Poor quality drill bits

[VicParticipant @vic]

Many years ago I bought a box of these cheap drill bits (I paid £19 at the time) and they have been very good.

Erbauer Drill Bits

Yesterday I had some deep holes to drill in some stainless steel rod and the Erbauer drills worked fine. I then had to swap over to some long series HSS drill bits I bought from a well known online vendor. They didn’t get very far until the tips blunted. I had thought it was my technique until I went back to try the standard length bits which cut ok. I did have a go at re sharpening the long series bits to no avail. I wish I hadn’t bothered doing this as I could have sent them back with a letter of disgruntlement. I won’t be using this particular vendor again in a hurry.
Sometimes you get what you pay for and sometimes you don’t!

[VicParticipant @vic]

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by Vic on 26/04/2023 18:53:15:I won’t be using this particular vendor again in a hurry.

Perhaps you'd be good enough to tell us who it was.

I bought several multipacks of long drills from Prostar/UK Drills about ten years ago. Half were shaped like bananas. They were the second worst drills I've ever bought. The worst were some Forstner bits…from Prostar/UK Drills.

These were good experiences in a way, because they persuaded me to stump up for better drills from then on.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

The unbranded stuff we're getting in the UK now is just cheese and should be avoided

My older Lidl ones were passable, if you resharpened regularly

Presumably the good stuff is being kept for their home market, I can't see the chinese space program getting very far with the "cobalt" firestarters I tried

So it's branded only from now on, no more imported cheese for Ady

[DiogenesIIParticipant @diogenesii]

Redundant post – must type faster.

Edited By DiogenesII on 26/04/2023 19:40:15

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Some years ago I knew a guy who worked for the I,D,A and was based in China for a few years.

We got to talking abut the poor quality of some of the stuff coming from there and I asked him could they not make anything better. His reply was, "They sure can, and do, have no doubt about that !", what they sell to you is one thing, what I saw in their factories was a very different matter " He said they have very little to learn from the West in that field, their stuff is Top-of-the-range., just not for sale to you.

That was years ago, no reason it,s any different now.

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

I used to buy in RS Ø3 coated stub drills for the pipe fitters at work to make pilot holes using a hand drill in 316L stainless pipe. Stainless is notorious for finding drills that are worn or sub-standard but the RS ones were dependable. RS probably sourced them from a quality manufacturer but there was nothing to tell you who made them on the drills or generic boxes. The pilot holes were usually for the pilot pin of a mini Rotabroach cutter also used in a hand drill and they were also dependable when cutting holes in the stainless pipe.

Martin C

[Henry BrownParticipant @henrybrown95529]

I also won't buy from UK drills, their quality is at best unreliable. I've found Toolstation drills to be pretty good…

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

It may be worth re-visiting this recent thread: **LINK**

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=185942&p=1

Noting particularly my own experience with a smaller size, and some of the related comments

MichaelG.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Part of the problem may be that the stainless work hardens as work proceeds.

In particular keep up a steady, but not not excessive feed, to prevent the drill from rubbing and generating heat, but no swarf.

Another possibilitynis that ordinary jobber drills are not ground to the optimum angles for stainless, whereas, possibly by good fortune, some other make is.

You could try using drills that have been fouyr facet ground, if possible. They always cut nicely.

Howard

[BufferParticipant @buffer]

When I had to drill a lot of tiny holes in brass bodywork and frustrated with the lack of drilling from my grey box of unbranded drills I bought the proper drills from Drill Service in Horley. They were a good quality brand that cut really well with no effort and I never broke anything.

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

Posted by Henry Brown on 27/04/2023 09:23:32:

I also won't buy from UK drills, their quality is at best unreliable. I've found Toolstation drills to be pretty good…

I have stopped buying from them also as the drill point grinding was atrocious! I can re grind the points myself but under say 4mm my eyes aren’t up to it.

Tony

[VicParticipant @vic]

I wasn’t going to mention the make but yes, Pro Star. I won’t be buying any more.

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

Larry,

That reads like a certain attitude towards outsiders, maybe a parallel with having 2 currencies. When I was dealing with it years ago, there was one currency for Chinese people which I believe was illegal to 'export' and another for visitors to China. These being Reminby-Yen, which colleagues nick-named sweet wrappers because of their odd shape – long, narrow, quite unlike any other paper currencies that I handled many years ago.

