Drill Doctor DD750X Electric Drill Bit Sharpener, 3/32-3/4" High-Speed, Portable - Steel, Masonry, Carbide, Cobalt, Tin-Coated Bits, Adjustable Angles

So I've been trying to get through my extensive collection of bits and I have put this thing to the test for a few weeks now constantly going through starting with my larger bits. Started with the 3/4 because that's the largest it will except in the holder jig, and also made sure to have the additional 100grt wheel for the larger ones and after the first few days I decided to make a change and bounce down and work on the small sizes and man I had a lot more than I thought. They have gone much easier and quickly and not having a single issue. Zoomed through several hundred bits now and I am amazed at the condition of the Wheels, both the original 180 and the 100 i purchased appear as though I haven't even used them. Quality of the wheels obviously are great. Power of the motor can be tested on those big heavy bits and they are some very hard material. But I guess I have to share the few things I don't necessarily like, or thing's I believe could be a little better, especially since they have been manufacturing these for some time now and I think they have been content with what they have and decided to leave them alone, because I'm not seeing any real upgrades since the first model came out, possibly the overall power of the motor and I guess that's what I was actually most concerned about, but I can tell you there's no worries there. But small things from the design and fit of the little tray on the bottom you use for access to change or clean up the wheel. It's a poor fit, and from difficult to get open to also allowing way more of the metal dust it throws out the bottom and the sides. To the removable access to the side view you use for splitting the tip of a bit if you choose to go that route, which also blows constant dust out of the opening when you're not using it, but this is probably my biggest complaint about the entire thing. If you want to split the tips you need to do more than just jump from the normal sharpening process and like you have seen in videos where they sharpen a bit and take it directly to the side access to split it, but it's not properly lined up, it's not exactly a precision machine, and for straight up sharpening needs it functions for me just fine. I have to spend a lot of time with each bit if I'm splitting it from the holding jig i have to manually tweak the depth of the bit using nothing but visually putting it in and out of the side access and adjust it until you are not going to hit the Sharp edge of the bit and not go too far to the back of the edge and take chunks out of the bit leaving lots of burrs on them to clear up. I think it could certainly benefit from some possible upgrades to the adjustments and the slides that you adjust to go from 118 to 135 degrees is in need of some improvement, it can be really hard to move even after you loosen up the screw in the middle of your trying to get it changed. It hangs up somewhere and I can't see where. I think compared to the much more expensive machines that I would take this one every time, but I wish they would work on the fine tuning stuff, and simplify the overall design making it look like and function more like something you would put on your bench and leave on your bench and help keep your bit collection nice and sharp and not in the bag it comes with, and tucked away in a drawer somewhere and it gets pulled out once a year and you are not going to enjoy it as much, I would probably have zero complaints if it wasn't for the amount of bits I'm having to get through because I have procrastinated and I would like to have it benchtop constantly touching up my bits before I return them. This has been around long enough for it to be a little further refined and less moving it around to make adjustment, and constantly turning it from one side to the other, and make it more like a permanent piece for the shop and less like a portable sharpening device to take with you. It just needs someone to look at it and imagine it will be sitting in the shop for continuous access and easy to keep caught up. This is a good test for this thing, but still have to admit that it doesn't fail any tests, and I don't regret my purchase, but it was a tuff decision for me because I have so many bits that I use and have so much invested, I was serious about to purchase a machine for more than a thousand dollars and I don't think I would be unhappy with that. But I've been looking at these for some time and I thought it was a good idea to get this one for the value, and I could have passed it over to my son in his own shop if I could see a reason to spend that much more money, and I have to be honest, I think I made a great choice and I would recommend it to anyone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- Note: Please see the end, because there IS an update to this story --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (unedited original) Wrecked a considerable pile of drill bits with this one. Mine went "ziiiiing-tick" instead of the "ziiiiiing" the video tells you it should sound like. Just a tiny tick, but since I've never even seen a drill doctor before, and not knowing the "tick" was evil, I continued on. First bits were OK, but got worse very quickly. The angle was getting worse and worse on every bit I sharpened. Which led me to believe I was doing it wrong... so I kept practicing and watching the video, and practicing for hours until most of my drill bits were short and wrecked. By that time, the "ziiiiing tick" was a "ziiing-TWACK", by the way. Being the curious guy I am, I removed the guard and side plug and put a strong light in front so I could see exactly why it was wrecking my drill bits, what was I doing wrong? Well, I found the grinding wheel was not firmly held down by the spring loaded twist-on retainer. I don't know if the retainer wasn't put on properly by the factory, or if the spring wasn't seated correctly... all I can say is I could spin it with my finger at first, then it was tight after I removed it and reinstalled it) Any way, the momentum of the wheel allowed it to start grinding each bit, then the wheel would stop in the mid turn of the drill bit, while the motor continued to turn full speed. It's quite loud, so there was no way to know this was going on without seeing it. The "tick" noise was cause by the shaft quickly spinning up the wheel when you finished the sharpening cycle of the bit and it pulled away. Of course every time the wheel was stopped, the shaft spinning it the middle of it ground some more metal away, making the wheel looser and looser, so the "tick" became a "twack". The wheel stopped sooner as it got looser, which is why the bits were becoming worse for me, not better, with practice, LOL. The bits were all sharpened with a backwards angle, because the wheel spinning would grind down the leading edge of the bit and then skid to a stop, leaving the heel of the bit intact.) So , I call the 800 number, nobody there. call again, left message with name and number, nobody returned the call. Left message with receptionist, nothing. I called pretty much every day, actually for well over a week. Left lots of messages. Receptionist left messages for them too. The receptionist was even saying "wow, nobody has phoned you back yet?? " after a week. Eventually, about 10 days later, I finally get a hold of somebody (note that they still hadn't returned a voicemail yet), and I explain it to them. They can't do anything about it, and all I get was another number to phone for the repair tech. sigh) So that guy only takes two days to get a hold of, and I explain it to him. All I wanted/expected was to send in my receipt (receipt dated about 15 days old now) and the wheel/retainer, which is now all stripped out, and get a new wheel and retainer on warranty (PS this machine is brand new). Nope. I have to mail the entire unit to them, they will "fix" it or send me a refurb. The guy says probably a refurb, since he isn't allowed to disassemble them in any way. (! The guy seems nice enough, and explains his hands are tied since Drill doctor won't mail him any parts either. Shipping the ENTIRE unit across the country costs almost twice than just going and buying the grinding wheel at a local store to begin with! Ugh. Phoned the original 800 number a bunch more times, nobody there, nobody phones back. Over a week later somebody actually calls me back (from the first voicemail I assume, 22 days prior), and the result is the same. No, I can't mail the screwed up wheel and retainer to them for warranty replacement. Mail the entire (brand new) unit in to Drill doctor (at my expense), and they'll ship you a refurb. They don't do "parts" at all, apparently. So, end result is, I bought a new wheel, fixed up the retainer a bit to properly hold it down, it works fine. Not "superb" or "like new" , but considerably better than hand sharpening for sure. My view of Drill Doctor as a company, and their customer support? I really *hope* I never need warranty again. That was a terrible experience. You really get the feeling that nobody really cares there, but the receptionist who unfortunately can't do a thing for you. Things break, that's a expected. And sometimes things are DOA, that's life. That's what warranty is for. But when your only warranty support is an 800 number with voicemail, and they can't be bothered to ever phone you back, that's really horrible. The fact that they won't send you a replacement part is not great either, but it was the total lack of customer service was the real disappointment here. Around 3 weeks waiting for them to return a voicemail was a bit extreme, while I have a brand new top of the line DOA Drill doctor sitting on my bench. I am giving two stars, since the machine works fine now, just like it's supposed to... but I can't give it more since it cost me several weeks of phoning, and 30 dollars out of my pocket to finally make it work, from brand new out of the box, and there is little to nothing for warranty support, parts, and customer service. