Middle of Lidl

I bought a box of the drills today and they look ok for general use and sort of split point from 5mm upwards. You do get a lot of drills for the money. Unfortunately, both of the only two remaining boxes had the metal clasp missing, so I will have to be careful with the box.

i bought a box today - thanks for the heads up. I will need to blunt them for my use but great price.

I've taken a more careful gander at the 8mm drill in this set, and compared it with one in another set of 15 drills that Lidl also sell from time to time. I've come to place quite a bit of confidence in drills from the 15-piece set for most purposes.

The drill from the 15-piece set would just drag in my Mitutoyo (imperial) vernier mic at .3148" or ~7,9959mm, so it's around 0,004mm/1.6 tenths undersize.

The same-ish fit was achieved with the one from the 107-piece set at .3144" or ~7,9858mm, ie. about 0,014 undersize - say a bit over half-a-thou in old money.

I don't have a sufficiently accurate way to measure any point offset, but I'd think anything more substantial than a moonbeam at full eclipse would be enough to bring a resulting hole from solid up to size or a bit beyond.

I have to wonder whether these may actually be repackaged seconds from the 15-piece set. I'd think they'll be ok for most purposes except for use as Dagenham reamers in holes designed for tight-limit dead-size pins or dowels.

I went into my local Lidl yesterday and found to my surprise that they had stacks of the boxed drill sets. But I've got enough drills and I didn't buy one. Besides, I couldn't see the actual drills without breaking the seals and opening the box.

What I did buy, however, was a little boxed set containing a miniature machine vice with some interesting plastic jaws and other attachments, which I thought would come in very handy for the occasional holding of odd-shaped delicate objects. Very happy with that; it will come in handy. One of those things you didn't know you needed.

Also in the box was a pin chuck affair with three sprung jaws. Quite nicely made and will be very useful on occasion, as it holds quite a range of diameters, much more than those split collets.

Also Also in the box was a set of miniature HSS drills from about 0,5mm upwards in a little plastic case. They are, as I suspected, Joke Drills, of the kind that have been ground by somebody with a well-fitting blindfold waving them vaguely at a grinding wheel in a forlorn hope that they end up a bit pointy. I think the equivalent Dormer set of proper drills that size will set you back about £70...

Also Also Also was another set of drills with little coloured collars on. These are in the range 2 - 3mm. A bit less rubbish than the tiny ones, but I'll put them in my woodworking drawer..

So for eight quid I've got a useful but delicate machine vice and a pin chuck. The drills and such are only packaging to stop the vice and pin chuck wobbling about in the box and I'm quite happy with that.

At the same time as I bought the drill set, I also noticed a box of the telescopic mirror and magnet with the built in light which I already have at home, they are so cheap and useful I got another set to take to the museum.

If anybody lives in the Welwyn Garden City area, they might like to know that there were two packs of the 107 piece drill set left (after I bought one!).

Lots of accessories for "Dremel" type tools, too. They were so cheap that I decided to stock up.

Also Coin Cells in different sizes at 6 for £1.99

My very best wishes to you and your families for a Happy, Healthy, Peaceful, Successful, Prosperous, Stress- and Covid- free New Year.

Bought a set last week, good quality and they work quite well. Used them mainly for pilot holes in mild steel, works a treat. Considering the average price per drill bit - unbeatable.

Lidl today:
A spirit level with wings. For lady carpenters??

pgk