HPHOPE 2 Inch Forstner Bit, Forstner Drill Bit for Wood, Drill Bits Round Shank

First it did what I wanted to do but it can’t go into my bit cabinet until it gets some attention. The cutters don’t come to a pointed edge but rather a pointed triangle. In use cut well on the rip direction but tore on the cross cut re grain direction. Also after the fact I noticed both cutting edges were pretty mangled. Can’t tell you if it was like this out of the box or after the 16 1/2” uses on a walnut board. I can and well address both issues but the four stars are for the fact I shouldn’t have to at this point in time. I started to rate three stars but I bought this at a low price with next day delivery, so… YGWYPF

I have used several different bits for the special wood drilling projects in my workshop and found many did not last beyond a few drilling projects. This product being a constant worker has not only become a staple, but I have purchased two more in different sizes. I consider this one of the "special need" bits everyone should have to complete their workshop.

It was cheap, so I didn't get my hopes up on how long it would last. I can say I wasn't disappointed, and not in a good way. I used this 1 3/16" forstner bit to cut holes in Walnut and Maple. Hardwood yes, but not exceptionally hard and I've got other size/brands of forstner bits that are still cutting very well. I would estimate that I've cut about 25 to 30 holes with this bit. I know that heat can kill a bit, so I have always gone down a little then come back up all the way to clear chips and let it cool and then go back down a little more and then back up. This is the way I do all of my forstner bits and it seems to keep them from over heating, even in hard wood.Today when I went to use it it seemed to grab a bit more than usual in a piece of Walnut that was off of the same board that I'd already cut sections off and drilled about 20 holes, so I expected it to drill the same. I looked at the bit closely and found that on the blade part, near the rim, that the metal was peeled back a little, creating a spur that was catching on the wood. It looked like it had snagged a nail or something but I know that it didn't because all of the wood I've been using for my projects is clean wood and not reclaimed or repurposed wood. I also found a couple of other rough spots that were not there when I first started using the bit. Being made in China and cheap I always look them over real close and check for sharpness out of the package. Out of the package, this one looked good and felt sharp.So I pulled this one and grabbed another brand 1 3/16" bit and tested it and it ran as smooth and clean as I would expect from a new drill bit. Since 1 3/16" is not a common forstner bit size I had bought 3 of them at the same time, all from different brands. I'll see if one of them does better over all than the others and buy a couple more of those. It appears that the HPHOPE brand uses metal that is too soft to last for long.There is one silver lining in this though. I've been wanting to grind the center point off of a forstner bit for some time but haven't wanted to do so on a good bit. Since I would not be using this one anymore I decided to try it. I put it into my vice and used my angle grinder to grind down the center point as far as I could. I then took a block of Walnut that I had already drilled a hole about an inch deep and used this one to go just a little bit further. It did exactly what I was hoping it would do, it almost eliminated the center hole that these forstner bits leave in the hole. The rough metal pieces made the hole a little rough and there was still the hint of a depression from the little bit of the base of the point that was left, but this was a test and it worked. I'll use a grinder I have with a flex shaft on a cheap but new bit and do a better job taking down the center point to the 3 sizes of forstner bits I use the most. These will only be used to finish the bottom after I've already drilled the holes with an intact bit. So at least this bit was good for something after all.

Be prepared to grind flat spots on bit shaft, drill chuck won't hold.

Good.

Works just like it is suppose to.

Works perfectly

3/8" shank was oversize by .017". Had to have it machined locally for $20