Procesos de Manufactura 2

2014B

Sharpening Drill Bits

Making drilling holes easier
by Julian Edgar

When to Sharpen
Clearly, sharpening of drill bits is normally carried out when they have become dulled. The signs of a
dulled drill bit include the need for higher than normal pressure, the generation of excessive heat,
squealing, and a lack of cutting progress.
However, drill bits might also need to be re-ground to suit different materials. As they are bought, drill
bits have cutting surfaces that are configured for general-purpose work drilling steel, for example. But
for optimal results on materials like plastics, rubber or very hard materials, the drill geometry is best
changed from the all-purpose shape. This can be easily achieved by grinding.
Good quality drill bits are expensive very expensive in large sizes. But once you can competently
sharpen drill bits with a bench grinder, you can buy lots of your drills secondhand, massively dropping
the purchase prices.

Terms
At this stage Id like you to go to the workshop or toolbox and grab a large drill bit one that still has the
factory sharpness and end geometry. Dont be shy go off and get that drill!

Hold the drill vertically and rotate it until it looks like this.
Note the angles that the top edges of the drill bit form to
the vertical here, each face is at 59 degrees, giving an
included angle of 118 degrees. This is a typical point angle
for a general purpose drill bit.

1/6

Here the point angle can be seen for a large

(12.5mm) drill bit.

Procesos de Manufactura 2

2014B

Rotate the drill bit in your fingers until you can look at the
ramp behind one of the two cutting lips. If the drill bit is
held vertically, the edge of the ramp forms an angle with
the short axis of about 12 15 degrees. This is called the
clearance angle.

Here it is on the 12.5mm drill bit....

Sharpening
Before grinding a drill bit you must have very clear vision of what you are doing. This means the grinder
must be brightly illuminated and, if you wear glasses for close-up work, you should have them on. The
grinding wheel should be of fine grit and its face should be flat and square.
The first step in sharpening a drill bit is to grind
the point angle.
Stand slightly to the left of the grinding wheel,
feet apart. Hold the drill about a quarter of the
way along from the point, using the thumb and
forefinger. Rest these fingers on the grinders tool
rest. Use the other hand to hold the drill at its
shank.
Hold the drill so that it is horizontal but
approaches the grinding wheel at an angle of
about 60 degrees. Rotate the drill so that its
cutting edge is parallel and close to the wheel. The
drill can then be moved forward and the point
ground.

2/6

Procesos de Manufactura 2

2014B
The next step is to grind the lip clearance.
Use the left hand to swing the shank of the drill
downwards and to the left. These movements are
only slight. Remember to keep the right hand
supported by the tool rest. As you move your left
hand, use your right hand fingers to roll the drill
clockwise
about
a
quarter-turn
and
simultaneously feed the drill forward against the
grinding wheel.
Practice doing these motions with the drill you
just brought in from your workbench. Use the
edge of the desk as the 'pretend' grind stone.

The sequence of motions is: left hand down and

leftwards, right hand fingers rotate drill clockwise,
both hands move drill forwards. Watch the cutting
edge (red arrow) and youll see that as you do
this, it moves forward and away from the grinding
wheel. However, if you rotate the drill too far, or
the left hand is not moved towards the left, the
opposite side cutting lip (near to the point) will
come into contact with the grinding stone not
what is wanted!

When the point angle and lip clearance have been

ground for one face, do the other. Make sure that
the point angle is symmetrical and centered.
When grinding use only light pressure and
frequently pause to let the airstream cool the drill
bit

3/6

Procesos de Manufactura 2

2014B

Assessment
When learning to sharpen drill bits, dont sharpen a whole bunch of drills! Instead, sharpen one drill and
then try it out on a piece of scrap steel, seeing how well it actually drills holes. To be honest, many of my
first attempts at sharpening drill bits resulted in drills that were worse than before they were
sharpened. So you must evaluate the results of your grinding before proceeding further.

Visual check
A properly sharpened drill bit should have
equal cutting angles, equal length cutting
edges and equal angle lip clearances.

Test Hole
Drill a hole through a scrap piece of steel. The drill
should not chatter, squeal or stick, and shouldnt
need excessive pressure. The swarf (chips) should
be continuous and produced in two lines, and the
drill bit should be a tight fit in the drilled hole (ie
remove the drill from the machine and try it back
in the hole).

How Accurate?
While it is worthwhile acquiring the experience in grinding twist drills by hand, it should be noted that
this would not be tolerated in any engineering works where accuracy is required: the drills would be
properly ground in the tool room or proper drill-grinding equipment would be available. Therefore, if
really accurate holes need to be made (eg for a small diameter tap), it is best to buy a brand new drill
bit for the job.

4/6

Procesos de Manufactura 2

2014B

Problems
So what if you have sharpened your drill bit and then there are problems? The next stage is to consult
this table:
Problem
Cause
Fix
Swarf emerges unevenly
Off-centre point angle Re-grind
Drill point appears to wobble, drill press shakes
unequal cutting lip length or
Internal shoulder at base of blind hole
angles
Oversize or rough hole
Slow penetration
Cutting edges dull
Re-grind
Squeaking or squealing
Lip clearance insufficient behind
one lip
Drill grabs
Point angle too sharp
Re-grind
Lip clearance too great
Another way of finding problems is to again visually examine the drill-bit, looking especially at the
clearance angles. As the following diagrams show, by looking at the drill-bit end-on, the actual clearance
angles can be assessed.

Back Cut
Its not mentioned in the textbooks but many large
diameter drill bits have a sharply angled back cut
behind the leading lip. In my experience, such a
back cut can radically improve drill performance,
so when sharpening large drill bits, dont forget
that these cuts can also be ground.

5/6

Procesos de Manufactura 2

2014B

Different Materials
As we said earlier, if you move away from drilling typical materials like steel, a slightly changed drill bit
specification is likely to give better results.
These diagrams show the variations note that it is primarily point angle that is altered, so the grinding
movement that gives the clearance angle is largely unchanged.

Conclusion
Sharp drill bits that have the right shape for the job speed up the work, allow holes to be drilled with
greater accuracy, and are less likely to cause accidents. But when you begin sharpening drill bits, take it
slowly and carefully, checking the performance of the drill bit and ensuring that correct grinding
procedures are being followed.

6/6