Worn drills restored by 1st MTA sharpener

Rather than continue to send worn twist drills away for re-sharpening, Birmingham-based instrument maker Bailey & Mackey has purchased a Darex XT3000 bench-top sharpener from UK agent 1st MTA (www.1mta.com). It can now restore worn drills to ‘as new’ condition in-house — even drills that might previously have been thrown away. Moreover, production manager Alan Boylin expects the company to recoup its investment (less than £3,000) within 18 months.

The main benefit is eliminating the expense of having bits re-sharpened off-site — typically about £7 in the case of a £14 step-shank drill bit and £2-3 for a smaller jobbing drill. The XT3000 can restore the split-point cutting edges on a step drill at any angle from 118 to 150deg and is equally capable of regrinding the chisel point of a jobbing drill. Moreover, it can grind a split point onto a jobbing drill.

Two holders are provided with the XT3000, to hold drills with diameters from 3 to 12mm and from 12 to 21mm. Built-in CBN wheels grind the high-speed-steel drills, but diamond wheels can be specified if the user wants to sharpen carbide twist drills.