Thread: Drill doctor owners - is there a need for brad point bits?

brad point bits have their own benefits other than tear out, eg brad point allows to to accurately place bit at exact point, also brad point bits create a flat bottom (although with a point) which is good for dowel joints etc.

It seems like its one of those off the cuff comments because the user has yet gotten into a situation where they have required one or the other.

Eg you can say you don't need a dado stack when you have a router or vice versa. Pros and cons to each.

I know everyone will be different, but what are the most common sizes people use in brad point bits? do you tend to get a full set at 0.5mm increments?

Fence Furniture is having a group buy right now on brad point bits.

I love them and would use them exclusively if they weren't so expensive.

Mine are in 0.5mm increments for the smaller ones, then 1mm. I've several dupes of the smalls as they are cheaper.

I do a lot of precision work. The point is absolutely perfect for alignment.

I have a largish set in imperial... so it's definitely not 0.5mm increments. Without actually going out to the shed and having a look, I think it's in 1/32" steps with a few 1/64" 'in-betweeners' at the smaller end. That's pretty much in the ball-park of 0.5 & 1.0mm

I'll almost always reach for a brad point when drilling small diameter holes into the side of cranky grain, to minimise deflection caused by the grain.

No matter how sharp my twist bits are, I find they deviate more under certain circumstances. Probably due to my impatience and applying too much pressure while drilling... but the point is that the brad-points don't give me the problem.

Originally Posted by qwertyu

I know everyone will be different, but what are the most common sizes people use in brad point bits? do you tend to get a full set at 0.5mm increments?

The most common sizes we used were based on hardware and dowels so: 5, 8, 9.5 (3/8"), 10, 19mm, 1/4" and 1/2", but we bought 1-13 x 0.5mm twist bit sets so if I needed something else I just made one. We also had job specific bits in "odd" sizes like 7 and 10.5mm

My favourite bit was a 19mm that I had ground well enough to produce paper-thin ribbons when drilling endgrain. Unfortunately, someone decided it needed a sharpen... took me a good 5-10 mins to fix their 'touch up'.

As mentioned by others, the best thing about brad points is that they drill EXACTLY where you put them. Good luck trying to do that freehand with a twist bit in a cordless drill.

I've got a a basic set of triton brad points. I save them for when needed. They are good quality and when you need a perfect hole they are just the ticket. I mostly use 3mm and 6mm drills. I find those two sizes just crop up a lot. A basic set of brad points would probably cover a lot of situations and IMO would be much better than having none. Maybe a set of 5 or 6 between 2 or 3mm and 10mm. Obviously a set of 200 would be nicer but you'd never use some of them. I'd buy as required...

Elan, how do you sharpen them? Some form of machine?

6" bench grinder with a 1/4" wheel that has been dressed to match the shape of a brad point tip.

IMAG1487[1].jpg

With a bit of practise you can turn a twist drill into a brad point in a couple of minutes

Opinion Here

Based on an article in one of the US trade magazines. . . . .
If a brad point drill bit is used in end grain, the hole tends to follow the grain. Observations, sort of yes. Dowels are rather snug-ish. To me that says that the former statement is true.

Before I got my drill doctor, I would fool with a diamond file and try to sharpen brad points. After Drill Doctor, I just use regular drill bits.

Ive a drill doctor, but find the grit of the wheel isnt very fine. It leaves a rather course edge.

Shame they dont sell the little wheels as CBN in 320grit or something....

Originally Posted by rrich

Based on an article in one of the US trade magazines. . . . .
If a brad point drill bit is used in end grain, the hole tends to follow the grain. Observations, sort of yes.

Based on experience...
Brad point drills ground with too much back clearance do have a tendency to self-feed in endgrain, resulting in holes that are off position and over size. Limiting the back clearance on the grind to around 10 degrees helps a lot (essentially it's a chip limiter); yes, you have to push a bit harder, but the result is much more accurate.

Softwoods (particularly Radiata) do tend to drill oversize in endgrain in general unless you're extremely careful, so if you're drilling for dowels it's a good idea to use a bit 0.5mm under the dowel size to ensure a tight fit.