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Decent Micro Drill bits

Over the years I discovered that most of the issues I experienced with breaking small bits is because of run-out on the drill chucks/bearings whatever. I have tried all of MicroMark's drill presses as well as Bosch's drill press and Bosch's vertical mill for drilling. In my opinion and experience all have unacceptable run-out. Admittedly, a lot of it could be that I'm quite impatient with drilling many tiny critically spaced holes. Ha! It ain't easy being me. :)
 
Busch drill bits are high-precision tools manufactured in Germany, renowned for their exceptional quality and consistency. While they are designed primarily for fine work in fields such as jewelry-making and dental technology, I found an excellent use of them in model building. These bits are especially valued for their sharpness, concentricity, and durability. They typically feature a standardized 2.35 mm shank, making them compatible with micromotors, rotary tools, and nail drills. Available in small diameters — often ranging from 0.5 mm to 2.3 mm, Busch drill bits are ideal for delicate, detailed drilling where accuracy is essential. While they are not cheap, their edge retention and overall longevity tend to outperform most counterparts. That said, due to their precision-ground tips and fine diameters, they can still break under stress, so it's hard to say they’ll last a lifetime. Still, with careful use, they offer a longer working life and sharper performance than many lower-cost alternatives.


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Boatntrain said:
Over the years I discovered that most of the issues I experienced with breaking small bits is because of run-out on the drill chucks/bearings whatever. I have tried all of MicroMark's drill presses as well as Bosch's drill press and Bosch's vertical mill for drilling. In my opinion and experience all have unacceptable run-out. Admittedly, a lot of it could be that I'm quite impatient with drilling many tiny critically spaced holes. Ha! It ain't easy being me. :)
Click to expand...

Very true. Placing a #80 micro-bit in a standard drill press is like trying to drive a sewing pin with a ten-pound sledgehammer!

For drilling very small holes, a special drill press is required. These are known as "precision" or "bench" drill presses. These high tolerance presses provide a sensitive "feeling" feedback between the bit and the operator's fingertips and their speed is variable. These are the proper tool for drilling very small diameter holes without breaking bits all the time. You don't run into these machines very often because they are very expensive. The chucks alone, often sold separately, start around $1,000 USD each.

Mr. Pete can tell you all about them:

and
 
I have never checked the run out for my Sherline lathe and milling column combination but it’s probably better than my well used drill press. lately I have been drilling a lot of holes with wire sized drills in square brass tubing. I have been using the Sherline sensitive drilling attachment and it works fine. I use HSS, not carbide drill bits. No broken drills.

During the process, with the drill still chucked in the attachment, I tried simply screwing the lead screw on the Z axis milling column. It went through the hard brass like it was butter. Surprising !

Roger
 
Bob Cleek said:
Very true. Placing a #80 micro-bit in a standard drill press is like trying to drive a sewing pin with a ten-pound sledgehammer!

For drilling very small holes, a special drill press is required. These are known as "precision" or "bench" drill presses. These high tolerance presses provide a sensitive "feeling" feedback between the bit and the operator's fingertips and their speed is variable. These are the proper tool for drilling very small diameter holes without breaking bits all the time. You don't run into these machines very often because they are very expensive. The chucks alone, often sold separately, start around $1,000 USD each.

Mr. Pete can tell you all about them:

and
Click to expand...
For $1000 for the chuck alone, I think I will be forgoing this drill!
 
Jimsky said:
Rob, I don’t use the Arromax rotary tool myself, but I’m very happy with their drill bits. They come in two sets—Set A and Set B—and together they cover a range from 0.5mm to 2.3mm. Conveniently, they’re all on 2.35mm shanks, so they’ll fit perfectly in your current nail drill.

Set; A 0.6mm-2.2mm


set: B 0.5 mm- 2.3mm

Click to expand...
I ordered a set of the Arromax drill bits. They only run about $18 for a set of 10 on Amazon. As Jim said they fit perfectly on my $10 nail drill and do a superb job when I tested them on some wood. I am really impressed of the value of both this and the nail drill. It is also so much lighter, more compact and easier to use then a Dremel type tool. The Dremel does have significantly more torque but for my purposes this setup seems exactly what I need.

IMG_0275.jpeg
 
I use loads of micro driills and have bought many many cheap Chinese drills, the problem is that 95%, yes 95% of them are not correctly sharpened when new and it is only by accident that an odd one is sharp and actually drills ok. The drills themselves are not too bad for such cheap items and if they can be correctly sharpened, they are perfectly acceptable, but how do you resharpen a .5mm drill? If some form of sharpening tool that can reliably reshape these small drills was available, then I would be the first customer. Correctly sharpened drills are available from some sources such as UK drills but either they are difficult to obtain or do not send abroad or charge ridiculous postage costs making them very expensive indeed. The circuit board stubby drills are sharp but very brittle and break easily. Anyone know of a sharpening system?
 
Rob444 said:
Does anyone have suggestions for some decent micro drill bits that actually work? I have a few sets from #60-80 but I find them mostly dull right from the beginning. I am not adverse to getting a good set for a few dollars more, if they will work!

