Comments by "Paul Frederick" (@1pcfred) on "" video.

Yeah the cone deal is hard to visualize or explain. It's why you can't easily make a drill bit sharpening jig. Also why you have to make such a strange motion grinding bits. The cone is at an angle in relation to the axis of the bit.
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Just looking at a bit won't tell you if it'll drill, or not. Drilling with a bit will tell you though. You'll know. If the bit don't cut right in then grind it until it does. Getting the cutting edge uppermost is a bit of a trick but it is doable. If you don't the bit will rub and not cut. There's a bit of mind over matter going on with the whole process.
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Both ways work. I find heel to edge a bit easier to do though. Heel to edge gives you run up to line up the shot. You're going from least to most important then.
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My old German was a very jovial guy. I miss Bugsley. My first day on the job he came up and smelled some steel stock and said, M42 He really liked to joke around. He didn't know me or anything but he had to get that joke in. Now the foreman he was a bit depressed. He was communist Polish.
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Freehand sharpening is never perfect but holes drilled with twist drills are never perfect anyways. That's what keeps reamer makers in business.
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Heel to edge is easier. Both ways work though.
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Little bits are little so things happen fast. A little grinding is a lot. Plus they are hard to see. A magnifying visor helps then.
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Basically the cutting edge has to be at the highest point. Otherwise it won't cut in and drill. So you end up grinding behind the edge to make that happen. You have to sharpen the edge too though. Having bits that are actually sharp all the time is a game changer. You can get bits sharper than new.
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I don't care how cheap drill bits are I don't want to be running out buying them all the time. Good bits are not that cheap either. But sharp bits are priceless. If you drill holes you should know how to sharpen bits. If you drill holes you will have dull bits. Most folks all they have are dull bits.
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Yeah if you have a bunch to do that's a great way to train. I bought a whole bucket of dull bits once and got pretty good by the time I was done with all of them. You definitely get better with repetition.
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I have a drill doctor and it's a POS. They're flawed. They have a diamond grinding wheel in them and carbon steel and diamonds is no bueno. That's because of carbon migration. Diamond is for carbide not carbon steel. Even if that wasn't a factor I still wouldn't say DDs are fast to use.
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Sharpening drill bits is a little like riding a bicycle. Once you learn how to do it then it's pretty easy to do. We were all a little shaky at the outset though.
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I'm left-handed and I don't have any problems freehand sharpening twist drills. Well any problem beyond what's normal. In fact I think we have an advantage over righties.
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@oldcynic6964 I've sharpened a lot of drills and it is always still possible I don't get the cutting edges uppermost. It is a bit of a trick to manage to do that. Although totally ruining a bit would be ruining the temper I suppose. That we have to look out for.
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If the bit drills you're doing it right. The better the bit drills the more right you're doing it.
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Yeah I got one of them drill doctor things. It's a waste of time. Bulldogs are not bad though. I use a Bulldog to get the basic shape when a bit is really wacked out. But mounting a bulldog to get perpendicular striations is funky. The directions are worthless for doing it. Put a bit in the jig and hold it up to the wheel how you want it then make a base for it to hold it that way. It'll end up at about a 45° angle.
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No a hack is someone drilling with dull bits. There's a lot of hacks out there.
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Freehand sharpening twist drills is a bit of a party trick.
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The box of dull bits is pretty common. I've bought people's collections of dull bits. I don't give them much then either. Basically scrap price. Then I end up with a lot of good drills after I sharpen them. A big part of it is dressing the wheel. If the wheel face isn't clean, sharp and flat you're going to have a hard time of it. Most people their grinding wheel is all dull, loaded up and rounded over. That's a fail before you begin.
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Yeah if you have a big bit it helps to look at it. One that's ground right. Visualization is pretty key with all of this. Having a mental picture of the geometry you're trying to achieve. It's all pretty simple but you do have to know it.
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Splitting the point is easy as long as you don't hit the cutting edge while you're doing it. Which can happen. If you do then you have to sharpen all over again. But yeah you just get the corner of the grinding wheel and nick out the web a little. That's it. Make the chisel point smaller. Makes a big difference in pressure drilling.
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You can't until you can. I think anyone that gives it an honest try can pick up freehand twist drill sharpening. But it might take a bit of time. A few tries. You give it a go then try to drill with the bit you just sharpened. If it's not drilling you grind some more. I know what I'm doing and sometimes I don't get it on the first grind. The cutting edges have to be up.
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I have a drill doctor. I bought it at a yard sale cheap. Mint in box. It sits on the shelf and I freehand sharpen bits. Because I can.
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Splitting the point is a bit nerve racking. If you goof it up you munge the cutting edge and have to resharpen. Still worth doing in my opinion though. I have a dedicated grinder just for point splitting. You just get in there and nick it. It don't take much. Makes a big difference. You just nick the webs with the corner of the wheel. A quick touch.
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@VinceMulhollon that sounds like a grinder issue to me. To sharpen a bit right the grinding wheel has to be up to the task. That whole dressing the wheel that was addressed briefly in this video is pretty important. Dressing a wheel trues it up. Wheel dressing is one of those arcane things few do. But it can be important. If you're doing more than just shortening lengths of rebar or something like that.
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