Can anyone recommend a High Quality Drill Bit Set for Wood

[Martingchapman]

I need a new drill bit set for woodworking.

I am looking for the sort of set that comes in a metal case, hinged at the back so when you open it the drills stand up, arranged in two or three tiers, in metric half mm sizes, preferably lip and spur.

I have a TIN coated lip and spur set from Axminster but unfortunately some of the drills are not dead straight, they are only very slightly out but still won't drill an accurate hole.

Can anyone recommend a really high quality set that can be guaranteed straight and accurate. Does not have to be lip and spur but must be suitable for soft and hard woods.

Thanks in advance - Martin.

 

[jasonB]

I've got a set of "Kaliber" lip & spurs from Tilgear which are very good, 3-10mm in 0.5 steps.

http://www.tilgear.info/

Jason

 

[SteveD]

Hi,

New to this site.

just a question, why dont you just buy single replacements and throw away the bent drill bits?

Steve

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Martin

I have a few thoughts about this.

Firstly, are your drills bent through (ab)use or do you mean they arrived like that. If the latter, send them back they should be straight, of course. I have the same set and am delighted with them.

You say that they do not need to be TL&S, but what other sort could you use to cut clean holes in softwood, in 0.5mm steps? Certainly not a normal twist drill, which is the only other sort that I am aware of that come in such precise graduations.

I have some Clico Forstners which are excellent, of course, but v.expensive. I've just bought a large Ax set, which are not the same quality but so far seem to be good for normal use. They are not in 0.5 grads, though.

I've not used the Tilgear ones, but I've always been pleased with everything else I've bought from them (except, perhaps, the stud extractors, which are something of a disappointment, I must admit).

If yo find the Holy Grail, please let us all know!
S

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi SteveD

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Chris Knight]

SteveD,

Welcome to the forum. Is your avatar a piece of your own work? It looks rather nice!

 

[SteveD]

Hi,

Thanks for the welcome.
yes its a jewelry box i made, and thanks again.

Steve

Edit: (I`d post a larger pic if you wanted, but after reading this forum for about two weeks,still lots to get though, i know that i would be unable to post a picture.)

 

[Martingchapman]

JasonB
Thanks for the tip, Tilgear is on my way into the office so will pop in (probably tomorrow morning) and have a look.

Steve D
Very sensible suggestion which my head tells me I should listen to. I have so far only found one of the drills to be suspect (have not had time check the others yet) so this would make sense.
Problem is, I just love an excuse to buy new tools and when I see a set of drills, all arranged in a nice box I find it hard to resist.

Steve M
The drills are as they arrived, but this was a couple of years ago, I have very little time for woodworking so even now not all of the drills have been used.
You're right of course L&S drills are the best for wood.
Will update this thread once I have visited Tilgear.

Thanks all for the advice - Martin.

 

[Martingchapman]

Well, called into Tilgear on the way to the office and what a disappointment!
Had a good look round and could not see any L&P drills, decided to ask.
Stood at the counter downstairs for a good 5 minutes with two other customers, then noticed the ships bell to ring for attention (doesn't take me long!).
Rang the bell and waited, and waited and waited.
When I was looking round I only saw one member of staff who was serving a customer upstairs and another "bloke" eating his lunch in a back room.
Ok it was lunch time but it was like the Marie Celeste.
In the end I gave up waiting (I have a job to do) and came away very disappointed.

Sorry I can't give any positive feedback on the visit or the drills.

Will probably try Marshall and Parsons in Eastwood at the weekend (which is close to home) they may not sell the Kaliber drills but they almost fall over them selves to help you.

A very disappointed - Martin.

 

[ivan]

I had a set of passable HSS 3-13x0.5mm lip/spur (Chinese?)from Woodcut, £14, before they packed up, but others since have been very badly ground. I recently sent back the Kalibers as all but one drill was ground with zero degrees of relief, so they would not cut.

The common european carbon steel variety are well ground but lack a true cutting lip, so a clean entry is not certain. Repeated use for multiple holes rapidly heats up and so detempers the drill. The only 'proper' HSS drills available by 0.5mm steps I can find are made by Famag and sold by fine-tools.com but they'll set you back 70 or 80 quid a set.

