Sharpen Your Drill Bits

Step 2 My favorite sharpening tool

People who know what they are doing can sharpen bits by hand. In theory, hold the bit with the shank angled off to the left at about 59 degrees. As the bit contacts the grinding wheel, simultaneously move the shank farther left and downward while twisting it clockwise. I have tried, but I have never been able to make it work for me.

I bought this bit sharpening tool almost 30 years ago for less than $20. The same tool is still available at Amazon and other places, and it is still less than $20.

A Drill Doctor is a very nice tool, but it costs four or five times the cost of this tool. I do not sharpen bits often enough to justify the cost of a Drill Doctor.

Comments

[andrewuk]

Bought this tool on Amazon UK for those of us that are on the otherside of the pond.

Search for "Draper Drill Grinding Attachment" brilliant only £17.02

[mortso]

You can get these Drill Angle adjusters at Sears, and Harbor Freight has one too. They Rock! Thanks for sharing the post.

[mod-ern man]

You're so right about the Drill Doctor. I have one & the "chuck" used to position the drill bits for sharpening don't hold the bit properly without a lot of fiddling. I'm going back to the using the same holder you show. Takes a minute or two to set up, but then you get much better results on all size bits.

[Phil B]

That is interesting. Thanks for the information.