I looked at what Lee Valley has and can't bring myself to spend $150 but that is what I want. Does anyone know where something similar can be found more affordably? I am working on handling a knife and need the odd fractional sizes that come in a big set. I have a 7 piece set but the sizes I need aren't included.
Thanks.
http://m.harborfreight.com/brad-point-wo...Fnot%20providedDon't knock them until you try them. I got each guy in our shop a set and they are tool snobs and they liked them. Get the set and if you find you use certain ones on a production basis replace with them with better ones. The set is nice because your needs will vary with different projects and for $15 you can't go wrong. The web page says the set goes from 3/8 to 1/2". A typo. My set goes 1/16 to 1/2". The Grizzly ones look good and won't break the bank.
I love the one from Woodcraft. Look for it on sale.
Not sure which Lee Valley set you were looking at, but do you really need all those sizes? I'd spend the $49.50 for the basic HSS brad point set (12 bits, 5/64"to 1/4"), and add sizes as you need them. Buying quality bits will be cheaper in the long run.
Take a look at what Grizzly has to offer. Full sets and some open stock too which may allow you to buy only what you need. I've been satisfied with theirs.
Look Here
Rockler has a nice set for about $50. Looking at Amazon it gets pretty good reviews. I have one of the smaller Lee Valley sets and love it but like you I can't bring myself to buy the big set. I have a cheap fractional and numbered index. I think I'm going to pick up one of the Rockler sets to have the fractional index in Brad point bits.
Home Depot sells a set of 5 DeWalt bits up to 1/2 for a few dollars. I supplemented them one at a time from LV and WC as needed.
They may or may not be the best.
Ag
check with Brian at Holbren.com. He's a member here.
I got a set from him that are really nice and I don't think they were super expensive.
My suggestion is buy the best bits you can afford, and forget about the set part. Just get the sizes you need, as you need them.