Drill selection for a drill press

[MoleDoc]

I just scored a gently used 1 hp drill press with a 5/8 inch chuck (a craftsman to be exact). I had my last shop class in Jr High. and I'm pushing 50 now. What kind of drills do i buy for drilling the mild steel we use for smithing? There are ones coated in cobalt or carbide or titanium. And what about the angle of the point 118 vs 134 degrees?

I currently have a nice set of bullet point dewalt drills but they are specifically for wood.

Any advice for what kind of set to purchase would be helpful.

and any comments on the best cutting oil to use would be great too

Thanks!

[Scratch]

I won't claim to be any type of expert but I do use my drill press alot. I drill alot of large holes, 3/4"-1" in mild steel, and alot of 3/8" and 1/2" holes in hardened steel.
I use the cobalt bits for the hardened steel and they work great. They'll also work great in mild steel but are a little more expensive than non-cobalt.

I'd say if you don't plan on drilling into alot of hardened, just go buy a quality set of steel bits and if you need to drill through hardened for something, just go buy the size you need then.
Otherwise, go buy a full set of cobalt bits and you wont have to worry.

Also, when drilling steel, use a low speed. I use mine only for steel and have never changed the speed off of it's lowest 150 RPM speed and it cuts great!

I'm not sure but when I was buying those larger bits, I had the Grainger guy call the manufacturer and they suggested the 135 degree bits I think.

Again... no expert, but I've drilled alot of holes in my 1 hp Westward drill press.

[nett]

I would suggest, for general shop work (Mild steel, aluminum, wood plastic, etc) you start with HSS 118º 1/16-1/2"x 64th - bright finish index. Buy American on principal, and Asian if on a budget.

It's nice to have quality when you need it so maybe another approach would be to buy a 'Good' 1/16-1/2"x 64th index to hold in reserve for the right jobs, and look around for one of those Asian/Indian cheapo 115pc. drill set (1/16-1/2X64ths, A-Z, #1-60) for half the price of the good index. Think of them as 'throw-aways'. Replace them with more junk when you break them without loosing any tears.

Cobalt (solid) is great for stainless and tough alloy steels, but is real expensive. I purchase them individually, as I need them. Carbide bits? My masonry bits are carbide, so I'm no help. No help with titanium either.

Cheap sulfur based cutting oil is plenty good for mild steel and HSS bits if proper speeds and feed are maintained.

[the_sandy_creek_forge]

My personal preference for everyday drilling of aluminum, mild steel, annealed high carbon steel, cast iron, and whatever else I get my hands on, is the TiN coated HSS bits. The only time I've ever actually needed cobalt was drilling out some sheared off studs on an engine, although if you can afford a whole set of cobalt bits, go for it, they sure are slick Carbide drills (I am thinking of the indexable ones) are mostly for production and machine shops, imho.

If it can be squeezed into the budget, check into getting a Drill Doctor for keeping whatever you buy nice and sharp. We've got one of the more basic models (the kind that doesn't sharpen split points) and I am not sure how I ever lived without it. (Usual non-affiliation disclaimer here)

-Aaron @ the SCF

[hdwarner]

in a blacksmith shop , on a drill press i reccomend a drill point angle of 118 degrees
for most work .
the equation for, is the more mild the material the steeper the angle
hence 130 degrees for stainless
stay away from split points although they cut great at first but are real vulnable to chipping .

[MoleDoc]

Gentlemen, Thank you all. This was exactly the information I was looking for before I go shopping.

Made in the USA sounds like a darn good idea to me! (Retired Navy Chief)

Ted