forstner bit extension?

[Greg Bender]

Does anybody here know if there is a forstner bit extension that is designed to take hex shank bits and center them. I'm drilling pepper mill blanks on the lathe and I'm not having any luck to this point.
Thanx in advance,
Greg

[Greg Bender]

I hope the lack of response is not an indication that nobody makes one.

[gary Zimmel]

Greg the bits I use for my peppermills I got from Lee Valley.
With them I have made mills up to 24" tall.
They are called Maxi-Cut Forstner Bits

[Larry Frank]

If you google Forstner bit extension you will get several hits. There is a 10" one from Woodcraft for about $14

[Clint Baxter]

You can get several different lengths of extensions for the Colt Maxi-Cut Forstner bits indicated by Gary. I ordered three different lengths when I purchased my Colt Maxi-Cut bit sets. I also picked up a #2 Morse Taper adapter as well. If you're drilling on the lathe, just need to insert your bit and any needed extensions into your tailstock. The Taper Adapter and extensions are all self-centering in use.

You pay a premium price for the bits, extensions and adapter, but I don't know that there is a better bit made than the Maxi-Cut.

Clint

[glenn bradley]

Seems like your responses are telling you the tale. I have never seen an extension for hex shank Forstner bits but, there are a lot of options if you want to buy a non-hex-shank bit ;-(

[Greg Bender]

Clint and Larry,
Unfortunately I already have a small fortune invested in carbide forstner bits and they all have hex shanks, which I prefer. I have a #2 morse taper extension on the way but that may not help alot.

Larry,
None of the Woodcraft extensions work with hex shanks, I know, I tryed them earlier today. I believe I'm going to try to make something that I can shim the hex to center.

Thanx guys for the assist and if anybody happens to run across a hex based extension please send me a link. Somebody has them.
Greg

[Clarence Martin]

What brand of forstner bits do you have ?

[Greg Bender]

Woodline Carbide, Freud Carbide and HSS set from Woodcraft. All with hex shanks.

[Chuck Darney]

I just looked at the MLCS site and their forstner bit sets. They show all as hex shank and there are 5" and 10" extensions on the same page. It doesn't say that the extenders will work with hex shanks but it might be worth checking on.

I found them here:
http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/forset1.htm#forstner_extender_anchor

[Greg Bender]

Chuck,
Thanx a bunch, just ordered a set so I can go big if I have to. MLCS has to be the only site I did not check yesterday.
Greg

[glenn bradley]

Way to go Chuck. Let us know if they work Greg. ;)

[Greg Bender]

Glenn,
well I called today and talked to tech about the extensions and I found out that they are not made specifically for hex shanks. So I went to the fab shop at lunch and made one.Bored it for the exact OD of the hex points after litely grinding my set's hex points down to a soft radius so they won't dig in when the opposing set screws are tightened. I have a nice snug fit and when I tighten them in the chuck , I can use a drive center as an alignment reference. I think it will work real well and I didn't really need lunch anyway.
Greg