Who makes good Forstner bits?

[Louis Rucci]

What process did you use to sharpen them?

I have a set I bought 30 years ago and need to sharpen some of them.

Thanks

[Bill Huber]

If you got a defective set of Rockler drill bits, why didn't you return them? I've had a set of Rocklers for years. I don't know if they are close to the best bits on the market, but for my uses they work fine.

I guess the way I look at it if there were 3 (so far) that were bad then what would the replacements be like. I just don't like sending stuff back and forth to get it right. If you can't get it right the first time then I will just go some place else.

[Clifford Mescher]

Thanks everyone for your information and suggestions. I'm going to order the Famag 16ths from traditional woodworker. I'd prefer to buy once and get a good set. Those should last me for my lifetime.

Mike

Please let us know how they perform, as I have them on my short list. Clifford.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,

Freud now offers the Precision Shear Forstner bits in increments of 1/16" from 5/16" up to 15/16". Item numbers are:

PB-0015 - 5/16"
PB-0025 - 7/16"
PB-0035 - 9/16"
PB-0045 - 11/16"
PB-0055 - 13/16"
PB-0065 - 15/16"

This may seem like a dumb question, but where do I order those from? I went to the Freud web site and can't find those part numbers. But I can't order directly from Freud in any case, can't I?

Mike

[Charles McCracken]

This may seem like a dumb question, but where do I order those from? I went to the Freud web site and can't find those part numbers. But I can't order directly from Freud in any case, can't I?

Mike

Mike,

These are new items that have not made the website yet. Unfortunately, you can't order them direct from Freud but you can call our Customer Service at (800) 334-4107 and they can find you a source.

[Mike Henderson]

What process did you use to sharpen them?

I have a set I bought 30 years ago and need to sharpen some of them.

Thanks

I have some diamond hones. The process is described in Leonard Lee's book on sharpening.

But basically, you hone the back side of the edges so the location of the cutting edge does not change.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,

These are new items that have not made the website yet. Unfortunately, you can't order them direct from Freud but you can call our Customer Service at (800) 334-4107 and they can find you a source.

Finally got through to Freud. Appears there's not many retailers carrying those bits, but maybe I could have a retailer order them for me. I'll have to find out the price.

No Internet sources that the Freud rep could find.

Mike

[Clifford Mescher]

Mike,

These are new items that have not made the website yet. Unfortunately, you can't order them direct from Freud but you can call our Customer Service at (800) 334-4107 and they can find you a source.

Are these new bits in response to the ratings that Freud received in the magazine reviews? Clifford.

[Kevin Davis]

Hi Mike,

It sounds like you may have your mind set. I will through in a +1 on the bormax. They are pricey. I bought the 3/4" bit for my 2" thick maple work bench. I drilled a lot of holes for my bench dogs. It cut like butter every time with out clogging. Night and day b/w it and the Woodcraft brand. I would love to hear a comparison b/w them and Freud. I am not sure why FWW didn't include them in their bake off.

[Mike Henderson]

Those Bormax bits look good, but they're expensive and I can't find any 16ths below 11/16". But I don't want to spend that much money - looks like they'd average about $30 each.

Mike

[guy knight]

colt bits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1zOGmuMM1I
http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1488

[Mike Henderson]

colt bits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1zOGmuMM1I
http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1488

Guy - Thank you for the pointer. I went to the Infinity site and looked at the colt page but did not see any 16th" bits, only 8ths.

Mike

[glenn bradley]

Thanks, Glenn. I went and looked up the Famag but they don't seem to make the Forstner's in 16ths, only in 8th's.

All I want is the 16ths between the bits in my Freud set.

Woodcraft has some no-name Forstner bits in 16ths. Anyone use them?

Mike

Sorry about that Mike. I should have looked closer. Thank goodness for Mark's post. I have the set of 6 in 16ths that I got from Woodcraft several years ago. I notice it is not currently shown online (sorry again, man am I worthless, or what?) I just had to touch one up the other day. The sizing on them was quite good and they have exceeded my expectations for $12 or so.

[Charles McCracken]

Are these new bits in response to the ratings that Freud received in the magazine reviews? Clifford.

Clifford,

Actually the 1/16" increment bits have been in stock for well over a year now but the market for them is really small so there's not been a lot of hype to push them.

[Ellen Benkin]

Any manufacturing process will get you a few bad pieces. If you choose to complain about them to the public, but not to the company, then the company can't fix whatever is wrong with quality control. In the ideal world the customer would not have to inform the manufacturer about problems, but that is not the world we live in. I've gotten a couple of "lemons" from Rockler and they always made good on everything without any arguments. I think that's the best I can hope for, and it is one of the reasons I like to do business with them.