Recommended HSS drill bits?

got some high speed steel bits with my drill press ( combo deal) but the 8mm and 10mm bits are useless. They just smoke and go red!

Has anyone used the stepper conical bits? Are they any good?
What do you recommend for good bits to make 8mm and 10mm holes in steel?

Thank you

yes, the way to preserve your drills is
- slower speed
- from small diameter to final diameter in several steps
- drop of oil

Use cobalt or titanium bits when drilling steel for the fastest results. Even though they are called high speed that is only relative to hand drill bits; I use 300rpm on my drill press. Use cutting fluid to lubricate while drilling. If the bit starts to get very hot (fluid will start smoking profusely) back off and let it cool a little before proceeding. The key to long drill bit life when using cobalt or titanium bits is to apply just enough pressure to always keep the bit cutting into the surface being drilled. When the pressure applied is too light to cut you are only wearing the bits cutting surface. When it is too high you risk breaking the bit due to the fact that while cobalt or titanium is very hard, it is also brittle and will snap easily when put in a bind.

In building my platform sim, I used the titanium bits, and used "Tap Magic", which is used for tapping threads, but also for drilling........needless to say, it was "magic", as my bits never overheated and cut like
a new bit, time after time. The "step bits" are good for 1/8" Thickness of material, or less, but don't make the mistake of buying an 8.00 US one........they're junk. I have a hi-end bit, about 40.00 US, that does a superb job.........
"Me thinks" the key is Good high quality bits, lubrication, and SLOW.........

Stepped conical bits are for thin metals, and they're fantastic for that, think holes in aluminum project boxes. Find some cobalt bits and go slow -- though I'd be curious to find out what type of lubricant others think is best?

I ordered some Titanium HSS bits from Ebay overnight, just because they had every metric step I need. Most kits seems to skip the M7 range, which sucks for M8-1.0 threads.

Also, for my Aussie friends on here, avoid the "Frost Tap and Die set" from Bunnings.
I used it to complete my rig, and the M8 tap sheared off in my hands!
Luckily, being Bunnings, I took it back for a full refund AFTER I finished my rig anyway. Result!

I gotta agree with @RacingMat and the others. Try and keep them bits cool as you drill - slow speed, some oil, all good! Before I learnt this I wasted many drill bits, and now the difference is amazing.

Archie,
Chances are that those drill bits where a cheap low quality HSS or just carbon steel, they seem like the el cheapo ones usually supplied with cheap cordless drills.
all HSS isnt the same as there are a variety of HSS alloys that have a different hardness, on top of this it's difficult for a consumer to tell if HSS is what it is, have purchased some shocking cheap chinese HSS tool bits for use on a lathe.
one simple test (though not conclusive) is to check out how it sparks up when grinding it, high carbon usually has a shower of sparks and may resemble a sparkler, while the sparks when grinding HSS look more like tracer bullets. "Link below"
http://www.scrapmetaljunkie.com/241/the-spark-test-and-spark-testing-metals-2

Good HSS will be more than adequate for drilling steel, if not, it's either blunt,chipped, incorrectly sharpened or made from poor quality cheap HSS alloy, i try to avoid the cheap HSS drills as they easily wear down, overheat, chip etc.

As other members mentioned, cutting oil makes a big difference, "avoid using Trefolex Cutting Compound" as it's not designed for high speed use, "trust me", it smokes up leaving you with a massive headache.
Hopefully the HSS under the titanium coating is a good or medium quality and not the poor quality found in cheap drill sets, once they need sharpening the titanium coating is useless.

Folks, at 67, I've tried everything from oil, WD-40, you name it...........I found the Tap Magic AFTER searching , then researched it....
Bought it, and will "never" use another drill lubricant again. If you try it once, you'll never go back.
I bought mine on eBay at about 8.50 / pint..........it's on Amazon also......with quite a few holes drilled and some tapping during my build......I still have 2/3 bottle left.....

Tom

Put my drill press on it's lowest settings and tried the new drill set I got from Ebay. What a difference. Knife through butter!

The biggest mistake I made was reading HSS to actually mean "High Speed". Drill is now probably doing 150-250rpm and it's much better!

Thank you everyone