Drill bits

Ruko all the way. They’ll be a bit dearer than any of the rest but well worth it.

Using some sort of lubricating oil or the proper cutting oil just as important as quality of bits

I agree with everything in the thread in terms of Ruko, keeping it lubricated and learning how to set the speeds on your drill but I'd also mention learning when and how to sharpen the bits. Small bench grinders aren't crazy money or you can get special bit sharpeners. Takes a small bit of skill and experience to know when it's perfect in terms of your angles etc.

This is one of the better cutting fluids - It's not cheap, but it is excellent

+ 1 on Ruko and +1 on learning to sharpen bits properly

https://youtu.be/Fu6Mdrp8fy8

Most of us are using our bits wrong. Heating the bits. Instead of buying sets of bits and being left with all the tiny ones. Buy a few of the sizes you want

Sharpening with a fine grinding stone on a bench grinder. I've used Trefolex cutting paste. I'ts ok and relatively cheap but deffo not as good as the fluid I linked above

Yeah, the flowdrill system. Great for production runs where you're tapping a thread into the piece afterwards.

I have a set of diamond files I got in Lidl for €5. I find them great for getting the edge back on a drill bit.

No need to go mad expensive with them, a decent quality HSS bit is plenty good enough for drilling anything around a farm.

I went a bit mad last year and bought a split point cobalt set, a waste of money for the drilling i'd be at and not worth the extra price.

As others have already said, keep them sharp, use lube, learn how to sharpen them if you don't already know.

Also consider what size bits you need, "standard" sets go up to 13mm which is fine for an M12 bolt, having a set for bigger sizes is very handy as is a step drill bit, spend a bit more money on a step drill bit if you are buying one, big difference in quality in these.

What pillar drill do you have?

My sharpening method has worked well for me. I needed to re-jig things with the smaller of my b/grinders anyway so thought I'd log the prep process.

Took off the tool rest and cleaned with a fine emery cloth.

I blued it by heating with a blow torch - (when the desired dark colour is reached, dip in used engine oil)

While the cutting edge angle of a drill bit varies, it seems 118 degrees is the most common - a poster above was pretty close with the 2 hex nuts as that would give you 120 degrees. Anyway, I went with putting a few lines on the tool rest with a scribe and at an angle of 59 degrees (half of the 118)

I'll try to do a video soon to show how the whole thing comes together and all should become clear. Btw, I had to dress the g/wheel as it had grooves in it and I used the following method, it was great - Wear specs!

The bluing was really just so the scribe lines would show up better (if it hardened the steel in the process, it's a bonus)

So here is a still from the vid to explain what I'm at. If I didn't blend the face in, the cutting edge simply wouldn't cut the steel

I was a little pushed to keep the vids below a certain file size (host restricted) so not as precise as I would normally do it, but you'll get the idea. I notice the vids are a bit jumpy and not as smooth as my tablet playback.

Note: Don't allow the bit to become too hot and whatever heat you do put into it, do not quench in water - allow to naturally air cool (I got that from a Presto cutting tools Engs booklet I have)

There's a knack to it which I'm sure you'll get the hang of - Have fun