Drill sharpener

Hi all

Do's anyone have any experience of a Sealey drill sharpener model SMS2008 they are up on Febay at around £45. Youtube review shows one doing split point sharpening. But are they any good ? I hope someone here can help

Hi Adam, can't help with the shapening tool......but we were tought to do it free hand.........

that said when I look back at all those beutifull expensive proper English made drill bits that we're ruined learning the craft....

now I recomend to beginers buy 2 sets of the Chinese cheapo's.....lidal, fleebay etc.....

use 1 set to sharpen and the other new set for the look......then grind away untill you get the drill to perform.....it really won't take long to learn, stay above 5mm dia as the edge will be easier to see, then use the money for the machine you WON'T need anymore to buy some decent drill bits.....

good luck Clogs....

Thanks clogs.

I have messed up to many drills in the past and am looking for a simple but accurate and not to expensive machine. It was the split point facility that caught my eye as my drilled holes always seem to wander of however careful I am

Buy some spotting drills to start your holes, cheaper than £45 pounds for a few different sizes.

Martin

Adam,

FWIW, I have one. Found it to be a very valuable asset for the 'shop'.

There were comments on the forum about how the heavy hand can wear out the diamond wheel, if this is a worry, then buy another one and pay a bit more care and attention during use....was my response.

Hi All

thanks for the comments. I just read some reviews on Amazon and the machine seems to come out with favourable reviews over all. I will hold fire on it for the moment as there are a few limitations. But if I do get one I will put up own review here after all Christmas is on the way again.

What limitations do you find the grinder suffers from?

Considering the complexity of the unit, I found it lived up to all of my expectations....in fact the drill sharpener I got from Machine mart was given away because the design was so poor...the Sealey sharpener proving to be a far superior design and successfully reground a wide selection of worn drill bits that I had...

Hi. not really sure that they are limitations. The fixed angle and course Diamond grinding stone where mentioned. How do you find the quality of cut and has the set geometry ever affected your work John?

Adam,

I used the grinder straight out of the box....so to speak.

A visual comparison between a reground drill and a brand new one showed no difference in the geometry for either standard ground or 4 facet. Drilling performance of a reground drill appeared no different either compared to a new one. I did not think the stone was too coarse or too fine, very little dust produced from the process.

I bought one.

Read the instructions, and sharpened every blunt drill bit in the house(about 30 years worth, because you never throw them away right?) in about 1/2 hour. Well worth the £50 that it cost. Now I have to try and remember how to sharpen the blacksmiths's drills that I blunted on some awful work-hardening stainless that are too big for the machine.

I've had a "General" brand drill bit sharpening attachment which has worked a treat for over forty years without issues. "Draper" makes the same attachment, which can be used with your bench grinder for about £15.oo

This type of sharpening jig allows you to set the geometry of cutting angles to suit drilling in both metal and other materials. I may be old school in my thinking, but I know what works; and in todays economy, the price is right.

Thanks John and Nicholas. That sounds like a good endorsement. I think I'm going to get one. Like Nicholas I to have 30 years worth.

Looks same as this without the inflated Sealey price tag.

**LINK**

Have had several so called machines over the years always ended up giving them away, each drill a specific setup and too much hassle. Gave them all away but looks like above might be an investment and quick to use even if its a bit plasticy.

Can someone tell me whether you can alter the two main angles or is it fixed?

Up to now I've managed to survive with the occasional 4 facet sharpen of my larger drills and purchasing of the smaller sizes. I have a growing box of blunt drills so was given a variant of the Sealey 2008 for Christmas.

It works OK but following the instructions the relief comes out a little flat and on smaller drills it can be in the wrong direction.

Once the drill bit is position in the tool holder using the setup jig the instruction is to grind each side until there is no sound of grinding. I have found that if I don't grind until it goes quiet a reasonable relief can be achieved but you have to keep eyeballing the grind to check if it is symetrical. Which sort of defeats the intent of this piece of kit

What am I doing wrong or do I have a duff one?

Pete

Edited By Doubletop on 26/12/2018 04:46:15

My experience is the same as Pete’s. Wrong geometry and coarse finish. I consider it a failure. It is not Sealey branded.

I tried out a unit a bit like the one shown in the picture above a few years back. I found that the angles on the cutting tip did not come out right on the drills I tried, so returned it. It only occurred to me later to check...The drills I had tried in on had different spiral angles to what seems to be the "standard". So if your drills all have the same spiral angle, it may work well. If like me you have an eclectic collection of old drills that seem to differ, it may not be so much use to you.

John

Adam,

I still think my way is best in the long run........

how about getting somebody to show u the way to sharpen and or give a few quid to charity and let somebody else sharpen ur's........somebody out there does it for charity, sharpening milling cutters I beleive...on this forum....?????

looking over somebody's shoulder will help give u confidence to try it for urself.......

save ur split point drill's for that "special" job.....u can never resharpen split point drill bits sucssefully anyway, if I mess up I always buy a new'un.....I beleive they are one trick pony anyway......actually I never buy less than 10 of any size anyway.....esp with all this xxxp metal around... I had to drill hundreds of holes in boiler plate using a split point drill for speed, I used the De-Walt brand as there's no other supplier near me and no time for post.....they wern't that bad, mind some were a bit soft..........after the were bxxxxed/blunt I just resharpened them and use as a normal drill.......

I have a dedicated drill press set to run at 5,000rpm with a 3mm quality drill bit permently fitted just for pilot holes.....there's no run out using a center punch....it's not often that I drill a hole without using a center punch.......

just go for it, learn, it really wont take long, promise........clogs

I've got one and am very pleased with it. I've used it with 3mm up to 8mm drills with success every time.

How much is a new grinding stone?

Why not just build one of the many designs for a four facet drill grinding jig? Four facet works nearly as well as split point, is much easier to get right, and doesn't need a sharp corner on the wheel.

Russell