Long Series Metric Endmills (5% Cobalt) - 2mm to 20mm - end mill sizes

And carbide – usually tungsten carbide – is a similarly tough material, and is commonly used in the manufacture of masonry drill bits.

Caring for your drill bits can also be a matter of safety; dull or damaged drill bits can create problems both in the work and for the worker.

You use a hammer bit to create precise holes into concrete slabs when looking to determine the amount of humidity in a concrete slab.

These are the bits to use when looking to drill into thick and dry wood. Thanks to their innovative design, you do not have to apply a lot of pressure when drilling into tough materials.

Also known as high-speed bits, they resemble corkscrews and are some of the most popular bits. They are typically used to drill small holes into wood and walls. Their unique design allows them to channel dust from the hole as they work.

If you’re drilling a hole for a screw in wood, you will need a drill bit that’s slightly smaller than the screw you’re planning to use so that the screw’s thread will tap into the material. If you’re drilling a hole more than 10mm in diameter, you may be better off with a completely different, more specialist type of drill bit, like a Forstner bit, a spade drill bit, or, for much better holes, a hole saw.

Named after their tip that resembles a series of pyramid-shaped steps, these bits are what professionals use to drill into sheet metal. Their stepped design allows you to create holes with varying diameters. Step bits are renowned for their versatility.

Drill bits are designed to drill holes in a variety of different common materials. These include different types of wood, metal, plastic, ceramic tile, porcelain, and concrete.

Drill bits made for steel, aluminum, copper, cast iron, sheet metal, fiberglass, brick, vinyl flooring, and more are also available.

Cobalt drill bits are much harder at higher temperatures making them good for drilling through stainless steel and other hard materials, though they are usually way in excess of what most DIYers need.

Spade bits have a spade-shaped tip that allows them to bore into softwoods. They are typically used to create holes for running cables.

When you think of a drill bit, most likely, a standard twist bit will spring to mind. These are suited to drilling metal or plastic. They have a sharp tip and the twisted grooves along the length to allow material to be drawn out of the hole to help keep the bit straight.

Black Oxide: The most economical coating. Black oxide adds corrosion protection, increases tempering and stress relieving of the bit, reduces galling and chip welding, and aids in retaining drilling lubricants.

Most of the drill bits you’re likely to encounter will bear the abbreviation HSS, for high speed steel. It’s a steel, alloyed with a range of other metals, designed to withstand the extreme temperatures generated by drilling through harder materials at high speed, hence the name. But, despite the high breaking strength they exhibit, they’re also brittle and don’t offer much resistance to bending. Which means it’s easy to snap thinner bits with even the most innocuous of impacts.

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Bronze Oxide: Bronze oxide increases the tempering and stress relieving of the bit and is generally used alone to visually identify cobalt steel or with black oxide to identify better grades of high-speed steel.

The odd breakage aside, the Bosch 50-piece X-Line set could be the only box of drill bits you will ever need. It covers the majority of common sizes you would need for drilling wood, metal, and masonry, plus it includes screwdriver bits (and an extension bar), a countersink bit, three sockets, two spade bits, and a gauge to check the size of the bits. It even comes with a snap-off knife.

The carbon steel shaft and tungsten carbide tip offers the sharpness and abrasion to cut through tougher materials. According to reviewers, the ease with which these Wickes items cut is impressive, especially given the price of these specialist bits.

For a start, drill bits are made from a number of different materials. And then the shape of the cutting face can be radically different depending on the material it’s designed to drill through. When you factor in price, the range of sizes available within a set, and the brand, the choice can be bewildering.

These bits come with carbide tips to allow you to bore holes into tiles without creating chips or cracks in the tile. Different tile bits are designed for different types of tiles. Therefore, ensure that you check its package to confirm that it can drill into your tiles.

This creates a much more efficient drilling process with burr-free holes in tubing, sheet metal, and iron bar stock. Annular cutter bits on our site are made from Cobalt High-Speed Steel.

