Tina,

Drill bit sharpening is a skill that is easily learned.

At the grinder begin at the trailing edge of the bevel cut holding the bit
at the same angle to the grinding wheel as the bit was original ground at.

Rotate the bit gently and drop the non sharpened end of the bit gently as
you rotate the bit. When you see sparks just beginning to appear at the
cutting edge, stop grinding.

Examine the cutting edge for a uniform sharpness. Repeat the above steps if
necessary to get a clean cutting edge. At the trailing edge you must be
certain that this area is lower that the leading or cutting edge. It is
higher than the cutting edge it will hold the bit up and off of the material
to be drilled and not allow the cutting edge to do it's work.. If this is
the case, gently grind it again but drop the tail of the bit more than you
did the first time. When you are satisfied, then do these steps to the
other flute of the bit (other cutting edge). If it looks like a mess, not
to worry, just hold the bit 90 degrees to the wheel, grind off thee mess and
start over.

Grind gently and keep water handy to immerse the bit in. Do not grind the
but to aggressively, you might take the temper from the bit, if you do, then
it will not hold an edge.

It is a bit difficult to describe something I have been doing for 60 years
and is second nature to me , but I did the best I can. If you have any
questions feel free to email me directly.

It is really just a matter of practice. I'd practice with a 1/4" bit
initially, they are small enough to give you the idea and large enough that
you can see what your are doing, and everyone has a dozen 1/4" bits!

Don Dando



"Tina" wrote in message
news:0LVZd.30438$Sn6.1434@lakeread03...
Delurk mode. I have a bunch of drill bits that are in need of sharpening,
do
the most of you wooddorkers send them out for sharpening like for the TS
blades? or do you sharpen your own. I'm not talented enough to sharpen
them
myself and I won't buy that sharpening machine...looks like it doesn't do
a
great job, anyhoo...just want some input...I have a professional
sharpening
service local. I have to call them up to see if they do bits or not, they
do
ts blades,router bits...very good company and rep. Thanks for the input

Tina

Thanks Don, I"ll give it a shot.................I have the wet grinder to
try it on.........
Tina
"Don Dando" wrote in message
...
Tina,

Drill bit sharpening is a skill that is easily learned.

At the grinder begin at the trailing edge of the bevel cut holding the bit
at the same angle to the grinding wheel as the bit was original ground at.

Rotate the bit gently and drop the non sharpened end of the bit gently as
you rotate the bit. When you see sparks just beginning to appear at the
cutting edge, stop grinding.

Examine the cutting edge for a uniform sharpness. Repeat the above steps
if
necessary to get a clean cutting edge. At the trailing edge you must be
certain that this area is lower that the leading or cutting edge. It is
higher than the cutting edge it will hold the bit up and off of the
material
to be drilled and not allow the cutting edge to do it's work.. If this is
the case, gently grind it again but drop the tail of the bit more than you
did the first time. When you are satisfied, then do these steps to the
other flute of the bit (other cutting edge). If it looks like a mess, not
to worry, just hold the bit 90 degrees to the wheel, grind off thee mess
and
start over.

Grind gently and keep water handy to immerse the bit in. Do not grind
the
but to aggressively, you might take the temper from the bit, if you do,
then
it will not hold an edge.

It is a bit difficult to describe something I have been doing for 60 years
and is second nature to me , but I did the best I can. If you have any
questions feel free to email me directly.

It is really just a matter of practice. I'd practice with a 1/4" bit
initially, they are small enough to give you the idea and large enough
that
you can see what your are doing, and everyone has a dozen 1/4" bits!

Don Dando



"Tina" wrote in message
news:0LVZd.30438$Sn6.1434@lakeread03...
Delurk mode. I have a bunch of drill bits that are in need of
sharpening,
do
the most of you wooddorkers send them out for sharpening like for the TS
blades? or do you sharpen your own. I'm not talented enough to sharpen
them
myself and I won't buy that sharpening machine...looks like it doesn't
do
a
great job, anyhoo...just want some input...I have a professional
sharpening
service local. I have to call them up to see if they do bits or not,
they
do
ts blades,router bits...very good company and rep. Thanks for the input

Tina

Where are you buying twist bits that you need to worry about heat? I haven't
seen carbon steel bits in a long time.

"Don Dando" wrote in message
...

Grind gently and keep water handy to immerse the bit in. Do not grind
the
but to aggressively, you might take the temper from the bit, if you do,
then
it will not hold an edge.

On Sat, 19 Mar 2005 16:40:44 -0800, CW wrote:

Where are you buying twist bits that you need to worry about heat? I haven't
seen carbon steel bits in a long time.

At the BORG, for a coupla bucks. Useless for drilling holes, but fabulous
for learning to sharpen. No sweat if one ruins the bit. Same for Forstners.

--
"Keep your ass behind you"
vladimir a t mad {dot} scientist {dot} com