Any users of the Drill Doctor?

[GregR]

Is the Drill Doctor a toy or a real machine?

I am interested in getting model 750SP since I have some large drill bits that need sharpening. The 750SP sharpens from 3/32" to 3/4" is what the literature claims.

How fast does the sharpening wheel wear out? The new ones cost about $20.

Any comments appreciated.

Greg

[C. Tate]

Greg,

I bought one of cheap versions of the Drill Doctor somewhere around $100 and is a fantastic door stop. I can sharpen drills by hand faster and better. The more expensive version may do a better job but I won't gamble the $900 to find out and I have yet to see one at a trade show where I could examine closely. My advice is to spend $25 on a good Starret or Mitutoyo drill point gauge and sharpen by hand. Good small drills are usually inexpensive; I usually sharpen only when in a pinch and toss in a used box otherwise. I don't throw away unless broken or burnt to a crisp. The larger sizes are easy to sharpen by hand since they can be costly to retire. Larger is relative to the machinist in question .250 and smaller are retired in my shop.

[Lead Screw]

I agree with C Tate----- Get a gage and sharpen by hand. It takes practice. With a gage you can get really accurate cutting edges.

[jconroy]

Greg
I bought the Drill Doctor 750. I think it is GREAT. I've sharpened everything I have. It takes a little practice to get the feel of the "rocker" motion, but it's doable. As a note, I had a friend who tried mine and couldn't seem to get the "touch". The video that comes with it is very good. Where it is a little short is with the smaller bits (less than 1/8. I have a hard time with those, but those are relatively inexpensive. Go for it!

Jerry

[halfnut]

I'll have to agree with C. Tate and leadscrew.

Get a drill point gage, stand on your 2 feet and learn how to sharpen a drill bit.

But I will have to admit that we have a drill bit sharpening machine at work that I have accepted and use. It is a Black Diamond, high dollar machine but it works well. One thing about it I like is that I have made countersinks with it, have to play with it till you get the relief to almost nothing.

[SGW]

From all I've seen in other forums (and what is being repeated again here), some people love 'em and some people hate 'em.

It does seem as though there's a certain amount of "technique" involved that you have to learn, and until you get the hang of it, you'll never get a decently sharpened drill out of it.

When I was looking at them a while ago (I almost bought one, but got a very used SRD instead), their web site talked about being able to rent them at tool rental places. You might want to check around in your area and see if there is a rental place that does rent them, so you could try it out. Or send an e-mail to the Drill Doctor people and ask about that.



[This message has been edited by SGW (edited 08-29-2001).]

[firbikrhd1]

I have the Drill Doctor Model 750 and like it just fine. I have sharpened about 40 bits of various sizes up to 3/4" and it worked well for me on all of them. I had one small problem with the "chuck" part that holds the smaller bits being too tight in the machine to turn freely. My machine is an older model. I called the company, Darex, and they shipped me a new chuck without question or charge. I feel that their service is very good. Althought I haven't sharpened a large number of bits, I also feel that the diamond wheel will last a long time.

[Thrud]

I know some grease monkeys and a Snap-on dealer that swears by them. But they could not repoint a drill by hand if their lives depended on it! It takes less time to do it by hand after a bit of practice...

The Darex M5 manual machine is great but lots of money!

[artificer in metal]

Their top end machines work very well! I worked for a shop when we used diamond wheels to resharpen carbide bits (and we sometimes needed +/- 0.001" accuracy) although the drill doctors that I have used didn't work well at all. I, too, wish there were an option for the little guys - under 5/32 or 1/8 - they are quite hard to resharpen by hand. (Better read hard to see what I am doing!!!)

[SGW]

Re: sharpening small drills. Guy Lautard has plans for making a drill sharpening jig for small drills in one of his "Home Shop Machinist" series (volume 1, I think). I've been meaning to make one for some time, but never got a round tuit. Guy claims it works, and I've found most of his stuff to be pretty good, so it's probably worth a try. The jig is pretty cheap/simple to make.