forstner bits

[digitalbot]

Anyone care to recommend a good set of forstner bits. There are a lot of makes out there to choose from and I would like some advice along the lines of " i've used these and they last for ages"......hopefully.

thanks.

 

[jasonB]

Not fostners but if you want something similar that will last in natural and man made materials the TCT "hinge" type bits are very good. I have several of the wealden ones.

Jason

 

[Aled Dafis]

The Tools and Shops edition of Fine Woodworking has a write up on Forstner bits, and the brand that comes out on top is Famag. This is a completely new name to me, but Rutlands stock them, and they seem to be "reasuringly expensive" at £70 (discounted from £90) for a set of five, and £270 for a set of fifteen. Needless to say that I havn't tried them, but they look the biz.

http://www.rutlands.co.uk/cgi-bin/psProdDet.cgi/1622505

Cheers

Aled

 

[John. B]

Axminster's 'Clico' good quality, very expensive.
Wealden good quality mabe not quite as good as the clico but between 4 to 5 times cheaper, can be resharpened. These are the sawtooth pattern which I prefer IMO they cut cleaner.
To me it's a no brainer.

John. B

 

[neilyweely]

Digitalbot

Bedford Saw sell a good set. Got mine thru them. Go and ask 'em, they'll put you right. Mind you, you'll probly spend a fortune on other stuff......

HTH

Neil

 

[Harbo]

I have a set of the cheap Axminster ones that I have had for a couple of years - they do not get a lot of use but have performed OK so far, mainly in hardwoods.

Rod

 

[Ironballs]

Harbo if those are the Ti nitride coatd (gold) ones then I also have them. Inexpensive but they will cut through hardwood okay, just need to keep the progress smooth, the cut clear and blowing away the smoke also help! Produced a good finish though

 

[bugbear]

Anyone care to recommend a good set of forstner bits. There are a lot of makes out there to choose from and I would like some advice along the lines of " i've used these and they last for ages"......hopefully.

thanks.

The ones that fit braces are very rare, and (AFAIK) no longer made.

http://swingleydev.com/archive/get.php? ... _id=109148

BugBear

 

[Harbo]

Ironballs - yes those are the ones (15 piece metric). I recently bought an Imperial set of 7 for cutting out the handles for my Gramercy saw kits - see other thread.

Rod

 

[busy builder]

I have a Trend set, they seem okay but don't get a lot of use. I use them for going through floor joists, cables and pipes etc.
Not particularly cheap though. is it possible to get them sharpened ?

 

[digitalbot]

As always lots of useful information guys.
I have read that they don't go too well through MDf though. Is this true?
Should I be using a specific type of cutter for boring wide holes in mdf?

 

[Ironballs]

DOn't know about MDF, I often have an MDF backing board to prevent breakout and leaves nice circular holes in that!

Ply was a pain, would get a layer of ply stuck on the end so frequent clearing was required to keep the cut going, got very hot too

 

[jasonB]

Digibolt see my post above, the TCT edges on theses cutters will go through manmade boards without a problem, I've done thousands of hinge holes with mine.

Jason

 

[ivan]

fine-tools.com from Germany do the full Famag range, I think Rutland only carry the carbon steel variety, but Fine Tools also have them in HSS (all metric of course) . Rutland also looked a bit dear to me, at least before Euro rose against £. Fine-Tools also carry the only metric (Famag) lip & spur bits I have found in HSS in a 'by 0.5mm' range. Wish I'd bought more before Euro became = to £.

For a passable cheap set, Tilgear's metric 16 piece set to 50mm is OK (nitrided, £39?) and better ground than Axminsters'. I have had several of the latter with chipper lower than rim rather than vice versa. Used on slowest drill press speed (140rpm) they don't get too hot, but of couse nitriding soon comes off at critical point as soon as you touch up the cutting edges. Re relative quality, I may have been lucky with my Tilgear forstener set. Their HSS lip and spur bits were very poor, and relacement the same, ground with virtually no clearnce so would not cut!

Wealden's tct are good, but range of size is limited.

 

[BrianD]

If you want only a few sizes, what about Colt's MaxiCut Bits

There seems to be much lauding on these and if you watch the videos - wow!

Any comments from anyone who has any? Are there any issues other than the usual price - (bloody expensive)?

 

[digitalbot]

Looks like I will have to save up me pennies for some decent ones. Quality never comes cheap, does it.