There are as many different types of drill bits as there are things you want to put holes in so choosing the right one can be difficult. Along with that comes price and how do you know when paying $50 or $200 for a single drill bit is worth the money.
Well first you have to understand there are 2 basic grades of drill bits there are crappy ones and professional grade ones. The difference is pretty dramatic if you need to use them all day every day and sticking to a professional grade bit is as important as what type of drill you buy. If you are a home owner you can get away with lower priced and quality bits that you know are throwaways but they will last you for the few projects you need to do around the home. But there may be times even for a home owner to step up to a better grade bit.
General Purpose Bits
This type of bit is used to drill through soft materials like wood and plastic you can also use it on mild steel. The cost of these bits is at the lower end and they come in sizes from about 1/8th inch to 1/2 inch in width. This is the type of bit a home owner will get the most use out of.
High Speed Steel Bits
Used for drilling through metal this type of bit usually has been hardened and is often chrome plated. This is a professional bit however some general grade bits often say High Speed or special coating bit.
Carbide Tip Drill Bits
This type of bit is used for drilling into Masonry and other hard materials. Some Carbide Tipped bits can also drill through ceramic tile and even glass. They can be Hammer type or High Speed type but can be distinguished by the color difference on the tip of the bit and in larger sizes the shape of the tip looks like it has 2 paddles welded to the tip. They range in size from 1/8 inch to percussion core bits that can reach 6 inches wide.
Diamond Coated Bits
These bits are often used for ceramic or glass and are a specialty bit however you may see larger percussion bits with industrial diamond coatings. Diamond bits are expensive and have limited use. If you need one then you will know.
Hole Saws
This type of accessory is actually similar to a saw and can be used for cutting through wood or light steel as used on steel doors. You will most often see them used by plumbers to cut holes in plywood for their pipes.
Self Feeding Bits
A Self Feeding Drill Bit is often used by electricians to drill through wood studs to run wires. The screw or other feature on the tip of the drill will pull the drill bit through the wood reducing wear on the drill motor and bushings. If you are drilling through wood all day this is a specialty tool worth paying the extra money for.
Bradpoint Bits
Used for wood or soft materials and have a special tip that helps you stay in place as you start your hole. This is a good bit if you do a lot of hardwood work where you could damage the material but a nail set is probably a better tool to use.
Spade or Paddle Bits
Uhh just stay away from paddle bits as much as you can. They are a cheap alternative to a larger sized twist bit or hole saw bit but they tend to kick out and are dangerious so look at self feed bits for hand work or forstner in a drill press with care.
Jobber Drill Bits
Often you will see the term Jobber Bit applied to bits that seem to be similar to High Speed or General Purpose Bits but if you take a closer look you will often notice that they are half the lenght when you examing the twist part of the bit. This is because professionals that use them all day long tend to snap the bits they use. A 1/8th inch Jobber bit for drilling holes for pop rivets is great and will resist abuse lasting much longer then a standard length bit.
What you should buy
How much work you have to do and what materials you are working with has a lot to do with the type and grade of bit that you purchase. The more work you do the better you will realize that a quality drill means nothing if you use garbage drill bits in it. As a matter of fact changing the bit or sharpening it will often make it feel like you bought a new drill.
There are a number of consumer bits out today with all types of claims and coatings but in reality most of these products are meaningless in how the bit will perform.
I personally have drilled through wood with consumer grade bits and had them untwist or snap so many times that it almost gets dangerious to perform work with them. However for smaller bits you can almost always expect this.
If you are a professional then you should definitely stick with a higher end product with good steel. You never want to buy a discount brand although there are price differences within professional grade bits. Unfortunately in the past 5 years many American tool companies have been bought up by knockoff Chinese manufacturers so finding good products is getting more difficult.
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