Needing a set of brad point drills. Preferably something not made of Chinesium. Most frequent recommendation I've seen is Fisch Tools. Somebody enquired of Fisch and, while they are made in China, they're made to Fisch's specifications and QC'd in Fisch's facilities in Germany.

Local toy tool store as a set of seven Fisch drills, from 1/8" to 1/2", for $35. They are chrome-vanadium, rather than HSS, but they're for drilling wood, so perhaps that's adequate?

Thoughts? Recommendations?

Pretty sure almost all are Chinesium aren't they?
I'd look at what they are made out of and invest in a drill bit sharpener.
I need to get a sharpener as my used bit box is pretty full.
Plus getting tired of buying a ton of bits.
FWIW, Fisch IS pretty good.

I have this set and have been very pleased.


https://www.leevalley.com/en-u...al-brad-point-drills

I have Fisch and have no complaints. I think I got them at Rockler.

HSS Brad bits are fine for hobby work and would probably never need more than light honing on cutting edges.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
I'd look at what they are made out of and invest in a drill bit sharpener.
I need to get a sharpener as my used bit box is pretty full.

I don't think you can sharpen a real brad point with any consumer grade sharpener.

Viking drill, excellent American made drills and tools.
I can't provide a link with this phone, but I've found Viking drills on amazon.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
I have this set and have been very pleased.


https://www.leevalley.com/en-u...al-brad-point-drills

I second these. Bought the 28-bit set years ago, and they’re still drilling precise holes today.

As a shop teacher/woodworker/metalworker I have never owned a set of brad point bits. I have Fostner bits and Irwin spade bits and the “standard” twist drills.

While the theory is the brad points will do a nicer job, I haven’t found the quality of the cut or the quality of the bits to be high enough to bother.

Standard twist drills, used for both metal and wood, cut very well when sharp. With a little practice I find all my drills can be sharpened on my 1” Delta belt sander.

The other thing I do is buy box/tray lots of drills at auction. Last lot cost me $5 for probably 50 bits. Many new, none dull. Using a drill bit organizer I have spares of everything up to 1/2”.

A couple of “rules of thumb” I used to pass along to students -

1. Most people run their drills far too fast. If it squeals, smokes or changes color - it is too fast and probably now dull. Maybe even so bad that it will never cut well again. SLOW IT DOWN.(and throw that one away. Pretty blue end? Throw that one away too).

2. Running slower, the moment it touches the work you should see chips. If you don’t it could be sharper. If you need to do better than a hatchet job, sharpen it or replace it.

3. Generally the smaller the diameter the higher the rpm.

4. “But the Machinery Handbook says....”. While you can go this route to get your speed “by the book”, be aware of the point of those numbers. Productivity. Industry has variables to balance to get the most bang for their buck. These include consumables (drill bits), # parts per bit, #holes per hour(labor costs). Additionally they are working on the theoretical perfect situation of sharp bits and no side twist/torque on the bit which might break it.
You don’t have to drill a hole in 3.2 seconds. You can take your time. You aren’t drilling 1000 holes a day with the skills learned to do it well.

Take your time, focus on the job, do it well.

I’ll step down from my podium now.....

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
I have this set and have been very pleased.

Thanks. Yeah, that's another brand I've seen recommended. Doesn't appear anybody carries the brand locally, and $65 (probably plus shipping) is a bit spendy

quote:

Originally posted by Greymann:
Viking drill, excellent American made drills and tools.

Thanks. Yeah, the guy whose video introduced me to the word "Chinesium" likes Viking Norseman drills. They've a $45 set that's attractive... except: "Arrives Jan 7 -13". I'm seeing an increasing amount of that on Amazon

Oh, wait. Wouldn't do for me, anyway. Only goes up to 1/4".

I do have a set of their twist drills on my shopping list, along with a set from Walter.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
As a shop teacher/woodworker/metalworker I have never owned a set of brad point bits.

