Forstner Bits

patlaw

Mike
Corporate Member
I love Forstner bits. The Freud bit I purchased last night from Home Depot is wonderful. The way it throws out the waste while it is drilling is amazing. However, I need a 35mm hole. Contrary to what some manufacturers claim, 1-3/8" and 35mm are not the same. There's at least 0.020" difference. Now, this is woodworking, and that small difference shouldn't matter. Right? The hole I need to drill is for a piece that slides over a 35mm post. The hole I drilled with the 1-3/8" bit is not big enough. It's so close that I may be able to sand the hole larger, but even if I can, that will be a pain. I wish I had a 35mm bit. It's tough spending close to $45 to drill one hole.

Example
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Feel your pain.
Anyone in your area have one? That someone might be me? I just bought one at Klingspor's extravaganza because I needed to drill 4 holes to mount two cabinet doors.
I have not checked but believe it is a 35 mm bit (not a Freud brand - an 'off brand'; was less than $20). It is short, less than 2.5" total length, but for what I needed that was not an issue.
Happy to let you use it. Contact me if interested (I am in west Raleigh near Lake Johnson, NCSU, and Crossroads).
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
I have many types of Forstner bits -Fischer, Freud, Porter Cable, and some cheapo's. The Fischers do the best but not that much better than the Freud, but the measure of them are exact.

I had the same problem with needing a slightly bigger hole on a project ............ TOOLAHOLOICS to the rescue !!! yes my friend, this is a perfect time to justify buying that metric Forstner set you never knew you wanted......... that is exactly what I did, I think it was 26 dollars off Amazon and TBH, they do cut pretty well. These are the 4 cutting point type I got 15-mm through 38 mm maybe it was 40 mm If I remember correctly. When starting the hole you have to be carfeful for the bit not to drift. Anyway, I have used them on 10 +/-different projects.

Tools only go to waste if you are not doing enough projects .......... :p .......... it's my story and I am sticking to it !

►►bit set◄◄ <- this is what I got
 
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Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
By the way - changing an existing hole using a forstner bit sounds like a nightmare to me. Unless you plug that hole, there is no great way to register and re-center that bit.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
By the way - changing an existing hole using a forstner bit sounds like a nightmare to me. Unless you plug that hole, there is no great way to register and re-center that bit.
Exactly what I was thinking. The bit may wobble around and make too large a hole or be off center and make an oblong hole.
I would turn a soft pine plug to fit snug and drive into the hole.
 

Roy G

Roy
Senior User
I have used a hole-cutter for larger holes. It has the adjustable cutter so you have infinite sizes at hand. Pretty cheap and it does work.

Roy G
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
A suggestion, If you have say a 1" hole and you want to enlarge with a bigger bit there are a couple of ways to do so. A simple way is to bomb-site the hole with pencil marks so you have something to line up against the center, a "Cross X". Then mark out another piece of wood the same way and bore the second piece. Then, line up the lines on the 2 pieces and clamp and you have a boring guide. I can get within a 1/64 this way, just measure correctly. should take you less than 5 min.
 

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
Just saying, I purchased a whole set of those carbide bits as per the suggestion for an inexpensive one. Big mistake, they are terrible, chatter and vibrate, ending up with a bigger hole than the bit.

Freud is the way to go. I sharpen mine on a CBN wheel. The Freud carbide bits are a bit more pricey but they also work well and stay sharp forever.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
I'm over south of Apex, near Harris Lake. I have a couple 35 MM carbide tipped bits for drilling cup hinge holes. You can either borrow one, or bring your board over and drill necessary hole. I won't have a drill press available next weekend, as they will be farmed put to Toys for Tots workshop. If you could come over to Klingspor on Friday, around 3:00 PM, you could drill your board there, as they will be setting up for TFT workshop.
 

patlaw

Mike
Corporate Member
Thanks, Bruce and all for the offers and the suggestions. I went over to Klingspor this afternoon. They had a Kreg 35mm Forstner bit, so I bought it. The test was whether the size difference between 1-3/8" and 35mm matters. It does. The piece I made is now sitting proudly on top of the 35mm pole that holds the support arms for two of my 24" side-by-side monitors. The webcam is designed to hang over the bezel on the top of the monitor. Over the years, bezels have gotten smaller, so the webcam would occasionally block my view. As you may be able to see from the picture, problem solved. The black pole is inserted into the 35mm hole on the bottom of the mount. The piece protruding above the base is the mount for the camera. The contraption is laughably simple, but it sure solved an annoying problem. By the way, the reason the hole had to be the right fit is the camera cannot wobble, tilt, or move. If it does, it screws up the video shot.

IMG_3369.jpg
IMG_3369.jpg
 

medic

New User
john
Woodcraft makes an oops kit for 35 mms holes l think I paid about $ 5.00 for it just glue in the plug and MEASURE TWICE
 

sawman101

Bruce Swanson
Corporate Member
I have many types of Forstner bits -Fischer, Freud, Porter Cable, and some cheapo's. The Fischers do the best but not that much better than the Freud, but the measure of them are exact.

I had the same problem with needing a slightly bigger hole on a project ............ TOOLAHOLOICS to the rescue !!! yes my friend, this is a perfect time to justify buying that metric Forstner set you never knew you wanted......... that is exactly what I did, I think it was 26 dollars off Amazon and TBH, they do cut pretty well. These are the 4 cutting point type I got 15-mm through 38 mm maybe it was 40 mm If I remember correctly. When starting the hole you have to be carfeful for the bit not to drift. Anyway, I have used them on 10 +/-different projects.

Tools only go to waste if you are not doing enough projects .......... :p .......... it's my story and I am sticking to it !

►►bit set◄◄ <- this is what I got


You sir, are an enabler! I have been enrolled in the NCWW 12 Step Toolaholic Program for many years now, and I just fell off the wagon AGAIN! It looks like the program has once again come up at least one small step short for man, but one giant step for tool sellers!...….;)…......
 
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