Brad point bits

[AztecKing]

I’ve been using a handful of brad point bits over the years and am thinking of investing in a set of nice bits. Woodcraft has the Fisch 29 piece for $99 coming up and wonder how good they are or should I look at something like the Fuller bits from Tool for Working Wood?  

Jeff

[fredhargis]

I have several of the Fisch bits and they are truly excellent bits. Even so, I like these from LV better. The spurs are a little longer and give a super clean cut. But if you want quality lon length brad points, Fisch is the only one I could find. Both (Fisch and the LV) seem to have a long life, I've used mine quite a bit. One other name to consider that I've not tried is the Fuller brand. Interesting, when I looked up that link I see they also have a line of longer brad point bits.

[Bob Vaughan]

I have several of the Fisch bits and they are truly excellent bits. Even so, I like these from LV better. The spurs are a little longer and give a super clean cut. But if you want quality lon length brad points, Fisch is the only one I could find. Both (Fisch and the LV) seem to have a long life, I've used mine quite a bit. One other name to consider that I've not tried is the Fuller brand. Interesting, when I looked up that link I see they also have a line of longer brad point bits.

I've always been a fan of grinding your own. That way you have 100% control over the outcome and can get the bit the way you want it.

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[AztecKing]

I've always been a fan of grinding your own. That way you have 100% control over the outcome and can get the bit the way you want it.

How hard are they to sharpen?

[Bob Vaughan]

How hard are they to sharpen?

Easy and quick.  You ground it once, you can regrind them again.  If the steel is good, its rare to resharpen them unless the same size is used for lots and lots of holes.  It usually takes me about three or four minutes to get a good point on a 3/8" bit.  With a 1/32" Norton A60 OBNA2 wheel on a 6" grinder and a magnifying glass, you have a lifetime supply of wood boring bits made for bits intended for metal drilling.  I've been doing it since the late 1970s when I got a so called brad point drill bit set from some mail order place.  They were horrible.  I got out my A60 OBNA2 6"  wheel and ground them to what I thought they should be.  Been doing it ever since.

In the past I've submitted articles on how to do this.  The editors said that their readers weren't interested in this.  FWW and the American Woodworker.  I think the companies that sold drill bits were big advertisers.  Eventually I quit trying to educate people.  It was like swimming upstream in a current of disingenuous misinformation (if you get my drift).

[Philip1231]

I have been using he Fullers for years and they are excellent bits: I suggest this set:

[Philip1231]

Here's a pic of one of their long brad points: being used to drill bed-bolt holes in bed side rails:

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[EdL]

The ones from Lee Valley are excellent as well.

Ed

[Guest]

I vote for Fullers as they have a little longer spur and I get cleaner cuts.   I did break a Fuller once and replaced it with a Fisch from a local supply house.  The Fisch had very small spurs and did not perform as well as the Fuller.  I paid the postage to get another Fuller.

TAB

[Handplanesandmore]

Fine Woodworking did a video in 2015 by Michael Fortune on grinding twist bits into brad point bits. Is it easy? No to someone who has never done it. Just like any other skills.....dovetails, M&T by hand, a piece of cake to those who have mastered the skill.

Hand ground bits (large ones; you can't do small brad points) are not as consistent, long lasting and good as the premium ones, but they are dirt cheap to make as you can use old twist bits. But if you buy one good quality set say for $100, it'll probably last you 10 to 15 years or more. Mine has been over 12 years....but it still looks good for another 12 years based on my assessment.

Simon