Generally speaking, DIYers will end up buying a drill bit set, rather than a single bit – although there are exceptions, particularly for specialty jobs such as when a masonry drill bit is required – so that will already have a few of the main sizes covered.

Brad-point bits come in handy when you need to make clean and precise holes. They come with rubber stoppers to allow you to set a particular depth. Their precision makes them a popular bit among woodworkers.

Auger bits have a screw tip that creates the initial hole for the rest of the bit to fall. As a result, holes by auger bits are incredibly clean and precise.

The bits are stored in a fairly tough plastic case, which can also function as a stand to make selecting the correct bit easier. Each bit is clearly labelled in the case too. The round shanks are suitable for use in the majority of drills with a three-jaw chuck.

The best drill bits for metal drilling in ascending order in terms of cost are High-Speed Steel (HSS) bits, Black Oxide bits, Cobalt steel bits, and Titanium bits. For drilling large holes in thin or soft metals, you can use a hole saw which can also be used with a cordless drill.

A sharpening tool can be a good investment to keep your drill bits in top shape. More experienced DIYers can accomplish the task with a good set of grinding tools.

Like auger bits, self-feed bits also feature a screw tip for positioning the bit. They create clean, precise holes, as well. However, since they do not channel the dust away from the hole as they work, you must halt the operation periodically to clear the dust away.

Each spot is marked for the bit’s size and type, making it easy to quickly find the right bit for the project you are completing.

Plug cutters are helpful in professional projects, as they drill holes into the wood while cutting the wood plugs you require to hide recessed fasteners.

As their name implies, these bits can be adjusted to create holes of varying sizes, thus eliminating the need for purchasing bits of different sizes.

The tip of the bit has a tiny hole where you insert the wire you are looking to pass through the material. Installer bits are incredibly long, reaching lengths of up to 18 inches to facilitate their work.

Smaller diameter drill bits tend to be easy to break, so it’s a helpful touch that Draper has doubled up on the 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5mm bits. And the inclusion of a 3.2mm bit, in addition to the 3.0 and 3.5mm bits, is helpful too.

Quarter-inch hex shank bits are intended to be used on 1/4-inch impact drivers and can be quickly changed. SDS (slotted drive system) shanks are used for concrete drills and demolition bits and work specifically with SDS-Plus and SDS-Max rotary hammer drills.

Toughness is paramount when drilling into metal because the heat generated can easily spell the end for cheap drill bits. Not so here, as this set from Draper sees the HSS straight shank bits coated with long-testing and tough titanium nitride. They’re likely to last longer, and they will not get lost as they come in a soft-grip plastic case which is clearly labelled, making finding bits and returning them to their correct slot a simple task. It’s also finished in Draper’s trademark blue, making it easier to spot at the bottom of a tool bag.

These are what you use when looking to bore smooth and clean holes into the woods. This bit also comes with a pointed tip to allow for easy positioning of the bit.

Most drill bit sets are sold in a case with space to hold each bit in place. This keeps the drill bits from being nicked or scratched and also provides excellent organization.

But it’s definitely worth spending the time and doing your homework because there’s nothing more frustrating than not having the correct size or type of drill bit to hand when you need it, or to find the bits disintegrating right in the middle of a delicate job.

Sized for their diameter, drill bits are constructed in a range of styles to help with specific tasks. Not sure which drill bit you need or what you need in your toolbox? Keep reading for a rundown of the different types of drill bits you’re likely to come across.

Drill bits make holes in a variety of different common materials. These include different types of wood, metal, plastic, ceramic tile, porcelain and concrete. Different types of drill bits made for steel, aluminum, copper, cast iron, sheet metal, fiberglass, brick, vinyl flooring and more are also available.

As mentioned earlier, drilling through tile requires a specialist drill bit – regular or even masonry bits simply won’t do the job as they’re not strong enough to penetrate tiles’ hard surfaces. Instead, you should opt for either carbide-tipped or diamond-tipped drill bits.

