Thread: Metric drill bit set needed

Dear Jill,

Originally Posted by JillB

Can anyone advise what equivalent product I should get? I use it mainly for drilling mild steel, aluminium and timber.

Sutton would be hard to go past again, if you're regularly wanting to drill through steel. When they say "HSS", they actually mean "HSS".... P&N can be trusted as well, because they are owned by Sutton.

Originally Posted by JillB

What is the difference between SM2 and SM3 etc?

SM2 goes from 1.0mm to 10.0mm in 0.5mm rises (19pce)
SM3 goes from 1.0mm to 13.0mm in 0.5mm rises (25pce)
So SM3 contains all of the SM2 Bits, as well as 6 more larger-sized Bits. That's why it costs about twice the price of SM2 (Sold singly, the larger Bits cost a small fortune )

Originally Posted by JillB

Can you also tell me about the Viper brand - is it a Sutton product, and how doesit compare with the SM2 & SM3 etc

"Viper" is indeed one of Sutton's trademarked products. They have a slightly different grind geometry to the cutting end, in so far as the "Heels" (the smooth surfaces that ramp down and away from the "Cutting Lip" (or Edge) are not as long as they are in a normal Bit, because they are intersected by a second more severe Heel that literally drops away again at an even steeper angle. The claim is that they supposedly drill faster in metal as a result, but I reckon you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I've got a really old Sutton HSS Imperial set, and when they're sharp, they're as quick as you'd like in mild steel. For what it's worth, though, I'd say the Viper's are re-sharpenable in the normal way using either a Bench Grinder or a Drill Doctor. They might even be even easier to sharpen by hand than a normal Bit, given that the Heel (which is tricky to get to consistently drop away by hand...) is shorter. I can't reliably comment on what's available in the way of Viper sets, except to say that I've never seen one as comprehensive as SM2 or SM3...

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

G'day Jill,

If you check out ebay, there are pretty decent deals on the V3M & SM3.

I was at Bunnings today for some casting resin and, as always, peeked into the tools section. They have the SM2 at $59 while the SM3 is over $100.

Might be worthwhile checking out ebay.

Just a thought.

Cheers

GUNN

Jill, I have the Viper VM2 set, which is 1.0mm through to 10mm in .5mm increments.

There are no reduced shanks on the larger bits.

The 10mm one, (which I just pulled out) has "10mm Sutton NZ" engraved on it.

Mine is in a yellow steel flip box, which was a good point for me as when I transport it around, it means the bits are safe from other stuff, and other stuff is safe from the bits.

Generally I use a drill press whenever possible for drilling, so I cannot really vouch for their stated claim that these drill bits wander less when starting.

I have used them a little bit with a cordless drill on light stuff and even some timber.

Very easy to use and the sizes are accurate, that is, 8.5mm is 8.5mm measured with my Vernier gauge.

This hopefully is a link to exactly what I have

http://www.sutton.com.au/Assets/313/...tricyellow.jpg

Mick.

I have the vipers, and I've been wondering about the difference between them and the other sutton "drill bits" for a while. I have the V3M set - that is 1 - 13mm in 0.5 rises. I think Bunnings sells them for $130 or so. I think its a pretty worthwhile purchase.

Does anyone sharpen these? And how often?

I used to work with a guy that had a giant kit from carbatec or hare & forbes which had 10 of each size from 1-8mm and then 5 of each size from 9-13 or something. It was a bulky kit, and I can't vouch for the quality of the bits - but that was around $150 and seemed like a pretty good backup that would be useful for many drilling tasks.

Hi Jill,
I just picked up a VM3 set to complement my older V2 Imp set.

I got mine on Ebay for ~$70 delivered (buy it now) which I was v.happy with. This should not be hard to match or beat, just depends on your patience

They come up so often that I wonder how people are getting these in the first place!

I got mine on Ebay .......they come up so often that I wonder how people are getting these in the first place!

That's a good question - same issue with half-price Sidchrome stuff and lately a lot of Stahlwille/Snapon tools - is it fake/parallel-imported or is this stuff as cheap as chips wholesale and the store-based retailers enjoying massive markups.