Drill Bits

Information on sources for hard to find or unusual items.
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Serjt-Dave
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Drill Bits

Postby Serjt-Dave » Sat Jan 21, 2023 4:04 pm

Hi All. With the sad loss of Elaine's Emporium I'm wondering where to buy drill bits from? I'm aware of Squires but not over keen on using them.

Any ideas?

All Best

Dave

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David B
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Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 5:30 pm

Re: Drill Bits

Postby David B » Sat Jan 21, 2023 4:24 pm


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Jol Wilkinson
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Re: Drill Bits

Postby Jol Wilkinson » Sat Jan 21, 2023 4:45 pm

Not cheap but Busch drills from Cookson Gold are very good.

I learned a long time ago to avoid cheap drills, especially the twenty for £3.95 variety.

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jjnewitt
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Re: Drill Bits

Postby jjnewitt » Sat Jan 21, 2023 6:00 pm

You could also try Proops Brothers. They do small diameter drill bits in packs of 5 or 10. I've tried a couple of sizes and have no complaints.

Justin

Daddyman
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Re: Drill Bits

Postby Daddyman » Sat Jan 21, 2023 6:18 pm

I buy these (various sellers on ebay) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124871526517. The 0.4mm ones are good - even if the pin chuck rolls off the bench the drill bit doesn't break. They last a lot longer than the ones that were more than £1 each from Eileen's.

But do avoid the 0.5mm - they're consistently blunt and/or brittle.

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Martin Wynne
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Re: Drill Bits

Postby Martin Wynne » Sat Jan 21, 2023 6:51 pm

Carbide drills down to 0.1mm (4 thou) here:

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/esd-cont ... y=Diameter

Not cheap!

Martin.
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jasp
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Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:24 am

Re: Drill Bits

Postby jasp » Sat Jan 21, 2023 8:07 pm

Tungsten carbide drills are, however, brittle compared to HSS, so beware!
Jim P

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Paul Willis
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Re: Drill Bits

Postby Paul Willis » Sat Jan 21, 2023 8:13 pm

I've used Arc Euro Trade before for bulk packs of sub-1mm drills and been very satisfied.

Combined with a pillar drill for most holes, they stay sharp and don't snap.

https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Cutting-Tools/Twist-Drill-Bits/Drill-Bits---Polished/04-08mm

And they are cheap enough to bin them at the first sign of misbehaviour...

HTH
Paul
Beware of Trains - occasional modelling in progress!
www.5522models.co.uk

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Jol Wilkinson
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Re: Drill Bits

Postby Jol Wilkinson » Sat Jan 21, 2023 9:12 pm

Paul has made an interesting point. When used with a pillar drill, breakages are considerably reduced compared to drilling by hand.

davebradwell
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Re: Drill Bits

Postby davebradwell » Sat Jan 21, 2023 9:43 pm

You need a pretty good chuck to hold anything 0.5 and under, though. Same applies to pin-vices, of course. The modern cheapie stuff just doesn't hack it, well not for long, and I've found it necessary to cough-up some cash.

I'll put in a word for buying boxed set of drills - 1 to 6 by 0.1 used to be a classic. It's a cheap way to buy them and those you don't drill holes with will likely be used as gauges or for bending tank corners.

DaveB


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