My five top tips for caring for your drill bits – Craig Phillips

Caring for your tools can be the lynch-pin of an efficient and cost effective business, this can be time-consuming though. I have found a few simple and easy tricks to ensure your tools stay looking new and operate optimally for a long time to come. Buying new bits every time they get dull is not cost-effective, especially when so much time is put into finding quality products which suit your business needs. Going through the process of finding a reputable wholesaler which sells the right drill bit for the job, while ensuring that they are coming first in both quality and price, can be a challenge.

It is not just money which can be an issue, many people over-extend the life-span of their tools despite being able to afford to replace them. Everyone wants to get their money’s worth but it isn’t until a new part is bought that you notice the difference in precision and accuracy of their cuts and drill holes.

An effortless solution to keeping tools in tip top condition is to first ensure that the angle used when drilling is correct, it can be easy to get lazy with this. If you have employees who do not pay for their own tools, it is easy for them to take them for granted and forget how important tool maintenance is. Using the correct angle when drilling keeps tools in good working order and could extend the amount of time between replacing your tools.

I have put together some tips which will help you to extend the workable life of your drill bit:

1. The first step to ensuring high-quality cuts begins with purchase. Make sure that the product you are buying is high quality and that the tool is fitted with excellent internal components. Although this may be a higher initial cost, you will be buying a tool which will save you money in the long run and on which you can rely.
2. The easiest and cheapest way to replace new tools is to simply care for them from day one, something as simple as ensuring that all tool bits go back in their cases, rather than rolling around at the bottom of your tool box, can prevent dulling.
3. To sharpen, use a fine metal file to sharpen the bit. Hold the drill bit at the core and apply angled pressure to the top of the bit, repeating the motion until sharpened. Take care in particular with carbide tipped bits, as filing can cause the coating to erode.
4. After this use a bench grinder at a low speed to fine tune the drill bit, hold the bit firmly at the core and rotate slowly to ensure all sides are sharpened. Ensure that you don’t apply too much pressure to the drill bit as this may cause it to become duller (and shorter) than when you began.
5. Lastly, insert the drill bit into a vice to begin filing again. This will remove any ridges caused by the bench grinder and you can fine tune the drill bit’s sharpness.

Caring for the tools and equipment which are fundamental to your business can make a huge difference to your bottom line results. Instead of buying new parts and tools, simply checking the components to see if they can be fixed is a much more cost-effective option.