How to Choose the Right Drill Bits for Your Drilling Job

Choosing the ideal drill bits for your activity is the first step to drilling a worthy hole. There are several parameters to analyze that concern the material you're working on, the consistency with which you'll use the bit, and the quality of the final result. The type of operation you need to perform should be evaluated, which can range from classic drilling to countersinking.

Without forgetting the creation of a blind hole, like those for hinges on wooden furniture. There are also different types of drill bits like the Forstner models or Lewis, not forgetting the diamond cup mills. That's why it's essential to understand how to choose the right drill bits: in this small guide you'll find the right information for your purchase.

Material to Drill

An aspect to consider when choosing drill bits: what to drill? The answer determines the first decision, which allows you to buy bits for building materials, iron, or wood. Not forgetting that there are also spade bits for glass.

This is a parameter to respect because you can't use a wood bit on a wall or steel, at the same time it's impossible to drill porcelain stoneware well with a wood auger. There are universal drill bits, suitable for a large quantity of materials, but one point is certainly clear: if you want the best result, you need to buy bits specific to individual materials.

Manufacturing Method

There are two major categories of drill bits: rolled or ground. Which to choose? It depends on your needs, with the caveat that in both cases you can get good results if you buy bits from a specialized company. We know that ground bits (created by metal machining without stretching) have better results in terms of wear resistance and precision.

Steel Used

Another fundamental element in choosing drill bits: the manufacturing material. Basically, the universal solution now known to anyone who wants a quality product is HSS steel – high-speed steel – which offers important performance on multiple occasions.

Those seeking quality in terms of heat resistance, performance for drilling very hard metals, and other difficult materials to handle turn to specific solutions. Such as, for example, drill bits with a cobalt percentage of 5% or 8%.

These options are perfect for drilling very hard metals and resisting high temperatures. Other useful solutions? If you need to use drill bits for long periods and consistently, it's worth using bits with titanium coating (TiN) as shown by the example above in the case of step bits for enlarging holes.

Specific Uses

Which drill bit to buy? If you need to make a simple hole, you can use standard models while for larger holes you have special options. Such as, for example, cup mills that also have a diamond profile if you need to work on ceramics and porcelain stoneware. For blind and wide holes in wood you have Forstner bits while spade bits are used for glass.

A few more options to guide your purchases? Augers are used for wide holes in wood while those made of tungsten carbide (Widia) are used with percussion function to drill walls, concrete, and stone. Here's a table to help you: