I need to buy new drill bits. Can’t remember a good source; white? Also, what do you like in router bits?
Thanks,
Pete
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Replies
Pete, what kind?
-twist drills, sets, #1 to #60, fractions to 1/2", A to Z, what quality,cheapest, good, better, best?
-spur bits
-augers
Just kidding--- the better bits come from a tool supply* and are centerless ground not roll formed from old scrap steel like the borg's sell.Paddy
*MSC comes to mind.
My augers are good. Twist, good or better for the price. Best are over my head.
I like Freud bits, and also would buy (if I could afford them) CMT. Whiteside's have a good reputation.
W.L. Fuller catalog is the Cat's Meow when it comes to drill bits. Request a catalog on this page.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 6/30/2009 1:21 am by forestgirl
Thanks to all. I'm still kid enough to like getting stuff in the mail. Except bills, but I didn't get the bills when I was a kid.Pete
what do you like in router bits?
If I want really good ones I pay the price for Whitesides.
And I have a very old set of Hickory? bits that I usually use. Twenty four common profile bits (carbide 1/2 inch shaft) that have served me for more than a few years!
For router bits, I like Eagle America or Whiteside.
For drill bits, I still have a two or three lifetime supply manufactured by Cleveland Twist Drill Company. Not sure if they still exist, after the merger mania of the '80s and '90s, though.
Cleveland Drill still exists, they are the only drill bits I buy. They also make excellent taps. American made and well worth the price.
mike
Thanks, Mike. It's good to know that they have survived.
Any recommendations for forstner bits?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Connecticut Valley made the best I have used. I believe they were bought out but the forstners are still sold. Try googling Connecticut valley. They are pricy compared to the asian bits but worth the money. I have both, only a few CV and a set of Grizzly forstners. Years ago I had a job that required thousands of holes of several sizes.
Until I used the CV forstners I had to switch bits every 10 holes or so to cool. I found that the CV bits can cut all day with no problems.
mike
According to the Connecticut Valley home page (http://www.convalco.com/index.html, their forstner bits are available from http://www.morriswoodtool.com/
I knew they were sold by another outfit, I haven't bought any forstner bits in quite a while since theirs did not need replacing.
mike
Has anyone used the Maxi-Cut forstners?Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Mike,
They are pricy compared to the asian bits but worth the money.
Hamina, hamina, hamina as Jackie Gleason said - they aint cheap.
I notice they don't have spurs but boast very clean cutting. Just for grins I scrolled up the Morris Wood Tool Co. page into the multi wing bits - bad move. :-)
Do you know if these can be sharpeneed? How would you compare them to the Grizzlies?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I also have the grizzlie bits and touch them up with a dremel tool. I only had the CV bits sharpened a couple of times and sent them out. There is no comparing the two brands.The grizzly bits cut fine,they are good for the average homeshop . I was satisfied with the grizzly until I had a production job. The grizzly gave me a good hole but the CV did the same without stopping. As I said before I needed at least two bits of the same size with the grizzly so I could change them as they got hot.I was boring beech, maple and sometimes teak.
The multispurs bits can be sharpened with an augur bit file, looks something like a nail file. I believe Freud has forstners with carbide lips, never used them but might be worth a try.
mike
Bob
Didn't FWW do a test on forstner bits awhile back. I could be wrong, I know one of the mags did. If I'm not mistaking Grizzly did really well in the tests.
I've got the ones in the Orange case.
Taigert
Edited 7/7/2009 7:28 am ET by Taigert
Taigert,
Yes, it was #197 by Roland Johnson. Famag was Best Overall and the Grizzly bits were Best Value. I read it when I got the mag. and re-read it last night.
I think I'll give the Grizzlies a go.