Links to a better bargain well received!

 

[Martingchapman]

Ivan,
The FAMAG drills look fantastic but very expensive.
I think what I will do is check the drills I currently have for run out and replace any that are not straight with individual FAMAG ones.
I will then gradually replace the others with FAMAG as finances allow.
One good thing is that I can use the existing Axminster metal box to keep the FAMAG drills in.
Interestingly the set of 5 FAMAG drills in a wooden case costs 4 Euros more than buying the 5 drills individually, whereas the set of 10 in a wooden case is 20 Euros cheaper than buying the 10 individually. I don't need to go over 13mm so the set of 10 is no good to me.

Thanks to all for your comments and ideas.

Martin.

 

[MIGNAL]

The CK lip and spur aren't bad but they don't do the . 5mm sizes. Trend do but the bits I received were a little mixed in terms of quality. One of the Trend is probably the best Lip & spur bit I've ever used and is better than the expensive precision bits that Axminster sell. Sadly I can't say the same about them all. It's obvious Trend source from different manufacturers.

 

[Benchwayze]

How do you 'bend' a drill? The metal would have to be on the soft side.

I have broken smaller sizes now and then but I never had one that bent. The thicker drills might bend a little, but that would take some (ab)use I reckon.


'Dormer' btw. Always found them to be fine.

John

 

[jasonB]

The shank of the drill is soft even if they are HSS so if the bit is a long way into a hole you are likely to bend it rather than snap the more brittle fluted section.

I use Dormer drill bits, end mill & slot drills for my model engineering, good quality but expensive, £7.00 for a 1/2" jobber bit!! I keep them for best as a hard spot in an iron casting will take the edge straight off. Don't know if they do lip & spur bits but you can get the sets of jobbers at a reasonable price from here

Jason

 

[Benchwayze]

Thanks Jason.
Yes,
You are right ref the shanks. I have a Stanley handbrace that has a bent thread, which means the chuck isn't concentric of course. I will look out for some bent drills to compensate, then I can use this brace again. I would throw it out but it cost me a lot of money... £2.50 at a flea-market... :mrgreen:

Take care Jason.

John

 

[dance]

'Dormer' btw. Always found them to be fine.

You say that they do not need to be TL&S, but what other sort could you use to cut clean holes in softwood, in 0.5mm steps? Certainly not a normal twist drill, which is the only other sort that I am aware of that come in such precise graduations.

Benchwayze, do you use 'normal' Dormer bits in wood to good effect? Just trying to find a decent drill bit set (3-12mm in 1mm increments) that isn't as expensive as Famag.

Thanks!

 

[custard]

I use an Axminster set for day to day use, but also have a Famag set for when it's more important. The key advantage of Famag for most people is just how clean the holes are, almost no tear out around the edge. However, if I'm using a countersink bit afterwards then clean holes aren't really worth anything, so I'll use Axminster. But if the hole is to receive a peg for example and the rim of the hole will be visible on the face of the furniture, then I reckon it's worth the extra for a Famag bit and a tidier job.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

Famag L and S drills are peerless!

And I would avoid anything with a TiN coating, just a thinly veiled disguise for rubbish, I'm afraid. Most items with this gold paint, as it sometimes is, aren't even properly heat treated.

Mike.

 

[Benchwayze]

'Dormer' btw. Always found them to be fine.

You say that they do not need to be TL&S, but what other sort could you use to cut clean holes in softwood, in 0.5mm steps? Certainly not a normal twist drill, which is the only other sort that I am aware of that come in such precise graduations.

Benchwayze, do you use 'normal' Dormer bits in wood to good effect? Just trying to find a decent drill bit set (3-12mm in 1mm increments) that isn't as expensive as Famag.

Thanks!

Yes Dance.

If I want accuracy and clean-cuts in larger diameters I use more expensive spur, or Forstner bits. But I tend to buy them singly, and pay the higher prices. From bitter experience I know the cheaper sets you can find, (Often at woodwork shows) are not much good after a few holes! 8)

HTH
John

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Is this what you are looking for?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/proops-Lip-Sp ... 3641.l6368