Ian
Notorious member
My old Drill Doctor 300 just isn't working well. It has always frustrated me that half the drills I try to sharpen end up with a negative relief out toward the edge of the cutting surface. Clocking them forward or backward slightly in the collet never seemed to fully cure the issue. Another gripe is it's fixed at (supposedly) 118⁰ and useless for 135⁰ split point drills, of which I have a couple of sets. Having acquired a few sets of used drills, some of which are ground at odd angles, and needing a 135⁰-capable point-splitting machine, I sprung for the top of the line version.
All I can say is WOW. This thing really works. Being able to easily change the relief angle as required by the particular drill is fantastic. Also, being able to match the original grind angle of the tip is good, for example an old M35 Cobalt set I have is ground at 115⁰ and requires a +1 setting to the relief to match the original grind.
The 3/4" capacity is good too, I was able to sharpen a bunch of mangled drills from 9/16" to 3/4" without a hitch.
My M42 cobalt set with 135⁰ split point can now be touched up, though the point-splitting feature isn't quite as good as I'd hoped. It works ok but you really have to hold your mouth right to keep the split centered.
Over all I'm pleased and ended up putting new points on all of three full 29-piece sets plus a bunch of odds and ends and the aforementioned larger drills. If you need to solve your twist drill sharpening problems once and for all, this unit will do it.
All I can say is WOW. This thing really works. Being able to easily change the relief angle as required by the particular drill is fantastic. Also, being able to match the original grind angle of the tip is good, for example an old M35 Cobalt set I have is ground at 115⁰ and requires a +1 setting to the relief to match the original grind.
The 3/4" capacity is good too, I was able to sharpen a bunch of mangled drills from 9/16" to 3/4" without a hitch.
My M42 cobalt set with 135⁰ split point can now be touched up, though the point-splitting feature isn't quite as good as I'd hoped. It works ok but you really have to hold your mouth right to keep the split centered.
Over all I'm pleased and ended up putting new points on all of three full 29-piece sets plus a bunch of odds and ends and the aforementioned larger drills. If you need to solve your twist drill sharpening problems once and for all, this unit will do it.
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