4 Reasons Why HSS Drill Bits Are Harder And More Durable Than Typical Drill Accessories

Even though HSS drill bits help you finish your job quickly, these drill bits are not termed “high-speed” because of that. Rather, they are named for the steel they are made of, high-speed steel. Compared to other drill bits, high-speed drill bits are more resistant to extreme heat. Unlike ordinary drill bits that can only puncture wood, HSS drill bits can pierce both wood and metal. The capability of HSS drill bits to bore holes in both soft and hard surfaces make them the most widely used drill bits around.

A drill bit is a metal tool with about half of it twisted. The edges of the twisted part are sharp to be able to cut through hard surfaces. The remainder of the cylinder is called the shaft, and is used to affix the bit into the drill.

A drill bit made from high-carbon steel is not for drilling at extreme speed. This type of drill bit cannot endure high-speed drilling. When this happens, the edges become blunt. There is also a possibility that the extreme speed of drilling will cause the drill bit to break – look at OSHA training requirements for additional facts pertaining to this subject matter. These issues are avoided by using HSS drill bits.

More carbon are added in HSS drill bits. Other metal elements such as vanadium, molybdenum, and tungsten are also added to make them much harder – take a look at cobalt drill bits to get extra facts relevant to this issue. Among the four types of standard HSS drill bits, an M7 HSS drill bit has the highest carbon, tungsten, molybdenum, and vanadium content. M7 HSS drill bits are widely used in airplane factories.

M2 HSS drill bits are highly preferred for their ability to stay hard enough to pierce metal even at extremely high temperature. Adding cobalt and more tungsten makes HSS drill bits remain hard and sharp even at extremely high temperature.

When your HSS drill bits become blunt after being used on some metals, you might be interested in cobalt drill bits. HSS drill bits and cobalt drill bits are almost the same, save for the higher cobalt content of the latter. They can drill through metals such as titanium and stainless steel.

For some applications an ordinary carbon steel drill bit will work just fine; but if you routinely make holes in hardwood, thin or non-hardened metal, or if you want to be able to drill very quickly for long periods of time without stopping for cool-off or having to re-sharpen, you will want to choose the HSS drill bit.