I suppose the first question is whether a set is the way to start. The one mentioned would be 0.5mm increments so first thing to ask yourself is will you use all those sizes particularly the half sizes.  I know I have some of the ones in sets that have never been used.

My thoughts would be to be a bit more selective and get what is likely to be needed. Firstly decide if you are going to work in metric or going to be building to older designs and then pick your sizes to suit.

So for metric I would look at thread clearance sizes and nominal stock sizes of materials so base on the OP’s 2-8mm that is likely to be 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8

Then tapping sizes course 1.6, 2.1, 2.5, 3.3, 4.2 & 6.7 you can add metric fine sizes as and when needed.

Followed by reaming sizes of 2.8, 3.8, 4.8, 5.8 & 7.8

The imperial minded would want a bit of a mix of fractional and 0.1 increment metrics. My 1/64″ increment set hardly gets touched these days and there are even a few unused ones in that and I’ve had it for more than 30yrs.

Apart from a blacksmiths drill and one stub length I’ve only bought Dormer for the last 10years or so and they have been the split point A002 jobber length and A022 Stub length which I find cut well, often don’t need any spot or ctr drill to start them and they seem to last including being run at upto 5000rpm in the smaller sizes. A bit mor epricy that some initially but if they last and cut well then worth the extra if you can afford it.

I’ve also got a few sizes of the split points that ARC do which were part of what was provided for the beginners series and they seem a good slightly less expensive alternative and are often what gets used to poke a pilot hole in before boring.

I also keep a second set of selected sizes with the front rake stoned off for use on brass that tends to grab the drill.

Russell

Samuel, out of interest which Heller 2-8 set do you find OK as I see they do at least two different ones – rolled or fully ground.

The real smoke and mirrors is when you buy really cheap drill bits called HSS made for wood that unwind the twist when used on metal. The sort that kids buy Dad for his birthday. I bought mine some included as set with an early battery pistol drill. The drill was fine but the bits were mild steel or the hardening process was missed entirely and the cheesium tip was very soft.

Call me old-fashioned, but I have several sets of metric, but also two of those huge selection sets with 1/64″ steps and number and letter drills. The sizes are very quirky but I never find myself without and ideal size for tapping or reaming.

Neil

Best thing about cheap sets is they then provide a box for you to put your better quality ones in as you replace the cheap ones!

I have sets of 1-5.9 and 6-10 in 0.1mm steps and 1/16 -1/2 in 1/64th steps, the common one shaving all been replaced with Dormer over time plus blacksmiths from 9/16 -1″ in 1/8″ steps.

But these are my most used drills, more or less what I said above with a couple of extras as I had a box of those sizes, there is another row underneath of imperial. All are stub drills.

I second Neil’s selection of drill sizes. Cheap drills can be a lottery. I had a well known branded set low to mid price) and they were superb, so I purchased a second identical set. Except they were not superb, total rubbish in fact!

I also purchased a box of Lidl replacement drills ( several drills of the same size). They were TIN coated and were very good. Other people on the forum, purchased the same box and found them to be pretty dire!

Andrew.

I have sets of imperial, letter and number drills by Dormer & Presto from the time when these products were made in the UK. Obviously, you would expect these drills to do what they say on the tin, and they do it very well. However, about year ago I bought set of HSS metric jobber drills, 2mm to 10mm in 0.5 steps, from the local discount store which were branded Dekton. I can’t recall exactly what I paid except that they were very cheap so I wasn’t expecting much but I have to say that I cannot tell the difference between the ‘quality’ and ‘cheapo’ in use because they all make holes and a twist drill is hardly a precision tool. I had to drill 200 6mm holes recently and there was no sign of wear or dulling of the ‘cheapo’ bit. Clearly, if you need a perfectly round hole you would drill undersize first and then ream or bore for the larger sizes and this is the same whether you use a cheapo bit or a branded product.

double post

Though they were cheaper when Jack first posted the link, must be something on Amazon that puts the price up if a lot of people start looking/buying.

Metric in 0.1mm to 13mm, numbers to 80, letters, Imperial 1/16″ to 1″ in 64ths, all presto, dormer, guhring or other old but well known UK maker. All HSS, buy cobalt or carbide for special jobs ! For mild steel at 100FPM under 1/4″or 6mm most machines run the bit far to slow, starting at 1/4″ at 1500rpm and going up pro rata. ! Using 100ft/min in steel a number 80 is listed at 28000rpm ! For brass, bronze and alluminium these figures can be increased by x2 or x3 !

Then there are the specials for brass, sheet, plastic Etc. Noel.

On 23 December 2023 at 22:57 samuel heywood Said:

Allthough you have to search a little as it’s not on the packet, Heller Drills are actually made in Germany.

Now JUST because somethings’s made in Germany, doesn’t automatically mean it’s quality, & JUST because it’s made elsewhere (eg: Far East) doesn’t mean it’s NOT quality.

 

Yes, Dormer has not been a UK company for years (now owned by Sandvik)and their drills come out of their Brazilian factory, designed in Czech Republic and the Dormer Pramet brand also bought up Miranda Tools (india) some time ago. But they make there drills to a high spec.

And Guhring have about 50 production locations spread over the world so I don’t expect there stock drill bits come from anywhere local.