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <UPDATE Nov 1, 2011> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - < PS: Thanks commenters :- I AM just your typical DIY guy, not a shop, or a business... and your support is really appreciated, thank you :- > "Drill Doctor Marketing Guy" Matthew was true to his word in the comments section, and hooked me up with a very friendly Customer Service/Technical Support gal, Harmony, the following week after I emailed him. She very happily, rather than send parts to fix mine up, offered to simply replace my DD750x drill doctor with a current model. No kidding... There are a number of substantial things from my review that Drill Doctor has specifically addressed, which deserves an update. 1 There are now real people manning the phones, and replying to emails. And friendly ones too. Their webpage ALSO has a direct link to Matthew's email right on the main page - Plus a web form to make a comment to the president of the company if you need to. I think there have been some tremendous efforts made here, to really grab hold of the concept of "customer service". 2 On receipt of the replacement, the first thing I looked at - that loose springy clip-in retainer that caused the problem with the sharpening wheel in the first place... is gone! It is replaced by a screwed down retainer. And it is nice and solid - with two screws clamping the drum instead of the previous twisty/springy thing. Redesigned. Problem solved. 3 Their web page Drill Doctor FAQ, first item, says "certain repair parts are available" now. I called specifically about that, *anonymously*, and it's true. Parts you can get at, IE *without opening the unit in any way*, are replaceable... and reasonably inexpensive. Thank you Drill Doctor ! (Just for fun, I asked specifically to purchase a twist on springy wheel retainer too - as per the original problem. Nope. Sigh. Oh well, they still score 8/10 on that one, for at least offering latest revision parts.) Since the company has actually redesigned the problem part AND successfully worked very hard to improve every aspect of service I experienced, I'm pretty impressed right now with "new and Improved Drill Doctor"... both the company and the machine... and I'd not hesitate to recommend them to a friend. .................... 2 Star ---> 5 Star .................... -- Randy - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I believe that having a bunch of dull drill bits lying around is a common trait among hobbyists like me. I have occasionally touched up a bit using honing stones, with mixed results. It can be done but requires some practice or raw talent. After watching several videos and reading through the paper instructions provided with this machine, I set it up for 118 degree points and tried sharpening a very dull 1/4" bit that I found in the street many years ago. The business end was completely trashed when I started. The Drill Doctor did a respectable job of putting a sharp, symmetrical point on that bit in less than a minute, so it is now usable. I went on to several non-expendable bits from 3/32 to 1/2" that had dull or chipped points, and they all came out well too. I was not particularly pleased with the job it did on a 19/32 industrial bit that I had bought at a surplus store - The grinding wheel seems to be taking off material where it shouldn't, and it didn't produce a good chisel point in the center. It's probably a matter of tweaking the setup or my technique so I regard that as forgivable for now, but I am not yet convinced that the 750x will really work right on bits larger than 1/2". Here are the main points I like about this tool: - Reasonably easy to set up and use, - Very fast, though the motor is not very strong. You have to take light cuts. - Consistent results if you use it in a consistent manner. I'm giving this item a one-star penalty for the following quality control issues: - The Material Take-Off adjustment knob on mine is bent downward. It seems to work correctly, but doesn't look or feel right. - There was no instructional DVD included with mine, even though the plastic case has a provision for it, marked "DVD Location." The video content is available on YouTube, so this would be a minor issue for most people. In summary this is a good value. I expect it to save a lot of grief and some money in the long run.

I usually do not write reviews, but here goes: I watched a "bake-off" on YouTube -- A guy named "Project Farm". The guy scientifically reviews tools and stuff. Entertaining and enlightening. The "Drill Doctor, made in Oregon, USA" was in the top two of this competition. It corrected a drill bit which had been deliberately damaged by drilling concrete to near factory condition. I verified it. The tool works as advertised. I went to the scrap bin and found the worst basket case drill bit - sharpened it to factory condition. This product will likely save you money, should you do home improvements or if you're a light commercial user. If you have a bit set and damage one or two sizes; you can bring those tools back into compliance instead of purchasing a new set entirely.

