I bought a set of short HSS bits years ago, used them to drill stainless, cast iron, plastic, just about everything. Drill speed is everything. Slow is good on steel, unless it's really thin, oil/cutting fluid is your friend-never use WD-40.... I still have them, still going strong. The shorter length also makes them harder to break IMHO. Learn how to sharpen your own bits, I can, but I'm nowhere near as good as the old german guy that kinda taught me. Occasionally I'll find a bunch of used bits at my local machine/hydraulic/fabrication/bearing shop/supply house, they cycle their bits out on a regular basis. I'm on pretty good terms with the guys in the shop(I'm there a couple of times a week picking up steel or bearings or belts or summat-just brought home a 4x8 sheet of 1/4"HR steel for a skid pan I'm building for a tractor at work-that wasn't cheap-but I digress....) and they let me grab a few handfuls of those bits out of the scrap bin for free. They are HSS bits, and I'll use them and sharpen them as needed. Anything I need bigger than 1/2 inch I usually buy as needed. Get yourself a good set of step drills too, they come in handy for me all the time. A drill press is nice, I've got an old Delta bench top unit I've been using for about 10 years, I think I got it on sale for 50 bucks or summat(which reminds me, I need to order a new chuck key for it). Then I've got sets of el cheapo-onetime use only bits that just keep hanging around. A set of left twist bits is nice to have also(useless in a drill press) very handy for broken bolts, sometimes the heat and friction just spin the broken part right out, those I get from Snap-On or MAC.