Rojo22
Local Chapter Leader
I recently went into a Woodcraft store and they had a new set of drill bits that were available. I purchased a 10mm drill bit at full price and brought it home to test it out. I have purchased several of the Colt double fluted brad point bits and have found they stay sharper and last longer than any other drill bit I have purchased. Based on these other drill bits working and performing well, I purchased the Pen Makers drill bit.
What Woodcraft says about the bits:
Made by one of Germany's finest drill bit manufactures from M2 HSS, these bits feature a patented design that allows for straight and accurate bores.
The 25° Twinland Parabolic Flute and 4 pt cutting tip bores up to 6x faster removing debris more effectively than conventional bits. Bit shanks 27/64″ and 11mm or larger have shanks reduced to 25/64″.
Improved operator control
Cleaner exit holes
Sharper and stay sharper longer
Special tip design optimized for end grain
My Review:
I paid 16 dollars for the new Pen Makers 10mm drill bit. There are sets available for other sizes and include several of the common sizes for pen kits that are popular. I was excited to see that the double fluting was used in the design of the drill bit, as I have found that the double fluting helps chip clearing tremendously when drilling pen blanks with Colts other drill bits. As always, the quality of the bit was evident upon opening the plastic storage case. I like that the drill bit comes in its own hard clear plastic tube. The tube has a snap top paddle that can hang on a hook or on a peg, and the white label clearly states which drill bit is in the container. The labeling and packaging keep the drill bit from clanking around with other bits, and the label makes it easy to identify the bit.
The first thing you notice with the bit is the parabolic tip and the double fluting. I was skeptical about the manufacturers claims above being met by just the tip, but was pretty convinced by the end of a drilling session that it was in fact the determining factor in recommending this tool.
I chucked the drill bit up in a Delta table top drill press (model 11-990) that I have added a stand to. The drill press has been used to drill thousands of pen blanks, and does a very good job of providing the drill power on any pen blank. The drill press is very well maintained and was checked for square against the bed. I had the speed set on the slowest setting which is 620 rpms, which is typical of what I use to drill all my blanks both wood and plastic.
I used several methods of holding the blanks to simulate several set ups I have seen folks use to drill blanks. I used the pen blank holder from Rockler (wooden one), and I also used the metal base type blank holder (blue aluminum body) also from Rockler. I also used a 90 degree, home built jig as well.
My test blanks were cocobolo, maple, sugar pine, dogwood, PR homebrew, acrylic blanks from Woodcraft, and a ceboplast blank. I had the blanks cut for Cigar type kits.
My results:
Everyone likes a new sharp drill bit, and because the bit was new, it was very sharp. The drill bit had no problem cutting through any of the above listed test blanks. Upon entry into the material, I found the drill bit did not wander at all (one of my initial concerns with the parabolic tip), and hit my center mark with no issues, using all three of the drilling methods described above. The bit sent out the chips for the wood blanks in short order, creating a nice outflow of wooden chips. I cleared the bit twice on a few blanks to see what might have been on the inside, but never really needed to as the double flutes really kept the hole clean. When I used the drill bit on the plastics and the PR, the "strings" of plastic that were ejected were light and continuous, not heavy and melted. Again I cleared a few blanks to see if the chips were being cleared effectively, and again, there were very few chips or material in the hole.
I tried drilling the blanks both as a seasoned person would, and as a neandrothol would. When the proper techniques were followed for the drilling, the heat generated was very reasonable comparing it to a new Colt bit that was a brad point. I drilled the blanks both supported and unsupported at the bottom, to check the claims about blow out. I found again that if I followed the proper techniqes, there was little issue with blow out, both on the wood examples, and the plastic examples. Just for fun, I drilled an Acrylester, and found that even this example had minimal blow out, unsupported and being a little aggressive with the drilling pressure. I tried several blanks using the drill neandrothol method, and found that the blow out both supported and unsupported were again minimal. By using the proper techniques though, blow out was definitely not an issue.
The hole drilled was dead on, and I found no issues at all with accuracy of the bit. It was a very clean entry, exit, and column all the way through both wood and plastics.
So for manufacturers claims, I would have to say that the drilling operation was extremely smooth, and I can certainly say that the new bit performed as I would like for an expensive drill bit. The cleaner entry and exit holes were a claim that I can certainly say was experienced in my using the drill bit. Plastics were a concern, but this bit handled it with no problems at all. I will not judge the 6 times faster claim, as I like to drill my blanks at a reasonable speed, new bit claims aside. I dont really find that a 6 times faster claim is something that I need, but did find that the drilling operation facilitated a shorter time period because of the sharpness of the bit.
So bottom lining it for a potential purchaser. I own several Colt drill bits other than the parabolic bits and can say that they stay sharp a long time, and the overall quality of the other bits indicate they will be around a long time. For the parabolic bit, if the drill bit lasts like the others, I will definitely purchase other sizes for pen blank drilling. This bit is an investment, and one I will be making for other sizes. I found the drilling process much easier, and cooler using the parabolic bit. I have both thumbs up for the new bits, with only one minor draw back, and that comes in the wallet. If you can justify the cost, I highly recommend that you purchase these bits.