Rob
Click to expand...
1. Don't buy sets. Waste of time. You are going to break drills: ESPECIALLY CARBIDE DRILLS.
2. Buy individual straight shank black carbon jobber twist drills in individual sizes
(10 in a pack) over Ebay. Drills break. Do not buy individual drills. Buy in bulk.
3. At a scale of 1/48, sizes 70, 72, 74, etc to 80 (0.0135in) are the most useful.
You really do not need every size. Skipping some drill sizes works just fine.
4. Eventually, you find that you NEED only a few sizes.
Just buy a bunch of the sizes you actually use. You WILL break drills. Buy in the lot size that is the cheapest. I buy 30 or 40 at a time. On some types of holes, I have broken one drill per hole. I hate it, but that is the way it goes. I also use the Sherline mill and their "sensitive drill bit": a GENIUS device that I use almost exclusively, but I still break a bunch upon occasion. I just stopped arguing with reality. Learn to make reality as cost effective as you can.
5. These small drills (mostly Chinese) are not all manufactured the same (some are just sh*t).
Keep track of the best manufacturer (usually I buy by the color of the pkg) and buy from them.
The system is not perfect, but it works at a minimal cost.
6. Do not throw away broken drills. Sharpen them up (as best you can) to make reamers and shorter drills and glue them into 3" dowel pieces; use both sides of the break. These repurposed drill pieces will be just as useful as the originals. These "hand drills" are especially handy in fine-tuning
blocks and deadeyes. The repurposed twist sides are especially handy as reamers.
7. I rarely throw away any piece of metal (or wood). Eventually you will find a repurpose for
everything.
8. I rarely buy anything anymore. I have jars of metal bits that seem to supply every need (one
way or the other) for any special purpose tool that I may need. My building costs have almost dropped to zero (after you pay for the Sherline mill and 17" lathe - oh well); with the exception of CYA.
9. Hope this helps.
 
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bill36 said:
1. Don't buy sets. Waste of time. You are going to break drills.
2. Buy individual straight shank black carbon jobber twist drills individual sizes
(10 in a pack) over Ebay. Drills break. Do not buy individual drills. Buy in bulk.
3. At a scale of 1/48, sizes 70, 72, 74, etc to 80 (0.0135in) are the most useful.
You really do not need every size. Skipping some drill sizes works just fine.
4. Eventually, you find that you just NEED a few sizes.
Just buy a bunch of the sizes you actually use.
5. These small drills are not all manufactured the same (some are just sh*t).
Keep track of the best manufacturer and buy from them.
The system is not perfect, but it works at the minimal cost.
6. Do not throw away broken drills. Sharpen them up to make reamers and shorter drills
and glue them into wooden handles; use both sides of the break. These repurposed drill pieces will be just as useful as the originals. These "hand drills" are especially handy in fine-tuning
blocks and deadeyes. The repurposed twist sides are especially handy as reamers.
7. I rarely throw away any piece of metal (or wood). Eventually you will find a repurpose for
everything.
8. I rarely buy anything anymore. I have jars of metal bits that seem to supply every need (one
way or the other) for a special purpose tool I need. My building costs have almost dropped
to zero; with the exception of CYA.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply. Like you I seldom throw anything away. Of course my Admiral does not look at that trait kindly.

Rob
 
Hello Rob444
I usually buy sizes 61 to 80 in sets at £6 = $8(US) per set from a company in England called "Tracy Tools" from Devon.
Theh have a large range of drills in Number, Letter, Imperial and Metric sizes and associated tools such as taps, dies, reamers.
All in Metric, BA, BSW, NPT, UNC and UNF sizes up to 2 inches in some types.
A number drill between 61 and 80 on its own is £2 so buying a set for £6 is better value.

Probably cost an arm and a leg if you order from the USA, but worth looking on their site.
If I can help you please let me know.

Derek Payne, Stafford England.
dpayne667@yahoo.com
 
Derek Payne said:
Hello Rob444
I usually buy sizes 61 to 80 in sets at £6 = $8(US) per set from a company in England called "Tracy Tools" from Devon.
Theh have a large range of drills in Number, Letter, Imperial and Metric sizes and associated tools such as taps, dies, reamers.
All in Metric, BA, BSW, NPT, UNC and UNF sizes up to 2 inches in some types.
A number drill between 61 and 80 on its own is £2 so buying a set for £6 is better value.

Probably cost an arm and a leg if you order from the USA, but worth looking on their site.
If I can help you please let me know.

Derek Payne, Stafford England.
dpayne667@yahoo.com
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for your input I will definitely be looking!

Rob
 
Bob Cleek said:
I expect, however, that if I were doing a lot of brass work and the like, I'd spring for the good stuff from McMaster-Carr.
Click to expand...
Yep... either McMaster-Carr or Grainger...

EDIT: Can't post a link... do a search on Grainger's site for "micro metal drill bits".
 
I have been using this drills for years and never have a problem. They don't brake, but can bend if you crash them against the workbench when they are mounted on the drill. Ask me how i know it :-).

I can't remember when I ordered my last set. Probably more than 5 years ago. Yesterday I searched them in Amazon and ordered 4 sets because they are the best ...... at least in my experience. I Used them with drills and milling tool, never a problem. Always sharp enough to drill wood.




Screenshot_20250616_071852_Amazon Shopping.jpg

FROM GOOGLE

Drill bits labeled with numbers #61 to #80 refer to a specific number gauge system used to designate very small drill bit diameters.
Meaning of #61 to #80:
  • Smallest sizes: In the number gauge system, higher numbers correspond to smaller drill bits.
  • Tiny holes: So, #61 to #80 drill bits are designed for drilling very small, fine holes in materials like wood, metals, plastics, or jewelry.
  • Size range: The set of #61-#80 drill bits typically ranges from approximately 0.0390 inches (or 0.991 mm) for size #61 down to 0.0135 inches (or 0.343 mm) for size #80.
In summary, drill bits labeled #61 to #80 indicate a range of extremely small diameters, where #61 is the largest and #80 is the smallest, used for precision drilling of miniature holes.
 
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