• Wogi@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Drill bits are coated in tungsten carbide. Sometimes. There are a variety of coatings.

    The drill bits you’re buying at the big box store are high speed still with some kind of coating to help them last a little longer. The specialty drill bits you’re buying for working on metal are also HSS with a different coating and probably different tip geometry.

    End mills are milling/lathe inserts can be HSS or carbide, also with some tungsten coating. Importantly, these are sintered, and made out of dust.

    Tungsten carbide is waaaay too brittle to work as a drill bit.