Miniature drill bit sharpener

[the.hogman]

As found throughout the web, this is a small hand sharpener for small drill bits. It utilizes a small pin vise to grip the drill bit. This pin vise is mounted (can be rotated to align flutes) in a small piece of angle iron. The amount of drill bit sticking out will dictate the angle to be honed on the the point of the bit. Longer sticking out, sharper the point. This is then lightly moved over the two sided oil stone resting in the base. The angle iron jig slides smoothly on the plexiglass while the bit rests on the stone. Light strokes, and only a few of them, will sharpen and save almost any small drill bit. I am usually working with as small as 1.15mm in some of my manufacturing.


Now that I got some detailed pics up, let me explain.
Small piece of angle iron with a small hole bored exactly through the middle of the angle. The small pin vise fits in the hole very closely. On the outside of the angle and over this hole, I welded a small slug for the pin vise to go into as well. As you can see, there is a small screw in the slug that will lock the pin vise in any orientation. This is used to align the drill bit flutes prior to drawing the jig across a sharpening stone. The bit tip angle is determined by the amount of the bit allowed to stick out. More out, sharper the point, not necessarily a good thing for small bits.
Please drop me a note if you need more details.

[DIYer]

Thanks the.hogman! We've added your Drill Bit Sharpener to our Sharpening category, as well as to your builder page: the.hogman's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Drill Bit Sharpener by the.hogman

tags: drill bit, sharpening

[penca]

hi hogman. you say in your manufacturing you use very small drill sizes, is this the best method you have found for sharpening them?, i will get some jobs that require very small holes to be made (many) with precision in stainless so many dull bits are expected... this would be a nice jig to get ready. can you post any more pics of the jig? if you don`t mind me copying it.
thanks
pete

[the.hogman]

I will get a bunch of detailed shots up tonight. This tool saved me from buying huge quantities of miniature bits. When they get dull or break, flatten them off and then resharpen on the jig. I can now get a hundred-plus holes from a bit before it becomes too short to effectively sharpen and use.

[penca]

cool man, thanks! i`ll be waiting to see these pics

[the.hogman]

Argh! So sorry everyone. I've been in Chicago last few days and not in shop. Hope to have more pics and description of use later this week.

[the.hogman]

See the edits I made to the first post, more detailed pics and an explanation of the build and use.