Then I bought Famag, now I'm a believer, not a trace of doubt in my mind

[Steve Maskery]

[M&S] These are not just any holes, these are Famag holes [/M&S]

I've had a set of Axminster twin-lip and spur drills for years, a couple of decades at least, probably longer. I've broken or bent a couple of the smaller ones but always been able to find a replacement, even if it was only a Silverline.

I've been able to sharpen some of the bigger ones that get most use, 10mm, 12mm etc., but I've been increasingly annoyed by the amount of wobble in them, quite a lot of vibration on the drill press. I checked the chuck for centricity with a straight bar and it was fine, maybe 2 thou of wobble, nothing, really. So it is the drill bit.

So I asked my mate Stu whether, if I bought a decent twist drill, he could re-shape it for me. "Probably. But how much are they, it might not be worth it." I told him that the issue was availability, not cost. So he Googled. Dieter Schmit in Germany sells a wide range of singles. Unfortunately he also sells sets... (Incidentally, so do Peter at Woodworkers Workshop and Matthew at Workshop Heaven. Availability is another matter).

The upshot of all this is that I bought a 25pc set off Amazon, delivered today, and drilled my first hole.

They are a dream.

Very clean top edge, zero fibres, and very smooth hole wall internally. Zero vibration.
OK, it's a £158* hole, but it's a £158 Famag hole.

S
*And it is £2 cheaper today than it was on Wednesday. Bummer.

 

[Steve Maskery]

 

[MikeK]

I have the 19-piece set (1 to 10mm with lots of half sizes) and they are definitely sharp. I had plenty of tiny cuts on my fingers when I took them out of the box to clean the shipping gunk from them.

 

[adrspach]

Just saving money for their forstner set as I do not make living out of woodworking and there is no reason to by annoyed with cheap stuff as you often buy cheap and have to buy twice.

 

[MikeK]

Just saving money for their forstner set as I do not make living out of woodworking and there is no reason to by annoyed with cheap stuff as you often buy cheap and have to buy twice.

Have you looked at the Fisch Wave Forstner set? I have the 16-piece set only because it was on sale and I didn't have to pay the VAT.

 

[Trevanion]

They are rather nice, I've got a 10mm one and I only get it out for very special ocassions.

I've been playing around with drill bits recently, I'm too much of a cheapskate to spend the cash on the Famag bits for actual work so I've been experimenting with making a slightly better drill bit since they clog the flutes so much with the Accoya and I came up with this:

All I've done is ground the rear edge of the flutes off so the shavings don't pack in the flutes and the difference is night and day, shavings just fly out when you withdraw the bit and you're not banging it against the bench trying to knock them out. Incidentally, this is also what Famag do to their bits aside from the very sharp pointy end and I've recently discovered it's called a "Worm Pattern" or "Parabolic" bit officially but I'll still claim it's my idea when I show it off to people.

 

[adrspach]

Have you looked at the Fisch Wave Forstner set? I have the 16-piece set only because it was on sale and I didn't have to pay the VAT.

Yes I have as they were sold by the same shop but the reviews were not so favourable as for Famag.

 

[MikeG.]

I Duckduckgo-ed "Famag drill bits", and it seems they make all sorts. Therefore I am none the wiser. What sort of drill bits have you bought, Steve?

 

[Trevanion]

I Duckduckgo-ed "Famag drill bits", and it seems they make all sorts. Therefore I am none the wiser. What sort of drill bits have you bought, Steve?

You may want a chair Mike, FAMAG 1594 HSS-G Round-Shank Lip & Spur Drill Bits (Wood)

 

[Doug B]

Yep I can’t fault the quality of Famag I’ve a few bits & pieces of theirs, their plug cutters are the best I’ve come across though I prefer Zobo for Forster bits.

 

[Steve Maskery]

You may want a chair Mike, FAMAG 1594 HSS-G Round-Shank Lip & Spur Drill Bits (Wood)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01FAX9AN4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SFJnFbMWQEZFR

 

[MikeG.]

You may want a chair Mike, FAMAG 1594 HSS-G Round-Shank Lip & Spur Drill Bits (Wood)

Yeah, that's not my sort of budget......

If I want a super-clean surface cut to a hole I have two choices: a brace and newly-sharpened bit, or a sacrificial piece.

 

[billw]

I knew I shouldn't have looked, but now I know they do left-handed drill bits and that's tempting.

 

[Trevanion]

I knew I shouldn't have looked, but now I know they do left-handed drill bits and that's tempting.

Yeah, It’s really hard to find bits for a left hand rotation drill

 

[billw]

Hang on, I thought they were useful for left handers using egg-beater drills..... have I got the wrong idea?

 

[Lons]

Left handed might be useful for Kity K5 owners who have lost the slot mortice bits.
I couldn't persuade myself to spend £158 on a set of drill bits

 

[MikeG.]

.......I couldn't persuade myself to spend £158 on a set of drill bits

I hesitate over £15.80

 

[Lons]

Me too, I carefully consider for days before I fork out for a new bandsaw blade, though I ordered a new Mini for the missus a few weeks ago so must have had a very bad senior moment and I'll have a week of sleepless nights when I'm told it's been made and will have to be paid for.

 

[sploo]

Having finished crying over the cost of buying a set of Famag Bormax3 forstner bits a few years ago, I console myself with the fact they're a joy to use

 

[Steve Maskery]

I fear they may be next on the list.