* Does anyone sharpen his own brad point drill bits?
* Is it worth the time (probably not, but is a challenge!)?
* How do you go about it (wheel / stone / file/ ...)?
Thx

Max63 wrote:
* Does anyone sharpen his own brad point drill bits?
* Is it worth the time (probably not, but is a challenge!)?
* How do you go about it (wheel / stone / file/ ...)?
Thx
I sharpen my own bits, on a grinder. I don't find it hard at all, but
then again when I started cabinet making you couldn't by them so had to
grind your own from high-speed steel bits. I still do the same. I have
tried purchasing a few but have found that they invariably need touching
up before use so have just stuck to making my own. Like all things it
takes a little practice to do it free hand. In the early days I had to
grind a few bits off square and start again to get them right.
John

On Sun 12 Dec 2004 04:16:03a, (Max63) wrote in
om:

* Does anyone sharpen his own brad point drill bits?
* Is it worth the time (probably not, but is a challenge!)?
* How do you go about it (wheel / stone / file/ ...)?
Thx

I've been wondering that myself. I found this:
http://www.blackanddecker.com/Projec...px?DOC_ID=p_3_
36_13936_13944_13961.html

....which, if you can fix the line wrap, points to an extremely small
article saying:
"A brad-point bit has a center cutting point called a brad, and a pair of
cutters with outside points called spurs. Sharpen the spurs and the
inside edges of the cutters with a triangular saw file. Keep the pairs of
cutters and spurs at the same height, and take off as little material as
possible when sharpening."

And there's a couple pictures. You're doing it by hand and by feel. But
you have to keep those spurs at exactly the same height.

Drill doctor website says it'll sharpen 'em - if you don't mind turning
your brad point into a regular bit.

I've found a few entries in some woodworking forums. All of them say they
throw the bit away when it gets dull, so they take great care with the
ones they've got.

I've found references to some attachments for something or other that
claims to sharpen brad point bits. Haven't found the thing yet, but some
of the references indicate it's really expensive.

Bottom line is, either you go at it with a small triangular file and be
really careful and probably mess up a few bits before you get good at it
(that's been my history with such things, anyway), or you get a new bit.
There might be professional sharpeners out there. Haven't found one yet.

Dan

Darex says this will do it;
http://www.darex.com/products/xt3000.html

but then you could buy a lot of brad point bits for the price of the
sharpener.

Bernie


"Dan" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun 12 Dec 2004 04:16:03a, (Max63) wrote in
om:

* Does anyone sharpen his own brad point drill bits?
* Is it worth the time (probably not, but is a challenge!)?
* How do you go about it (wheel / stone / file/ ...)?
Thx

I've been wondering that myself. I found this:
http://www.blackanddecker.com/Projec...px?DOC_ID=p_3_
36_13936_13944_13961.html

...which, if you can fix the line wrap, points to an extremely small
article saying:
"A brad-point bit has a center cutting point called a brad, and a pair of
cutters with outside points called spurs. Sharpen the spurs and the
inside edges of the cutters with a triangular saw file. Keep the pairs of
cutters and spurs at the same height, and take off as little material as
possible when sharpening."

And there's a couple pictures. You're doing it by hand and by feel. But
you have to keep those spurs at exactly the same height.

Drill doctor website says it'll sharpen 'em - if you don't mind turning
your brad point into a regular bit.

I've found a few entries in some woodworking forums. All of them say they
throw the bit away when it gets dull, so they take great care with the
ones they've got.

I've found references to some attachments for something or other that
claims to sharpen brad point bits. Haven't found the thing yet, but some
of the references indicate it's really expensive.

Bottom line is, either you go at it with a small triangular file and be
really careful and probably mess up a few bits before you get good at it
(that's been my history with such things, anyway), or you get a new bit.
There might be professional sharpeners out there. Haven't found one yet.

Dan

On Tue 14 Dec 2004 08:24:08a, "Bernie Hunt" wrote in
:

Darex says this will do it;
http://www.darex.com/products/xt3000.html

but then you could buy a lot of brad point bits for the price of the
sharpener.

Bernie

:-)
When they say "Call or email for prices", I pretty much figure it's out of
my budget range.

And since so far, I don't even _have_ any brad points dull enough to either
sharpen or replace, I don't think I'll be getting that one.

That model is about $3000.00. we have a lesser model (390) at work that
is $1000.00. They are the same process as the drill doctor, just no
plastic parts.

John

Bottom line is, either you go at it with a small triangular file and be
really careful and probably mess up a few bits before you get good at it
(that's been my history with such things, anyway), or you get a new bit.
There might be professional sharpeners out there. Haven't found one yet.

Dan


If they are really cheap bits, the file is a good way to go.

If they are good bits, though, you won't have much luck - they are probably
high speed steel which the file won't touch.

You should be able to find a sharpening shop that can handle the brad points,
but unless they are large expensive sizes it may be cheaper to buy new ones.

John Martin