Hi all, I’m looking for some decent spade bits for hardwoods. I was going to buy the bosh daredevils but I was told that the self-driving tips aren’t great. I’m not looking for anything super fine or clean, just need something sturdy and goes through tough cherry wood.
Thank you!
drill press for free hand?
if drill press - not the self driving tip.
if free hand I like the self driving tip. If I recall bosch does make a non drill tip spade bit too.
Meanwhile would you consider a forstner bit - oh and what size are you drilling
I’d ask what kind of hole you want in the wood? Do you just want a hole, or do you want a nice hole in your hardwood?
If you want a nice hole, use a forstner bit as suggested. If you want a flat bottom hole, use a forstner bit.
Spade bits and self-feed bits are pretty much I want a quick and dirty hole through that wood, often lumber/softwood.
As far as spade bits go, I tend to favor Irwin Speedbors
Hi I’m looking for a quick and dirty hole, doesn’t need to be ultra clean or nice. I guess I might as well consider the self-driving tips. I’ll give the bosch ones a try, thank you!
I’ve never noticed any differences between spade bits. The twist-tip ones seem to work as well as the sharp tip ones (I guess that’s what you call them.)
To me, the big advantage of spade bits is that they’re cheaper than twist bits or forstner bits of the same size. Also you can sharpen or modify them easily, to give them edge spurs, shorter or sharper center spurs, smaller diameter, etc. But that’s it. They can’t handle much of an angle, they don’t clear the hole well, and they leave a rough hole. They aren’t even faster than twist bits.
But they have a place in a workshop, no doubt about it. Good luck!
funny you should say that because I almost commented I don’t like spade bits and only have a few due to unique size. 1-5/8’s hole - spade bit that I have for example. But for most work up to one inch even I have twist bits for that. I find they load the drill less - they cut cleaner but I agree they can be harder to get started.
but by an large I avoid them.