Bob Beacham is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money. BestReviews never accepts free products from manufacturers and purchases every product it reviews with its own funds.

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Coatings are more affordable because they’re a thin layer on an HSS body. Tungsten carbide and black oxide are popular, as are titanium and titanium nitride. Diamond-coated drill bits are used for glass, ceramics, and large masonry drills.

Most drill bits are made of high speed steel (HSS). It’s inexpensive, relatively easy to produce a sharp cutting edge, and quite durable. It can be improved in two ways: either by changing the composition of the steel or coating it with other materials. Cobalt and chrome vanadium steels are examples of the former. They can be very tough and hard-wearing, but they’re quite expensive.

A drill bit does a simple job, and while the basic fluted design hasn’t changed in hundreds of years, the tip shape can vary to be effective in different materials.

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Other than that, it’s the old adage of having the right tool for the task. Trying to make the wrong drill do the job is frustrating and could ruin what you’re working on. They aren’t expensive, so it’s always worth investing in the correct type.

What we like: Only five drills, but they provide 50 hole sizes. Titanium coated for durability. Self-centering design for better accuracy. Flats on shank prevent chuck slip.

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A basic set of a dozen or so HSS bits should be a standard in any home tool kit. You can always buy individual replacements if you break one, or if you have a specific need that falls outside their range. A small set of masonry drills is another DIY staple.

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Buying a drill bit set saves money and — as they invariably come in some kind of case — gives you convenient storage and easy identification. However, what might seem like minor differences in shape and material can have a significant impact on price and performance.

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What we like: Excellent value for money, as long as you understand the limitations of HSS bits. Drills and drivers for a host of jobs around the home, garage, and garden.

A. For most people, it probably doesn’t. Generally, they are set at 118 degrees, which is great for wood, most composites, and soft metals like brass or aluminum. If you’re drilling very hard materials like cast iron or stainless steel, an angle of 135 degrees is recommended.

What we like: Wide choice of common sizes in handy pull-out cassettes. Heat- and abrasion-resistant cobalt extends life. 135-degree angle offers efficient metal cutting. Rubber sleeve protects case.

You can buy an inexpensive drill bit set for just a few bucks, and for occasional DIY use they’re okay, though they often blunt quickly. We wouldn’t recommend low-quality masonry bits — often, they’re virtually useless. All kinds of good general-purpose drill bit sets can be found for between $15 and $35, including large SDS masonry bits. Cobalt comes at a premium, and large sets can reach $100.

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We’ve put together a straightforward guide to choosing a drill bit set, and we’ve made a few suggestions. Our top pick, IRWIN’s 29-Piece Cobalt Steel Drill Bit Set, can handle just about any drilling task — particularly hard metals, where standard drill bits would fail.

The most common type is the twist or jobber drill, which is a great all-around choice. A slight variation is the brad point bit, which is specifically used for wood and has a narrow, sharp tip to stop the drill from wandering (also called walking). Masonry bits follow a similar pattern to a twist drill, but have a wide, flattened tip to handle the high impact involved.

Once you get beyond about an inch in diameter, the twist drill gets impractical; the drill bit itself becomes too heavy and cumbersome. The next step up is the spade bit, which is flat, with sharp spurs on either side and a brad point in the center. Forstner and saw tooth bits are also used (they create cleaner holes than a spade bit, but cost more), and the largest are called hole saws. Rather than drilling a hole in the normal sense, these cut out a circle of material. The biggest can cut holes in concrete or cinder blocks several inches in diameter.

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A. It’s a little tricky by hand, but there are a variety of grinder jigs or separate drill bit sharpeners available. Carbide-tipped and titanium nitride (TiN) drills require diamond-based sharpeners.