Parts of a Drill Bit – Labeled Twist Drill Diagram

All 12 parts on the diagram

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The whole bit 7

Point The whole cone-shaped end of the drill. The cutting edges and the chisel edge are on it.
Flute A spiral groove along the body. The flutes carry the chips out of the hole.
Margin The narrow strip along the edge of each land. It is the widest part of the drill, so it sets the size of the hole and keeps the drill in line.
Land The raised part of the body between one flute and the next.
Body The part of the drill with the flutes in it. It runs from the point to the shank.
Shank The end that fits into the drilling machine's chuck, socket or spindle. This one is tapered. Most bits sold for home use have a straight shank.
Tang A flat end found only on a tapered shank. It fits a slot in the socket or spindle of the machine.

The point, enlarged 5

Point angle The angle at the tip of the bit, between its two lips. Harder materials call for a larger angle and softer ones for a sharper angle.
Lip (cutting edge) One of two sharp edges on the point that do the cutting. There is one for each flute.
Lip clearance The surface of the point ground away just behind each cutting edge. Only the edge then touches the bottom of the hole.
Chisel edge (dead center) The short edge at the very tip. The two ground surfaces of the point meet there. It lies on the axis of the drill.
Web The solid metal in the middle that separates the two flutes. It runs the length of the body and gets thicker toward the shank.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) US Navy, Tools and Their Uses (1971), full text at https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED132362 : the principal parts of a twist drill are the body, the shank and the point; the dead center, the lip or cutting edge, the lip clearance, the margin, the flutes, the tang; its figure of twist drill nomenclature also names the land. (2) US Army, TC 9-524, Fundamentals of Machine Tools (1996), full text at https://archive.org/details/tc-9-524-fundamentals-of-machine-tools-1996 : point, body, shank, chisel edge or dead center, lips, heel, lip clearance, flute, margin, web, tang, neck. (3) Wikipedia, Drill bit and Drill bit shank, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_bit and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_bit_shank : a cutting point tipping a cylindrical shaft with helical flutes; point angle, lip angle, lip clearance; straight and tapered shanks; the tang at the taper's end. (4) A twist drill maker's handbook on the use and care of twist drills, full text at https://archive.org/details/cleveland-use-and-care-of-twist-drills : cutting lips, chisel edge, web and web thinning, margin, heel, lip clearance, point angle, flutes, shank, tang. (5) A cutting tool maker's handbook read as search passages on archive.org (identifier bendixcuttingtoo00bend): land, the peripheral portion of the body between adjacent flutes; margin, the cylindrical portion of the land which is not cut away; the web, whose end forms the chisel edge. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's tool, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The twist drill is the most common tool for making holes in metal. Its principal parts are the body, the shank and the point. The second view enlarges the point.

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Along the bit

The point is the cone at the cutting end. Behind it is the body, with its spiral flutes. The raised metal between the flutes is the land, and the narrow strip along each land is the margin. The shank is the plain end the machine holds; a tapered shank ends in a flat tang.

On the point

Each flute ends in a lip, a sharp cutting edge. The surface ground away behind each lip is the lip clearance. The web is the solid middle between the flutes, and the chisel edge is the short edge across its end. The point angle is measured between the two lips.

Chisel edge and dead center are two names for the same edge. The quiz takes either.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a drill bit called?

A twist drill has three principal parts: the point, the body and the shank. The body carries the flutes, lands and margins. The point carries the two lips, the lip clearance, the web and the chisel edge.

What are the grooves on a drill bit called?

Flutes. They are spiral grooves along the body, and they carry the chips out of the hole.

What is the end of a drill bit that goes in the drill called?

The shank. Most bits sold for home use have a straight shank that a chuck grips. For heavy work some bits have a tapered shank, which ends in a flat tang.

What is the tip of a drill bit called?

The whole cone-shaped end is the point. The short edge at its very tip is the chisel edge, also called the dead center.