Chicago Latrobe 69853 559 Series Cobalt Steel Short Length Drill Bit Set In Metal Case, Gold Oxide Finish, 135 Degree Split Point, Inch, 29-piece, 1/16" - 1/2" in 1/64" increments

There are times when bits made in Asian or Latin American countries work well. I owe loads of them.But from time-to-time I'm required to drill repeatedly in tough steel. These bits have bored quickly and at cool temperatures that I did not expense. They are spectacular for their purpose and worth every dime I paid.

Bits are excellent. Box, not so much. Should be a better box at this price.

Years ago I worked in a machine shop that used CL Gold Coated drill bits. If you want an excellent drill set. These things will last forever, buy this set. These are not the cheap DeWalt, Irwin or Bosch drill bits you get at the hardware or big box store. These are the tools of machine shop quality that will drill most steels. These also have a 135 degree split point which means the drill is "self centering" and will not "wonder" on the work piece. You will not be disappointed. Made in the USA!Why doesn't Amazon have a "Made in USA" store front?

These drills are not gold oxide coated as described in the Amazon listing. They are, in fact, uncoated. After some investigation I discovered that Chicago Latrobe supposedly makes these cobalt drills in three types of finish (copied and pasted from the pdf version of the 2013 Chicago Latrobe Catalog) --Surface Treatment Information:* Straw finish allows for easyidentification of cobalt tools.* Titanium nitride (TiN) PVD coatingadds lubricity and hardness whichenhances chip flow, finish holequality, and drill life.* Titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN)PVD coating combines the abilityto work in high temperatures withadded hardness to increase drill life.The drills supplied are labeled type 559 which, according to Chicago Latrobe, are supposed to be the straw finish (uncoated) type. The drills supplied do not even appear to have a straw finish.Type 559-TN has the titanium nitride coating which is golden in color (similar to gold oxide).Type 559-TA has the titanium aluminum nitride coating.

You should be required to prove ability to use a portable drill prior to leaving comments on quality--Maybe I got a different set than previous reviewers but these are just as good of bit of quality as I have seen at work. We use Chicago-Latrobe for drills and the Cleveland brand of products for some of our more precision applications.Bottom line, this is a good value set that is complete with all the popular fractionals-beats the consumer grade products hands down...

I bought this set for my husband. He is all about US made products. I was happy to find these and from what he's told me they work great. I highly recommend you purchase this set.

I loved the fact that these drills are 135 degree split point. It causes me frustration when the drill bits "walk" when I am attempting to drill straight. These will last me a long time.

I bought these drill bits because I was hoping for something more durable than the $30 sets you buy at Lowes or Home Depot. While doing a spiral staircase project in my house, 3 of these bits broke within just a few minutes, which left me going back to the cheapo bits that I had before. While it took a bit longer with the lower quality bits, at least they didn't shatter, which is exactly what happened to these bits. So much for paying a little or in this case a lot more for quality tools.