You’ve usually only got one chance when drilling into glass or tiles – with the time cost and monetary expense of replacing breakages, precision matters. Many glass and tile drill bits just look like regular twist drill bits, but this trio from Wickes are spade, or spear, shaped. While spear-tipped bits are generally more prone to breakage than twist bits, that can often be preferable to breaking a tile.

We’re looking at the more commonly-used drill bits here and, to make the choice easier, we’ve broken them down into the type of materials they’re designed to drill through. Plus we’ve thrown in our top drill bit set that covers all the main options. We’ve looked at online reviews and ratings from a range of retailers to deliver our verdict.

The set is housed in a high-quality case which, despite being slightly tricky to prise some of the bits out of, is clearly labelled and sensibly laid out. The metal drill bits are HSS, the wood bits have sharp brad points, and the spade bits are titanium coated and have a square shaft to reduce slippage in the chuck.

These are special types of bits that can drill through plastic, tiles, glass, marble, and brick. They can also withstand high temperatures.

Dull drill bits can increase time and effort needed to complete work and possibly damage the materials you’re working on, and may even cause injury.

If your set didn’t come with a case or you’ve been buying individual drill bits, add a storage box with dividers to your toolset. Don’t store more than two bits together and use a permanent marker to mark each space with the size and type of drill bit stored there.

Value is the name of the game with this set from Bosch, at just a touch over £1 per drill bit. If there’s a letdown, it’s that there’s no 9mm bit in the set, but all the other main sizes are covered so it barely harmed the near-perfect score among Amazon customers. Each bit has a sharp brad point for improved accuracy, and the shoulder-cutters on the leading edge of the grooves are designed to reduce tear out.

The shank is the end of the drill bit that fits into the drill and is secured by the chuck. A round shank helps to center a bit in the chuck more accurately. The flat surfaces on a hex shank allow the chuck to grip the drill bit more securely.

It’s easy to spend plenty of time researching for your next drill, but it’s just as important to find the very best drill bits for your project. That’s because when it comes to drill bits, all things are most certainly not equal.

Titanium Nitride (Tin): A more expensive coating that increases the hardness of the bit and provides a thermal barrier resulting in increased production rates and longer tool life in harder materials.

When it comes to drills, there are two easily identifiable parts you need to know about – the shank and the chuck. Here’s a little information to help you understand more about how drills and drill bits work:

Black oxide is suitable for drilling iron and steel but is not recommended for drilling aluminum, magnesium, or similar materials.

These bits have a special design that allows them to drill a hole into a material with the purpose of extracting its core.

These are what you use when looking to create holes in bricks, stones, or concrete. Due to the tough nature of those materials, masonry bits wear out quickly, meaning that you will need to replace them frequently.

Proper drill bit maintenance is not much different from maintenance for most tools, and it helps prolong the life of your drill bits and keeps them ready for the next job.

Key specs – Number of bits: 50; Material: titanium nitride-coated, carbide-tipped; Sizes: 1.5-6.5mm (metal), 4-10mm (masonry), 4-10mm (wood); Case type: plastic carry case

Used to drill larger thru-holes in metal (7/16″ and up), these bits require a special machine. Similar to a hole saw, annular cutter bits cut the outer diameter of the hole and leave a solid center slug.

Wood drill bits are usually the easiest to spot in your set because they often have a very sharp pointed tip on the end – a brad point – which allows the bit to grip the wood, without moving around, to start the hole. They have a sharp double-bladed thread which allows the drill to work its way through the wood quickly.

The chuck is the part of the drill that attaches the drill bit. Most power drills for home use have a 3/8-inch or 1/2-inch chuck. Larger chucks come in 5/8-inch and 3/4-inch sizes but are usually fitted on heavy-duty and industrial power drills and drill presses.

Tin also provides the same benefits as black and bronze oxide. Tin-coated bits are suitable for drilling iron and steel as well as aluminum, magnesium, etc.

Drill bits are cutting tools. If you do a lot of home projects or heavy-duty construction work, periodically sharpening your drill bits will be necessary.