118° vs. 135° point angles on twist drills.

[hankj]

It's time to buy a new set of drill bits for the Gadget Garage. Everything I have now is sharpened to a 118° included angle. What's the wisdom in 135° points? I've never had problems with the 118°'s, but I've never used 135°'s. What would you guys buy and how come?

Thanks, as usual!

Hank

[paulrbrown]

hankj, 118 is the most efficient angle for drilling metal, 135 is better for harder steels/stainless. There are some 135 premium bits out there that are really bad, they tend to make an oval hole, I bought some Bluemole bits that did that. I would stick with the 118's, and maybe consider a 'screwmachine' length over Jobber length as they are 1/2 the length and don't tend to flex or break as easy. Hope this helps, Paul

[dyn88]

hey hank go the extra mile and get cobalt.

[hankj]

Thanks, guys.

I like screw machine length for that reason - stiff! I'm looking at a USA set from ENCO from 1/16" to 1/2" by 64ths. All my large bits are in good shape, and I'm glad, 'cause them bad boys are EXPENSIVE!

Hank