Thanks,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 7/7/2009 1:31 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
I bought a bargain set of Forstner's a couple years ago. They were a "good value" as I got a big set at a reasonable price, and they cut good holes, but the ones I used the most started getting dull pretty quick. Fall under my strategy to replace those individual bits with better quality, fall back on the "good value" bits for those that are only used occasionally.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
forestgirl,
It sure would be nice to be able to chuck a forstner into a drill and have it work much the same as it would in a drill press. This may not be a fair test but skating across the surface tearing it to shreds certainly isn't what I had in mind. :-)
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Oh, they're tons of fun in a regular drill. I helped an elderly couple with the little built-in "desk" area they wanted to set up for their laptop computer. Needed a hole drilled in the surface, big enough to run power cords through. Cheap, thin ply or hardboard surface (can't remember), redefined the word "skitter" as in "skitter across". Tons of fun.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Yeah, I tried free-handing a forstner in an electic drill, too . . . once. ;-)Now, I drill a hole in a scrap piece on the drill press, and clamp that to the surface to guide the forstner in the electric drill. Much easier, and less dusty than trying to plunge-route the hole with a template guide.
Good idea, Ralph, I'll remember that. In the particular instance I cited, though, I wouldn't have been able to clamp. Sometimes it's nice for hindsight to make no difference at all!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Any tips on drilling 1 1/2" holes through 10" dia. cherry logs?
I would look at something like a ship auger bit. They work realy well for that sort of application.
Taigert
Well-trained termites? ;-)Ship augers, as Taigert suggested would be one option. You can also get bit extensions that would do the trick with conventional bits. Relatively low speed and frequent withdrawal of the bit to remove waste would be key, I'd think.
3 sets of Fisch Forstner over 12 years. Liked them. Read FWW tool test, upgraded to Famag. Like them better. Last Fisch set is still in the chest for non-mission-dritical work.
Also, just got a set of Lee Valley brad-point after (again) 4 sets of Fisch over 12 years. Haven't tried them out yet, though.
The F-bits I have I bought at one of those traveling tool sales - read cheap and prolly not worth the money. The edges are clean but the cutters/excavator bits are duller than a garden hoe (slight exageration). Not excited about sharpening them though.
Also I was wondering about bit speeds. This may be dependent on the wood but are slower speeds recommended with forstners or brad points, especially in soft woods? I get more tearout than I like but I've noticed that bit speed can make a considerable difference too.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 7/7/2009 9:08 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
I've never changed the speed on my drill press for F bits or bradpoint. Never noticed any problems re: hole quality, scorching, etc. I do plunge at a slower speed, tho. But now you've got me thinking..........
The only issues I've had w/ F-bits were clogging, but this was reviewed in detail by FWW, and that gave me a better understanding of what was going on - if nothing else, it gave me a "safe harbor" for blaming it on equip, rather than pilot error.
The made in Germany Colt bits are getting good reviews, they are not inexpensive.
http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1488
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans.
When your ship comes in... make sure you are not at the airport.
Pete,
I can't remember either Wood Magazine or FWW did a tool review on Brad Point bits and Lee Valley seemed to have the better set from 3/16 to 1 inch
Greg
Whiteside consistently ranks number one if FWW tests.
http://www.carbideprocessors.com/store/whiteside.html
Many think Southeast is a better bit for less money. http://www.carbideprocessors.com/store/southeast-routerbits.html
Hard to beat Morris for wood drill bits.
http://www.carbideprocessors.com/store/morriswoodtool-routerbits.html
For brad point bits I like the Fuller brand the best, Lee Valley has some nice ones as well. For Router bits I have been happy with both CMT and Eagle American.
Troy
Whiteside is available at amazon.com. i have to use this source because my close suppliers won't carry Whiteside. Prices are great on Amazon as well.
Eagle American. I think I have a very old set of router bits from HICKORY. I have had many, MANY hours of use from those bits.. And I would expect mY Whitesides are a LOT better! Not that I think my Hickory bits are junk!
I knew hickory was tough, but I didn't know they made router bits from it! :<))Ron
I knew hickory was tough, but I didn't know they made router bits from it! Did I say that?
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