John

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

DMB, I have no idea about that, my friend just mentioned that the gear he saw being used in their factories was light years ahead of anything he had seen elsewhere, and he has been around.

When you consider the advancements they have made in such a short time, there may be something in it.

I suspect that they may price themselves out of the market, as Japan did, and then there will be a new kid on the block, any idea who ???

Since no-one else seems to be making anything we can afford, let us make the best of it. All the "top known brands" seem to be made here, there and everywhere anyway, so what the hell ?

As the man said, "What,s in a name ?" What indeed ?

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

China can make any quality you'd like. They have a space program, you don't get that using ebay quality equipment. But it will cost you.

For quality drills I've always chosen either Dormer or Gühring.

[SakuraParticipant @sakura]

Posted by Fulmen on 27/04/2023 18:53:14:

China can make any quality you'd like. They have a space program, you don't get that using ebay quality equipment. But it will cost you.

For quality drills I've always chosen either Dormer or Gühring.

The Chinese have to production drill, they need to undo rusted tight nuts etc etc. They have to do everything we do multiplied by thousands. It stands to reason that with their advanced industry they need top quality gear. Why don't we get it? Probably they can sell all they make at home.

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by larry phelan 1 on 27/04/2023 08:07:06:what they sell to you is one thing, what I saw in their factories was a very different matter "

This is bound to be the case with certain specialised items in any country, but regarding HSS twist drills, there are some very decent quality manufacturers in China selling the best they're capable of to Western and Asian consumers alike.

Two names to look at are Heygo and Muye. It's quite possible that these, or Chinese companies like them, whose names most of us have never heard of, are also the manufacturers of drills we've long been used to thinking of as Western brands.

 

 

Edited By Bill Phinn on 27/04/2023 19:12:26

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

I think they sell it to western "mfgs" at a premium. So the equipment we buy from high end brands might very well be made in China.

Edit: Bill beat me to the punch.

Edited By Fulmen on 27/04/2023 19:16:26

[VicParticipant @vic]

Posted by larry phelan 1 on 27/04/2023 17:55:47:

As the man said, "What,s in a name ?" What indeed ?

Many people are prepared to pay a premium for a car with a particular badge on the bonnet. It makes me wonder how many folks realise that amongst others, Mercedes, Audi, BMW and Volkswagen all have cars made in China. Curiously the engine in my Japanese car was apparently manufactured in Germany.

[HollowpointParticipant @hollowpoint]

Posted by Tony Pratt 1 on 27/04/2023 11:32:58:

Posted by Henry Brown on 27/04/2023 09:23:32:

I also won't buy from UK drills, their quality is at best unreliable. I've found Toolstation drills to be pretty good…

I have stopped buying from them also as the drill point grinding was atrocious! I can re grind the points myself but under say 4mm my eyes aren’t up to it.

Tony

I'll 3rd that. I bought some centre drills from them a while back and they were the crappiest quality drills I've ever seen! They literally had cracks running lengthways down the drill starting from the tip, appalling quality and potentially dangerous.

The best quality/price ratio I have found to date is Osborn from GBR engineering, very good quality for the money!

Edited By Hollowpoint on 29/04/2023 07:36:43

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

+1 for GBR Engineering, reliable supplier of good quality tooling.

Emgee

[Bill Davies 2Participant @billdavies2]

Pro Star and UK Drills share the same geographical address. Their websites look different, but the category list on the left hand side shows the same categories in the same order.

Bill

[Rob McSweeneyParticipant @robmcsweeney81205]

I am very surprised to see the negativity towards UK drills, l have always had good service from them and regard them as my "go to" supplier. The only 'dud' l have ever had was a carbide tipped dril which shed it's tip first use.

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

Posted by Rob McSweeney on 29/04/2023 12:10:19:

I am very surprised to see the negativity towards UK drills, l have always had good service from them and regard them as my "go to" supplier. The only 'dud' l have ever had was a carbide tipped dril which shed it's tip first use.

Oh the service was good but the drills themselves were not!

Tony

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