Forstner bits

Richard Evans · 2008-06-20T22:21:05+00:00

I wanted to counterbore several 3/4" holes about an eighth of an inchdeep in 3/4" plywood. I bought a set of Forstner bits at Lowe's,chucked the 3/4" one in a corded 1/2" drill, and made a practice swipeat a piece of pine. It was incredibly hard going. I really had to leanon it. I did manage to get down to about an eighth of an inch, both inthe pine and eventually in the plywood, but I don't know what it wouldhave taken to drill all the way through. I tried several diameters andthey were all the same.Did I get a crappy set of bits, or are they not meant to be used in ahand drill? I don't have a drill press to make a comparison.