Lidl drill sharpener

Plevier

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Joined
22 Aug 2008
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Location
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http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_23448.htm

Can anyone tell me from experience if this is any good please?
Bought one yesterday but looking at how it works, very dubious as to whether it will give a decent shape!
If they are hopeless I'd rather take it back unused. Many Lidl tools seem to get good reports on here though.
Incidentally the "high quality drills" with it are a bit of a joke. Picking a couple at random, one has a chipped tip, the other has reverse rake and you would have to drill with it anti-clockwise. Maybe it's a test piece for the sharpener ;)
 
I seriously though about getting for one of those and if there was a really local Lidl I would have gone and taken a look at them

Generally not pleased with Lidls offers except where they are on well known brands. I dont mind risking a fiver but when it gets to £20 I am more cautious

I enquired about drill sharpening machines on here once before. A bit of a mixed response that did not inspire me to rush out and buy one .

There will of course be the clever clogs along who will tell how they have always sharpened drills by hand and how many thousands they have done... blah blah blah.
I know I cant do it by hand!
 
Drat!

Ah! Yes! I've ruined more drills than I've bought, by trying to sharpen them by hand. ;-)

I have always lusted after one of those expensive machine tools intended to do it properly, but the last one I saw was 185 euros. I can buy a lot of drill bits for that.
 
http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_23448.htm

Can anyone tell me from experience if this is any good please?
Bought one yesterday but looking at how it works, very dubious as to whether it will give a decent shape!
If they are hopeless I'd rather take it back unused. Many Lidl tools seem to get good reports on here though.
Incidentally the "high quality drills" with it are a bit of a joke. Picking a couple at random, one has a chipped tip, the other has reverse rake and you would have to drill with it anti-clockwise. Maybe it's a test piece for the sharpener ;)

I bought one two days ago.

I wondered whether it would work.

It works fine and gives a good point. The taper is fixed by the shape of the internal wheel. They supply two spare wheels so there might be a problem with wheel wear.

If the bit has in any way been distorted it will not fit in the tool.

It will sort out your reverse rake bit fine but will take a little time.

It takes quite a while to grind down a well worn bit.

I did about 20 bits of all sizes in about half an hour.

Good I thought.

BUT

On the next bit the motor exploded and caught fire but did not blow the fuse.

Going back to the shop with it shortly.

Iain
 
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I seriously though about getting for one of those and if there was a really local Lidl I would have gone and taken a look at them

Generally not pleased with Lidls offers except where they are on well known brands. I dont mind risking a fiver but when it gets to £20 I am more cautious

I enquired about drill sharpening machines on here once before. A bit of a mixed response that did not inspire me to rush out and buy one .

There will of course be the clever clogs along who will tell how they have always sharpened drills by hand and how many thousands they have done... blah blah blah.
I know I cant do it by hand!

Hi Vic Don't give up on drill sharpening. The trick is to start off with big drill bits larger than 6mm. Look very closely at a good drill bit noting the angles. Start by taking just a little off. You can actually put the bit in a vice and use a oil stone to carefully rub down the shoulders to give a better cut. Or you can try with a power emery wheel but do be careful to take off just a little and don't let it get too hot. A magnifying glass helps to see exactly what you are doing. good luck olewill
 
I seriously though about getting for one of those and if there was a really local Lidl I would have gone and taken a look at them

Generally not pleased with Lidls offers except where they are on well known brands. I dont mind risking a fiver but when it gets to £20 I am more cautious

I enquired about drill sharpening machines on here once before. A bit of a mixed response that did not inspire me to rush out and buy one .

There will of course be the clever clogs along who will tell how they have always sharpened drills by hand and how many thousands they have done... blah blah blah.
I know I cant do it by hand!

Hi, if you need a drill for precision work it is a highly skilled job for someone with perfect eyesight as having one side of the bit offset will cause it to cut oversize. However,to sharpen a jobber or pilot drill so it cuts again is a doddle if you know what to do and have a decent power grindstone. Try finding an old engineering textbook or look it up online and PRACTICE with your cheap Lidl drill bits. I once had a business partner who never used a chuck key. When he joined me he moaned that the drill was no good-the chuck was defective. I demonstated the drill with a tight chuck and bored a bit of angle iron in seconds. It transpired that he had never had sharp drill bits before and was unaware of how to use them. He got away without tightening the chuck as his own bits were NBG! I am self taught in bit sharpening-my wife says it is because I am so tight! On the subject of Lidl bargains First Mate picked up a pair of ladies offshore salopettes for£9.99 on Saturday-had to buy them at that price. Bonus is they are a good fit and appear high quality.
 
I bought one two days ago.

I wondered whether it would work.

It works fine and gives a good point. The taper is fixed by the shape of the internal wheel. They supply two spare wheels so there might be a problem with wheel wear.

If the bit has in any way been distorted it will not fit in the tool.

It will sort out your reverse rake bit fine but will take a little time.

It takes quite a while to grind down a well worn bit.

I did about 20 bits of all sizes in about half an hour.

Good I thought.

BUT

On the next bit the motor exploded and caught fire but did not blow the fuse.

Going back to the shop with it shortly.

Iain


Me too, I found it good and agree with the above comments but mine has not blown up. yet?
 
I bought one two days ago.

I wondered whether it would work.

It works fine and gives a good point. The taper is fixed by the shape of the internal wheel. They supply two spare wheels so there might be a problem with wheel wear.

If the bit has in any way been distorted it will not fit in the tool.

It will sort out your reverse rake bit fine but will take a little time.

It takes quite a while to grind down a well worn bit.

I did about 20 bits of all sizes in about half an hour.

Good I thought.

BUT

On the next bit the motor exploded and caught fire but did not blow the fuse.

Going back to the shop with it shortly.

Iain

They had none left in the shop.

I got my money back without any hastle.

I would have been quite happy with a replacement one but that's the way it goes.
 
I bet we are about to get lots of posts along the lines of:

'Real men don't use drill sharpeners'

:D

You were right. We were. :(

I can do many things but I can't sharpen drills on a wheel. I have tried. Maybe there are things I find easy that all the smart *rses telling me how easy it is can't do, who knows?

I don't have a bench grinder and it makes more sense to buy a drill sharpener for about the same money.

Thanks for the user reports, I'll give it a try at the weekend.
 
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