There is a lot of dead-wrong information on the web about the product, especially in videos. These well-meaning people just don't seem to take the time to read all the instructions and follow them. Also, there are easy mistakes to make that the instructions don't warn about. Those mistakes are probably behind a lot of the negativity. In fairness to the naysayers, I gave 3 stars on easy-to-learn, 4 stars on easy-to-use, and 3 stars on instruction-quality. All that, and yet a 5-star overall rating because this is a great product. If you're thinking about getting one of these, do expect to invest some time in learning unless you're a machinist or maybe a mechanical engineer (they already know a lot of this stuff). I'm retired, so I had the time available. You may not. The fact is, some drill bits, such as smaller HSS varieties, are cheap enough to replace anyway. On the other hand, M42 bits and solid carbide bits, even pretty small ones, just ain't cheap. There are limits on what you can do with a grinder like this. You can't sharpen odd tip shapes without completely reshaping them. Examples are stepped tips, brad points, vortex, bit-starter, and 3-flute. (I knew very little about this when I started.) Some bits have expensive coatings like titanium nitride (TiN). Sharpening either wears down or completely removes coatings. For example, I'll think twice about investing in a set of M7 bits with expensive TiN coatings because the coatings' days will be numbered. That, of course, is not Drill Doctor's fault; it just is what it is. Here is some of the negative stuff from the Web and my answers: 1. “I can’t align a split-point bit.” Having a pre-existing split point has no effect whatever on alignment of a bit or subsequent success in sharpening. 2. “I can’t align a short bit because I can’t rotate it in the chuck.” Rotate the bit using needle nose pliers in front of the chuck. Rotate CW on right-handed bits and CCW on left-handed bits to maintain tip contact with the stop-bolt. 3. “I can’t get the chisel angle right.” After about 200 bits, I’ve found that, 95% of the time, the chisel angle comes out within tolerance. You do have pay attention to three things when aligning: keep the bit against the stop bolt; be sure the chuck stays pushed firmly, all the way into the alignment port; when finished aligning, and the chuck is removed from the alignment port, tighten the chuck hard (otherwise it can move in the chuck when being sharpened, which ruins alignment). Reading this may scare you. It would have scared me when I started. (Even retired people have a life outside of drill bits.) Before you start, just read the entire instructions cover-to-cover. If you want to do that before you invest, you can download the pdf from the Drill Doctor website. Once you’ve read it, follow my three additional suggestions in my third answer above. Look through the ports to see what the grinding wheel does when doing basic sharpening and when applying split points. (Wear eye protection when doing this.) Then, when you sharpen bits, inspect the tip of each one and compare it to the figures in the manual and on the web. It will require some patience, but you will learn as you go, and you will get good at it. Soon you’ll be impressing your friends…. If you’re going to do large bits and/or hard metals, I recommend getting the extra 100-grit grinding wheel. Bits of diameter greater than or equal to 3/8” are slow on the stock wheel. Also, when grinding solid carbide, I expect to use the 100-grit wheel on smaller carbide bits and then finish with the stock wheel. I’ve included a picture of a finished bit tip with a split point. The purpose is to provide proof-positive that this thing can be made to do an excellent job. The bits do end up razor-sharp.

I have an older drill Dr that is great. This one wow leaps and bounds better. It’s literally pro sharpened level drill bits, literally side by side cutting with a brand new champion drill bit in steel and this sharpened one out cuts it. If you want a true pro sharp level drill bit, buy this set it to 135 learn it and forget the rest. For context I’m a hobby machinist and took machining in trade school and learned to do these by hand back in the day, I have a mill and a lathe to test them on and the sharpened bits are fantastic

I sharped about 10 bits of different sizes and length. A large bit was so dull it would not cut at all. It did a good job sharpening it. Saving money here!!!!

The Drill Doctor does sharpen drills adequately. It is not perfect, but neither does it cost $3,500 for a professional unit. But there is room for improvement both in quality control, labeling and instructions. There are several areas I had problems with. The diamond grinding wheel that came with the unit leaves a very rough surface on a drill and since there is no label on the wheel indicating that this really is a 180 grit wheel I am left to wonder if someone at Darex (the manufacturer) mistakenly installed a 100 grit wheel. There is no way for the customer to check. It would not be very difficult or expensive for Darex to laser etch a number on the edge of each wheel if they chose to. I had a problem with the split point port. The port was so tight it was almost impossible to insert the drill chuck all the way in to create the split point. In fact I had to re-grind several drills to restore the drills back to their settings because it was so tight I had to use the heel of my hand to push the chuck into the port. I finally gave up on this feature because it too difficult to get a reliable result. The drill chuck had a [flash] burr on the cam that created a flat spot on the drills being sharpened. I had to carefully file off the burr with a jewelers file to correct the problem. The CD was annoying to watch because of the video quality and looks blurry on my 27" iMac screen. This is made watching difficult when I wanted to see detail. Note: if HD video is not possible on a CD then HD video should be available on the Drill Doctor website. The Phillips head screw holding the grinding wheel on has a unique left-hand thread, it is small and potentially easily lost and no big box or local hardware store will have one. Also this screw is not listed on the Drill Doctor website as an accessory item so It would be good if Darex supplied an extra with the unit. To sum up, the Drill Doctor 750XS works, the alignment port is good, the sharpening port a little sloppy, and (on mine) the split-point port too tight to be usable. There is a learning curve, you do need to develop a "touch" to get consistent results.