Recently there was a thread on the Sawduster's woodworking forum concerning the Drill Doctor and its effectiveness at sharpening drill bits.
I have been looking at these for quite some time and finally decided it was time to get one.
Recently, Drill Doctor added the Traveler 100 series to their line. This unit is very similar to the 250 model, but it does not come with an integrated motor: your portable drill supplies the motor.
I've been meaning to put an online order together, but then the wife and I happened to stop by Lowe's. This is my first time in the store (there are three HDs that are 15 minutes closer), we took quite a stroll through the store. Initial impression is that it looks a lot like Home Base or Supply One (both now out of business). It was not quite up to the atmosphere of Ernst (also out of business), but it was close.
Back to the story. While in Lowe's, I noticed the Drill Doctor Traveler sitting there for $40. Right next to it was the Drill Doctor 250 for $83, but they were out of stock. So, I figure for $43 I can supply the motor. I've got a few drills that I don't use, and this is a tool that would only be dug out 3-4 times per year, if that. It seemed like a good investment.
Bought it, brought it home, hooked it up, and read the instructions. Went and grabbed my 1/16" to 1/4" bit set that I use most often and set to work sharpening them. Fifteen minutes later and the set was fully sharp and ready to go (except for the 1/16" bit). I was fairly impressed.
Next up I tried it on a drill bit set that I had inherited from my grandfather. To say my grandfather was hard on his tools is, well, just being nice. To say he took care of his tools is an outright lie. Every single one of these bits had been misused. Multiple score marks on the shaft where the chuck had only been hand tightened and then the bit used to drill metal. Some of the bits had to be discarded altogether. Others I had to file down the shafts to remove burrs left when the chuck was spinning but the bit wasn't.
At one point in time my grandfather got a hold of a grinder and decided to sharpen the bits. Needless to say, the bits were pretty much unusable when I received them. There were a few that I was able to sharpen up on a grinder, but the angle was off by a few degrees. I didn't even bother trying with most of them. I figured these were a prime candidate for my new Drill Doctor.
I got the first bit out and chucked it up in the Drill Doctor. I started out easy -- this was only a 5/16" bit, and one that I had sharpened previously. It did fairly well. Took a little longer than the smaller bits, but I was satisfied. Next up was a 3/8" bit. This one was horribly mangled and couldn't cut a straight hole for anything in anything.
I chucked it up and started to go. The 1st thing that happened was my drill battery died. No problem: I had another one in the charger all ready to go. Started up again. Five minutes later and I was still trying to sharpen the bit.
One thing I had neglected to mention earlier was that the Traveler 100 Drill Doctor used sanding sleeves instead of a diamond grinding wheel (like its cousin the 250) used. I didn't figure it was that big of a deal at the time since I've used the Scary Sharp method was great success, and the 1" x 1" sanding sleeves are easier to come by.
At this point in sharpening the 3/8" bit, I determined that the sanding sleeve needed to be reversed to expose a new sharpening surface. Having done this, I continued to try to sharpen the bit. 10 minutes later and my 2nd drill battery died. I dug out my corded drill and continued on. (Side note: the corded drill is much LOUDER than the battery powered one).
This went on for a few more minutes and then I realized that my sanding sleeve was once again worn smooth. Rather than changing out the sanding sleeve, I packed everything back up in its original packing material. The Traveler 100 was headed back to Lowe's!
PART 2: Returned the Traveler 100 to Lowe's last night. No problems there, especially after a HD gift certificate fell out of my wallet while I was looking for the receipt. They had the 250s in stock, so I got one of those.
The difference between the 250 and 100 was night and day!
The first thing you notice is that the 250 comes packaged with an instructional video. Although I had successfully used the 100, I watched the video anyway. There were a few good pointers, especially the one about sharpening masonry bits.
The 2nd thing you notice is that you don't have to hold the trigger on the drill with one hand while you are trying to sharpen the bit with the other. Immediately after this, you notice that the diamond wheel sharpens the bits MUCH faster than the sandpaper.
Of course, the first bit I tried sharpening was the problem 3/8" bit. Took care of this one in about 30 seconds, so I moved on up the line clear up to the 1/2" bit. Got the whole set of them sharpened in about 30 minutes. This while my daughter (age 2) was "helping" me hold the chuck and turn the thing on and off. (Off while I was using it, and On while I was changing out the bits).
Bottom line: The Traveler 100 will do an acceptable job on bits that are for the most part already sharp. Touch-up work is its forte, as is on the job work where an electrical outlet may not be available. If you want to really sharpen all your bits, get the 250 or even the Drill Doctor 500. For the majority of us, the 750 isn't necessary. The 500 brings the option of sharpening 135 degree angles (100 and 250 only do 118 degrees). The 750 adds the capacity of 1/2" to 3/4" bits.
Hope this helps someone.
Regards,