Carbide Drill Bits
Carbide Drill Bits for Power and Strength
Carbide drill bits are some of the most used drilling tools on the market today. These high-strength carbon steel drill bits can handle just about any job, from wood drilling to putting holes in stainless steel. The bits are made from a special joining of a carbon product with a metal, boron, or silicon. Most carbide drill bits are made from tungsten and carbon, yielding a drill it that is hard enough to drill stainless steel.
Carbide drill bits are also made of Silicon Carbide. This metal alloy is so hard that it rivals diamond. Machine shops are inundated with these ultra0hard drill bits, and are used in their machine tools for the manufacture of many steel, aluminum, and brass products. The sheet metal worker, steel manufacturing plant, or even the household handyman uses these specialized drill bits.
Carbide drill bits were expensive to manufacture at first, due to a lack of forging technology that we have today. This left the drill bits out of the general market, and was only manufactured for specialized construction efforts. High-rise building construction, metal machining, and aircraft building were some of the limitations of carbide drill bits.
Now the manufacture of high-strength carbide drill bits has been finally put to science. Mass production technology has brought carbide steel on the market, and carbide drill bits are made by the thousands every day. This drives the price down, and leaves these bits to nearly any application, from wood drilling to stainless steel construction.
Carbide drill bits are also used in masonry. Drilling a hole into granite is as easy as slicing butter when using a hammer drill and a carbide drill bit. The action of the hammer drill makes for a constant flow of pressure, which would easily damage a bit of plain steel. Cutting into hard woods can be done with a carbide-tipped bit to prevent scorching of the medium, and precision drilling is the key to a successful build.
Purchasing the right carbide drill bit does not have to be a choice of brands, but a choice of trust. You would not want to go with a brand you never heard of, or for a price that seems a bit too good to be true. It may say carbide on the package, but may only be high-carbon steel instead, which can be brittle under pressure.
Most hardware stores carry carbide-tipped or carbide manufactured drill bits. Look at the label for not only brand name, but type of bit. Also, a carbide-tipped drill bit has a steel shank, but a tip that should look darker or blacker than the rest of the bit. Carbide bits can also be a yellowish color, with a black tip. The blackness of the drill bit tip indicates it is made from carbide metal, and can be relied upon to make a hole.
Carbide-tipped and carbide manufactured drill bits are manufactured by several companies, but the most popular brands would be Bosch, Milwaukee Tool, DeWalt, Irwin, and newer companies like Advantage Drill, Inc. of Florida. Regardless of what you purchase, the need for quality and what you want to pay for is your decision, so choose wisely.