Replies

1. 
   troys | May 17, 2005 01:56am | #1

   I have been happy with the steel forstner bits. I think the HSS bits from lee valley are a bit (pardon the pun) better than some of the other less costly bits. The lee valley bits have a hex shank for the larger size and are a bit longer.
   Troy

2. 
   jazzdogg | May 17, 2005 01:58am | #2

   Bones,

   If you're going to be boring holes in manmade sheet goods or teak, the carbide-tipped Forstner bits might be worthwhile. Carbide is durable, brittle, and costly. You'll have to ask yourself whether you'll drill enough holes to make them pay for themselves.

   Good luck,

   -Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

3. 
   forestgirl | May 17, 2005 05:57am | #3

   I bought a cheap set in a nice carrying case.  Plan to replace the most-used ones with higher quality when they wear out.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

4. 
   nikkiwood | May 17, 2005 05:57am | #4

   A long time ago, I ponied up the $$ for a complete set of the HSS bits from Lee Valley.

   At the time, I thought it was an extravagance to get a set with so many different sizes, but I can't tell you how many times it has been handy to have an odd size.

   I think the set was in the neighborhood of $250-300. The quality seems adequate -- at least I haven't sharpened any of them, and I still get nice, clean holes.

   I have never tried any of the carbide Forstners, but I would think they are unnecssary -- unless you are using one for large production runs. The HSS bits seem to do fine in man made materials.

   ********************************************************
   "I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong."
   -- Bertrand Russell

5. 
   mudman | May 17, 2005 06:46pm | #5

   my hinge cup boring bit is carbide because I use it a lot. I only have a few others and they are all steel.

   Mike

   please excuse my spelling.
6. 
   woodensplinter | May 17, 2005 11:47pm | #6

   Bought a set of cheap Forstner bits about three years ago.  Plan on replacing the most used bits with higher quality ones from Lee Valley.  So far I haven't replaced a single one but the 3/4 inch is coming due.

7. 
   lwj2 | May 18, 2005 12:45am | #7

   Mine are a mix between the old Craftsman HSS and the Austrian HSS that Woodcraft sells, plus one Bosch bit.

   Worked well so far. The 3/8 Bosch bit had to be re-ground to get decent chip ejection, I was less than thrilled to discover it's shortcomings, but Jameson's (my sharpening folks) got it going properly.

   Regards,

   Leon Jester