Sealey Sms2008 Drill Bit Sharpener - Bench Mounting 80W

Top marks. To start with what is bad - the instruction booklet is pathetic. 'Align the flutes vertically etc.' I had no idea what they were talking about until I watched a YouTube video. One photo of the alignment is all that was needed. The photos in the instruction are tiny and dark - useless. Having got that out of the way - the machine - wow! Fantast5ic - at long last I can sharpen drill bits perfectly and accurately. It is easy to use and does a brilliant job. When it arrived I said to my wife 'keep the box it will probably go back.' Not a chance of that - well made machine, sharpens bits perfectly. A YouTube video mentioned split-point. I had no idea what that was but Google AI explained. There is a little hole in the top of the machine which allows you to to grind a small secondary bevel (split point) easily with no further adjustments. This (by all accounts) stops the bit slipping and is easy to do on all of your bits. What a brilliant idea. A great addition to any workshop Top Class! and at a great price.

I purchased this to speed up and simplify the sharpening of commonly used sizes of drills (which I mostly use for metalworking, so they have a hard life.) I've never fully mastered hand sharpening, which is a bit hit-and-miss for me, and to hand sharpen split points is a skill bestowed on very few. This sharpener is a solidly constructed item and works surprisingly well for the price. (Compare with the hundred of pounds you could spend on a "professional" drill sharpener.) The diamond wheel of the sharpener cuts quickly and easily and will cope with both high speed steel and tungsten carbide bits. It sharpens to a 118 degree point angle, which cannot be varied (unless there are different angled diamond wheels available - I haven't seen any.) Care is required in setting the drill up correctly and the cutting depth is fixed. (Perhaps a millimetre of drill is removed each time a drill is sharpened as the drill is repointed every time. You can't just "touch up" a drill using this.) Producing a split point is optional, but very desirable, and this function works well. All-in-all, very good value for money.

This is a good tool, but you have to practice with it to get the best results, set the drill up wrong and it’s a disaster. Set up is all important. It does a nice job and does get drills sharp, I’ve personally not mastered the split point sharpening yet, but for any size drill up to 13mm it’s fine. Small drills under 5mm are fiddly to setup due to their short length. I like that fact it does any sized drills eg: 4.2, 4.8mm, 1/4” due to how it holds the drill, a set hole size like other sharpeners is very limiting. Metric, imperial does not matter. Good but need to practice and setup very important to get best results.

Used for DIY sharpening of various drill bits, has certainly restored and made useable some older drills, takes a bit of care and gentle handling, build quality is fine for the price, yes it is a bit flimsy, too much heavy handiness and you can grind drill bits inaccurately, so far for the cost this is a nice addition to the workbench.

Item arrived this morning, gave it a good looking over, read the instructions, then watched a couple of youtube video's on how to set up and use the machine. Armed with half a dozen blunt drill bits ranging from 3.2mm to 8mm I began to set the drill bit up. It is important that the drill bit is placed in the holder loose so the jaws at the far end of the aperture can rotate the drill bit very slightly in the correct position for grinding. Once you have tightened the drill bit in the holder, remove the holder with the drill bit and place in the sharpening aperture. I found it much better to do this with the machine off as when you try to match the lugs up it is all to easy to push the drill bit hard on to the grind stone. Once the drill bit holder is in position turn on the machine and "gently" move the bit holder back and forth as per instructions. A 3.2 mm takes about 7 or 8 seconds for each side and an 8mm takes about 16 or 18 seconds. Do the same in the top aperture which finishes the sharpening process in just a few seconds. I am a below average DIY'er and managed to master this machine after just 20 minutes looking and pondering, 10 minutes of reading the instructions, 5 minutes of youtube video and 5 minutes sharpening a couple of drill bits. I would recommend to start with a large size bit ( 8mm ). This is the most fantastic bit of kit I have ever used with perfectly sharp drill bits every time. By tomorrow evening I can safely say it will have paid for it's self.

Sharpen

Great - tool, price, delivery, communication, etc…… Quick and easy to use…… Very happy with purchase…… Thanks

The only problem I had with the machine was the electrical 3 pin plug.The voltage @230 was correct but the plug configuration was obviously designed for U K and not Australia. There was no problem in fitting a locally made plug.The machine works well and currently,20+ drill biots have been sharpened.

Absolute crap. Don't waste your time and money.