Features, types and tips for using drill bits

Every owner who is accustomed to doing repairs with his own hands has many different tools. These are saws, and grinders, and whole sets of keys or screwdrivers required for assembling and disassembling furniture. However, sometimes there are situations when from the whole variety of construction equipment only one drill is at hand.

In fact, any conventional drill is already considered a tool attachment, because it can be easily separated from its body and changed to another. Along with conventional universal drills, which differ in size, material and thread, there are also special nozzles that are used for certain materials. There are special attachments for working with metal, wood, glass, ceramics and others. However, all of them are united by one single purpose - drilling holes in the material.

Additional attachments allow you to transform your drill from a hole punching tool to a completely different device. When using them, you can cut, bend, grind and pump material. This variety of functions allows one drill to be used for many different operations, with the purchase of only inexpensive bits. There are whole sets, which are a small box or suitcase, which contains the most popular attachments. They contain those elements that are most often used to solve minor everyday problems.

All accessories that are attached to the drill together or instead of the drill, can be divided into several main categories according to their purpose:

• the first category includes devices that allow you to fix the drill in a certain position or limit the depth of penetration of the drill;
• the second category includes those tips that allow you to get to the most inaccessible places and carry out the operation at a right, obtuse or acute angle;
• the third category includes those nozzles that allow you to carry out milling work or work on cutting material - with the help of such milling nozzles, you can process not only metal or wood, but also such a fragile material as glass;

• the fourth category is soft and hard abrasive nozzles that allow you to grind, clean and polish the surface to be treated;
• the fifth category includes special mixers and whisks that allow you to evenly and quickly mix solutions of any density;
• the sixth category are attachments that turn an ordinary drill into a real mini-pump that pumps water, oil or other liquid substances;
• the seventh category includes all other devices that do not fit in the description under any group and are used, most often, by narrow-profile specialists.

Most often, the set of additional bits is equipped with a conventional parallel stop, which allows you to adjust the depth of the hole, limiting the immersion of the drill into the material. You can also often find a special drill called "Forstner", with the help of which blind wide holes are made in the surface. Such holes are necessary for installing hinges in cabinet doors and drawers. Such a drill can also be attributed to drills with a large diameter, since the hole is not only shallow, but also wide enough. Also, the group of stops includes various guides and installations that turn an ordinary drill into a small drilling installation focused on performing very specific tasks that even professional repairmen rarely face.

In addition to Forstner, various drill bits for working with metal, wood and concrete can be attributed to the bits for drilling large through and blind holes. Various cutters are also capable of drilling holes, which, moreover, will allow you to perform flat and volumetric patterns and engravings even on hard metals at home with a certain skill. Also, this group includes feather drills for wood and metal, which have a special sharpening of the cutting part, similar to the tip of an arrow. All of them differ in steel marking, length, price and other parameters.

These bits are called angle adapters and are a small additional element that changes the direction of the drill. The drill inserted into the clamp of such an adapter will be rotated in relation to the tool itself at an angle of 90 degrees. In addition, there are varieties of such nozzles with a movable head, which allows you to fix the drill at an arbitrary angle. Such devices are much more expensive and require more careful use and accurate calculations. Most often, the first option is enough for ordinary household needs.

Additional attachments can be used to transform a tool that can drill into a material that can cut it. There are several such elements, each of which is suitable for a specific purpose. The first one is called a cutter or turbo shears. With their help, you can cut not only flat sheets of metal or plastic, but also profiled corrugated surfaces. Unlike a conventional jigsaw, this adapter works on the principle of a small guillotine, which cuts material without creases at the edges and small dangerous chips. However, the thickness of the cut can only be up to 3 mm.

The second nozzle is a nibbler or, as they are also called, "cricket". This accessory is useful for cutting thin metal or plastic sheets along curved lines. Cricket is indispensable when laying corrugated board or metal tiles on the roof of a house, as it does not deform this thin material. The cuts are as smooth and accurate as possible, and the holes match up to a millimeter. It is convenient to control the process with a special handle, and it is easy to change the direction of the drill.

Such attachments allow you to perfectly level any surface, bringing it almost to perfection.It is possible to achieve a mirror-like shine of metal or a smooth surface of wood using ordinary sandpaper of fine abrasiveness, but this process is incredibly time-consuming and time-consuming. A high rotational speed of the drill will shorten this operation to a few minutes. All nozzles can be divided into separate groups according to several parameters:

• depending on the material: felt, felt, foam, rubber;
• depending on the hardness: hard, medium hard, soft and super soft tips;
• depending on how the material of the nozzle is attached to its body: on the clamps, on the rod, on the Velcro.

