jjciesla

I’m looking for opinions on decent small Forstner bit sets. These would be used for general woodworking and usually in a hand drill or portable drill press. I currently have a 7 pc set of Porter Cable bits I think I picked up at Home Depot (1/4” – 1”) several months ago. They cut poorly. “Very poorly” (Need to rent an elephant each time to get enough weight on top of them to drive through a piece of wood) I have a 1 3/8” Freud (Diablo) for hinges and several other large sizes that cut great. All thoughts would be appreciated.
Jim

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Mike

Jim, Forstner bits are not designed for use in a hand drill, they are best for drill press use only. Most of the Forstner bits on the market are made in China, and you will not find a great deal of difference between a boxed set at Woodcraft, Rockler and Harbor Freight. Freud cutters of all types get good results. The best thing to do is get a cheap set for general use and learn how to sharpen them. One of the magazines had an excellent article on this but I can not remember which one. How often do you use these bits anyways? I would spend the money for a quality bit that would get used on a regular basis such as installing hinges. For most holes brad point bits work super, and a standard drill bit set from a quality company like Huot is worth it's weight in gold.

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harrysin

Jim, I bought a starter set of Chinese Forstner style bits and I had to sharpen every cutting surface before they were usable. It was a totally different story when I bought individual bits with Tungsten inserts, still made in china but a completely different proposition, they cut hard-wood like a hot knife through butter, but as Mike has pointed out, they are intended for use in a drill press.

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challagan

I like the Freud carbide tipped bits. I have some that I bought for clock making that have lasted wonderfully and a set of 1/4 to 1 inch that I use all the time as well. I use 1/4 to 3/4 in a hand drill all the time but definitely large ones should be used in a dp only.

Corey

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bobj3

Hi Jim

I'm like many wood workers I have a set or two of the Forstner bits, the cheap ones and some of the hight ends one...the one I like best is the one from sommerfeldtools, they have the saw tooth cutter on the OD of the bit..
http://www.sommerfeldtools.com/item.asp?n=16001&f=1

I don't care for the high ends ones ,most have a carb.tip in place with two points on the outside rim of the bit....that cut that nasty ring on the bottom of the hole..and when I use a Forstner bit I want that flat bottom cut.. I can't tell you how many times I have wipe out a door with the high end ones,putting in a pocket hole for the hinges..

I should note, the sets I have go from 1/4" to 3 1/2" and I almost always use the cheaper ones most of the time,,,I have cooked my share of Fostner bits but because they are cheap they are easy to replace...and once it turns blue that's it ...

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpis...+Bit&Submit=Go
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reikimaster

Yes, Forstner bits are made to be used in a drill press. It is possible to do a pretty nice job with them in a drill guide using a hand held drill. use the bit in a drill press first and drill through a piece of hardwood, like 3/4 or 4/4. Now take that hardwood "guide" and center it on the place you want to drill by hand. Be gentle and it will coax you into proper alignment.

jjciesla

Thanks guys! I do fully realize that Forstner bits are meant to be used in a drill press but I do have a tendency to grab one for the hand drill when I want a clean hole wall and bottom. The larger ones definitely need a drill press as they can be uncontrollable by hand. The spur on the brad bits create the bottom ring cut that is usually undesirable as Bob said. I have a couple other very old Forstner sets that may be recoverable with sharpening. Mike, if you locate that article let us know. I’ll Google the sharpening today. I guess that I’m still slightly amazed that Porter Cable bits aren’t sharp right out of the box. I actually queried them through their web site about this but they have chosen not to respond. I guess this is one time when inexpensive is better!

curiousgeorge

Hi Jim,
I'm sure you probably know, but maybe some others don't, that not only are they best in a drill press, but they should be used at a lower speed setting. The higher speeds will burn one up in a snap. Especially if you don't keep the shavings cleared from the hole. Of course the speed is dependant on the type of wood... for example softer wood can be drilled at a little higher speed than hard.

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jjciesla

Hi George,
Yep, I learned that many years ago when I created beautiful blue and black useless bits. Oh yah, and black smelly holes. Thanks.
Jim