Dislikes were the price, at 16 bucks it is an expensive drill bit, but in my opinion, will far outlast a cheaper bit both in sharpness, and accuracy (which scientifically I did not test).
What Woodcraft says about the bits:
Made by one of Germany's finest drill bit manufactures from M2 HSS, these bits feature a patented design that allows for straight and accurate bores.
The 25° Twinland Parabolic Flute and 4 pt cutting tip bores up to 6x faster removing debris more effectively than conventional bits. Bit shanks 27/64″ and 11mm or larger have shanks reduced to 25/64″.
Improved operator control
Cleaner exit holes
Sharper and stay sharper longer
Special tip design optimized for end grain
My Review:
I paid 16 dollars for the new Pen Makers 10mm drill bit. There are sets available for other sizes and include several of the common sizes for pen kits that are popular. I was excited to see that the double fluting was used in the design of the drill bit, as I have found that the double fluting helps chip clearing tremendously when drilling pen blanks with Colts other drill bits. As always, the quality of the bit was evident upon opening the plastic storage case. I like that the drill bit comes in its own hard clear plastic tube. The tube has a snap top paddle that can hang on a hook or on a peg, and the white label clearly states which drill bit is in the container. The labeling and packaging keep the drill bit from clanking around with other bits, and the label makes it easy to identify the bit.
The first thing you notice with the bit is the parabolic tip and the double fluting. I was skeptical about the manufacturers claims above being met by just the tip, but was pretty convinced by the end of a drilling session that it was in fact the determining factor in recommending this tool.
I chucked the drill bit up in a Delta table top drill press (model 11-990) that I have added a stand to. The drill press has been used to drill thousands of pen blanks, and does a very good job of providing the drill power on any pen blank. The drill press is very well maintained and was checked for square against the bed. I had the speed set on the slowest setting which is 620 rpms, which is typical of what I use to drill all my blanks both wood and plastic.
I used several methods of holding the blanks to simulate several set ups I have seen folks use to drill blanks. I used the pen blank holder from Rockler (wooden one), and I also used the metal base type blank holder (blue aluminum body) also from Rockler. I also used a 90 degree, home built jig as well.
My test blanks were cocobolo, maple, sugar pine, dogwood, PR homebrew, acrylic blanks from Woodcraft, and a ceboplast blank. I had the blanks cut for Cigar type kits.
My results:
Everyone likes a new sharp drill bit, and because the bit was new, it was very sharp. The drill bit had no problem cutting through any of the above listed test blanks. Upon entry into the material, I found the drill bit did not wander at all (one of my initial concerns with the parabolic tip), and hit my center mark with no issues, using all three of the drilling methods described above. The bit sent out the chips for the wood blanks in short order, creating a nice outflow of wooden chips. I cleared the bit twice on a few blanks to see what might have been on the inside, but never really needed to as the double flutes really kept the hole clean. When I used the drill bit on the plastics and the PR, the "strings" of plastic that were ejected were light and continuous, not heavy and melted. Again I cleared a few blanks to see if the chips were being cleared effectively, and again, there were very few chips or material in the hole.
I tried drilling the blanks both as a seasoned person would, and as a neandrothol would. When the proper techniques were followed for the drilling, the heat generated was very reasonable comparing it to a new Colt bit that was a brad point. I drilled the blanks both supported and unsupported at the bottom, to check the claims about blow out. I found again that if I followed the proper techniqes, there was little issue with blow out, both on the wood examples, and the plastic examples. Just for fun, I drilled an Acrylester, and found that even this example had minimal blow out, unsupported and being a little aggressive with the drilling pressure. I tried several blanks using the drill neandrothol method, and found that the blow out both supported and unsupported were again minimal. By using the proper techniques though, blow out was definitely not an issue.
The hole drilled was dead on, and I found no issues at all with accuracy of the bit. It was a very clean entry, exit, and column all the way through both wood and plastics.
So for manufacturers claims, I would have to say that the drilling operation was extremely smooth, and I can certainly say that the new bit performed as I would like for an expensive drill bit. The cleaner entry and exit holes were a claim that I can certainly say was experienced in my using the drill bit. Plastics were a concern, but this bit handled it with no problems at all. I will not judge the 6 times faster claim, as I like to drill my blanks at a reasonable speed, new bit claims aside. I dont really find that a 6 times faster claim is something that I need, but did find that the drilling operation facilitated a shorter time period because of the sharpness of the bit.
So bottom lining it for a potential purchaser. I own several Colt drill bits other than the parabolic bits and can say that they stay sharp a long time, and the overall quality of the other bits indicate they will be around a long time. For the parabolic bit, if the drill bit lasts like the others, I will definitely purchase other sizes for pen blank drilling. This bit is an investment, and one I will be making for other sizes. I found the drilling process much easier, and cooler using the parabolic bit. I have both thumbs up for the new bits, with only one minor draw back, and that comes in the wallet. If you can justify the cost, I highly recommend that you purchase these bits.
Dislikes were the price, at 16 bucks it is an expensive drill bit, but in my opinion, will far outlast a cheaper bit both in sharpness, and accuracy (which scientifically I did not test).