[TheForge] Drill Doctor

[theforge@mailman.qth.net]

I have one bought new for $135 and lucked into another brand new one at 
a pawn shop for $45. There are several models.  The low end handyman 
limits you on drill tip geometry, then next one up has more options, but 
is limted to 1/2" bits,  the next one up does up to 3/4" I think.    I 
love mine.  I have several older sharpeners that cost more, but I like 
them less.   The consensus on them is if you know how to hand grind a 
drill and are really good at it, you can do a better faster job than a 
Drill Doctor.  Otherwise they are pretty handy, especially if you find 
yourself teaching a bunch of teenagers how to drill holes.

 Duh, how hard could that be---umh Mr Vincent I broke another bit. 
(barely heard over the sound of yet another bit in the far corner of the 
shop shrieking in terror as someone tries to drive it at ten times its 
optimal speed)  That is why I have converted almost everything over to 
hand power, at first it was for campouts, now I do it for my sanity in 
the shop as well.  BTW, I really hate the fact that it is now cheaper to 
replace an entire index rather than five or six bits.   For a while 
there I had the bright idea of buying old indexes at garage sales and 
pawn shops to make up the missing bits in my set.  Unfortuneatley, all 
those empty slots in the "parts" indexes ate at me until I filled them 
too. 

Back to the Drill Doctor.  They come with a video, which you should 
watch several times.  There is a trick to getting it to work to its full 
potential ( one is insuring that the chuck is riding against the cam on 
both planes, rather than just twisting the chuck around in circles)


Charles

Roger Olsen wrote:

>
>
>I remember somewhere in the past a few comments on the drill doctor.  If
>
>I remember  correctly Bruce Fink spoke very highly about them, even
>buying a set for each of his sons.  Am I remembering correctly?
>
>I am thinking of buying one but am curious to hear some feed back from
>anyone who owns one.  I have thrown away money in the past on other
>drill sharpeners but feel this may be an honestly good investment.
>
>If you own one where did you buy it, how much did it cost,  if your
>mother owned a metal shop would you recommend the tool to her?
>
>thank you
>
>Roger Olsen
>
>from the East slope of the North Cascades, where we are finally getting
>some winter snow
>
>
>
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