Quality Forstner Bits

[grampa simpson]

All,

My wife just ok-ed the purchase of a new forstner bit set. Any suggestions??

Thanks in advance,

Grampa Simpson

[Doug Miller]

Check country of origin. If it was made in any country where the dominant language is English, German, or Japanese, it's probably fine. Taiwan or Korea, maybe good, maybe not. China or India, probably crap.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

[Charlie Self]

grampa simpson asks:

Freud, Amana, CMT are all good places to start looking.

Charlie Self

"Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle." Bob Hope

[George]

Fisch - Austria.

[JMartin957]

Best bits, and very expensive, are those made by the company that developed them - Connecticut Valley, or Convalco, here in US. You may have to search t find a distributor, though.

John Martin

[Lew Hodgett]

You want carbide at a minimum.

I have a set of Freud, approx $90, that do the job for me.

I would consider something of that quality level to be the minimum acceptable product.

HTH

[Andy Dingley]

Carbide forstners ? I've never heard of such a thing.

Carbide isn't generally a sharp as a good steel, and sharpness is a good thing in a Forstner if you want clean edges. The only carbide I've seen has been the sort with a radial edge rather than a circumferential spur, intended for man-made boards. They're handy for MDF, but they're a bit of a ragged cut in ash or soft maple.

My best Forstners are Clico, which were 3x the price of my "decent" set. I also have some comedy Chinese sawtooths, which are only for testing the torque of drillpresses. They got a lot better though, after some work with a diamond file.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

[Charlie Self]

Andy Dingley responds:

Among others, Freud makes carbide Forstners.

Mine are sharp enough to do just fine.

I've also got some Freud HSS that are even better, but don't stay sharp as long, obviously.

I had several of those monster Chinese Forstners, saw teeth and all (3",

3-1/4" or some such). Almost felt guilty claiming money for 'em. They were nearly worn out in something like 3 uses in walnut and yellow poplar.

Charlie Self

"Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle." Bob Hope

[Preston Andreas]

[Luigi Zanasi]

On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 15:33:17 GMT, spam [e-mail] (Doug Miller) scribbled

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ May I add Italian to your list (Freud, CMT). :-)

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" twice in reply address for real email address

[Charlie Self]

Luigi Zanasi asks:

Hebrew? I'm pretty sure Amana is made in Israel...there is a Canadian named brand that is made there, too, but the name is slipping away as I mentally grab for it.

Charlie Self

"Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle." Bob Hope

[Doug Miller]

Of course you may! Please pardon the inadvertent omission; I must've had a brain fart.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

[Luigi Zanasi]

On 25 Oct 2003 11:01:38 GMT, [e-mail] (Charlie Self) scribbled

Can't think of it either. Starts with a "D" ... Ah yes, just looked at the House of Tools web site: Dimar. No info on their web site as to where the stuff is made. I haven't used their bits, so can't comment on the quality.

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" twice in reply address for real email address

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

As far as I know, the only _genuine_ Forstner bits made in the USA are made right up the street from me in Berlin, CT. I can't for the life of me remember the company name.

One of the magazines recently did a sidebar on them.

Barry

[Charlie Self]

Barry Burke remarks:

Someone else mentioned them a few posts ago: Connecticut Valley.

I've never had any but know some people who claim they are the absolute best.

Charlie Self

"Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle." Bob Hope

[Fly-by-Night CC]

WL Fuller makes forstners too, don't they?

[Charlie Self]

Their catalog lists Fisch brand.

Charlie Self

"Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle." Bob Hope

[kb8qlr]

There are a lot of off-brands out there. I chose a brandname...Hickory...available at HD. Advice...buy the big set. Good luck. Joe

[Bay Area Dave]

do you give HER the OK when she buys a dress? :)

dave

grampa simps> All,

[grampa simpson]

Dave,

Thanks for pointing out the weakeness in my relationship. Aparently you can tell who wear the pants in our family. Its not me. :(

Actually we are not like all of you rich woodworkers who get to use real hardwood. I have to use driftwood or doug-fir for my lumber. Just recently, I was able to upgrade from a hand drill to an early 1980's black and decker corded model.