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That bit modification should cut much better. Those flutes were almost flat before the grinding.
Steve
Mo.
I miss the days of using my dinghy with a girlfriend too. Zack Butler-4/18/24
The Revos apparently are designed to clamp railroad ties and pull together horrifically prepared joints
WaterlooMark 02/9/2020
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02-27-2019, 07:26 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-27-2019, 07:39 AM by Mike in kc.)
I'm not a big fan of pocket hole joinery, but it does have advantages in some instances. I bought an inexpensive brand "X" Drill guide with hardened guide inserts, and made this. The step drills are available most everywhere.
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![[Image: cameradump%206142007%20086-L.jpg]](https://photos.smugmug.com/WOOD/POCKET-HOLE-JIG/i-CPnpCFv/0/c7358a39/L/cameradump%206142007%20086-L.jpg)
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(02-25-2019, 10:01 AM)rwe2156 Wrote: What's the big difference? I don't see it.
Don't you think the spurs might chew up the bushing?
I don't think you accomplished much, sorry.
He said one benefit was less effort required to drill the holes - saving battery life on a cordless drill. To me, that's accomplishing something. The holes are much cleaner that I can see. I'm not convinced the spurs would chew up the bushing. You're really not drilling until after the tip of the bit and the spurs pass through the bushing. At that point, the shank of the bit is retained in the bushing.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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(02-27-2019, 07:53 AM)AHill Wrote: He said one benefit was less effort required to drill the holes - saving battery life on a cordless drill. To me, that's accomplishing something. The holes are much cleaner that I can see. I'm not convinced the spurs would chew up the bushing. You're really not drilling until after the tip of the bit and the spurs pass through the bushing. At that point, the shank of the bit is retained in the bushing.
Correct. Look at the holes and you can see the ones drilled with the modded bit are more symmetrical, which tells you that the bit is having an easier time cutting the wood fibers and isn't being deflected.
And you're also correct, those spurs won't do squat to a hardened steel bushing.
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I find that I get much cleaner holes with my plug in drill (which spins much faster) than I do with my battery powered drill. I always allow the drill to spool up to its highest speed before starting the actual hole.
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Cooler is onto it. I do not utilize pocket holes much any more, but when I do I reach my for my old Tried and True 3/8" T-handle Porter Cable corded. That ol' Porter-Cable seems to have a great deal of torque
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Drill bushing drilling jigs are self-consuming. Both the bit and the bushings will wear out over time with use. That's why most industrial drill bushings are replaceable. In the focused jig for pocket holes in wood, the same wear factor applies, its just that pocket hole jigs don't get used all that often so they appear to wear slowly. Also, precision in wood isn't all that critical compared to metal working standards.
Modern pocket hole jig makers offer a metal working drill bit design for boring in wood. Its not that they don't know better, its that they know that their customers will accept such a compromise without question. Making a metal working bit tip is a lot easier than a brad point with cutting spurs, a wood boring bit tip design that's at least a century old.
Its good that we've got them available in so many different configurations despite the fact that the drill bits could be made better (and thus more expensive).
