Drill bit source?

[CPDDET]

Looking for a source for quality small drill bits. I haven't been very happy with the products from MicroMark.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Dave

[AON]

McMaster-Carr

 

https://www.mcmaster.com/number-drill-bits/

[vaddoc]

Heller drills are ok. But in my experience, most if not all mini drills sold on ebay as single sizes (not in a set of 100 assorted drills) are ok. For carbide, I get the cheap ones from alliexpress, they are fine

[clarkt]

Panamerican Tool (panamericantool.com) has very good quality bits, used in the aviation industry.  But these days I'm mostly using the carbide bits, available at Amazon.

[ccoyle]

I ordered a supply of bits many years ago from Widget Supply and haven't run out of them yet.

[Bruce K]

I picked up some from this company https://gyrostools.com/miniature-drill-bits.html  Not exactly cheap but you do get what you pay for.  I have bought plenty of bits from other sources that I've had to toss because they are not sharp or break if you look at them funny.

[Jaager]

On 11/19/2021 at 11:18 AM, clarkt said:

But these days I'm mostly using the carbide bits,

I may be wrong about this, but as I understand it:

carbide is mainly suited for use with metals like steel.  They stay sharp longer but they are also brittle and allow for little lateral deformation. 

HSS allows for flexing.   but quality steel is probably worth the extra.

 

CML  https://www.cmlsupply.com/drill-bits-individual/

sells drill bits

Edited November 23, 2021 by Jaager

[mnl]

Anything McMaster sells should suffice for your needs. You probably won’t know the manufacturer until you get them as they can source from multiple vendors. You are looking for high speed steel in either bright finish or black oxide. The more exotic coatings are for serious production scenarios.

 

if you care about manufacturers you can call McMaster and they will tell you or you can order from MSC or Travers which list them in their catalogs. You would be looking for ones like Guhring (my usual go-to), Chicago-Latrobe, Precision Twist Drill, Hertel, Dormer, or Cleveland. In smaller sizes the point and flute types don’t matter so much.

 

If you can find them in the size you need, consider screw machine drills. They are shorter than standard length jobber drills. This makes them a little easier to manage in less than perfect setups. 

[Captain Shaun]

I used these in my work as a gas technician, they are expensive but top quality. The ones with handles are nice and save the constant changing in a pin vise.

 

https://andersonforrester.com/

[allanyed]

McMaster Carr is easy to navigate, has good quality and has  a LOT of choices.    The least expensive ones at MC are MUCH better than the stuff at Micromark.   As said above and many time before, quality is not cheap and as you can see from the responses, there are other sources of quality bits as well.  No matter the quality, for the tiniest sizes, consider buying several of each as it is no fun when one breaks and there is no back up in the bin.  

 

Allan

[JeffT]

I get mine from amazon.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SKVDD0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[CPDDET]

Thanks to all for the tips and clues.

Dave