Viking

Viking drill bits are high-speed steel jobber bits for drilling steel, stainless and aluminum, in a hand drill or on a drill press. They’re for contractors, fabricators, ranchers and anyone who drills metal. The 135° split point centers itself, so the bit starts where you put it without a center punch and limits the usual tendency to drill oversize.

Viking Drill and Tool has made high-speed steel cutting tools in St. Paul, Minnesota, since 1951, in a 74,000-square-foot plant, under the slogan “America’s Finest High-Speed Cutting Tools.” The company is employee-owned. All the steel it uses meets National Aerospace Standard 907, which rules out lower-grade steels that don’t hold up under hard use.

The 135° split-point jobber

Viking’s heavy-duty jobber is made from a special high-molybdenum tool steel with a 135° split point for fast penetration and accurate starting without a center punch. The flatter 135° point takes a smaller chip than a standard 118° point, so it cuts with less heat, and an amber gold surface treatment cuts friction. That flatter point also lets the bit drill steel harder than 30 on the Rockwell C scale, which is the difference between a bit that goes through a hardened bracket and one that skates on it.

The split point breaks up the chip and needs less thrust in harder metal, and you feel that most on a hand drill. Winter is equipment repair season on Mission Valley ranches, and a new hole through a trailer frame, a hitch plate or a loader bracket, often right through an old weld, is exactly where you want a bit that starts on the mark and doesn’t need your whole weight behind it.

Jobber length means the bit runs 9 to 14 times its diameter, the everyday length for hand-drill and drill-press work. Buy singles in the sizes you drill all day, because those wear out long before the rest of a set gets used. For a big hole, Viking’s reduced-shank bits put a 3/4 in. drill on a 1/2 in. shank, so it fits a standard 1/2 in. chuck.

Running it

Set the tip on your layout mark, go light until it bites, then feed it steady. Skip the center punch, because the point does that job itself.

Viking’s rules of thumb are 80 surface feet per minute in 100 Brinell steel, slowing as the metal gets harder, and a feed of .001 inch per revolution for every 1/16 inch of drill diameter. On a 1/4-inch bit that works out to about .004 inch per revolution at roughly 1,200 rpm; halve the rpm when you double the bit size. Blue or smoking chips mean you’re running too fast, and powder or a squeal means you need more feed.

Stainless is where bits die, and they die from speed and dwell. Viking’s chart puts stainless at 30 to 50 surface feet per minute against 200 to 300 for aluminum, so stainless runs at roughly a sixth of aluminum’s speed. Run it slow, keep real pressure on, use cutting fluid and never let the bit spin in the hole without cutting, because that rubbing hardens the spot and ruins the next bit too.

Spec	Viking 135° split-point jobber
Point	135° split point, self-centering
Steel	High-molybdenum high-speed steel, meets NAS 907
Finish	Amber gold surface treatment
Length	Jobber, 9 to 14 times the diameter
Drills	Steel harder than 30 Rockwell C, stainless, aluminum
Starting	No center punch needed
Big-hole option	3/4 in. drill on a 1/2 in. reduced shank
Speed	80 SFM in 100 Brinell steel; 30 to 50 SFM stainless; 200 to 300 SFM aluminum
Feed	.001 in. per revolution for each 1/16 in. of diameter
Made in	St. Paul, Minnesota

Viking also makes TiN, TiCN, parabolic and Cryo/Nitride coated jobbers, taps, burrs and drill sets for shop and production work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Viking drill bits made in the USA?

Yes. Viking has made its cutting tools in St. Paul, Minnesota, since 1951, in its own employee-owned plant, from steel that meets National Aerospace Standard 907.

Are Viking and Norseman drill bits the same company?

They come from the same place. Norseman Drill & Tool lists the same 355 State Street address in St. Paul, the same 1951 start and the same “America’s Finest High-Speed Cutting Tools” slogan, and its bits are sold as Viking Norseman, so both are made in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Do you need a center punch with a Viking split-point bit?

No. The split point gives accurate starting without a center punch, so the bit doesn’t walk off the mark. A scribed line or a light prick is all it needs.

Why a 135° split point instead of a regular 118° bit?

The flatter 135° point takes a smaller chip and runs cooler, the split breaks up the chip and needs less thrust, and it drills steel harder than 30 Rockwell C. A regular 118° point wants a punch mark to start and works harder in tough steel, so for metal work the split point is the one to buy.