Drill Doctor 350X Electric Drill Bit Sharpener, 3/32 to 1/2 Inch

This does a good job sharpening bits, but it requires a little practice to get use to it. My first attempts weren't very good. I had to watch a video or two to get the idea. The key is to learn how to hold and twist the bit properly and to listen for when it is ready. It took me about an hour or so playing around. My first attempt was not very good at all. I thought I had messed the bit up at first. I kept working with it and after several attempts got it pretty sharp. The more I practiced, the better I got. My recommendation is to go slow. The videos I watched they were twisting fast. Frankly I don't think they were the best at teaching one how to use it. There are probably better videos, but once you get the basics and the idea down, it is pretty much just practicing and getting the feel for it. It will definitely save you money if you use cobalt bits or drill a lot of metal. I am bad to get lazy and use a HSS bit on metal. It can work, but will dull really fast. This will bring it back to life again! Oh another thing I should mention is that you need to figure out how to align the bit properly in the chuck and get it really snug. The manual and videos will go over it, but again you kind of have to figure it out to get it just right. If it isn't lined up right in the chuck it will sharpen it out of line. That's the biggest problem I probably had starting out.

Once I learned how to use. It worked great and put a sharp edge on the bits.

Good

Good value for the money. I have sharpened around eighty drill bits so far and sharpening wheel looks good. It takes a few try’s to get the hang of it. Once you get the hang of it, it works well.

Wear eye protection and a quality mask to avoid breathing in the dust!!! It takes a few tries to get it figured out, but once you get the hang of it, this little machine is WORTH EVERY PENNY. Dull bits take a few seconds to resharpen, broken bits can be restored to perfect sharpness in minutes. Read the instructions CAREFULLY. It’ll save you a lot of time and headache. It will sharpen regular bits and masonry bits. Great alignment, quality build, very fast, low profile, and about the size of a 6” sub sandwich.

During a kitchen remodel I had to install 112 cabinet and drawer pulls, each requiring two holes to be drilled in 3/4 inch hardwood. My drill bit got dull quickly and I figured that at this rate I would need to purchase at least three more drill bits... two or three to finish the job and one more to return to my drill index box. At about $3.50 each, this was $11.50. Plus I had three full sets of drill bits in various degrees of dullness. If I could sharpen them all, the savings in restoring my existing drill bits would easily pay for this machine. A bit of rationalization, true, but that's how I've justified purchasing most of the cool tools I own. A set of drill bits is relatively inexpensive per bit compared to buying them individually, but you can't buy a complete new set every time one bit gets dull. And replacing each bit as they become dull can add up quickly. Another rationalization — you don't buy a new kitchen knife every time a knife gets dull, do you? At least I don't... I sharpen my knives, and keep them sharp. Dull knives are no fun. But knives are fairly easy to sharpen, while sharpening drill bits is considerably more complex. I looked at cheaper sharpening rigs, but looked like they would take a lot longer to use. I'm guessing that sharpening rigs might be better for very large drill bits (up to 1/2" and larger) After receiving this sharpener it took a few minutes of reading the user manual to understand how it works, then a few minutes to sharpen my first dull drill bit (3/16"). Under magnification, it looked a bit rough... not as smooth as a new bit, but it cut like crazy! The first thing I noticed was the sharpened bit threw out chips of wood while before when it was dull it created fine sawdust. I immediately thought of the big chips a freshly sharpened chainsaw blade throws out as it cuts, compared to the smaller and smaller chips and eventually sawdust the chainsaw blade produces as it dulls. The comparison seem reasonable. Just like my kitchen knives, I don't wait for the drill bits to get dull... I touch them up frequently since I now have a quick and efficient way to sharpen them. Now that I've gotten used to it, I can sharpen a 3/16" drill bit in less than 30 seconds. That's after you've sharpened it on this rig before so the angles match. This drill bit is fixed at 118° angle, which is the basic universal angle suitable for most tasks. Some of my drill bits had a slightly different angle so it took a little more time to grind those down to match this sharpener 118°, but once that's done it's quick and easy from then on. It's good to know that Drill Doctor is made by Darex, a major manufacturer of industrial sharpening equipment... they probably know what they're doing. I only occasionally use my drill and drill bits so unlike someone who regularly drills I was barely able to justify purchasing this, but I'm happy to know that I'll never have dull drill bits and never have to stop everything to run out to replace a dull bit. For long term cost savings and peace of mind — it was a great purchase!

If you can afford the DD750 it is 10times a better unit. This unit works for on the fly or take to a job site. If your are worried about it growing legs and walking away. It works.

I unboxed and read all the directions! Then proceeded to sharpen 3 sets of drill bits and can’t believe how sharp they are. First on went through a 1/8” broken bolt like a hot knife through butter.

Excelente equipo, la verdad no tenia muchas espectativas pero me ha sorprendido lo sencillo que se vuelve afilar brocas. Fue un regalo de cumpleaños para mi padre y le gusto bastante, hizo la prueba enseguida. En casa las brocas se han afilado siempre a pulso con esmeril de banco y mucha paciencia, pero es tedioso para mi padre a sus casi 80 años, solo afilaba la que requeria en ese momento. Pero con el drill doctor en un par de dias revivio mas de 30 brocas que tenia guardadas y daba por muertas en batalla. Las instrucciones son algo confusas, pero es mas simple de lo que parece, colocas la broca en el broquero, ajustas lo suficiente para que quede fija pero pueda girarse dentro del broquero, luego giras un poco la broca en el sentido de perforacion que es en el sentido del reloj, esto para alinearla con las guias metalicas del broquero, despues coloca el broquero en el drill doctor alineando el triangulo con la parte superior y presiona solo un poco para que la broca retroceda y va a quedar en posicion para afilado, finalmente ajusta el broquero para que no se deslice la broca y sin apenas ejercer presion realiza un par de pasadas de I a II en sentido del reloj y comprueba, repite un par de veces y quedara lista. Si el angulo de la broca es muy cerrado o si esta rota, mejor pasarla primero en el esmeril de banco o en la mini amoladora para abrir el angulo lo mas cerca a 180 grados y tarde menos en afilarla, de lo contrario tardara mucho en desbastar hasta llegar al angulo deseado.

First attempt sort of worked- but bit was slow and terrible at drilling but better than it had been. Second attempt at sharpening the same bit and I was a bit more assertive handling the drill doctor chuck (not rough or harsh though) and the bit ended up really sharp and better than new.

Hss sharpener

Me gusto mucho el producto.... es facil de usar y cumple con lo que se publica.... saca punta a las brocas...

It doesn't work on standard UK 240v power outlets. I'm sure the product runs fantastic in theory BUT if you're in the UK and planning on using it from your mains socket, it won't work. Plug it in and look forward to the fireworks.