Posted by Nigel McBurney 1 on 07/02/2023 10:45:41:
If your drills are pre war then you may find that some could be carbon steel rather than HSS easy check is when grinding them HSS gives off reddish colour sparks ,carbon drills give off white bright sparks. Carbon steel drills are not much use nowadays cutting speed is far too low and the temper easily lost,
I have checked the drills
The shanks were reduced so they could be used in a corded electric drill by my Father so some of the markings have been lost
Some of the drills are marked CAST STEEL – Two Dogs brand.
One is a Dormer Brand marked "HS" (not HSS – NOT a typographical error!)
I have defective colour vision so there's no chance of being able to distinguish between Carbon and High Speed Steel by spark colour!!!!