alan

Edited By alan ord 2 on 15/03/2022 14:52:23

The only way to find out is to buy some. Plenty of good reasons why genuine stuff turns up cheap on the web but plenty of opportunity for duff gear as well.

As always, customers are much more likely to be conned by unknown fly-by-night sellers than reputable suppliers, though even they get caught sometimes! ebay has a complaints procedure, so there's a chance of getting something back if a bad item turns up and the supplier won't fix it.

The difference between genuine Dormer and fake is likely to be how fast they wear out. In which case an amateur might not be able to tell the difference between a drill that cuts steel to best Dormer performance and one that's only half as good. Might take months before a problem emerges, perhaps never, because we use drills rather than run comparative tests. How many 10mm diameter, 30mm deep holes would you expect to make before a twist drill goes blunt? Hand on heart, does anyone on the forum really know how Presto, Dormer, Guhring and not-too-cheap unbranded drills compare?

With a few exceptions I've done OK on ebay. Buying too cheap caused my disappointments rather than fakes. I take the line than buying 'bargains' is always risky, and there must be no tears if I get it wrong! This is why I don't buy Rolex wristwatches from men in pub car-parks!

Dave

Regarding Brazil made Dormer, they are not hiding the origin and would think they are of the same quality. I have some, and they work just as well as the UK made ones. I have Kennametal inserts made in the USA, UK, Germany and China and the origin is clearly marked and quality is consistant.