Far be it from me to argue with somebody with so much more experience than I, particularly since I've never owned a set of brad point drills, either. But I have rarely been able to avoid tear-out using twist bits on wood--particularly on the exit side. Much better results with auger or spade drills on the entry side, but not so much on the exit side. This is where brad point drills are claimed to excel. (If I want 'em really clean with auger or spade drills I stop when I see the point on the exit side and switch to that side.)

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
A couple of “rules of thumb” I used to pass along to students -

1. Most people run their drills far too fast. If it squeals, smokes or changes color - it is too fast ...

Yikes! I've never run a drill so badly it squeals, smokes or changes colour. Wow. In fact: For thicker steel: I'll occasionally stop and feel the drill a ways back from the tip. If I feel it's too hot I'll stop and let it cool down. Sometimes I keep a cup of cool water on-hand.

I don't recall how or when I learned how to properly use drills, but I've known better than to abuse them like that for as long as I can remember.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
2. Running slower, the moment it touches the work you should see chips. If you don’t it could be sharper. If you need to do better than a hatchet job, sharpen it or replace it.

Yup.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
I’ll step down from my podium now.....

No need. Instruction is good, in my view. Thanks!

I guess I need to hone my spade bit skills. All else being equal (?), the added length of a spade bit shank would seem to introduce more chance for runout, no? Auger and Forstner bits have beefy shanks and tend to be better made, are there spade bits of actual good quality? Predictably clean holes in wood are a big deal.

I have been using "Montana" brand from menards. Made in USA and I have not had a bad one.

Montana brad point bits

I bought a set (not Montana brand) from the local woodworkers store here and 2 of the 7 wouldnt drill a hole in pine.

For a clean exit hole you really have to have a sacrificial piece behind your workpiece.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
For a clean exit hole you really have to have a sacrificial piece behind your workpiece.

Yep, this is a must. Best method is to clamp the two together, or clamp both to your bench. Sometimes if I'm in a hurry and it's a small bit, I'll just stand on the two boards.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
For a clean exit hole you really have to have a sacrificial piece behind your workpiece.

I think the poster wants to get into the wood clean first, no? Depending on the wood, not necessarily a given even with kind of ok bits.

Montana Brand, made in Montana.

Turned out my local tool store did not have the Fisch drill bit set in stock, so I ordered the set from Amazon.

quote:

Originally posted by sig operator:
Montana Brand, made in Montana.

Unfortunately I had a bit of a brain fart and forgot entirely about the Montana brand at Menard's. Too late to cancel the Amazon order.

I may get over the Menard's and pick up one of the Montana drills to A/B it against the Fisch product.

Update

Without going into the involved story as to how this happened: I ended up with both the Fisch and the Montana drills.

I just A/B'd the 3/8 in. drills by drilling several holes in a piece of 3/4 in. SPF, without a backer, to compare their entry and exit performance. My Jet drill press was used for this test.

Pretty much a toss-up. The Montana drill tended to produce a slightly >< cleaner entrance, while the Fisch tended to produce slightly >< less tear-out on the exit. On several holes I achieved identical performance from each in each respect.

The interiors of the holes are indistinguishable from one another.

I suspect they'd perform identically to one another on a tighter-grained hardwood.

Durability is another question. The Fisch drills are chrome vanadium steel while the Montana drills are high speed steel. Only time will tell.

Brad Point Drills are used for drilling melamine covered mdf or varnished particleboard/MDF or laminate flooring. It´s point is designed as a precutter. It will avoid tears in the harder melamine surface. For plain, solid wood or plywood, there is no need for such a drill.

BTW: The quality of the drill becomes insignificant if the drill chuck does not provide the precision and quality you are looking for.

quote:

Industry has variables to balance to get the most bang for their buck.

There are not many variables you can work with on a high performance drilling line. The industry is buying off the shelve like all others but it is using tungsten carbide drills instead. Drills with optimized points are very special items mostly used for very special applications.