One Bit For All Your Metal-Drilling Needs?
As I scanned through the latest power tool news, Diablo Metal Demon drill bits caught my eye. Making some bold promises, I decided to dig in a bit deeper to see what all the hype is about and whether these bits might be a good option for you.
Check out our Best Drill Bits for Metal recommendations to see more metal-drilling options!
Bold Claims for Diablo Metal Demon Drill Bits
Let’s start with what Diablo is claiming about their Metal Demon drill bits. Here are the key points:
- Industry-first bit that can handle mild, hardened, and stainless steels
- One bit set that replaces the need to carry separate black oxide, titanium, and cobalt bits
- Up to 30x bit life
- Up to 2x faster drilling speeds
- 50% more holes per charge in cordless drills
- Savings of up to $230 over the life of each bit
Quick Recap
Before we dive into the deep end, here’s a quick recap on the three main types of twist drill bit enhancements and their metal drilling applications:
- Black oxide coating: Inexpensive and good for mild steels
- Titanium coating: Mid-priced and good for mild to stainless steels
- Cobalt blend: Premium priced and usually reserved only for hardened steel, though it’s capable of drilling mild and stainless
How Diablo Metal Demon Drill Bits Are Different
Diablo points out several key areas that make these bits stand out from the competition.
Thermal Shield Protective Coating goes beyond a basic titanium coating with a multi-layered approach that reduces heat buildup and improves durability at the tip. Many drill bits fail at the tip, and this is the improvement Diablo points to as achieving up to 30 times greater life.
Cutting Edge is the name Diablo gives to its CNC grinding process. It results in cutting edges that are more precise, and higher precision leads to more efficient cutting with lower wear. This is where the promise of 2 times faster cutting comes in.
With the bit drilling up to twice as fast, your drill isn’t working as hard. The combination of better speed and efficiency is how Diablo is able to get 50% more work done per charge.
The 130° hybrid split tip is interesting. Many drill bits we see that aim to prevent walking use a 135° tip. While Diablo doesn’t mention why they’re a little different, they do promise you’ll get accurate, fast hole starts from it.
One thing worth noting—the shanks of Diablo Metal Demon drill bits are not impact driver-friendly. That’s not a surprise considering their primary benefit is for metal drilling where the impacting action of an impact driver can have a negative effect.
Additional Highlights
- Optimized flute design channels material away faster, leading to reduced heat at the tip
- Designed for use in handheld drills and drill presses
- Available in 29 sizes from 1/8 – 1/2 an inch
The Devil’s in the Details
Diablo isn’t sharing the details of the materials it’s using to build these bits. That may be due to the proprietary nature of the chemistry and processes, and it wouldn’t surprise me considering what all goes into creating alloys, heat treating, and bringing new technologies to the finish line.
That said, there’s no metallurgical comparison we can do on a theoretical level. We’ll just have to wait for the results to come in from folks using these bits in the field.
Diablo Metal Demon Drill Bits Price
After looking at the benefits of these bits, my next question was… how much do they cost? After all, if they’re the same price as cobalt bits, you might as well just buy cobalt bits.
Individual bits run $3.99 – $21.99. There are two sets available as well. A 15-piece set (1/16 – 3/8-inch) is $33.99.
There’s also a 29-piece set that includes one of every size from 1/8 – 1/2-inch. We’re still waiting to hear the final pricing on that.
Those prices are slightly higher than titanium bits. For comparison, I checked Milwaukee’s Titanium Red Helix bit prices and they run $3.47 – $19.47 for individual bits. The similar 15-piece set is $27.97.
Assuming these bits can perform on par or better than cobalt in hardened steel and replace your black oxide and titanium bits, you really are looking at significant cost savings over their service life.
