Finding the drilling bit for the job at hand might be confusing at first. I find myself quite confuse whenever I go to a hardware store or browse the internet to find the right drill bit set to accomplish the task at my backyard – very simple like punching holes in my kitchen sink, barbeque grill or fixing my kid’s toys. I’m a technical guy but still it’s like solving a difficult puzzle whenever I dare to find the correct and accurate information on what drill bit to find.
First in the list of my bucket full of questions is what’s the difference between a HSS and a Cobalt drill bit set? Aren’t they the same? Can I use one instead of the other? What’s the advantages and disadvantages of each? I’m sure some of you may have asked the same set of questions before.
There are tons of information in the internet, what I’m quite surprise is that there are sites that discuss only a piece of each equipment e.g. they only discuss Cobalt drill bit set or only HSS drill bits but not try to attempt and put this two together. Other drill bit forums prove to be helpful on this type of questions. You can ask your questions directly. Unfortunately, some guys don’t have any idea what they are saying. But then again, you have to separate apples from oranges I guess. Thus, I thought of providing a great information on the similarities and differences of the two drill bit types. Believe me, it isn’t technical like you’re thinking.
HSS Drill Bits
HSS or High Speed Metal drill bits comes in different shapes, sizes and functionalities too. In the case of drill bits the common shape we see is the twist drill bit type, with the size it may run to as little as 0.8mm to 12mm and up. Most drill bit materials use similar elements (metal alloys) to create them. Each were manufactured to accomplish a particular task. You may hear carbon type drill bits and High carbon type drill bits. They were named as such because they have higher Carbon element in them. For HSS drill bits, it compose of Iron (Fe), Carbon , Molybdenum, Tungsten, Chromium, Cobalt and others. Increasing the concentration of an element changes the property of the drill bit like its temper (hardness), flexibility, heat resistance etc.
HSS drill bits has greater performance compare with Carbon drill bit types in “higher speed” drilling because it can stand higher temperature without decreasing its temper (hardness), can drill the holes faster and doesn’t get blunt easily.
High Speed steel are used not only on drill bits but in some common household tools like knives, saws, gear cutters and taps because of such amazing property. However, HSS drill bits can only withstand high temperature setting up to a point and beyond that these drill bits may lose its hardness and drilling efficiency. That is where a Cobalt Drill bit comes in.
Cobalt drill Bits
Cobalt drill bits are special type of HSS drill bits. This means that on manufacturing a cobalt drill bit set, a higher concentration on Cobalt element is made making the bits more heat resistant.
Usually, Cobalt concentration ranges from 5% – 8% depending on the specification of the drill bits to be manufactured. The advantage of cobalt drill bits can be seen on Stainless steel surface and other thick metal surfaces. These type of drill bits prove to maintain their temper and sharpness on the entire task.
Of course, cobalt drill bits do have limitations – and that it is more brittle than regular HSS drill bits. Thus, when you’re buying a set of drill bits you need to weigh-in these factors. For example, what type of surface are going to deal with? Stainless steel? Wood? Kitchen sink? Because, if you’re going to buy an expensive 150 pc. Cobalt drill bit set and you’re only planning to use it one time then you might be better with a good HSS drill bit set or just limit the cobalt drill bit set to lesser number of bits.
Planning ahead is a great way to accomplish this task so you won’t have to waste your money on a tool that isn’t practical to use in the long run. If you’re in a drilling business then that’s a different story as well. Knowing the differences and similarities of HSS and Cobalt drill bits will make you decide the right tool you should buy.
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