# Any suggestions for sharpening HF Stepless drill bit?



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I bought a Harbor Freight Stepless Drill Bit Set for a small project and it stopped cutting after 6 holes. I made the 6 holes in ¾” pine with predrill 3/8” holes and I was surprised that it quit cutting so soon in soft wood. :surprise2:










Anyway the project was a big flop and a waste of time, but I have another idea to make it work and need to make 4 more tapered holes. I'm trying not to add a waste of money to the project so I want to try to sharpen it. It is just a cone with a grove in it and I don't understand how it was able to cut in the first place. :confused1:


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## <*(((>< (Feb 24, 2010)

I've never used step bits to drill wood with. Step bits are usually used for metal. Maybe that is why they stopped cutting?


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Well I wasn’t actually drilling a hole in wood. I was turning a cylindrical hole into a cone shaped hole. That’s a HUGE difference! :grin:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*It's easy*

Those conical bits have "lead in", that is the cutting edge is out further than the rest of the cone. Like a twist drill where the cutting edge which is relieved away from the starting edge.






















To "sharpen" it use a diamond stone/plate and work the groove on the plate until you see a change in color on the bit. The edge will feel sharper when you have it right. You don't want to mess with the conical shape, just the groove where it intersects the cone. In the photo the upper portion of the groove.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Thanks Bill, I don’t care much about the point because I’m sticking it into a predrilled hole and only need it to open up the top of the hole. 

I was trying to use a needle file on the flat edge of the cone but it just seems like the edge should be a greater diameter then the cone because it just don’t feel any sharper. 

I’m almost tempted to try welding a bead of hard metal along the edge and grinding it down to a sharp edge, but I’m not so sure if I can do it due to its size. I had a boss in the early ‘70s that would do that to large posthole augers, but the angle wasn’t as critical as I need to cut wood.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*it's not about the point*

You missed the point! :surprise2: It's about the edge as I explained. You need to sharpen the long edge by filing or using a diamond stone in the groove, but concentrate on removing material on the edge. It may be too "hard" to file since it's probably a Titainium Nitride coating, but give it a try.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

*How is a diamond file used?*



woodnthings said:


> You missed the point! :surprise2: It's about the edge as I explained. You need to sharpen the long edge by filing or using a diamond stone in the groove, but concentrate on removing material on the edge. It may be too "hard" to file since it's probably a Titainium Nitride coating, but give it a try.


I bought some Diamond Files, but was just curious on how to use this. I've only used standard files where it only cuts in one direction and this appears to be able to cut in any direction. So can I file it back and forth?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Sure ...*

Regular files have "teeth", where a diamond "file" has small chips of diamond embedded in the flat surface...no teeth, just grits. It work in any direction, unlike a file with teeth.


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## ducbsa (Jul 6, 2014)

You want to file on the flat face in the groove that is perpendicular to the bit's axis.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

As cheap as they are why bother sharpening them. I would toss them and buy some more.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Steve Neul said:


> As cheap as they are why bother sharpening them. I would toss them and buy some more.


Well Steve, that they are "cheap". 

But I'm so disappointed in them that I could never buy another one. A $1 a hole is totally unacceptable so I'm just going to sharpen them. I did get a little bit of an edge on them, but haven't tried them yet. 

I only have 6 more tapered holes to do and if I were to do more, I would look for an upside down dovetail router bit if there is such a thing.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Sleeper said:


> Well Steve, that they are "cheap".
> 
> But I'm so disappointed in them that I could never buy another one. A $1 a hole is totally unacceptable so I'm just going to sharpen them. I did get a little bit of an edge on them, but haven't tried them yet.
> 
> I only have 6 more tapered holes to do and if I were to do more, I would look for an upside down dovetail router bit if there is such a thing.


That is one thing I don't have any experience with. I use a lot of HF tools but I've never used that type bit before.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I just found a better reamer on Amazon. Its actually for hand reaming, but I could put it into a drill motor since the handles come off. I wish I would have bought it instead of HF, but I'm going to buy it anyway.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

OK, so the thing is too dull to cut. Might as well mess with it now. Since it dulled so quickly, can't be the world's greatest steel, yes?
I realize that the shoulder up to the bevel is the correct face to work on = very hard to get at and do anything consistently.
Can you hold the bit up to a very bright light and see and line of light (dull) or sparks if light (dings) along the cutting edge?

1. Paint the bevel with black felt marker so that you can see the results of whatever you try.
2. Since it's a smooth taper, I'd work on the bevel with maybe 800 grit fine automotive finishing sandpaper to start.
Run that taped to an ordinary file as a mandrel. 6-8 strokes as level as you can manage.
3. More marker and change to 1,000 grit. 6-8 strokes again.
4. Test it.
= = = 
Maybe you bought a bad one. I bought a Stanley $50 spoke shave which is so soft I can't pull 8" without the edge bending = bad blade.
Bought 2 x $15 Samona s/s and they have been singing for more than a mile in birch (easy estimate.)


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