Source for good auger bits?

[Bob Jones]

I just bought a 10" Yankee brace on the bay. I guess I need to get some bits and learn how to use it. I am not a rust hunter, but I also don't want to pay $20 per bit for new ones.

Any suggestions?

I am guessing that Jennings bits are good. What are the good sources for good deals? I already emailed Patrick with Superior Tools.

Thanks!

[David Weaver]

Just buy a full jennings set on ebay. you'll be wasting your money buying from a dealer for more since there isn't as much risk in buying bits as there is in something like a rare plane. (that is, unless a dealer has a full set with good lead screws and excellent elephant ears for what you'd see on ebay).

Just make sure the description is good enough on ebay that if the item doesn't meet the description (obviously, you're looking for a boxed complete set), that you can get your money back or file a claim with ebay if the seller is turdy.

I've gotten three full sets of bits. The jennings on ebay were the most expensive, and with a box, I think I got them on some tuesday night for $40 plus shipping.

[john brenton]

Is Jennings notably better than Irwin? If not, I imagine you'd find much more availability in old Irwin sets that aren't rust laden.


Just buy a full jennings set on ebay. you'll be wasting your money buying from a dealer for more since there isn't as much risk in buying bits as there is in something like a rare plane. (that is, unless a dealer has a full set with good lead screws and excellent elephant ears for what you'd see on ebay).

Just make sure the description is good enough on ebay that if the item doesn't meet the description (obviously, you're looking for a boxed complete set), that you can get your money back or file a claim with ebay if the seller is turdy.

I've gotten three full sets of bits. The jennings on ebay were the most expensive, and with a box, I think I got them on some tuesday night for $40 plus shipping.

[Joel Goodman]

My understanding is that the Jennings typically have a finer thread which works better in hardwoods. I have no experience with the Irwin, having an almost -- missing one bit -- set of the Jennings. Sandy Moss -- sydnassloot.com -- has a few sets of both kinds listed on his site. He is easy to deal with and will not steer you wrong, although you'll pay more than ebay. You'll also need an auger file in case/when they need a touch up.

[Eric Brown]

Hi Joel. I'll try to help.
Historically the Russell-Jennings bits were made in different locations.
Deep River, Chester (till 1960), New Britain (all Connecticut).
The Firm was sold to Stanley in 1944.

Sometime in the sixties the manufacturing was moved to Sheffield England.

I have also seen some made in Australia.

There are two basic styles that were made with the only difference being the screw tip. The 100 series has a double thread fine pitch wich works well for hard seasoned woods. It does not work so well with very hard or gummy woods. The 101 series has a coarse thread that works well with the very hard or gummy woods.

The three layer box was patented in 1890.

Most of the sets you see are the 100 series which works well for most cabinet making.

In my opinion the quality level was pretty consistant regardless of where or when the bits were made although the ones from England don't seem as well polished and the ones from Australia are laser etched.

What to look for is good screws, sharp long spurs, well shaped cutting lips. Don't buy if the screws are damaged, spurs are short or the cutting lips do not clear in front of the screw.

The Russell-Jennings is a good choice.

As for the Irwin solid-center pattern, they typically have a coarse screw but can also work well for cabinet making if you take your time.

I also suggest you get a few loose ones and an auger file. Learning to sharpen your bits is the key to using any of them.

One little note on sharpening, the spurs should be long enough to score the wood before the main cutting lips contact. They should only be sharpened on the inside edge so you don't change the cutting diameter.
However, the very tips of the spurs must be smooth on the outside to make the smoothest holes.

Eric

[David Weaver]

Is Jennings notably better than Irwin? If not, I imagine you'd find much more availability in old Irwin sets that aren't rust laden.

They're a little nicer to use on hardwoods (the series with a fine-pitch lead screw), as was stated above. They work fine on softwoods, too. They might be less common than irwins, but they're not particularly rare.

I think I got two sets of irwins. The one in a box cost me a total of $25 + shipping on ebay. The other was a set that I got on ebay that was complete in a plastic roll, and I think that was $13 plus shipping. I gave the plastic roll set away.

The reason I mention the price is that they will often go higher than that, but there are so many complete sets on ebay that when someone screws up and makes an auction that ends at 4 am on a tuesday, you can sometimes get a deal. If you're in a rush to buy them, you'll probably pay twice as much.

[Jim Neeley]

I recently took a hands-on two-day training class with Roy Underhill that included some brace and bit work and have decided to get my own.

I've read some here say that the RJ bits are the better way to go and especially the fine pitched threads for working in hardwoods (I use dry hardwoods almost exclusively).