Before you start polishing the surface, you need to grind it to remove all irregularities and chips. The same long and complicated process as polishing will be greatly facilitated and simplified by special grinding attachments. There are various tools, each with its own characteristics and purpose. The most common additions to a drill are regular grinding stones or wheels. With their help, you can remove burrs and irregularities both on a regular flat surface and at the place of joints and seams. With this attachment, you can sharpen knives and scissors without purchasing a special kitchen device for this. It is also convenient to use such discs to remove old oil paint from the surface of the material.

The petal heads, which look like a round brush made from pieces of sandpaper, gently work on difficult surfaces. The rougher the sandpaper, the faster you can achieve a flat surface. However, the finer the abrasive of such a nozzle, the better it will polish the surface. In the event that, instead of sandpaper, there are soft nylon threads on the nozzle, such a device is perfect for cleaning the surface from various dirt or deposits.

These attachments are similar to part of a conventional construction mixer and are extremely convenient for construction or renovation work. Depending on their size and shape, some of them are suitable for mixing a thick concrete solution, while others are suitable for mixing ordinary wallpaper glue or primer.

Special nozzles, which are a pump mechanism powered by a rotational movement. These pumps allow you to turn an ordinary drill into a small pump capable of pumping about 2,000 liters of fluid per hour. The attachment is ideal for use with water, engine oil or organic fluids. The main thing is not to use this device for pumping combustible mixtures or compounds that dry out quickly and cover the mechanism with a crust.

In addition to the fact that various attachments allow you to convert a conventional drill into many other tools, they have many other advantages as well.

• A familiar tool. It is enough to get used to working with the drill itself, after which it will be much easier to work with any attachment. There is no need to get used to the new handle, weight and features of the independent tool.
• Saving. Even if you purchase absolutely all types of attachments in all variety of sizes and materials, such a purchase will still be much cheaper than purchasing several separate tools for each type of work.
• Ease of replacement. All attachments are very easy to remove and fasten, while in terms of reliability they are not inferior to a conventional jigsaw, grinder or milling device.
• Convenient storage. In order to lay down all the individual tools that are needed for construction and repairs, it will take more than one room, but maybe a whole hangar. You can store drill bits in a regular drawer or a special suitcase. So they will always be at hand and at the same time fit even in a regular drawer under the sink or on a shelf in the pantry.

Unfortunately, like any additional equipment, along with the advantages, the attachments have their disadvantages.

• Low efficiency. Compared to expensive professional tools, the attachments are not able to cope with such a volume of work and maintain such high productivity.
• The complexity of the job. It is much more convenient to work with a special tool for cutting or grinding than with a conventional drill, which is equipped with an additional attachment. In order for the cuts to be even, more than one sheet of metal will have to be spoiled while the skill is acquired.
• You have to use both hands. Often this can lead not to simplification, but to complication of the operation (and even to danger). For example, during roofing work, busy hands mean that you cannot hold onto a fence or rope.

Before purchasing a large and expensive set of drill bits, you need to think about the advisability of such a purchase. First, you need to know the purpose and operation of each nozzle. Secondly, you must have a minimum experience with such a tool. And thirdly, you need to know the estimated frequency of use of each of the attachments. If such a purchase is deemed appropriate, you should pay attention to the following features.

• Price. Quality tools cannot be too cheap. However, the highest price on the counter is not a guarantee of a long service life. It is best to stay at the middle price segment.
• Manufacturer. It is better to choose products from trusted manufacturers than new and unverified brands. In this case, you should carefully study the documentation and beware of fakes.

• Place of purchase. The risk of running into a manufacturing defect and a fake is much lower when buying construction tools in a specialized store, and not in a regular market or in a supermarket.
• Package. A quality tool is always well packed. The box contains all the necessary information both about the product itself and about the manufacturer. All accompanying documentation, including instructions, must be inside the box.
• Guarantee. The manufacturer, confident in its product, will always provide a guarantee for any attachment. If the store does not issue it at the time of the sale, the purchase should be carried out elsewhere.

For those who use a drill with attachments for the first time, there is a small safety instruction:

• when drilling a wall, you must especially carefully make sure that there is no wiring or that it is de-energized;
• both the drill itself and the workpiece on which it is planned to perform the work must be securely fastened and checked for this reliability;
• no matter how light the drill and nozzle are, you need to hold the tool with both hands (they also need to adjust the pressure of the drill, cutter or grinding disc);
• do not use the reverse (reverse) mode before the conventional tool has completely stopped;
• it is advisable to use all available personal protective equipment: masks, goggles, gloves and a thick jacket;
• for some time after the end of the work, do not touch the nozzle or drill with open areas of the skin - the high rotation speed heats the element and it can leave a fairly severe burn on the skin.

In the next video, the most necessary drill bits are waiting for you.