Looking to get better drill and drill bits?

[DrumBum]

Hi all,

 

I am looking to get a better result from small hobby drills and was wondering what to purchase.

 

I have always used a Dremel (200) with some hobby drill bits purchased individually from the local hobby store.

 

I have been busy recentlly watching build videos on Youtube and Plasmo has some very interesting techniques.

 

I have not seen the drill he uses however the drill bits all have a standard, thick base and only the actual drill part differs in size. 

 

I assume the advantage to this is you dont need to replace the collet each time you change drill bits.

 

But I am impressed with how true the drill bit runs at speed. Very precise and centered. My drills tend to widen toward the tip as a result of not being centered properly?

 

It makes it very difficult to do precise drilling.

 

Is there a way I can improve my drill work? I suspect the Dremel is problematic in that the collet only grabs the bit at one single point along the shaft and permits it to move laterally making it impossible to do fine holes.

 

Any thoughts would be much appreciated,

 

cheers for now

 

Paul

[Noel Smith]

Paul. What you have probably been looking at are Tungsten Carbide drill bits that were developed to be used in machines for drilling printed circuit boards, hence the standard shank size to fit the machines in the trade. They are extreme!y hard and brittle so the smaller ones can break very easily if any side pressure is applied as they are really designed for vertical pressure only to be applied. But they are good if handled with care. However due to their nature I would not use them in a Dremel freehand, but it you are mounting the Dremel in their drill press accessory they should be ok as the pressure is vertical.

I would think that the hobby drills you refer to is a multi size pack of small HSS (High Speed Steel) bits that are plenty good enough for drilling plastics, resin and wood. If you are using your Dremel free hand I would suggest that you push the bit as far back as it will go in your Dremel Chuck to increase the rigidity of the exposed part of the bit. Your oversize holes are probably due to your drill bit flexing and wandering slightly. Using a fine centre dot for on your workpiece in the desired position(s) before drilling will help the bit not to wander, especially on a curved surface. Hope my suggestions help.

Incidentally, using a centre dot first applies to using the circuit board bits as well as HSS ones.

[maybach_man]

Hi Paul. You can get sets of Drills that are more than sufficient for normal plastic work from Screwfix They are code 73065 about £35 for a set of 150 pieces. If you need better then Dormer drill sets are your next step. They do sets in increments of .5 and .1, normally small to 6mm and 6mm to 12mm. If you really need the type of drills that Noel is discussing, a good place is https://www.hswalsh.com/ for all things drilling, grinding and sawing. i buy their very thin circular saw blades. Other suppliers are Tracy tools, Chronos and Squires tool...all on the interweb

 

Cheers

 

Geoff

[JamesP]

For hand drilling I would avoid those brittle Carbide bits like the plague - I purchase a set and broke two just getting the ridiculously tight box open. I use a pin-vice as I have never need to use a motor tool for plastic ( but then I've never wanted to drill out all the portholes on a Titanic kit) and use the "Microbox" drills sets and just buy packs of the specific size then those small than 0.5mm inevitably break. 

[RobL]

I will echo what @JamesP and @Noel Smith have said.  I bought a set and those PCB drill bits are fragile.  Any slight sideways pressure and you'll end up breaking them. 

 

If you want, you can get a 12v multi-tool, a chuck, and a speed controller and use that.  I converted an old Rotacraft multitool and it works a charm for when I can't/don't want to use a pin vice -

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by RobL

[Noel Smith]

Paul, there have been some helpful replies on here with regard to UK suppliers.

As you live in California I would think that Model Expo and Micro Marc might be easier for you to deal with on your side of the pond.