I see many sets of #100's listed on the site that shall not be named and have read on the bit boxes inside front label a note indicating the #100's are not for gummy or hard woods and that for thise to use the #101.

My confusion comes because I'd *guess* that gummy would want a coarse thread but extra hard wood would want fine thread.

It appears the 100's have a double-thread (wrong term but I hope you know what I mean) but the 101's are single?

What would I be looking for if I were to want to get the bits most ideal for hardwoods (?fine thread RJ's?)??

If the #100's are good for domestic hardwood (which some have said) but that you only need the fine thread for very hard or tropical hardwoods (which I like too), what series is best for those?

I've seen some web pages that talk about 3 pitches, fine, med and coarse. Where are the 100's and 101's?

I will appreciate some clarity here. :)

Jim

Sliding a little further down that slippery slope...

[Jim Koepke]

One thing to remember is a double thread will pull in two threads depth in a single rotation.

If a single thread is finer than two threads of a double thread screw, it may look to be coarser, but is actually finer.

Confusing for sure.

I may have a single thread RJ bit. I will look and see when in the shop later.

jtk

[Ryan Baker]

The RJ 100s have the fine thread. The RJ 101s have a much coarser thread. RJ recommends the 100s for hardwood and most woods other than "gummy or really hard" woods, as you noted, and the 101s for those extra soft or extra hard woods. The hard wood part is debatable, I guess. If you drill a lot of exotic tropicals, you should experiment a little and pick the one you like. In general, I'd pick the 100s for general hardwood use. Pick up some Irwin pattern bits sometime to cover the other cases.

[Mike Holbrook]

My new/old set of Irwins says "One Set 32 1/2 Quarters" no 100 or 101 designation. If you click on the pictures twice their size doubles twice and you get a black background making it easy to see the threads fairly clearly. I think the bits are in amazing shape to be so old. The box they are in still works too. Now I know I am going to have to figure out how to restore and preserve that amazing bit box.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16891057@N05/

I made a post on the same topic that holds more information:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?177515-Auger-bits-which-to-buy&highlight=

[David Keller NC]

I just bought a 10" Yankee brace on the bay. I guess I need to get some bits and learn how to use it. I am not a rust hunter, but I also don't want to pay $20 per bit for new ones.

Any suggestions?

I am guessing that Jennings bits are good. What are the good sources for good deals? I already emailed Patrick with Superior Tools.

Thanks!

The Russell-Jennings bits are excellent all-around choices for domestic hardwoods. The Irwin bits are quite a bit faster - their main spiral threads are considerably steeper-pitched than the Russell Jennings, and in my opinion are better suited to secondary wood choices that are typically softer - like eastern white pine, poplar, basswood, cedar, etc...

I don't see RJ 101 series very often as a complete set - you may have to pay quite a lot for a pristine set.

A caution about buying bit sets on fleabay. Many of these sets have one or more bits whose shafts are bent, or a ham-handed sharpener has made them unusable by shortening the spurs or filing the outside diameter of the bit. Neither condition is correctable - you'd have to reduce the diameter of the whole bit to correct the later problem, or re-forge the guide screw threads to correct the first problem. This is why you may wish to pay what a reputable dealer wants for a set - the distinction between "highly usable" and "useless" takes someone with a good bit of knowledge of hand tools, and I've found returning something from a seller on the auction site to always be a pain in the keister at best and an exercise in spending unnecessary funds at worst.

Finally, and I suppose this would be somewhat controversial, but I don't favor food-powered hand tools for drilling holes in most tropicals. Except for ebony, which responds to hand tools very well, boring into tropical hardwoods like cocobolo with an R-J bit puts the tool at risk - you can pretty easily shear off the edge cutters, mangle the guide thread, or get the bit nearly permanently stuck in the hole you're boring if it's in thicker wood. At best, you're probably going to strip the threads that have been cut into the wood by the lead screw, in which case finishing the hole is a herculean task. For this one application, a power drill with a modern Lee Valley brad-point bit is a far superior tool, IMO.

[Shaun Mahood]

Does anyone know where to find good instuctions on how to sharpen auger bits for someone who has never done it before? I have a couple that are quite dull.

[Jim Koepke]

Shaun,

I sent you a PM, then thought others likely have the same question.

The information on auger bit sharpening is in the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs sticky near the top of the Neanderthal Haven conference. There is a wealth of information in that folder that I still look into for knowledge.

This is my auger thread:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?131238-A-Bit-About-Augers

Bob Smalser also has a thread on the the Versatile Sweep Brace with some sharpening information.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?13090-The-Incredibly-Versatile-Sweep-Brace

Hopefully they are both helpful to you in pointing out some of the important parts of auger bit sharpening.

jtk