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How to Sharpen Used and Dull Drill Bits

Drill bit In the trend of DIY, everybody wants to try every unusual thing at home. That is why people are now having technical items and instrumental tools at home for personal projects.

It’s incredibly satisfying to create something on your own using professional tools like a drill jigsaw oscillating tool, and so on. But it’s not always fun to work with them when they get dull. Isn’t it? What do you do in such a situation? Since you can use the tools at home, you can sharpen them by yourself.

You might not have thought about drill bits, but you can also sharpen them when it gets dull. Since the drill is a common machine that stays in almost every house, we would like to enlighten the users on sharpening the drill bits.

10 Powerful step How to Sharpen Used and Dull Drill Bits Complete Guide

His article demonstrates how to sharpen a drill bit. Follow the below steps to know how you can sharpen your used and dull drill bits at home.

Step 1: examine the dull bit

Carefully identify the dull bit. How? Well, if you look closely at your used drill bit, you may notice the edge decay, and the pointed angles got blunt.

How to Sharpen Used and Dull Drill Bits

Besides, if you use your drill bit, you will easily identify the performance difference compared with the first use.

For more clarity, you may examine the drill bit with a new one.

Step 2: prepare the bit before sharpening

Before you actually start sharpening the bit, you should prepare the bit first. You can use a file to remove the burrs off the bit. Here, be careful to wear a pair of gloves to avoid getting some of the debris into your skin.

Step 3: take a drill bit sharpening tool

You may use a bench grinder or sander to choose a sharpening tool for a drill bit. While selecting the device, make sure the spaces between the guards are ⅛ inches away. It will help your bit to stay in place while sharpening. 

Step 4: practice beforehand

Before you actually start to sharp, you should do some practice first. Therefore, to keep your hand safe and save your drill bit from damage, you should practice holding it properly. Here, remember to hold it at a 60-degree angle of the belt sander. Now, carefully use your fingers to move the bit across the belt to sharpen it.

Step 5: cut the landing of the bit

To cut the bit’s landing, raise the hand if you are holding the bit with the left hand. Now, put pressure on the bit against the sander. It will cut the landing eventually.

Step 6: it’s time to shape the chisel

After you cut the landing, you need to shape the chisel. To do that, you need to move your left hand towards the right. Keep doing the movement this way until you create the chisel angle is 45 degrees.

Step 7: shape the landing properly

As you have cut the landing already, you need to shape it properly as well. To do that, you need to rotate the bit anticlockwise. Keep doing this, and you will create a landing shape.

Step 8: make sure to cut, shape and rotate together

So far, you have sharpened each edge. Now, to give the drill bit an even finish, you need to cut, shape, and rotate altogether. Keep following the process, moving the bit even at 180 degrees.

It will evenly sharpen the bit overall. As you repeat this step, you will realize the bit gets heated up. And it would help if you cooled it down immediately. To do that, you can use water. It’s essential to cool down the bit; otherwise, it may get damaged.

Step 9: Keep repeating the combined tasks to get the desired finish.

It may take a while to sharpen the drill bit properly. But, to get a long-lasting sharpness, you need to follow the process of cutting, shaping, and rotating the bit repeatedly. And to get a consistent edge, you may need to turn the bit at different angles in your hand.

Points to remember:

Overall, these are the steps that are followed on regular drill bits. However, if you have other bits, you need to keep the below information in mind during sharpening.

If you have a cobalt-chromium split drill bit, you need a special kind of tool to cut through the chisel. To sharpen a drill bit smaller than ⅛ inches, you can use a wooden block as a guide. To ensure the drill bit is symmetric, keep checking the chisel and landing angles are symmetric, at least at the centre.

Final thought

These are the steps you need to follow to sharpen your dull and used a drill bit. I hope the processes are easy to understand. However, we recommend you watch some tutorials and practise before you actually start sharpening your drill bit. To do the job perfectly, start slowly and keep checking the chisel and landing angles repeatedly.

Fahad Ali

Fahad Ali - Founder of Today Update Pk Meet Fahad Ali, a seasoned content writer, analyst, and educator with 8+ years of experience. Holding a Master's in Public Relations from Punjab University, Lahore, and a BS in Economics from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Fahad excels in deciphering government schemes, current affairs, and local news.
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