Brad point drill bits

[Jack Stein]

I know not everyone speaks highly of Craftsman quality... I'm hoping

I have a ton of twist drills ranging from super high quality to junk. The difference is awe inspiring. I have one set of brad point bits that I bought for those times when I wanted super clean holes with pin point accuracy. I bought a set and rarely use them because I don't need them most of the time and I bought a cheap set of Sears, that look just like the one you list up there, but I'm certain I didn't pay $40 for them. (it was a while ago)

Whats wrong with them is 50% of the reason I bought them was super clean holes... not so much. I recommend you get the Lee Valley bits for just $3 more. I don't own them, but they advertise they are sharp, (they resharpen them themselves) and stay sharp, and people that own them have said they like them. I own the Sears, and would recommend Lee Valley.

I sharpen my own twist drills, not a clue how to sharpen brad points, so get ones that are sharp and stay sharp, and only use them when needed.

[Leon]

>> I know not everyone speaks highly of Craftsman quality... I'm hoping that

If you are serious about a good set of brad poing pits, "Colt" Twinland "5 STAR" brad point bits. The larger sizes used in a DP do not need a backer board to prevent tear out on the back side. Pricey but these actually come sharp to start with and are made of HSS.

Colt makes a less expensive bit but the "5 Star" bits are the best.

I have several and love them!

[J. Clarke]

>

The actually work fine, the ones that aren't bent. At that price you can afford to throw a few away.

[Bill]

I find your experience compelling! Thank you for sharing it! It appears I should probably have two sets, one for hogging-out waste and one "good" set.

Bill

[Bill]

Bill

[Larry Jaques]

>>>>>>>>>>> I know not everyone speaks highly of Craftsman quality...

You CERTAINLY don't want to send them to Searz. Ye Gods, man, have a heart. Sure it wasn't "Made for Germany in China"?

-- "Human nature itself is evermore an advocate for liberty. There is also in human nature a resentment of injury, and indignation against wrong. A love of truth and a veneration of virtue. These amiable passions, are the latent spark. If the people are capable of understanding, seeing and feeling the differences between true and false, right and wrong, virtue and vice, to what better principle can the friends of mankind apply than to the sense of this difference?" --John Adams

[Larry Jaques]

although some places are gouging $70 for 'em.

-- "Human nature itself is evermore an advocate for liberty. There is also in human nature a resentment of injury, and indignation against wrong. A love of truth and a veneration of virtue. These amiable passions, are the latent spark. If the people are capable of understanding, seeing and feeling the differences between true and false, right and wrong, virtue and vice, to what better principle can the friends of mankind apply than to the sense of this difference?" --John Adams

[Larry Blanchard]

Don't know if there's a Woodcraft near you but they usually have bits in various quality ranges. I have a set of very good HSS bits that I use for critical stuff. For run of the mill drilling I use cheap bits and toss them when they get dull.

Woodcraft has some cheap bits in a set. Ten each of the smaller sizes and 5 each of the larger sizes. About 25 cents a bit. They also carry the Colt on the high end of the quality range. Pretty good combination.

[Bill]

Yep, I do have Woodcraft (as well as a Rockler) within 35 miles. I'll take a look.

One thing I have learned from this thread is the need for 2 sets of drill bits (cheap and good), and maybe even more if you want both long and short shanked ones! I'll let me needs steer my drill bit collection.

If you want to talk about collections, I'll have to tell you about my grandfather's nail collection some time. We surmised that he must have bought a new bag of nails, half-full lunch sacks, for almost every task that came up. it was sort of amusing as we'd encounter new stashes.."Hey, you'll never guess what I found!".

Bill

[clare]

Lee valley has ALL their stuff made for them, last I heard. They don't have the forges etc required to manufacture the stuff. It will be made for them, to their spec - not relabelled from someone else.

[Bill]

This seems like a good place to ask this newbe question:

It you bore a hole with a 7/32" brad point bit, is it reasonable to expect to be able to tap a 1/4" dowel into it? I have to assume this is why they make 7/32". Is the dowel generally chosen to be of soft wood to accommodate this?

Bill

[dadiOH]

If your bit and dowel as are they should be, the dowel isn't going to go in without much force which will likely break the dowel or split what it is going into . You need a hole the size of the dowel. Unless you make your own, dowels are normally hard wood. A 7/32 bit is to drill 7/32 holes.

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Bill" wrote

No, once you find that the good set hogs out twice as fast, the cheap set will probably never be used.

One of the data points in the Fine Woodworking test was how fast it could drill and how fast. Major difference between the cheap and good ones.

[J. Clarke]

Generally speaking you want to use a 1/4 inch bit for a 1/4 inch dowel unless you are using some kind of proprietary system with special bits and dowels.

7/32 would be the pilot drill for a #18 straight shank wood screw in hardwood or the clearance drill for a McFeelys #12, among other uses.

[tiredofspam]

>>> I know not everyone speaks highly of Craftsman quality... I'm hoping

[tiredofspam]

>>> I know not everyone speaks highly of Craftsman quality... I'm hoping

[Bill]

Thanks for the explanation. I know better than to try to put a square block in a round hole, but I was trying make sense of all of the "off size" drill bits I was seeing (like 7/32"). I know they sometimes cut off-size dado's to accommodate plywood that is thinner than it is supposed to be and I thought perhaps the situation was something like that. But your explanation (for screws) makes the most sense.

Bill

[Father Haskell]

Cheap tools are chrome plated for the same reason, to disguise cheap metal and poor finish.

[Bill]

Ahem... You're perfectly aware, I presume, that those are not the Colt Twinland Brad point bits from their "Five Star" collection. This may be akin to comparing wine by Earnest and Julio Gallo with that of Chateau Lafite Rothschild. I think I've seen posts from E and J in this forum!

Bill

Bill

[Bill]

like a buy for $20 then!

Bill